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The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a shift from traditional to comprehensive, developmental counseling programs focusing on prevention programs to assist the "whole" child (e.g., meeting social, emotional, academic, and career needs). This shift has been slow and inconsistent, bringing great variability to the role of school counselor. This study investigates the current functions of school counselors in Northern Virginia. Five research questions are posed: (1) How do counselors spend their time? (2) In what way do counselors want to change their allocation of time to various counseling activities? (3) How do school counselors feel about their preparation to perform various counseling activities? (4) What factors (work setting, gender, level of education, teaching experience, counseling experience, student-to-counselor ratio, desire to change time allocation, and level of preparation) affect how counselors allocate their time? (5) Do differences exist between school counselors' allocation of time to various counseling activities and the mandate of the Virginia Department of Education? Seventy-three Northern Virginia school counselors (45% response rate) responded to a survey on activities in the four major categories recommended by ASCA (counseling, consulting, guidance, and coordination) and in administrative/support services. Participants also were asked to fill-out a one-day log describing their typical counseling functions on any chosen workday. Results indicated that, on an average, Northern Virginia school counselors feel well prepared to conduct counseling activities and allocate 46% of their time to counseling, 17% to consultation, 12% to guidance, 7% to coordination, and 18% to administrative/support services. Counselors desire to spend more time working with students individually and in small groups, and less time in test coordination and administrative tasks. Statistical analyses (p< .05) indicate that allocation of time was significantly affected by work setting, gender, desire to change present time allocation, and level of preparation. These results suggest that Northern Virginia school counselors in this study are performing the functions recommended by the American School Counselor Association and by the Virginia Department of Education. Implications for future research are explored. / Ph. D.

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The present study investigated the directional relationship between practicing school counselors’ level of altruism to their degree of burnout. Specifically, this investigation tested the hypothesized directional relationship that practicing school counselors scoring at higher levels of altruism would have lower levels of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment). In addition, the investigation examined the relationship between the practicing school counselors’ levels altruism and burnout and their reported demographic information (e.g., age, school counseling level, self-reported levels of wellness). A thorough review of the literature is presented with supporting empirical research for each construct (altruism and burnout). A descriptive, correlational research design (Frankel et al., 2012) was employed to investigate the research hypothesis and exploratory questions. The research hypothesis was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). More specifically, multiple regression, path analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis (Ullman, 2007) were conducted. The exploratory research questions were examined using: descriptive statistics, Spearman’s rho correlations, multiple regressions, Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann Whitney U test (Pallant, 2010). The results are reviewed and compared to existing research in the field. Furthermore, limitations of the current study are explained, and recommendations for future research are provided. Finally, implications of the study regarding professional school counseling and counselor education are discussed. The overall sample for this study is 437 practicing school counselors (ASCA members, n = 344; non-ASCA members, n = 93). The results of the study support that school counselors with higher levels of altruism have lower levels of burnout. The findings of this study show two dimensions of altruistic motivation: (1) positive future expectations and (2) self-efficacy v contribute significantly to all dimensions of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment). Additionally, a significant relationship was found between altruism and burnout and self-reported wellness.

Approximately 10–30% of college students meet criteria for test anxiety and are at greater risk for poor academic performance compared to students without test anxiety. Previous research has typically used pre-post group designs to measure test anxiety via self-report questionnaires or global measures with lower sensitivity to detect change (i.e., GPA); these measures and group designs may not adequately assess actual change in behaviors, anxiety symptoms, or academic performance. This study used an ABCA multiple baseline across participants design to assess the effectiveness of an abbreviated intervention package designed to reduce test anxiety. Heart rate, test scores (both in-session and actual course exams), and study behaviors were tracked continuously through follow-up. Participants were college students ( N = 8). Results indicated that for most participants, self reported test anxiety scores and pre-test heart rate decreased, and in-session mean test scores and time spent studying increased, with some retention of these changes at follow-up.

Individuals with emotional or behavioral disorders (E/BD) characteristically have experienced the least favorable outcomes of any group of individuals with disabilities. Learning disabilities frequently co-exist with E/BD and result in problems mastering academic content (Coleman & Vaughn, 2000). As a result of their academic difficulties, many students with E/BD do not finish high school. In fact, research shows that more than 50 percent of students with E/BD drop out (Chesapeake Institute, 1994, Rylance, 1997; U.S. Department of Education, 1998). This dissertation presents a student perspective on how well current practice allows for successful transitions for students with emotional or behavioral disorders from high school programs to post-high school educational and career opportunities. This study obtained the student point of view of program activities that they consider most important to high school completion and post-high school educational and employment opportunities. A phenomenological approach is used to investigate the research question related to program features leading to positive outcomes for students with emotional or behavioral disorders. The major source of data is semi-structured interviews of former students of E/BD programs. Phenomenological, qualitative research methods were used to examine student perceptions of E/BD program effectiveness with a focus on current services and program activities. The study found that those participants who graduated from a program and successfully entered college or the workforce have a strong sense of the intrinsic value of academics, strong pro-social skills and have been exposed to relevant career development programs. The findings identify program features that affect the quality of services and activities as perceived by the former students themselves. The use of an individual-interview process that focuses on the perceptions of students assumes that in order to be effective, interventions must respond to the perceived needs of the students. Programs that fail to foster such satisfaction may be inadequate, given the field's expressed ambition that students have access to an appropriate program tailored to their unique needs. The results have both practice and policy implications for program design that will result in improved outcomes for students with emotional or behavioral disorders.

