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Despite much attention given to effective teams in the workplace, school counseling teams have been neglected in the research. The primary purpose of this mixed methods study was to learn what characteristics secondary counselors perceive contribute to an effective school counseling team. The first research phase conducted six team interviews; themes emerging from the interviews yielded the development of the Effective School Counseling Team Questionnaire (ESCTQ). The following research questions were investigated: What factors do counselors perceive contribute to their team's effectiveness?, Are the scores on the Effective School Counseling Team Questionnaire related to team effectiveness as described by school counselors? Is there a relationship between team characteristics (amount of time together, individual counseling experience, gender, age) and team effectiveness? Is there a relationship between the perceptions of members of effective and ineffective teams? The literature on effective team factors was reviewed and analyzed in three categories: internal, interpersonal, and external. Qualitative results indicated that the majority of participants viewed internal traits as the number one factor contributing to their team's success. Most frequent were competencies, respect, sharing duties, caring for each other and serving students. The second area participants listed as most important was interpersonal factors, such as communication, interactions, and planning. Overall, communication was cited as the number one factor needed for an effective team. Conclusions drawn suggested that teams need altruistic, personal qualities to feel most effective. These were summarized by participants as a team member who is caring, giving, and putting the needs of students first. The second key area for school counseling teams was support from external sources, primarily school administration and central office. In phase two, the questionnaire was developed and used to confirm the interview findings. During the second phase, the ESCTQ was administered to 199 secondary school counselors, yielding an 82.4% (n = 164) return rate. The survey when analyzed by teams did not show major significant differences between the teams; it did, however, confirm the qualitative findings of the internal and personal characteristics counselors of effective school teams posses. The survey also allowed team members to rate their current team and their ideal team. The difference between the two ratings (ie. gap score) showed there was a significant mean difference (20.50) between the means of those who perceived their team as highly effective (26.55) and those who perceived their team as least effective (6.05). When looking at the questionnaire this could be interpreted to mean that the team members who felt most effective had the smallest gap score between their current team and their ideal team. When teams' gap scores were compared to their overall team rating "global" scores, as the global score increased for a team their gap score decreased. Meaning an effective team had fewer discrepancies (smaller gap) between their current and ideal team. Clearly, teams that perceive their team as "relatively effective" are rating the team closer to their ideal team than those that see their team as "relatively ineffective". In order to enhance performance of a counseling team, this study was important to assess school counseling team's effectiveness. Two research methods were used to analyze effective teams; this research provides valuable information relating to school counselors and effective teams. / Ph. D.

This study is an investigation into the middle school counseling programs that facilitate the early adolescent need to belong to a group. Particular focus is on the effectiveness of teacher-advisory programs, peer mediation programs, and group counseling programs, and how all three programs work together as components of a comprehensive middle school guidance program. Factors associated with successful implementation of these programs and the role of the middle school counselor in the implementation these three programs were also examined. Five middle schools were studied, using qualitative interviews of principals, counselors, and teachers. A focus group of seven to ten students was conducted at each middle school. Results provide a look at several different ways to combine the three programs in a middle school, along with factors for successful implementation. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to determine the current level of job satisfaction among professional school counselors working in Virginia public middle schools. In addition, satisfaction levels were compared with previous studies on Virginia elementary school counselors. Although job satisfaction has been widely studied in the past, few studies have focused on professional school counselors in particular. Information regarding job satisfaction is important in order to employ and retain committed school counselors and ensure that students are receiving high quality services. Participants included 255 middle school counselors working in Virginia. Using a demographic survey and a modified version of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) (Weiss, Dawis, England, & Lofquist, 1967), the following research questions were investigated: What is the overall job satisfaction level of Virginia middle school counselors? What degree of job satisfaction is expressed by Virginia middle school counselors in regard to each of the 20 dimensions of job satisfaction as measured by the modified MSQ? What is the relationship between selected demographic variables and work setting characteristics with the overall job satisfaction of middle school counselors in Virginia? How does the level of job satisfaction of Virginia middle school counselors compare with the level of job satisfaction for Virginia elementary school counselors in 1990, 1995, and 2001? Does the current political and social climate of the public educational system affect middle school counselors' feelings regarding their jobs and performance? Analysis determined that 92.9% of participants were satisfied with their current jobs, with social service being the area of greatest satisfaction and compensation being the area of least satisfaction. Only 7.1% of participants were dissatisfied. These findings are similar to those found in 1990, 1995, and 2001. Using a regression model, the three demographic variables of gender, licensure, and intent to remain in the position, were found to be significant predictors of overall job satisfaction. Female counselors who held a Postgraduate Professional license and intended to remain in their current position for the next five years were more satisfied than other participants. Qualitative responses indicated that middle school counselors were most affected by the current political climate in regard to standardized testing, while the social climate affected counselors in regard to the difficult challenges faced by students. The greatest impediment to the participants'preferred role was an excess of noncounseling duties, while administrators and principals provided the greatest support. Overall, the results from this study revealed that middle school counselors in Virginia were satisfied with their jobs. / Ph. D.

