School Counselor Preparation to Meet the Guidance Needs of Exceptional Students: A National Study

A representative sample of counselor educators at U.S. universities were surveyed to identify the kinds of curricula school counselor preparation programs use for preparing students to work with exceptional students (ES). Program courses in exceptional student education (ESE), competencies, field experiences, state certification requirements for ESE courses, the degree of importance accorded by counselor educators to prepare graduates to serve ES, and the educators' level of satisfaction with current program requirements were investigated. Sixty‐two percent of the programs surveyed did not offer a specific ESE course; however, 53% of these programs (N = 146) reported that ESE competencies were incorporated in other program courses.     

Consultant Training in Counselor Education Programs

Although the role of consultant has received increasing professional attention recently, little has been reported regarding the emphasis in counselor education programs given to consultation in the preparation of counselors. This study involved a survey of 31% of the existing counselor training programs. Findings indicated that 44% of the programs offered formal courses in consultation; the counselor as consultant was ranked second only to counseling as a major counselor role. Consultant training was reported as mainly focusing toward work with individual consultees and small groups.     

A Comprehensive Model for Multidimensional Competencies in the Training of Secondary School Counselors

Counselor education programs throughout the country have employed competency-based objectives as part of their training programs. The utilization of behavioral objectives in defining specific counselor skills has produced numerous systems and models for the training of counselors. This article presents a multidimensional model for counselor education that uses a behavioral approach in conjunction with the more globally accepted services and functions of the secondary school counselor. The multidimensional model places the competencies in three distinct domains: (a) 10 identifiable services provided by the secondary counselor; (b) the three functions performed by the counselor; and (c) the three types of program training components commonly used in counselor education programs. The three dimensions of the model are presented in a Guilford-like cube for simplicity.     

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.     

The School Counselor's Role in Special Education

The purpose of this study was (a) to survey school counselor preparation and perceived and projected role in serving special education students in the southwestern region of the United States; and (b) to determine the status of counselor education programs throughout the nation in preparing counselors to effectively serve exceptional students. The results indicated that 50 percent of the school counselor sample advocated additional involvement with exceptional students, 43 percent felt inadequately prepared to deal effectively with exceptional students, and 60 percent would be more willing to serve exceptional students if their training in special education had been more extensive.     

Doctoral Research Training of Counselor Education Faculty

Counselor educators (N = 167) in programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs were surveyed regarding research training received during their doctoral studies. Respondents shared perspectives regarding the quality and quantity of their research course work as well as suggestions on how to enhance research training in counselor education programs. Differences in the amount, type, and attitudes toward research were found according to programs from which educators were graduated and year of graduation. The influences of mentoring as a critical practice in research training also emerged. Implications for research training in counselor education are discussed.     

Ethnic Minority Representation in Counselor Education

Chairpersons of the counselor education programs listed in Counselor Preparation, 1980 were surveyed to determine ethnic minority representation among students and faculty. Compared to population statistics, Asian Americans were found to be underrepresented as faculty and Blacks and Hispanics were found to be underrepresented as both students and faculty. Compared to nonminorities in counselor education, minorities (particularly Blacks and Hispanics) are more likely to be enrolled in part-time and master's degree programs and less likely to be enrolled in full-time and doctoral degree programs. Minority faculty are more likely to hold nonacademic, nontenured, and part-time appointments than are nonminority faculty. For the most part, minority faculty are distributed regionally in the same proportion as are minority students. The difficulty in achieving parity on counselor education faculties in a period of no growth is discussed.     

Preparing School Counselors to Work With Students With Disabilities

Recent literature has demonstrated increasing roles for school counselors who work with students with disabilities, but it has also suggested that school counselors are not being adequately prepared to work with these students. In this research study, the authors investigated current courses and experiences focusing on disabilities offered in school counselor education programs. Results from the 137 participants suggest that school counselor education programs are incorporating more disability content into their training programs than they were in the past. Some disability content areas are included significantly more frequently in disability courses than in counseling program courses. Conclusions and implications are discussed.     

Minority Populations and Traditional Counseling Programs: Some Alternatives

Racial and ethnic minority group members are now recognizing the need for relevant counseling services. Many counselor education programs, however, have not addressed this issue. While some counselor educators support the need for innovative counselor training programs for those who expect to work in pluralistic settings, others believe that traditional programs can meet the needs of all populations. This article describes why counselor training incorporating the needs of racial and ethnic minorities is needed and provides four models: (a) the separate course model; (b) the area of concentration model; (c) the interdisciplinary model; and (d) the integration model, which may be used in program development and implementation.     

Educating Future Counselor Educators

The literature in Counselor Education and Supervision has had a variety of focuses, ranging from humanistic counselor education (Chenault 1968) to systems technique in training (Canada & Lynch 1975) and from Arbuckle (1974) to Ellis (1974) and back (Arbuckle 1975). However, there has been a scarcity of articles directed toward the education of future counselor educators who will lead the way in innovation, training, and research. I gather that this group has not been intentionally disregarded but that, through various counselor education programs, graduate students are given the opportunity to emerge as counselor educators. This process must vary with each institution. I would like to share one avenue that is being taken to help future counselor educators develop competencies in professional writing and convention program presentations.     

