The effects of classroom teaching on students' self-efficacy for personal development

The personal development of students is an essential component of school guidance and counselling programmes, but no published research on guidance and counselling has investigated the effects of regular classroom teaching on students' self-efficacy for personal development. In this study, questionnaire items were constructed to measure classroom teaching, student self-efficacy for personal development and student use of deep learning strategies. Data were collected from 16,208 secondary school students in Hong Kong. Using structural equation modelling, regular classroom teaching was found to have a direct effect on personal development self-efficacy as well as an indirect effect through student use of deep learning strategies. Implications of these findings for implementing a whole-school approach to guidance and counselling are discussed.     

Nature and role of traditional forms of counselling in Zambia: a case of Lusaka province

The aim of this study was to determine the nature and role of traditional forms of counselling and the scope of common problems presented to traditional counsellors in Lusaka province. It used a qualitative research methodology and deployed a holistic single-case study design with multiple embedded units of analysis. The sample consisted of 80 adult participants and one focus group interview with 8 discussants; and it was selected based on the purposive sampling method and snowball technique. Data collection was elicited through structured individual interviews and semi-structured group interview. The study revealed that traditional forms of counselling are rooted in traditional systems of knowledge and sociocultural values, customs, and practices; and they are essentially community-based and multicultural in nature.     

Item analysis of the 'My Use of Interpersonal Skills Inventory'

A 32-item inventory was designed to provide data concerning the extent to which training in interpersonal and counselling skills was applied by educators in their professional and personal lives. An item analysis of the responses of 82 experienced educators was carried out on three testings completed before, soon after and one year following a training skills course. The item analysis revealed a high level of internal coherence for the inventory, indicating that improvement on any skill was related to improvement in the others. Correlations between the three applications of the inventory indicate an acceptable level of test-retest reliability. Apart from a clear face validity, data are reported confirming that interpersonal and counselling skills reported in the inventory are being applied in terms of reports of specific incidents.     

The influence of item order on intentional response distortion in the assessment of high potentials: Assessing pilot applicants

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of item order and questionnaire content on faking good or intentional response distortion. It was hypothesized that intentional response distortion would either increase towards the end of a long questionnaire, as learning effects might make it easier to adjust responses to a faking good schema, or decrease because applicants' will to distort responses is reduced if the questionnaire lasts long enough. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that certain types of questionnaire content are especially vulnerable to response distortion. Eighty‐four pre‐selected pilot applicants filled out a questionnaire consisting of 516 items including items from the NEO five factor inventory (NEO FFI), NEO personality inventory revised (NEO PI‐R) and business‐focused inventory of personality (BIP). The positions of the items were varied within the applicant sample to test if responses are affected by item order, and applicants' response behaviour was additionally compared to that of volunteers. Applicants reported significantly higher mean scores than volunteers, and results provide some evidence of decreased faking tendencies towards the end of the questionnaire. Furthermore, it could be demonstrated that lower variances or standard deviations in combination with appropriate (often higher) mean scores can serve as an indicator for faking tendencies in group comparisons, even if effects are not significant.     

Gliding across the liminal space between counsellor and counselling researcher: Using collective biography practices in the teaching of counselling research methodologies

Aims: Drawing on their engagement in a specific collective biography research project, the co-authors aim to demonstrate how the weaving together of creative story-telling and the theory underlining collective biography practices resulted in an understanding of rhizomatic research methodologies from within the process. This paper aims to demonstrate one way in which research methodologies training can become more firmly embedded within counsellor training courses. Method: A collective of counselling students and a session tutor colleague used collective biography practices to research their memories of traversing the liminal space between ‘counsellor’ and ‘counselling researcher’. Alongside the resulting collective stories, a collaborative review of the research process examined our chosen ways of working within the project. Outcomes: Engaging in collective biography practices resulted in an experiential shift from ‘learning to do counselling research’ to ‘becoming counselling researchers’. Weaving together research processes and researcher reflexivity generated personal and professional learning. Ways in which these research methodologies complement core components of counselling training, within and beyond the teaching of research, were identified. Conclusions: Collective biography practices offer a way of introducing non-arboreal creative research methodologies into counsellor training. Careful consideration of potential challenges surrounding the introduction of these practices is required.     

Applying public health science to the counselling profession: An initial examination

The application of public health science to the counselling profession is examined. Specifically, the public-health practices of prevention and epidemiology are reviewed for their applicability to the field of counselling. Evidence of the counselling profession's substantial involvement in the prevention research field is provided through an examination of recent major meta-analysis articles on prevention studies. The role of the counselling profession in social-policy development, and the interrelation between this type of social/political engagement and the solidification of the counselling field within the spectrum of mental-health services, are explored.     

Is Student Counselling a Profession?

Moves towards professionalisation within student counselling are discussed as a case-study which may have wider applicability within counselling as a whole. The main approaches to defining a profession are described, and eight criteria are distinguished and applied to student counselling. It is concluded that student counsellors are some way from the 'ideal-type' profession. Account also needs to be taken, how ever, of moves towards some forms of deprofessionalisation' within the traditional professions. Current moves towards accreditation of individuals and courses within the Association for Student Counselling are welcomed.     

Analysis of the Reliability of the Leadership Practices Inventory in the Item Response Theory Framework

The paper examines the psychometric properties of the leadership practices inventory (LPI) in the framework of item response theory (IRT). The LPI assesses five dimensions (i.e. leadership practices) of transformational leadership and consists of 30 items. IRT is a model‐based theory that relates the characteristics of questionnaire items (item parameters) and characteristics of individuals (latent variables) to the probability of choosing each of the response categories. The theory does not assume that the instrument is equally reliable for all levels of the latent variable examined. Samejima's graded response model was used to estimate LPI item characteristics, such as item difficulty and item discrimination power. The results show that some items are redundant in the sense they contribute little to the overall precision of the instrument. Moreover, the LPI seems to be most precise and reliable for respondents with low to medium leadership competence, whereas it becomes increasingly unreliable for high‐quality leaders. These findings suggest that the LPI is best used for training and development purposes, but not for leader selection purposes.     