This study examined and evaluated protocols and training activities for responding to the disruptive behavior of students with psychological problems at institutions in the Massachusetts State College System during the 1997–1998 and 1998–1999 academic years. A review and analysis of the literature and case law provided a basis for evaluating response protocols and training activities. Interviews with policy makers provided a framework for studying the processes used to develop, implement, and evaluate response protocols and training activities. Research questions focused on the number and types of incidents related to the disruptive behavior of students with psychological problems, the types and effectiveness of protocols and training activities, and whether or not the elements of federal law, state statutes, and relevant case law were incorporated in protocols and training activities. This study revealed that the Massachusetts State College System utilized protocols and training activities to respond to the disruptive behavior of students with psychological problems. The types and breadth of protocols and training activities varied by campus and included emergency medical care, hospitalizations, students' return to the residence halls, mandated evaluations, withdrawals, and the use of the student discipline system. This study further revealed that the state colleges reported that the elements of federal and state laws, as well as court opinions, were included in response protocols and training activities. This study found that training activities were offered in varying degrees at the state colleges that participated in the study. Significant training was offered to student resident assistants, but faculty and staff did not participate in training programs to the same extent as students. This study found that communication among individuals involved in developing, approving, implementing, and evaluating protocols was key to successful interventions. From the study, the researcher recommended three topics for further study. They included a study of best practice collaborations between hospitals and colleges, a study of the emerging pattern of high school violence and school responses and training activities, and a study of legal issues surrounding the disruptive behavior of students with psychological problems.

War is a one of the major causes of child mortality and morbidity worldwide. Research evidence suggests that exposure to war trauma increases a child's risk of developing psychological problems, both short and long term. However, studies of resilience have shown that some children have a remarkable ability to survive trauma with little or no damage to their psyche. This dissertation is a study of individuals who have survived childhood war trauma and managed to rise above the odds to function well in major areas of life. The study was designed to explore factors contributing to their ability to remain resilient in the face of adversity. Using in-depth phenomenological interviewing, ten Cambodian child survivors were interviewed. All of the participants were separated from their families in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge took over and suffered extraordinarily difficult ordeals during their internment in the labor camps. Some managed to reunite with their families in 1979 after the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia before fleeing to the refugee camps in Thailand. Others lost all of their family members and came to the US as accompanied minors. Findings emerging from this study reveal that family cohesion, positive childhood memories, supportive recovery environment, stubborn determination to overcome obstacles, and Buddhist values are important factors that work together to produce resiliency. All of the participants were raised by empathic parents and learned to become self-reliant at an early age. The affection and warmth which marked those early years were the most important in sustaining them during difficult times in their lives. The Buddhist values of accepting suffering as their fate allowed them to form greater tolerance of the hardships and enabled them to face adversity with optimism and confidence. As survivors, they are proud and determined to make the most of "the second chance" granted to them. In the resettlement phase, they were able to heal their wounds quickly by letting bygones be bygones and optimistically moving toward the future. The safe and supportive recovery environment combined with an easy access to different resources made it possible for them to quickly put their shattered lives back together.