Differentiation In Elementary School Counselor Preparation Programs Among ACES Regions

A national survey, reported by ACES regions, examined the differentiation of counselor education programs for the preparation of elementary school counselors. While the study, based on usable questionnaire returns from 225 counselor education programs, provides evidence of many efforts toward program differentiation, there remains a substantial lack of uniformity in preparation background of elementary school counselors graduating from preparation programs across the country.     

Crisis in the Curriculum? New Counselors' Crisis Preparation,Experiences, and Self‐Efficacy

Professional counselors are responsible for providing crisis assessment, referral, and intervention ( Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, 2009 ); however, little is known about their preparation and experiences in these areas. This study examined new professional counselors' (N= 193) crisis intervention preparation, crisis intervention self‐efficacy, and crisis intervention experiences. Although participants had limited crisis preparation during their master's programs, most engaged in crisis intervention during their field experiences. Implications for continuing education and counselor education are explored.     

Affirmative Action Efforts of Counselor Education Programs

An affirmative action questionnaire was sent to randomly selected counselor education programs listed in the 1977 Counselor Education Drectory. The questionnaire asked respondents to identify the activities used by their programs to recruit, admit, and support members of four minority groups. This article reports the results of the survey which indicate that in the absence of federal mandates, counselor education programs engage in a limited number of affirmative action activities.     

Doctoral Student Persistence in Counselor Education Programs: Student–Program Match

The authors present the findings of a qualitative study (N = 33) of doctoral student persistence in counselor education programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (2001). Using in‐depth interviews with students representing 17 different doctoral programs, the findings revealed factors that influenced students' decisions to persist or leave their counselor education doctoral programs. A key determinant in attrition or persistence decisions was a match between the students' goals/expectations and the faculty members' expectations and goals for the program. Implications of the findings for program selection, recruiting, and student retention are discussed.     

Preparation of the Elementary School Counselor: 1972

This is the fourth in a series of quadrennial surveys begun in 1960 to determine the extent and nature of counselor preparation at the master's and doctoral levels in the field of elementary school guidance and counseling. Nearly 90 percent (325) of the 367 counselor education departments in the U.S. responded to this survey. The main finding is the great acceleration of programs which provide specialization since 1968. Generic programs (n = 132), however, are still common. Major emphasis in specialized programs rests in laboratory and practicum experiences. Counselor educators in elementary school guidance and counseling are still mainly people who have not taken their advanced work in the field of elementary school guidance and counseling.     

Integrating Social Justice Advocacy With National Standards of Practice: Implications for School Counselor Education

Social justice in the education of all K‐12 students begins with school counselors; preparing school counselors as advocates and leaders who can implement these principles in U.S. schools begins with counselor educators. Suggestions for intentional preparation of school counselors to be social justice advocates in schools by integrating the principles of the National Center for Transforming School Counseling with the American School Counselor Association National Model for School Counseling Programs (2005) and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs 2009 Standards are described. Ideas for educating school counselors as effective advocates in the context of specific training experiences throughout counselor training programs are provided.     

Simulated Consulting Experiences in Counselor Preparation

Simulation, using role-playing and commercially available materials, was used to provide counselor-teacher consultation experience for counselor trainees. Students in a master's level guidance program worked with teachers in a consultative situation on a series of problems. Representative situations in which a teacher might consult with a counselor about possible courses of action in solving a problem were presented via simulation. Experienced teachers rated the adequacy of counselor recommendations concerning the problem situation. The trained counselors' recommendations were rated as superior (p < .01 level) to those of untrained counselors. These results support the use of simulation as a technique for counselor education. Implications for counselor education programs are discussed.     

Effects of Feedback on Beginning Counseling Students

This study investigated the effects of feedback on the discrepancy between real and ideal self-concepts of 28 beginning counseling students. Subjects in the experimental group had three sessions with a counselor and received feedback concerning their personal characteristics and how these might relate to a counseling career; the goal of this feedback was to increase counseling students' awareness of their feelings about themselves and to encourage them to look at themselves. An analysis of covariance indicated that the experimental group showed a significantly greater change toward more congruence in perception of self and ideal self than did the control group. Implications for counselor preparation programs are discussed.     

African American Students in Counselor Education Programs: Perceptions of Their Experiences

The authors explored 11 African American doctoral students' perceptions of their experiences in counselor education programs, and their findings are presented. Using a phenomenological methodological framework, the authors investigated the various systems of support that students use as they navigate their respective programs. Human agency was the theoretical framework for this study, and 4 themes emerged from the data: assertiveness, more experienced African American students, race‐based organizations, and personal and professional care from advisors. Implications for students and counselor education programs are discussed.