The historical development of school psychology is discussed in the context of circumstances and individuals significant to its origins. The contributions of Witmer’s clinical psychology and Hall’s child study demonstrate how early forms of school psychology evolved from their conceptualizations. Even though the specialty did not achieve a stable national identity until the second half of the 20th century, the provision of psychological services in schools is among the earliest fields of applied psychology and has distinct connections to Witmer and Hall.

The period of origin for applied and professional psychology was the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Burnham, 1988; Hilgard, 1987; Napoli, 1981; Reisman, 1966). Descriptions of the early practice of school psychology appear in articles by Fagan (1985), French (1988), Hutt (1923), and Walters (1925). This article attempts to clarify 1890 to 1920 as school psychology’s period of origin by focusing on the dominant forces shaping the need for school psychological services and the influence of specific movements and persons.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries marked an era of social reforms, many of which were directed at children. Several reform movements were related to the emergence of school psychological services. Among these movements were compulsory schooling, juvenile courts, child labor laws, mental health, vocational guidance, the growth of institutions serving children, and an array of child-saving efforts (Cohen, 1985; Cravens, 1985). In contrast to earlier generations that viewed the father as savior of the child (the child as redeemable), there was at the turn of the century strong sensitivity to the proposition that in children lay the salvation of the society (the child as redeemer) (Wishy, 1968); and the meaning of children was changing from an economic source of labor to a psychological source of love and affection (Zelizer, 1985). The child savers operated from the assumption that “children constituted a special, vulnerable group...