This study aims at understanding students’ perspectives on a university response to a racial microaggression on campus. Responses were collected in the form of an online survey and analyzed using qualitative data analysis to identify themes from students’ perspectives. Insights on how students processed the incident were gathered. Although students were thankful for the university response, there is lingering concern for another incident and for how leadership will equip students to handle similar situations. The authors provide implications for educators

No description available.

This study was designed to measure the effectiveness of accreditation standards (specifically, CACREP Standards for counselor education programs) on the development of counseling skills. A measure of counseling skill (The Counselor Rating Form-Short Version) was used to measure the counseling skills of counselor trainees from various masters programs. These students were enrolled in a doctoral program in counselor education and were taking their first semester practicum. A T-Test of Independent Means revealed that the student counselors from CACREP accredited masters programs scored significantly higher on the CRF-S than did students from non CACREP accredited programs. These students generally had higher levels of counseling skill as judged by this measure. Given the convenience of the sample and its size, results must be analyzed carefully. These results do, however, seem to suggest the necessity of further study. There are several conclusions that may be reasonably drawn from these results. The emphasis that the CACREP Standards place on the supervised experience may account for the difference in skill levels between the two groups. Prior research and student self-report support this theory. The fact that these requirements are daunting to unaccredited programs suggests a gap in experiential learning between the two groups.

The results of a needs assessment and a review of other career education programs, administered by a federally funded career education project in Region 3, Kentucky, indicated that one of the requirements for developing a successful occupational program was to produce sequential career education curriculum materials for all students in the region, kindergarten through post-secondary. The process by which Region 3’s Project Green River Opportunities for Work (GROW) career education leaders defined the scope and sequence of the materials and determined the materials’ design into a matrix format were described. Also included was a summary of the research, production, and dissemination of the work of a select Matrix Development Committee, which was responsible for meeting the regional curriculum need by producing the comprehensive career education materials. A description of the final product of the career education project, a kit entitled Learning Concepts in Career Development, suggestions for its use, and recommendations for its improvement, were detailed.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of educational tracking on a selected number of high school students in Atlanta, Georgia, in particular, in ABC School System in east Metro Atlanta. This study addressed institutional and individual racism as it interfaced with social mobility in educational tracking. The subjects in this study consisted of 50 high school students who have been tracked. Frequency Analysis in numbers and percentages were employed to analyze the data. A study was done in ABC high school. Results indicated that an overwhelming majority of the responses strongly agreed that tracking effected them negatively, and that they were tracked because of racism. Results also indicated that majority of the respondents strongly agreed that educational tracking effected their academic advancement and income. Attitudes of African American high school students toward high school tracking was used for this.

Since the inception of the school counseling profession, the role of school counselors has evolved in response to the social, political, and economic needs of society (Ergüner-Tekinalp, Leuwerke, & Terzi, 2009). Currently, the role of school counselors is to address the personal, social, academic, and career needs of students through a comprehensive development program (American School Counseling Association, ASCA, 2005). In school settings, counselors who are satisfied with their work are more effective in caring for clients and students (DeMato & Curcio, 2004). In recent years, administrators, including those working in school settings, have been called on to reassess the manner in which they lead, since leadership has an effect on the performance of employees and the functions of the institution (Armstrong, MacDonald, & Stillo, 2010; Luthans, 2002b). The present study assessed school counselors’ perceptions of their administrators’ leadership styles (i.e., positive, transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant) and the relationship between those perceptions and school counselors’ job experience (i.e., job satisfaction, feelings of mattering, and overall wellness). Administrators’ leadership styles were grouped for statistical purposes into two groups: 1) transformational and positive and 2) transactional and passive-avoidant. School counselors’ job experience was assessed through three interrelated variables that included job satisfaction, mattering (i.e., mattering to administrators and mattering to teachers), and overall wellness. In this study, administrators’ positive and transformational leadership styles, transactional and passive-avoidant administrator leadership styles, and school counselors’ job satisfaction, wellness, and mattering were correlated. Additionally, administrator leadership styles had the largest variance in school counselors’ job satisfaction, mattering, and wellness scores.

