Changes in Counselor Education Admissions Criteria

This study summarizes recent changes in admissions requirements and procedures obtained in a survey of 61 counselor education programs in the western states region.     

Academic Criteria,Experiential Background,and Personal Interviews as Predictors of Success in a Counselor Education Program

A 4-year evaluation was conducted of a counselor education trainee selection process that places approximately equal weight on three selection criteria: academic index, experiential background, and personal interviews. Mean faculty rankings were obtained for 77 trainees on three separate evaluative areas: (a) academic success in the program, (b) overall counseling competency in the program, and (c) anticipated success in the field. Results of Pearson product-moment correlational analyses indicated that two selection criteria (Miller's Analogies Test and the Verbal portion of the Graduate Records Examination) were significantly related to faculty-ranked academic success. No single criterion, however, was significantly related with faculty rankings of either counseling competency or anticipated success in the field. The correlation between the Miller's Analogy Test and a measure of “overall success in counselor education” was in the predicted direction but failed to reach the traditional levels of statistical significance (p < .09). Implications for future research and limitations of the study are discussed.     

Admissions Policies for Graduate Programs in Counselor Education

A survey was conducted of a random sample of 100 counselor education programs with regard to their policies and procedures for admission of graduate students. The 68 usable responses also provided data on the number of students admitted to each degree program as well as size of faculty in 1965 and 1970. The results indicate a heavy emphasis on predictors of academic success as initial screening criteria, with a wide variety of other criteria considered. Most programs reported the use of different levels of administration in making admissions decisions, with the majority utilizing a departmental committee as one level.     

A Competency-Based Program in Counselor Education

This article describes the evaluation of a competency-based, criterion-referenced, master's degree counselor education program. It discusses the program's philosophy, the procedures for establishing the exit competencies, the assessment of student's competencies, and the decisions based on context, input, process, and output evaluations of the program.     

Counselor Education,Program Accreditation and Counselor Credentialing in Turkey

The purpose of this article is to examine counselor education and the current state of affairs regarding program accreditation and counselor credentialing efforts in Turkey. The paper considers the Turkish education and higher education systems, followed by a brief history of counseling and current counselor education in Turkey and, finally, discusses accreditation and credentialing processes in the country. Attention to these matters and, in particular, standardization and restructuring of undergraduate and graduate counseling programs is considered increasingly important for the development of counseling in Turkey.     

Effectiveness of Three Selective Admissions Criteria in Predicting Performance of First-Year Teachers

Abstract

Three selective admissions criteria, used for admitting students to teacher education, were evaluated to determine the effectiveness of these criteria in predicting performance of first-year teachers. Also, an effort was made to determine if the prediction efficiency was the same for elementary and secondary teachers. The data indicate that selecting students on the basis of a 2.0 average, a C or better in introductory course in education, and a C or better in freshman English is ineffective in predicting teaching performance. Also, the prediction efficiency was found to be quite different for elementary and secondary teachers.     

Gatekeeping During Admissions: A Survey of Counselor Education Programs

Within counselor preparation, gatekeeping begins during the admission process. This article focuses on the prevalence of screening procedures used in master's‐ and doctoral‐level counselor educator programs (N = 79) accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. Additionally, programs' selection and matriculation processes are discussed along with implications for counselor education and supervision.     

Organizing a Practicum and Internship Program in Counselor Education

This article describes procedures for organizing a practicum and internship program in counselor education. Application procedures, supervision, and communication with sites, students, and supervisors are discussed.     

An Existential-Humanistic Program of Counselor Education

The basic aspects of an existential-humanistic program of counselor education are described. The more pragmatic means by which the goals - of the program will be achieved are also discussed.     

A Two-Year Program of Counselor Education

If school counseling is to be a career commitment, not a temporary or occasional assignment, the school counselor must possess some special expertise that enables him to make a unique contribution to the school. It follows that counselor educators should identify this special expertise as precisely as possible and then offer an instructional program designed to develop it. Since such special expertise is not likely to be acquired without extensive and intensive training, the instructional program will ordinarily require a minimum of two years of full-time study. This position paper elaborates the rationale for the above beliefs and attempts to suggest directions in which they may lead.     

Counselor Education Students as Program Evaluators

Rarely are students given the opportunity to evaluate the total effect of a counselor education program on them as persons, learners, and emerging professionals. This article describes a comprehensive system analysis in which students evaluated their educational experience on such dimensions as faculty-student communication and decision making, psychological closeness, freedom to express deviant views, sexual and racial bias, and the degree to which the program climate encouraged them to be active rather than passive learners. Results categorized the program as consultative—a system in which power and authority are freely shared yet are not distributed equally.     

Potential Roles a College Counselor Can Play in Promoting the Academic Success of Students of Color

The college counselor can play a leadership role in decreasing the sense of alienation students of color feel and improve retention rates through the sponsorship of relationship and awareness-building activities. The author discusses institutional and community barriers, describes interpersonal outcomes, and reports the suggestions of students, staff, and faculty who attended a counseling center-sponsored retreat and focus groups.     

Academic Role and Perceptions of Gatekeeping in Counselor Education

Gatekeeping in counselor education is an ethical responsibility and professional best practice. The authors examined gatekeeping perceptions of 9 counselor educators, with equal representation of assistant professors, associate/full professors, and adjuncts/instructors/lecturers. The authors analyzed data using consensual qualitative research methodology (Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997 ). Findings include commonalities and differences between academic role groups.     

A Counselor Education Program for Intern Physicians

In recent years it has been estimated that from 30 percent to 50 percent of the medical complaints brought to the family or general practice physician are functional in nature and may be psychosocial in origin (Harmon, Masuda & Holmes 1970). While chemotherapy may be appropriate for the patient with acute situational anxiety and psychiatric consultation may be appropriate for the severely neurotic or psychotic patient, the family practice physician has few remedies for the patient with chronic aches and pains, housewife syndrome, middle-age depression, businessman's fatigue, and a host of other quasimedical complaints.     

Changes in Follow-Up Data Following Marked Changes in a Counselor Education Program

This study compared follow-up data for two groups of master's degree alumni of a counselor education program, one of which graduated before marked changes in the program occurred and the other thereafter. The questionnaire data represented 83.5 percent of the first group and 89.6 percent of the second. Findings concerning the instructional program, advisement, and library services showed significant improvement in appraisal reactions of alumni in six of 12 cases, some deterioration in one. equivocal results in another, and no change in four. Employment data showed an increase from 42 to 71 percent of alumni in counseling and guidance positions. Professional membership data revealed a significant trend toward identification with national organizations. It was concluded that significant changes in much follow-up data occurred after marked changes in the counselor education program studied and that these changes were generally in the direction of further professionalization of counseling and guidance.     

Counselor Education Program Development: A Communication-Information Model

The common core concept was presented as the vehicle for developing a more adaptive educational program for the counseling profession. The communication model developed was based on the assumption of common elements of role behavior for counselors across agency settings. The model also depends upon the explication of communication and information needs necessary for adequate functioning of the counselor across as well as within settings as the basis for curriculum content. An organizational structure for implementing the communication model was explicated in a training program setting to facilitate the implementation of the model.     

Multicultural Counseling: Does It Belong in a Counselor Education Program?

Multicultural counseling has the support of various groups, including accreditation bodies. Counselor education programs may, however, be adopting a movement that is not consistent with previously held beliefs about counseling. Is information about a specific subculture helpful in counseling a client who is labeled as being from that subculture? Or are the differences within groups possibly as great as the differences between groups? The author's experience in one multicultural setting suggests that counseling is more effective with clients of another culture when it is unaided by the use of generalized information about that culture.