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The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of British Columbia elementary school counsellors, in terms of the following primary research questions: (a) What counsellor competencies were included as part of each elementary counsellor's specialized educational or graduate program, (b) how effective was the educational content and experience in these competency areas, (c) how important is the educational content and experience in these competency areas with respect to their current role as elementary school counsellors, (d) what counsellor competencies are perceived as strengths and weaknesses of elementary counsellor education programs, and (e) what areas should be included in elementary graduate training programs to make them more effective? A list of B.C. elementary school counsellors was developed and 219 elementary school counsellors (67%) completed and returned the questionnaire. Respondents indicated that preparation related to the context of the elementary school was of primary importance to them. Theories were highly emphasized and well taught by counsellor education programs, but were viewed as less important than specific counselling skills and interventions. Implications of this study are discussed with respect to (a) contributing to existing literature in elementary counsellor role description, (b) assisting practicing elementary counsellors by outlining their challenges, recommendations and concerns, and (c) contributing to the development and relevance of elementary counsellor education programs.

A discrepancy between the number of predoctoral internship applicants and Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers' internship positions has recently been noted (Gloria & Robinson, 1994; Murray, 1996). Applicants now outnumber positions available. This imbalance has caused researchers (e.g., Lopez, Moberly, & Oehlert, 1995) to focus on criteria affecting selection decisions. Researchers, who have relied strictly on non-experimental methodology, have ascertained that important and consistent criteria for intern selectors are breadth and types of clinical experiences, performance during interviews, and letters of recommendation.A criteria that was not specifically addressed in earlier surveys of intern selectors was doctoral program type (i.e. clinical, counseling, and school psychology). Interestingly, doctoral program type had been hypothesized by Gayer and Gridley (1995) to have a significant impact on intern selection decisions, such that a preference pattern would emerge with clinical applicants preferred over counseling applicants, and counseling applicants preferred over school applicants. This pattern was hypothesized to occur even if application materials from the three doctoral program types were identical. The present study, in the form of an experimental survey utilizing analogue techniques, was developed to test the aforementioned hypothesis. Results confirmed that doctoral program type has a statistically significant, moderate influence on intern screening/selection and that the hypothesized preference patterns pervasively exist across a variety of selector (e.g., gender and doctoral program type attended) and setting (e.g., geographic location, site type, population density in the site's locale, and socioeconomic status of a site's clientele) variables. Implications of this preference pattern and recommendations for applicants, trainers, and selectors are discussed. / Department of Educational Psychology

Substance abuse is a prevalent occurrence among adolescents. A review of the literature revealed that adolescent substance abuse has a strong connection to their academic performance. School counselors address adolescents' academic and personal/social needs by providing services through prevention education, responsive services, and collaboration with community members. Yet, there is a dearth of literature as to whether pre-service school counselors are prepared to deal with substance abuse issues. The purpose of this study was to evaluate pre-service substance abuse training provided in CACREP accredited school counseling programs. The instrument utilized was entitled School Counselor Pre-Service Preparation in Grief/Loss and Substance Abuse Counseling. The survey included three questions concerning substance abuse training for pre-service school counselors and three questions concerning Grief/Loss training. The substance abuse questions and data were utilized for this particular study. The surveys were mailed to a total of 150 CACREP accredited school counseling programs, and 79 programs responded to the survey, resulting in a response rate of 53 percent. The results revealed that the majority of CACREP accredited programs in this study offered substance abuse training through either required or elective coursework. Limitations of the study, implications for CACREP accredited programs, and recommendations for future research are also discussed. / Graduation date: 2004

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of British Columbia elementary school counsellors, in terms of the following primary research questions: (a) What counsellor competencies were included as part of each elementary counsellor's specialized educational or graduate program, (b) how effective was the educational content and experience in these competency areas, (c) how important is the educational content and experience in these competency areas with respect to their current role as elementary school counsellors, (d) what counsellor competencies are perceived as strengths and weaknesses of elementary counsellor education programs, and (e) what areas should be included in elementary graduate training programs to make them more effective? A list of B.C. elementary school counsellors was developed and 219 elementary school counsellors (67%) completed and returned the questionnaire. Respondents indicated that preparation related to the context of the elementary school was of primary importance to them. Theories were highly emphasized and well taught by counsellor education programs, but were viewed as less important than specific counselling skills and interventions. Implications of this study are discussed with respect to (a) contributing to existing literature in elementary counsellor role description, (b) assisting practicing elementary counsellors by outlining their challenges, recommendations and concerns, and (c) contributing to the development and relevance of elementary counsellor education programs. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

