Thesis, PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Colorado State College, Division of Education, 1968. / Also microfilm of typescript. Ann Arbor : University Microfilms International, 1968. Order no. 68-14733. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-72).

There was limited information regarding the number of disability related impairments, length of case management, number of counselors who served an individual consumer, and counselor qualifications (including level of education, Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, the length of employment in years, and assignment as a general/specialty caseload) and their impact on vocational rehabilitation outcomes. The purpose of this research was to investigate selected factors (described above) that might be associated with state-federal vocational rehabilitation outcomes. On this basis, there were four research questions developed.The study sample was 171 vocational rehabilitation counselors with Arizona Rehabilitation Services Administration and 215 most significant/significant disabled consumers. These 215 disabled consumers were either closed successful or unsuccessful from March 1, 2002 through February 28, 2003. The dependent variable was the vocational rehabilitation closure. There were two levels (1) successful employment closure in Status 26 and (2) unsuccessful closure, after an Individual Plan for Employment was implemented but not completed, in Status 28. Seven predictor variables were tested at an alpha level of .05. Each predictor variable was non-significant with an analysis of variance (ANOVA). Future research may help identify additional consumer and counselor factors that have an impact on vocational rehabilitation outcomes.

This dissertation investigated rates of detected and undetected substance abuse among vocational rehabilitation applicants. The Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI) was administered to adults who applied to one Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) office during a consecutive four-month period. Subjects supplied demographic data and information regarding their disabilities. RSA disability codes, DSM III-R codes assigned by psychologists, and reasons for case closures were provided by counselors. Results of the study indicated a 41% rate of substance abuse among the 134 applicant-subjects. Within this sample 31% of the subjects evidenced some indication substance abuse in combination with another disability, while 10% had only indications of alcoholism or drug abuse. Seventeen percent of the sample self-disclosed problems with alcohol or drugs. Among the 41 applicants determined eligible to receive vocational rehabilitation services, a 27% rate of undetected substance abuse was found. For purposes of this study undetected substance abuse was defined by a self-disclosure, SASSI profile, or DSM III-R code indicative of substance abuse that was not reflected in the subject's assigned RSA disability code(s).

No description available.

The number of international students in the U.S. is increasing, and a similar trend exists in the counselor education field. International students are defined as neither permanent residents nor U.S. citizens. It is therefore important for counselor educators to understand this population better in order to provide culturally appropriate career development training for them, as well as gain knowledge about their career decision-making process. While several studies have investigated international students’ experiences with language barriers or cultural adjustment concerns, little research explores their lived experiences regarding the choice to stay or return to their home countries after completing their doctoral training. Given the limitations of previous studies on international students’ career development, this study focused on the career decision-making experiences of a particular subgroup of international students, namely, South Korean women in counselor education programs. The overarching research question guiding this study is: How do Korean female doctoral students and counselor educators who trained in CACREP-accredited programs experience/experienced their career decision-making processes upon graduation? The sub-questions of this study are: 1) How do they decide to pursue a particular job, either in their home country or in the U.S.? 2) What values impacted their career decisions? The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate the lived experiences of Korean female counselor educators who have decided on the location of their career upon graduation and explore how they made their decisions. Utilizing the phenomenological research method, this study aims to identify themes and patterns, as well as unique lived experiences in the career stories of Korean women counselor educators. Findings from this study illustrated the unique career-decision-making experiences of Korean female counselor educators. By exploring their experiences, the researcher found common values influenced their career decisions were: family, academic freedom, belongingness, desire to make a scholarly contribution, and self-awareness. Participants also struggled from challenges like fear, hesitation, and exhaustion; limited resources; visa issues; language barrier and cultural differences; lack of publications; and competitive job market. Lastly, Korean female counselor educators utilized support systems such as Korean community, family, and their doctoral programs. The findings provide insight into Korean female doctoral students’ career decision-making processes and contribute to U.S. university faculty and administrators' cultural awareness and understanding of the international student population in counselor education programs.

The importance of ethics in helping professions and ethics education in counselor preparation programs have been stressed and discussed greatly. In order to foster helping professionals' ethical behaviors to ensure clients' rights and welfare, professional organizations have developed codes of ethics to serve as guidelines for helping professionals in ethical decision making; accreditation bodies for counselor education programs also have included standards of including ethics into curriculum. Studies regarding ethics-related issues and ethics education have been broadly explored and discussed within the counseling profession. Research regarding ethics education has emphasized the goals of ethics education, teaching in an ethical manner, using ethical instructional materials, and other general elements in ethics education, and was mainly focused on the perspectives of counselor educators. However, there has been a lack of studies to examine the outcome and influence ethics education has had on students' ability and practice. The purposes of the present study are to: (a) discover the current status of ethics education in master's rehabilitation counseling programs across the United States; (b) identify the general profiles of ethical orientations among a sample of master's students in rehabilitation counseling programs; (c) determine whether ethics education would impact future counselors' ethical reasoning and decision-making skills in terms of ethical orientation; and (d) explore rehabilitation counseling master's students' satisfaction towards ethics education and training received in the programs and their self-perceived confidence and competence level in making ethical decisions. The study surveyed a total of 47 master's students in rehabilitation counseling programs. The results showed that a majority of programs offered ethics education in a combination method of a separate course and infused ethics-related topics throughout the curriculum, and 48 and 60 credit hours were the commonly adopted graduation requirements. ACA Codes of Ethics and Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors by Commissions on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) were the commonly used materials in ethics education. Dual relationships on non-sexual nature, confidentiality, informed consent, duty to warn, and scope of practice were the five topics that were indicated to be important concepts to be covered in ethics education. In addition, lecture and whole class discussion were the common adopted methods in teaching ethics, while students' preparation was usually evaluated by examinations, assigned case studies, and term papers. Examination was not perceived as the most helpful evaluation method by master's students. On the other hand, practicum supervision and case studies were perceived to be more helpful in evaluating students' competence to practice ethically. The ethical reasoning level of all participants as a whole exhibited a primary emphasis on individuals' needs, while societal regulations, norms, and laws are recognized but are considered as secondary concerns in ethical decision making. The results of data analyses also showed that students who received varied formats of ethics education and in different demographic information groups did not demonstrate significant differences on the degree of their moral development and sophistication of ethical reasoning. Moreover, on a 6-point Likert scale, participants reported to have a mean of 4.48 on their satisfaction about their current ethics education and have an overall mean of 4.39 on the confidence level and an overall mean of 4.53 on self-reported competence level in approaching and handling an ethical situation.

Vocational guidance and career counseling is the primary service provided to all applicants applying for vocational rehabilitation services. Vocational rehabilitation (VR) counselors specialize in helping people with a disability acquire employment. Yet, when the person has a disability and a criminal record this adds an additional element for consideration. The object of this research is Louisiana vocational rehabilitation counselors in the Baton Rouge Regional Office (BRRO) and their vocational guidance and career counseling skills of people with a disability and a criminal record. For vocational rehabilitation counselors are required to apply theoretically-based career counseling practices in the provision of vocational guidance and career counseling. The expected outcome is the agreement of an employment goal between both the person with a disability and a criminal record and the VR counselor. The purpose of this qualitative research study is to explore the perceptions and actual experiences of vocational rehabilitation counselors in their usage of career theories when providing vocational guidance and career counseling to with people with a disability and a criminal record. Given the scarce amount of research on career counseling of people with a disability and a criminal record, anecdotal information from BRRO vocational rehabilitation counselors, and the researcher's experience working as a VR counselor, the researcher used the heuristic qualitative design to explore these perceptions and actual experiences. The nature of heuristics incorporates the researcher's work experience as a vocational rehabilitation counselor. Therefore, through review of literature and face to face interviews, the efficacy of the career theories is explored along with successes and challenges faced by Louisiana rehabilitation counselors in helping clients select an appropriate employment goal. From the individual case studies, the themes of expectations, autonomy, counselor development, and fidelity to theories emerged from the data analysis. Eventually, the core category of incongruence in theory and practice emerged from the themes. The final chapter provides a discussion of the findings through the heuristic lens of the researcher. Additionally, implications for VR counselors, educators, and supervisors, future recommendations for research, and closing summary are provided.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2003.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.