Dr. Strein is Associate Professor Emeritus in the Counseling Psychology, School Psychology and Counselor Education program area in the Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education (CHSE) Department. Prior to joining the University of Maryland in 1981, he worked for several years as a school psychologist in public schools in Pennsylvania and Virginia, and served as a visiting faculty member in the school psychology program at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Dr. Strein's research has focused on children's social-emotional learning, particularly children's self-perceptions of competence. His publications also have addressed work on professional issues in school psychology, including prevention and the application of population-based models to school psychology.
Activity and leadership in professional organizations has been one of the hallmarks of Dr. Strein's career. He previously served for three years as an elected member of the executive committee of the Council of Directors of School Psychology Programs (CDSPP), a national organization of doctoral training programs in that specialty. He was the chairperson of this organization for one of these three years. He also served for three years as a member of American Psychological Association's Commission on Accreditation (CoA), holding membership on both the CoA's executive and research committees and serving as chair of one of its program review panels. He continues as an APA accreditation site visit chair
Dr. Strein earned his D.Ed. from the APA-accredited school psychology program at the Pennsylvania State University. He also holds an M.S. in school psychology and a B.S. (with distinction) in mathematics education from Penn State.
2014 College of Education Leadership Award
2014 College of Education Excellence in Mentoring of Faculty Award
2012 Annual Award Honoree, Council of Directors of School Psychology Programs
2010 Fellow, Division 16, American Psychological Association
Book Chapters
Strein, W., Kuhn-McKearin, M., & Finney, M. (2014). Best practices in developing prevention strategies for school psychology practice. In A. Thomas and P. Harrison (Eds.). Best Practices in School Psychology VI: Systems-level services (pp. 137 – 148). . Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.
Short, R. J., & Strein, W. (2009). Social and behavioral epidemiology: Population-based problem identification and monitoring. In B. Doll and J. A. Cummings (Eds.). Transforming School Mental Health Services: Population-Based Approaches to Promoting the Competency and Wellness of Children. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Strein W., & Koehler, J. (2008). Best practices in developing prevention strategies for school psychology practice. In A. Thomas and J. Grimes (Eds.). Best Practices in School Psychology V. Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.
Strein, W., & Meshbesher, N. (2006). Grades and grading. In G. Bear and K. Minke (Eds.). Children's Needs: Psychological Perspectives III. Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.
Journal/Newsletter Articles
Prus, J. S., & Strein, W. (2011). Issues and trends in the accreditation of school psychology programs in the United States. Psychology in the Schools, 887-900.
Strein, W. (2011). An ounce of prevention: Meeting the challenges in ethical decision-making in k-12 schools. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 42, 263 - 264.
Strein, W., & Worrell, F. C. (2010). Issues in accreditation, certification and licensure. Trainers' Forum, 29(2), 11-15.
Blom-Hoffman, J., Okun, B. F., Karin N. Lifter, K. N., Blashfield, R., Crowley, S. L., Goodyear, R. K., Strein, W., Winfrey, L. L. (2004). Voices of the five doctoral training councils in psychology: Seeking common ground on combined-integrated (C-I) doctoral training in psychology. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60, 957-967.
Strein, W., Cramer, K., & Lawser, M. (2003). School psychology research and scholarship: USA status, international explorations. School Psychology International, 24, 421-436.
Strein, W., Hoagwood, K., & Cohn, A. (2003). School psychology: A public health perspective I, Prevention, populations, and systems change. Journal of School Psychology, 41, 23-38.
Strein, W., & Simonson, T. (1999). Kindergartners' self-perceptions: Theoretical and measurement issues. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 32,. 31-42.
Strein, W., Simonson, T., & Vail, L. (1999). Convergence of views: Self-perceptions of African-American and white kindergartners. Psychology in the Schools, 36, 125-134.
Simonson, T. A., & Strein, W. (1997). The effects of teachers' verbal behaviors on kindergartners' perceptions of competence. Psychology in the Schools, 34, 363-371.
National Conference Papers
Strein, W., Dorman, S., Albrecht, J., Finney, M., & Weston, L. (2014). Integrating research and practice: State-university collaborations on policy development. Symposium presented at the annual convention of the National Association of School Psychologists, Washington, DC, February 20, 2014.
Kuhn-McKearin, M.A., & Strein W. (2014). Does the duration of special education affect student’s externalizing behavior? Paper (poster session) presented at the annual convention of the National Association of School Psychologists, Washington, DC, February 20, 2014.
Perlow, B. J., Hughes, K. A., & Strein, W. (2013). Doctoral school psychology programs: What do they teach. Paper (poster session) presented at the annual convention of the National Association of School Psychologists, Seattle, WA, February 15, 2013.
Grossman, J. A., Kuhn-McKearin, M., & Strein, W. (2011). Parental expectations and academic achievement :Mediators and school effects. Paper (poster session) presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, August 4, 2011.
Strein, W., & Grossman, J. (2010). Big fish and other school effects on academic self-concept. Paper (poster session) presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, San Diego, CA, August 14, 2010.
Strein, W., Pickering, C., & Grossman, J. (2009). Urbanicity and academic self-concept. Paper (poster session) presented at the Annual Convention of the National Association of School Psychologists, Boston, MA, Feb. 27, 2009.
Strein, W. (2006). Self-concept and learning disabilities: The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study results. Paper (poster session) presented at the Annual Convention of the National Association of School Psychologists, Anaheim, CA, March 31, 2006.
Strein, W., & Signor-Buhl, S. (2005). Academic self-concepts of adolescents with learning disabilities: A large-scale database study. Paper (poster session) presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Washington, August 20, 2005.
Dr. Strein has taught 10 courses as an emeritus faculty members since his retirement in 2014. These include EDCP 640/641 Introduction to the Speciality/Ethics and Leagal Issues, EDCP 632 Cognitive Assessment and EDHD 602 Social Development of Children and Adolescents (Shady Grove campus).