According to the ASCA National Model, school counselors are expected to deliver classroom guidance lessons; yet, there has been little emphasis on graduate coursework targeting the development and implementation of guidance curriculum lessons in PSC training. A national study conducted by Perusse, Goodnough and Noel (2001) was conducted looking at how counselor educators were training “entry level school counseling students” in the skills needed for them to be successful as PSCs. They found that of the 189 school counseling programs surveyed only 3% offered a guidance curriculum course and 13.2% offered a foundations in education course. Inferring that many of programs surveyed did not have a course specific to classroom guidance and/or classroom management. A classroom guidance curriculum is a developmental, systematic method by which students receive structured lessons that address academic, career, and personal/social competencies (ASCA, 2005). Classroom guidance lessons provide a forum for school counselors to address such student needs as educational resources, postsecondary opportunities, school transitions, bullying, violence prevention, social-emotional development, and academic competence in a classroom environment (Akos & Levitt, 2002; Akos, Cockman & Strickland, 2007; Gerler & Anderson, 1986). Through classroom guidance, school counselors can interact with many of the students that they would normally not see on a day-to-day basis while providing information, building awareness and having discussions on topics that affect these student populations every day. The present study seeks to explore the use of an innovative method for training PSCs in classroom guidance and classroom management. This method iv involves the use of a mixed reality simulation that allows PSC students to learn and practice classroom guidance skills in a simulated environment.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a compassion-based meditation, known as loving-kindness meditation (LKM), as an intervention to positively affect empathy, perceived social support, and problem-solving appraisal in student counselors. This quasiexperimental study included 103 master’s level counseling students enrolled in a large Southeastern university. The treatment consisted of six one-hour psychoeducational groups with a LKM component. The LKM intervention was compared with a control group on the constructs of (a) multidimensional empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index [IRI]; Davis, 1980), (b) perceived social support (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support [MSPSS]; Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & Farley, 1988), and (c) problem-solving appraisal (Problem Solving Inventory [PSI]; Heppner, 1988). Participants who received the LKM intervention experienced gains in the cognitive empathy subscales of Perspective Taking (treatment group effect size = .213; control group effect size = .006) and Fantasy (treatment group effect size = .173; control group effect size = .032) and in the affective empathy subscale of Emotional Concern (treatment group effect size = .115, control group effect size = .028). The treatment group also demonstrated a decrease in the affective empathy subscale of Personal Distress (treatment group effect size = .088, control group effect size = .080). The control group did not experience changes in Perspective Taking, Fantasy, Emotional Concern, or Personal Distress. Furthermore, there was no change in either the treatment or control group in perceived social support or problem-solving appraisal from pretest to posttest. In addition, this study examined the relationship between quantity of meditation time and the dependent variables of multidimensional empathy, perceived social iv support, and problem-solving appraisal. Participants who received the LKM intervention demonstrated a moderate positive correlation (Cohen, 1992) between quantity of meditation and Perspective Taking (Spearman’s rank order correlation rs = .29). Implications for counselor education and directions for future research are discussed.

The student ambassador program is designed as a solution for meeting the needs and demands of a changing population of incoming and current students.

According to higher education preparation standards, students who complete master’s preparation programs in student affairs should not only be acquiring skills and knowledge, they should be socialized into the field of student affairs Master’s level preparation programs in college student personnel or higher education leadership are often coupled with a graduate assistantship so that students are able to obtain valuable theory-to-practice experience This additional experience becomes complementary to the work the graduate student is doing in the classroom and thus becomes a practical learning opportunity After completing a preparation program, a former master’s student will most likely move into an entry-level position in student affairs, such as residence hall director, student activities coordinator, judicial affairs coordinator, or a fraternity/sorority coordinator However, despite this common career pathway, there has been limited research regarding the role a student affairs graduate assistantship plays in assisting students in their socialization and transition into the field and how this prepares these new student affairs professionals for their first position post-master’s degree Thirteen new professionals in student affairs who graduated from two preparation programs in the southeastern region of the United States participated in this basic interpretive qualitative study The purpose of this basic interpretive qualitative study was to examine and describe the experience of new student affairs professionals who held a graduate assistantship in student affairs during their graduate preparation program and the role, if any, the graduate assistantship played in their perceptions of preparedness Based on the findings of this study, the graduate assistantship in student affairs indeed plays a role in the perceptions of preparedness of these new professionals The overarching themes that emerged using Schlossberg’s (1984) transition theory as the analytical lens were mentorship, hands-on experience, peer interactions, and financial enticement The findings from this study align with and expand upon the existing student affairs literature, and provide awareness to student affairs practitioners and higher education leadership faculty on how to best support new professionals as they transition into the field of student affairs / Includes bibliography / Dissertation (PhD)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This study examines the relationship between adolescent depressive symptomology and substance abuse. From a literature study six hypotheses were developed. A quantitative empirical study, undertaken in a South African high school, investigated the level of adolescent depressiVe symptomology and substance abuse, as well as the relationship between the two. The influence of various moderator variables was also examined. In line with most international studies, the relationship between adolescent depressive symptomotogy and substance abuse was found to be significant. This research has shown that adolescent depressive symptomology is significantly and positively correlated with earlier age at onset of substance abuse as well as frequency of usage. There appear to be gender differences in the way adolescents deal with their depression in terms of substance abuse. In addition, risk factors for depression and substance abuse were confirmed. Recommendations have been made based on these results / Educational Studies / M.Ed.