In a study by a high school guidance counselor in the Burr School District, one factor identified as having a positive correlation with students leaving school before graduation is being over-age for grade as a result of being retained or participating in a pre-one program. This research on over-age middle school students in a rural community in Northwest Rhode Island: (1) identifies the 36% of the student population who are over-age for grade, (2) reports the reasons for not being grade appropriate in terms of being retained or having participated in a transitional program, (3) through school records, identifies which members of this population are not attending school regularly or succeeding academically and behaviorally, and (4) through responses from a questionnaire and interviews, gained insights from students as to their attitudes toward school and their perceptions of the relationship of school to success in later life. The information gained through this research assisted the District's Administrative Council and Middle School staff in identifying, developing, and implementing interventions. An evaluation of student academic and behavioral success indicates that some change is taking place. Additional strategies are being developed to increase the extent to which all students feel cared about and have the desire and ability to succeed.

Motivated by the struggles of couples seeking to create intimate and enduring partnerships, this study develops a structured self-help format for enhancement of couple relationships that can also be used as an adjunct to formal therapy. Couples and their counselors are guided in an exploration of two interwoven areas of concern: the Inner Child--and--the effects of gender conditioning. To provide a theoretical basis for the creation of the practical instrument, a review was conducted of selected works from three major subject areas: the Inner Child, Gender Difference, and Couple Relationships. This research into psychological and self-help literature resulted in the synthesis and elaboration of a concept of the gendered Inner Child. The identification of specific gender with what has usually been a gender-less concept contributes a systemic dimension to the multi-leveled child within. "Systemic" here refers to the inclusion of both intra- and inter-personal psychological dynamics and consideration of the impact of social context and conditioning on problems and their possible solutions. The concept of the Inner Child has already been a highly effective vehicle for individual healing through many different approaches because of its ability to be utilized in the service of all four forces in psychology--psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, existential-humanistic, and transpersonal. With the addition of the systemic dimension, more of individual reality can be meaningfully addressed, and its potential for use with couples can be more fully explored. The Couples Workbook is a practical application of the theoretical construct, to help couples differentiate the gendered Inner Child within themselves as a means of countering the effects of both childhood wounds and sexist conditioning on their intimate relationships. Consisting of sections of text interspersed with questions, exercises, and guided meditations, The Couples Workbook integrates Stone Center Self-in-Relation theory, the work of Riane Eisler and an emphasis on mindfulness to help couples move from "Dominator" to "Partnership" modes of relationship. A questionnaire administered to experienced couples therapists elicited evaluations of the potential usefulness of the Workbook in professional practice. Responses indicated possible wide applicability.

Retention of students in high school continues to be a problem. At-risk students, principally minority high school students, drop out at a staggering rate (1990 national dropout statistics indicate that 13.2 percent of Black students and 32.4 percent of Hispanic students leave high school before graduating). There is a direct, positive correlation between parent involvement and student retention. Students whose parents demonstrate positive influence regularly are more successful academically and participate more often in school and extra-curricular activities. Parents' interest in their children's education can be expressed differently. Few parents realize how important and powerful their influence can be in a school. Some parents have invested so much time and energy in previous years that they assume the high school student is emotionally mature enough to speak for him/herself. Other parents will participate in school-related projects only when or if asked by school representatives. Nearly all parents are willing to respond in a crisis. Lack of parent participation in school governance and affairs has been evident for years. In fact, it is expected by many administrators and teachers. Many articles have been written that support the importance of parent participation in a child's education. This paper will attempt to discuss strategies ten single working parents use to motivate their children to succeed in high school. Parent involvement in the child's academic success may be most needed when parents have low education levels and the children are in high school. Additionally, there are unique problems associated with single working parents; however, there is a positive correlation between single parent involvement and student retention. As a guidance counselor, talking to students it is obvious that parents use many strategies not identified in the literature at home to motivate their children to remain in high school until graduation. This research was designed to elicit, explore, and evaluate strategies used by ten single working parents to keep their children in high school when many of their peers have left high school.