The purpose of this study was to investigate student preferences for content, timing, and method of informed consent within counselor education programs. Participants included 115 students enrolled in counseling internship courses at six counseling programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Participants completed the Informed Consent Preferences Questionnaire (ICPQ), an instrument designed specifically for this study through systematic instrumentation development. Descriptive statistics highlighted participants' moderate to high ratings of perceived importance for an array of suggested content pieces for student informed consent. Participants varied among themselves and between items in relation to preferred timing of informed consent, and they consistently reported a desire for student informed consent to be facilitated through a combination of both oral and written methods. Results of exploratory factor analysis revealed a simple eight-factor structure within the ICPQ and suggested strong internal reliability. Correlations for participant scale scores for the eight factors revealed a variety of small to medium correlations. Results from t-test and one-way analysis of variances (ANOVA) indicated that participant preferences did not vary according to demographic variables. Finally, participants' qualitative responses revealed high levels of support for student informed consent. Findings of this study may aid counselor educators in evaluating current program informed consent practices. As a result of evaluation, counselor educators can affirm existing, and/or design new informed consent practices that accurately reflect the needs and desires of counseling students. Future researchers may also utilize the results to guide additional studies related to the practice of student informed consent.

Samples from four school year classes of students that participated in the youth Development Program, were interviewed in areas of family background, marital status, career status, educational status and interest in certain communication media. The data from the Interview Questionnaire was then collated. All participants had been classed as drop-outs or potential drop-outs. The school years involved were: 4969 through 1972-73. The results showed that fifty-six percent graduated the year they attended the program; twelve percent returned to regular school. Persisted and graduated; six percent went on to college and twenty-six percent received their graduation certificate or an equivalency (G.E.D.) certificate. A total of 94 percent of the participants graduated or went on to graduate. Also, 10.2 percent of the student’s parents had attended college; the report shows that drastic changes must be made in primary and secondary school curricula. Work-study type program are desperately needed, and, the ability to recognize or identify the potential school leaver at elementary levels is badly needed. Career oriented education is an important need.

Neuroscience is increasingly part of the national dialogue regarding mental health. The field of interpersonal neurobiology may offer a framework for helping mental health professionals identify and apply the most relevant neuroscience principles to counseling. This study explored mental health professionals’ experiences learning IPNB. I conducted semi-structured interviews with participants (n = 6), all of whom were licensed mental health professionals and had completed a year-long study in the application of IPNB through Nurturing the Heart with the Brain in Mind. I analyzed the data, along with a research partner, according to interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) protocol. Four super-ordinate themes emerged from the analysis: (1) learning process as dynamic and engaging, (2) deepening knowledge and understanding of self and others, (3) personal and professional growth, and (4) impact on therapeutic practice. A number of sub-ordinate themes also emerged through the analysis , including experiential learning; learning through group process; influence of the past on the present; increased understanding of the change process; increased compassion, empathy, and acceptance for self and for others; increased confidence; using IPNB to educate clients; using IPNB to conceptualize clients; and using IPNB to select interventions. Finally, I identified three higher-order constructs that appeared embedded within and across themes: learning as ongoing, person of the participant, and person of the instructor. The findings in this study suggest that participants’ learning of IPNB had a significant impact on their personal and professional development, specifically in areas related to characteristics of effective counselors. The findings also suggest that these meaningful changes occurred in a learning environment characterized by emotional engagement, experiential activities, and group process. Limitations to this research, as well as further discussion of the results are included. Implications for future research, clinical practice, and counselor education are also offered.

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the experiences of school counselors who implement yoga into a comprehensive school counseling program. Over the past decade, yoga has gained popularity as a prevention and intervention tool in public school settings. Prior to this study, the role of the school counselor in this process has not been explored. This study investigated the lived experiences of 10 school counselors who integrate yoga into a comprehensive school counseling program. Through data analysis, five significant themes and subsequent subthemes emerged: 1) intentionality (personal experiences with yoga impacts professional intentions, yoga intentionally tied with comprehensive school counseling goal); 2) yoga integration (organic commonalities between school counseling and yoga, methods of yoga delivery, overlap of yoga philosophies and ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors standards); 3) logistics of yoga integration (accessibility of yoga, managing yoga myths and stereotypes, program supports); 4) perception of yoga impact, (overall impact on school, impact on student, examples of students taking yoga “off the mat”); and 5) impact of yoga integration on school counselor (yoga as a self-care strategy, yoga is a meaningful aspect of school counselor role). Findings from this study suggest that yoga is a viable and valuable tool to include in a comprehensive school counseling program. Moreover, as the yoga in schools movement continues to grow, school counselors should be regarded as essential stakeholders in the development, implementation, and evaluation process. Results from this study provide a foundation for future research concerning school counselors and yoga.