This qualitative study explored the experiences of a sample of secondary school counselors who facilitate groups. Specifically, 18 diverse secondary school counselors were interviewed regarding how they conceptualize, perceive, and experience group work. Three research questions guided this study: (a) What are the experiences of secondary school counselors who conduct groups?; (b) What are secondary school counselors’ attitudes and perceptions towards group work?; and (c) What do secondary school counselors perceive as barriers and /or challenges to engaging in group work? Data were collected in three phases: Phase One, an initial focus group informed Phase Two of the study, individual interviews. Phase Three, member-checking, was used to validate themes generated from data analysis. Moustakas’s (1994) transcendental phenomenology guided the data analysis process. Findings revealed four themes associated with participants’ group work experiences: meaningful relationships, staff response, challenges, and encouraging feedback. Practical and research implications for secondary school counselors and counselor educators are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate post-secondary students' perceptions of the role and functions of their high school counselor. One hundred seventy-three students currently attending a community college in a suburban area of a large metropolitan city participated in this study. The participants were asked to complete a survey developed by the researcher. Five research questions (listed below) guided this study. 1) Do post-secondary students perceive that high school counselors are performing the functions outlined by the American School Counselor Association (see Appendix B and C), and are there gender and ethnic differences? 2) How are perceptions of services rated as "very" important by post-secondary students, and are there gender and ethnic differences? 3) How are perceptions of services rated as "often" performed by post-secondary students, and are there gender and ethnic differences? 4) What are post-secondary student's perceptions of the importance with which specific counseling functions are performed as compared to perceptions of frequency? 5) What is the level of unmet need for counseling services perceived as "very" important by post-secondary students? The results indicated that only two percent of high school counselors performed all functions identified on the questionnaire, however the majority of participants indicated counselors performed nearly one-third of the functions. The functions were noted as academic, career, or personal/social domain. The most important function and the most often performed function rated by participants was discussing graduation requirements and the least important as well as the least performed function was identified as assistance with relationship issues. In general, there was not a significant difference between gender and ethnicity. The percentage of participants who indicated a function was "very" important, however was "seldom" or "never" performed was above 50% for most functions. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between demographic and occupational variables, the implementation of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model, and burnout in professional secondary school counselors. Participants in this study were professional secondary school counselors who were members of ASCA (n=494). All participants completed the Secondary School Counselor Demographic, Implementation of the ASCA National Model, and Burnout Survey that was designed to assess counselors’ perceptions and practices related to the level of implementation of the ASCA National Model and the degree of burnout. The instrument combined a researcher-developed questionnaire with the School Counseling Program Implementation Survey (SCPIS) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS). Descriptive statistics, Spearman’s rho correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression models were utilized for data analysis. The results of this study indicated that professional secondary school counselors had high levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, yet also had high levels of personal accomplishment. In addition, results indicated that professional secondary school counselors believed they are making progress in implementing the ASCA National Model; however, the model is not fully implemented. An inverse, significant relationship was discovered between the level of implementation of the ASCA National Model and the degree of burnout.