| Abstract: | The relationship between preparation and career commitment is explored by studying the degree to which counseling personnel actively involve themselves as school counselors after training. If counselor education programs are truly concerned with preparing professionals for a career, then long-term involvement is an important criterion reflecting the success of counselors and their prior preparation. Results from a study tracing 406 graduates from 20 NDEA institutes six years after training showed that only 45 percent immediately entered and remained in counseling for six years. The existence of a teacher-counselor-administrator promotion ladder is presented as being a major source of loss from the ranks of school counseling. A related finding showed non-entry to counseling to be caused by a return to classroom teaching after counseling preparation. |