This study traces the judicial history and educational impact of Honig v. Doe, the Supreme Court decision concerning the suspension of special needs students. In addition, the related Massachusetts Discipline Policy for Students with Special Needs is reviewed, analyzed and compared to Honig. This study also reviewed alternatives to suspension and related court cases. An integral part of the dissertation is a five-page questionnaire distributed to 150 Massachusetts Special Education Administrators and 150 Massachusetts Junior and Senior High School Principals. The overall response rate was 63.7%. The questionnaire queries the policy, the administrators' knowledge of, and attitudes towards the policy, experience with the implementation of the policy, and the alternative discipline methods being used in Massachusetts. An analysis of these responses indicates that more than three-quarters of the administrators who replied correctly answered questions testing their basic knowledge and understanding of the policy and how it was being implemented in their respective schools or school districts. The survey shows a high degree of compliance with the policy's requirements of keeping records of special needs student suspensions and convening Team meetings whenever special needs students' suspensions are expected to total ten days. Furthermore, 89.5% of administrators indicated they have never used the courts to exclude special needs students from school. Alternatives to suspension were also reported with after school detention and in-school suspension being the most common for both regular and special education. More than half of the administrators believed that the policy, which limited the school's authority to suspend special education students, had a negative effect on discipline for special education students. Recommendations are made to help administrators better understand and implement the policy. Areas in need of further research are indicated, including the availability of administrators' access to and utilization of the school attorney and the extent to which the stay-put provision of P.L. 94-142 has prevented administrators from suspending special needs students.

Our ever-changing society has placed new challenges on our schools to educate a new generation of students. This generation comes to the schoolhouse doors with the same hunger and need to learn, with differences in culture, spoken language, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The challenge is not the ability of the students to learn, but the inability of the schools to teach them. Due, in part, to dwindling economic support, there is an increased interest in collaborations between schools and institutions of higher education. Such collaboration can be useful in addressing some of the additional support and academic needs of these students. Since my arrival three years ago at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, I have been working with the Lawrence High School Guidance Office to develop a supplemental educational project known as the College Prep Program. The project is conducted at the University, and it provides academic, social, and cultural opportunities to Lawrence High students during a summer program as well as on Saturdays during the school year. The program has been designed so that students and teachers have a voice in the decisions made about the program. In addition, the program theory of action draws from current research on learning and teaching. The focus of the project is to inspire students to pursue higher education. The subject of this proposal is to examine this program design and how this approach has affected the students who have graduated from Lawrence High School and the College Prep Program over the last three years. The study proposes to measure this phenomenon by documenting three case studies, using one student from each graduating class (1990, 1991, and 1992). In addition, the study administered a questionnaire to a group of 25 individuals drawn from the same pool of students. The intention of the questionnaire was to enrich the discussion of the case studies with the additional information obtained from these questionnaires. This method ensured the availability of both qualitative and quantitative information to verify the impact of the program on the lives of the students.

The purpose of this study was to understand how the interaction between maltreatment and attachment patterns in childhood affects moral reasoning about violence and conflict in adulthood. The ways in which attachment patterns are internalized under conditions of stress and adversity, and the ways in which these attachment patterns influence and shape moral thought and action were investigated. Ten young mothers were given the Attachment and Abuse Interview and the Moral Reasoning about Violence Interview. These interviews were supplemented with questionnaires about childhood abuse and current child abuse potential. Using an attachment coding scheme designed for this study, the cases were organized according to the primary attachment category: anxious, avoidant, fearful/mixed anxious and avoidant, fearful/anxious, and fearful/avoidant. In each case study, attachment strategies and dilemmas were related to moral dilemmas and moral orientation. The moral orientations of care and justice were significantly related to attachment styles. Neither moral orientation nor attachment style appeared related to current potential for child abuse. The major themes discussed in the Attachment and Abuse Interview centered around identification with the attachment figures as victim and/or aggressor, the lack of maternal protection from abuse, and a preoccupation with maternal rejection. Themes from the Moral Reasoning About Violence interview translated these attachment dilemmas into the moral domain. The women articulated how their identification with the victim motivated moral concern, how their identification with the aggressor either compelled them to repeat abusive behavior despite their wish not to do so, or, in several cases, how an identification with the aggressor was turned to moral good through learning a responsible use of power. The ways in which severe abuse can paralyze moral thought and action, and the role of maternal practice in breaking through this paralysis and aiding in the development of the self as moral agent were explored.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of ABC on adaptive functioning in high school males. Specifically, a pretest/posttest, experimental design (N = 46; Caucasian = 26, Hispanic = 20) was used to examine the changes in adaptive and maladaptive functioning in ABC participants (n = 21) compared to those in a control/waitlist group (n = 25) as measured by the Behavior Assessment System for Children, second edition (BASC-2). Participants randomly assigned to the treatment group engaged in 10 ABC sessions. In order to better understand group process in ABC, I had experimental group participants complete the Group Climate Question Short form (GCQ-S) three times during the intervention. A mixed between/within subjects ANOVA of the BASC-2 scores revealed a statistically significant increase in adaptive functioning for both groups, F(1, 33) = 8.58, p < .01, with a partial eta squared of .21 indicating a large effect. There was no statistically significant difference between the experimental and control/waitlist groups, F(1, 33) = .064, p = .80, and a very small effect size (partial eta squared < .01). A repeated measures ANOVA of the GCQ-S scores revealed a statistically significant increase in engagement, F(2, 38) = 4.067, p = .025, with an eta squared of .21, indicating a large effect. Limitations of the study, implications of the results for practice, and recommendations for future research are presented.