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This study examined the perceptions of elementary school counselors regarding their experience in using solution-focused brief counseling for meeting the demanding responsibilities of their job and the particular needs of the students they serve. Specifically, the four research questions addressed the school counselors' perceptions regarding: (1) use and importance of particular solution-focused techniques; (2) effectiveness of solution-focused strategies in addressing specific student issues; (3) training in solution-focused brief counseling; and (4) use of this approach in settings other than the counseling office. The data for this study were collected from elementary school counselors in Virginia who had previously received training in solution-focused brief counseling. This training was provided by their school systems as inservice and was conducted by the same workshop leader in all instances. The school counselors were sent a questionnaire that was developed by the researcher. The survey contained a selection of Likert-style scale questions, yes/no items, rank-order items, and open-ended questions. The final section contained questions designed to obtain demographic information about the respondent and the school and students they served. The researcher conducted a follow-up interview with several school counselors to supplement the survey data. The data analysis was descriptive and relational in nature. The findings of the study indicate that elementary school counselors who have received training in solution-focused brief counseling philosophies and techniques find it important and useful for working with children. The majority of the school counselors indicated that they use all of the solution-focused techniques listed in the survey to at least some degree. Their responses to the survey indicated the perception that this approach is effective with various student issues. The school counselors reported the perception that they have some proficiency with solution focused brief counseling and that they have interest in pursuing more training. The school counselors also indicated that they were able to use solution-focused brief counseling philosophies in school settings other than the counseling office. In summary, school counselors appear to have a relatively positive perception of solution-focused brief counseling as an approach for working with elementary age school students. Recommendations for practice and future research are presented. / Ph. D.

<p> This mixed method study investigated what providers who work with school-age children identify as the continued needs among children of Minnesota National Guard service members who are currently or have been deployed since 9/11. Key informants with National Guard (n=8) and educational affiliations (n=8) participated in semi-structured interviews that helped inform survey content for school social workers (n=105) that completed online surveys. Results from this study demonstrate that needs among children of deployed service members are being addressed on many fronts. Yet in light of the transitions the families of these youth experience, they remain vulnerable and in need of school based support that makes use of relationship support at school and promotes their resilience. Results from this study also reveal that developing further supports&mdash;particularly through clinical, tertiary-level interventions&mdash;within school settings is an ongoing challenge to which school social workers are encouraged to respond. Future research would benefit from a study of clinical school social work interventions for children of deployed service members that are age-appropriate, multi-theoretical in nature, and address mental health needs within school settings.</p>

This dissertation presents findings from a study investigating of the effects of a middle-school intervention, using the "Skill-Builders" curriculum, on participating students' attitudes, self-efficacy, achievement, self-regulated learning, and classroom learning behaviors in mathematics. The main research questions were 1) will a nine week school-counselor-led intervention using the "Skill-Builders" curriculum have a significant effect on the outcome variables of interest, and 2) will the effects be different for females than for males. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to test for differences between conditions and between sexes on all outcome measures. Results from the study demonstrated statistically significant post-intervention differences between students in the experimental and control conditions on their attitudes toward math learning, self-efficacy, achievement, and self-regulated learning behaviors, and the gains made by students in the experimental condition were maintained at follow-up. Students in the control condition showed no changes or declined on measures of attitudes, achievement, self-efficacy, and self-regulated learning behaviors at post-test and follow-up. Results also indicated a significant interaction for sex and condition, which suggests that the intervention had different effects for the participating females than the males. Implications of the findings, within the theoretical framework of the study and within the context of school counseling outcome research, are discussed.

Students pursuing a master’s degree in CACREP-accredited school counseling programs are required to complete supervised field experiences as a part of their course requirements. During their practicum and internships experiences, they receive university supervision by a faculty member or doctoral student supervisor, as well as site supervision at the placement site, typically from a school counselor. University supervisors may lack experience in school counseling and knowledge of the unique roles and supervision needs of school counselors. In addition, site supervisors may lack training or knowledge of clinical supervision. Furthermore, the multiple systems in which SCITs function may have differing goals and expectations for supervisees. The various factors influencing supervision may result in confusion and frustration for SCITs. The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study was to understand the supervision experiences of SCITs enrolled in CACREP-accredited counselor education programs in Southern Louisiana universities who recently completed internship. Specifically, I sought to understand SCITs experiences with regard to university individual and group supervision, site supervision, and what influence, if any, the ASCA National Model had on their supervision experiences. After receiving IRB approval, participants were invited to participate via an email solicitation. The eight participants chosen were master’s students from CACREP-accredited counselor education programs who recently completed internship. Data were collected through individual, face-to-face, audio-recorded interviews utilizing a semi-structured interview protocol. After the interviews were transcribed, the data were analyzed using IPA data analysis procedures. The final analysis resulted in four super-ordinate themes. The findings describe the meaning of the lived experiences of SCITs with supervision. According to the results, supervision experiences, whether being reported as positive or negative, could be attributed to: impact of counselor education program, aspects related to supervisors, significance of feedback, and influence of self. The results could help inform the design of counselor education programs to more adequately prepare SCITs for school counseling as it is today. Furthermore, the results could help improve site supervision practices.

The purpose of the current outcome study was to determine the effects of the Ready for Success (RFS) classroom guidance program (Brigman & Webb, 2012) on the social-emotional skills and competence, reading proficiency, and promotion between third-grade students who received the RFS intervention (treatment group; n = 104), and third-grade students who did not receive the intervention (comparison group; n=91). Following training in the manualized RFS curriculum, certified school counselors in the treatment group implemented five, weekly, 30-minute lessons followed by three monthly booster lessons. This study followed a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent group design. The study employed a teacher report measure of social-emotional skills and competence (i.e., Devereux Student Strengths Assessment) and a standardized formative assessment of reading proficiency (i.e., Reading Running Record). Furthermore, retention data was provided by the participating school district’s data source. Statistical significance between the groups was measured by a series of MANCOVA analyses and a Pearson’s chi-square analysis. A partial eta-squared ηp2 effect size was reported for each dependent variable. The data supported the RFS classroom guidance program as an effective Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) intervention for promoting student social-emotional skill development (i.e. selfawareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making) and overall social-emotional competence (SEC). This study provided support for the use of school counselor-led SEL classroom programs to promote the social-emotional development of students in the school setting. Furthermore, the study further supports the value of school counseling interventions for students in the domain of social-emotional development. Finally, the findings of this study provided empirical support for the RFS classroom guidance program as an effective SEL intervention. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection