Community-based college guidance for the disadvantaged

New techniques of counseling and guidance must be developed in order to increase substantially the number of disadvantaged students going to college. One major effort should be an organized community guidance program whose essential elements are: (a) professional school and college counselors operating outside the school; (b) key community persons acting as links between potential college students and professional counselors; and (c) ongoing programs providing literature, speakers, and special services geared to motivate and help disadvantaged students to enroll in and be successful at college.     

College Freshmen View Counselor Help in College Selection

Little attention has been paid to the role performance of counselors in the college decision process. This study surveyed 270 college freshmen at a northeastern university in an attempt to explore the activities of their high school counselors in college admissions. The students came from 233 institutions of secondary education. Among the findings were: (1) the high school counselor has increased in importance and in potential influence in the college-choice process; (2) the helping activities of counselors were for the most part active and direct; (3) the expectations of the students for the counselor were for active involvement by the counselor; and (4) in some cases, the counselor played a restricting role in the process of college selection.     

Career and Career-Related Educational Concerns of College Students With Disabilities

This article providas career counselors with an overview of career-related issues relevant to students with disabilities in postsecondary educational settings. Topics addressed include the impact of disability on career development, the impact of disability on postsecondary educational participation, and access and accommodation issues. The authors argue for an expanded role for career counselors who work with college students with disabilities. It is concluded that career counselors can play an important role in facilitating college students with disabilities in their adaptation to the college environment, their acquisition of appropriate accommodations, and their transition to employment.     

The Impact of More Fully Implemented Guidance Programs on the School Experiences of High School Students: A Statewide Evaluation Study

Relationships between the statewide implementation of comprehensive guidance programs and the school experiences of high school students were explored. Data from 22,964 students attending 236 Missouri high schools were analyzed by using hierarchical linear modeling. Schools with more fully implemented model guidance programs had students who were more likely to report that (a) they had earned higher grades, (b) their education was better preparing them for their future, (c) their school made more career and college information available to them, and (d) their school had a more positive climate. Positive program effects were found after removing differences due to school enrollment size, socioeconomic status, and percentage of minority students in attendance. Results highlight the important roles school counselors play in promoting the central educational goals of their schools and support a comprehensive guidance program focus for university counseling faculty who train school counselors.     

Parental representations and attachment style as predictors of support‐seeking behaviors and perceptions of support in an academic counseling relationship

The role of parental representations and attachment style as predictors of support‐seeking behaviors and perceptions of support in the context of an academic counseling relationship was investigated. Prior to participation in a 10‐hour academic counseling program in college, 91 students completed scales assessing perceptions of their current relationship with their parents and their attachment style. Students' support‐seeking behaviors and counselors' sensitivity, as reported by both participants (students and counselors), were evaluated twice during the counseling process, and general feelings of support were evaluated at the end of the program. Parental representations and attachment style both predicted students' support‐seeking behaviors and perceptions of support in counseling. The strength of the prediction differed as a function of time of measurement and source of evaluation. In addition, student‐perceived counselor sensitivity was found to mediate the relation between parental representations and support‐seeking behaviors in counseling     

Manifest needs of prospective counselors: a comparative study

Mean performances of 81 prospective counselors on each of the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS; Edwards, 1959) needs were analyzed and statistically compared with performances of elementary school counselors, other school counselors, urban college students, professional women, Roman Catholic sisters, and the 1959 EPPS norm samples. Performances of the men and women in the prospective counselor group were similar. Men had a significantly higher need for achievement and dominance, but the significance did not reach .01. Two EPPS needs, intraception and nurturance, consistently differentiated the prospective counselor group. Comparisons across samples indicated that prospective counselors were most similar to the two counseling samples and, for the female subgroup of prospective counselors, to the sample of professional women. Largest across-sample differences were found between the female prospective counselors and the Roman Catholic sisters, between the female prospective counselors and norm samples of female college students and female adults, and between the male prospective counselors and the male adult norm sample.     

Using narratives to explore other-directed occupational choice and academic success

The construct of “other-directed versus self-directed career choice” has existed for quite some time. The current focus of vocational psychologists and counselors has made them question the relevance of this construct for contemporary American society. Many counselors today challenge the assumption that a career choice based on others’ expectations is problematic. This longitudinal study utilized a logistic regression analysis to determine whether self-directed or other-directed status, as measured by the Thematic Apperception Test related to success with which individuals enacted career choices. The sample consisted of 433 BS/MD students enrolled in a Bachelor of Science-Doctor of Medicine (BS/MD) degree program at a Midwestern medical college. The findings showed that self-directed or other-directed career choice did not predict academic success.     

Psychosocial Predictors of Wellness in College Students

The authors examined how the first 6 stages of psychosocial development predict wellness in undergraduate college students using the Measures of Psychosocial Development (Hawley, 1988 ) and the Perceived Wellness Survey (Adams, Bezner, & Steinhardt, 1997 ). Results indicated that 4 of the 6 stages predict wellness in college students. Clinical implications for counselors of this population are provided.     

Effect of role choice on vocational high school students

This study was an attempt to determine whether the role choice dimension of Holland's theory was applicable to vocational high school students. The results of the study indicate that students with a clear role choice have significantly higher mean achievement scores, are more satisfied with their training program and have a lower attrition rate than students with an unclear role choice. These results seem to suggest that school counselors should listen to what students say they want to do in their work role.     

Using Emotional Intelligence to help College Students Succeed in the Workplace

Research related to the characteristics that are sought by recruiters and prospective employers in graduating college students suggests that emotional intelligence (EI) skills are as important as, if not more important than, job‐related skills. Counselors working with college students, however, usually focus on career management and job search skills and neglect the development of EI skills. EI seems to be an excellent framework to use in helping college students find a job and succeed in the workplace. By using the Confluence Counseling model, counselors working with college students can effectively combine career counseling with personal counseling in a holistic manner.     

高校辅导员胜任力结构模型研究

通过对38位高校辅导员进行行为事件访谈以及开放式问卷调查,初步筛选出47项高校辅导员胜任力特征项目,再以此为依据编制成高校辅导员胜任力评价问卷,对413位高校辅导员进行调查,经过探索性因素分析和验证性因素分析,构建出高校辅导员胜任力结构模型。结果显示,高校辅导员的胜任力结构主要包括工作能力、个性魅力、引导学生、职业态度、个人特质以及专业素养6个维度。该结构模型信效度良好,可以为高校辅导员选拔与培训等提供科学依据。     

Making the Best of a Bad Situation: Career Counseling Young Adults in the Aftermath of the Great Recession

Because of the changes in the economy hastened by the Great Recession, recent college graduates face unprecedented challenges finding employment in the current labor market. In this new economic era, Krumboltz's (2009) happenstance learning theory provides college career counselors with a practical framework for helping students learn how to engage in proactive career behaviors, evaluate opportunities as they arise, and initiate actions to benefit from them. A 6‐component framework is provided to guide college career counselors working with this population.     

Value Satisfaction as a Function of Role Salience,Age, and Sex

This study explores the interactions of age, sex, and role salience toward predicting value satisfaction in career decision making among community college students. Suggestions of ways employment counselors can assess values in all aspects of an individual's life-style for use in career-life planning are offered.     

The Counselor and Student Discipline: Suggested Roles

The problem of role definition for counselors relative to discipline problems has been persistent. Difficulties in defining and adopting appropriate roles in discipline have been exacerbated by conflicting expectations between and among administrators, counselors, and faculty. This article provides a short summary and analysis of the literature on the counselor's role in school discipline; possible counselor roles are grouped into six categories: mediator, ombudsman, consultant, psychological educator, special program developer, and counselor. From the variety of roles defined and discussed, counselors may find one or a combination of several roles that both satisfy the needs of their students and are appropriate to their own personalities and/or skill levels.     

The draft and counseling

This article regards draft counseling as a specialized extension of personal, educational, and vocational counseling. It can be a necessary and valuable outreach program and is needed because most students are unaware of their rights under the Selective Service System. Professional counselors have a crucial role to play in draft counseling by helping to establish a Draft Information Center, by training and supervising students and faculty as draft counselors, and by serving as a referral source for individuals needing further counseling. Suggestions are included for the establishment of a Draft Information Center in high schools and colleges.     

School counselors' knowledge of eating disorders

The purpose of this study was to examine school counselors' knowledge of adolescent eating disorders, specifically anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Participants were drawn from the national membership of the American Association of School Counselors; they were requested to complete a 43-item questionnaire on eating disorders. Of the 500 participants randomly selected, 337 (67%) returned usable questionnaires. There were 220 female and 117 male counselors; the mean age was 45.2 years. The majority held a master's degree and counseled high school students; the mean number of years they had been school counselors was 12.2. When asked how competent they were in helping students with eating disorders, 11% rated themselves as very competent, 49% believed they were moderately competent, and 40% believed they were not very competent. The majority (75%) did not believe it was their role to treat students with eating disorders; they were instead referred to an eating disorders program (40%), their parents (34%), or a psychiatrist or other physician (34%). The majority of counselors (72%) had encountered anorexic or bulimic students; the most common method of discovering students with a problem was by being informed by fellow students (35%). The majority of respondents were very knowledgeable regarding the signs and symptoms of anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Examination of their general knowledge of eating disorders revealed that they knew more about anorexia than bulimia. The two sources of eating disorders information utilized by at least half of the respondents were professional journals (70%) and workshops/professional conferences (56%).     

the role of career stress in the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and career attitude maturity in south korean undergraduates

Given the central role of career stress in college students' lives, this research examined whether career stress mediated the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and career attitude maturity in a sample of 185 undergraduate students in South Korea. The results indicated that career ambiguity stress, as measured by a career stress inventory, fully mediated the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and career attitude maturity. That is, maladaptive perfectionism correlated with greater levels of career ambiguity stress, and greater career ambiguity stress correlated with an unconstructive level of career attitude maturity. The authors discuss the findings' implications for career counselors in college settings.     

Work and Leisure Orientations Among University Students: Implications for College and University Counselors

This article deals with a study of the work and leisure orientations of 516 university students and provides support for the enhanced role of leisure in career and lifestyle. Implications for college and university counselors engaged in the career-counseling process are also discussed.     

Using Relational-Cultural Theory to Conceptualize International Student Transitions

ABSTRACT

In this article, Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT) is applied to international student transition experiences. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of international students transitioning to college life in the rural United States using the principles of RCT. Five women and four men enrolled at a mid-sized university agreed to participate in the study. In the data analysis phase, four components of RCT emerged as themes. The authors provide implications for campus-based mental health professionals (e.g., college counselors).     

The Black Student Experience at Predominantly White Colleges: Implications for School and College Counselors

Research from higher education and cultural studies that has examined the Black college student experience at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) is presented to assist counselors in understanding how Black college students' relationships with faculty, family, friends from home, and peers in Black student organizations can become assets or liabilities to their academic achievement and persistence. Implications are provided for assisting counselors in preparing Black students for, and supporting them while attending, PWIs.