Consulting with gargoyles: applying narrative ideas and practices in counselling supervision

This article explores waysin which narrative ideas and practices might influence supervisory relationships in counselling and psychotherapy,and questions some of the taken-for-granted assumptions implicit within counselling supervision. This paper, which represents ‘work in progress’ towards further conversations, rather than an exhaustive study,is illustrated with stories from the author'sown practice as a supervisor and trainer and educator of supervisors.     

Community Counselling in African Contexts

This article explores community counselling as a form of professional practice for psychologists, with a particular focus on practices that are relevant in African contexts. The discussion identifies and discusses various models of practice identified in community psychology, including an ecological perspective, a public health and community mental health framework, interventions that focus on promoting a sense of community, indigenous approaches to community counselling and a critical or social action framework. Examples relating to each of these models of practice are drawn from various African settings, providing practitioners with some insights into how theory can be operationalised into practices that are relevant to African contexts. The article concludes with a discussion on community research, with a particular focus on ethical considerations relevant to a community approach in African contexts. The latter discussion emphasises the importance of working with the community as partners, and suggests the possibility of developing a Code of Ethics aimed specifically at guiding community counselling practice in African contexts.     

Tools for Many Trades: Reaffirming the Use of Grief Counselling by Health, Welfare and Pastoral Workers

The use of counselling is increasingly questioned as an appropriate and viable activity for professionals in statutory and general settings whose work roles and tasks are varied. This paper looks specifically at grief counselling and examines some of the reasons why applications of grief theories and grief counselling by such workers have been narrow and limited. It then suggests a framework for teaching the subject, offering relevant applications. Finally, it points to developing areas of grief counselling in multi-disciplinary contexts and argues that working with grief and loss must be recognised and fostered as core, generic skills for the non-specialist.     

Common items and reliability in personality measurement

Most psychological tests and inventories, particularly in personality and attitude measurement, contain common items, that is, various subscales of the test or inventory may share one or more items in common. Surprisingly, the role of common items in such a fundamental personality test attribute as reliability is not known. The present report specifically considered common-item contributions to test internal consistency reliability using extant data from the California Psychological Inventory. No negative contribution of item overlap was found. To the contrary, it was concluded that the use of common items is an economical technique for increasing the total number of items in the scales, thus increasing scale internal reliabilities without increasing the overall number of items in the inventory.     

Philosophy and the care of the self: A literature survey

This article reviews a number of recent books and practices that address a renewed interest in the role that philosophy might play in the living of a rich and fulfilling life. The review looks at books addressed to the general public as well as books which discuss such classical and Hellenistic philosophers as took their task to be helping people achieve happiness in life. It then turns to contemporary studies of the self and of wisdom and turns finally to some newly emerging philosophical practices such as philosophical counselling and philosophical discussion groups of various kinds in order to explore whether philosophy can still be a source of consolation or guidance in contemporary life.     

The Counsellor as Decision-Maken Role, Treatment and Responding Decisions

As counselling develops as a specialised area, counsellors are confronted with an increasing need to be effective decision-makers. Broadly speaking, counsellor decisions are of three main types: role, treatment, and responding. The need for more rigorous role decision-making has been highlighted by the challenge of the psychological educator as contrasted with the traditional interviewer model of counsellor behaviour. Whether they are operating as interviewers or educators, counsellors need to be sensitive to their treatment and responding decisions, some of which are discussed. Barriers to effective counsellor decision-making include skills deficiencies, theoretical rigidity, and debilitating rather than enabling personal vulnerability. The notion of the counsellor as decision-maker is useful for focusing the content of counsellor training, and also leads inevitably to the notion of the counsellor as an applied scientist.     

THE DEVELOPMENT OF NONMETRIC SPACE ANALYSIS: A LETTER TO PROFESSOR JOHN ROSS

A series of recent studies (Cliff, 1968, 1969; Cliff, Bradley, and Girard, 1970) describe a mathematical model for the cognitive processes involved in an individual's endorsements (or nonendorsements) of personality inventory items. In this model, the inventory items are assumed to occupy positions in a multidimensional space of subjective meaning, and the probability of endorsement is assumed to be some mathematical funotion of these positions.     

Gender and gender role differences in student–teachers’ commitment to teaching

Low commitment to teaching amongst teachers is a problem facing the teaching profession in many countries. Gender might be an important factor in explaining what kinds of prospective teachers are attracted to teaching. This empirical study examined the relationship between student–teachers’ gender, gender roles and commitment to teaching within the context of a large, university-based teacher education program in Tanzania. A self-report questionnaire was administered, comprising commitment to teaching items, gender as a demographic variable and items from Bem sex role inventory (BSRI). Cluster analysis on the masculine and feminine scale of the BSRI indicated three clusters: (1) highly androgynous students with high scores on both masculine and feminine scales, (2) medium androgynous students with relatively high scores on both masculine and feminine scales, and (3) low androgynous students with low scores in relation to the other two groups on both masculine and feminine scales of the BSRI. More female than male student–teachers reported to be highly androgynous. Covariance analysis showed that gender roles were significantly related to commitment to teaching and to intention to enter the teaching profession. Highly androgynous student–teachers reported significantly more commitment to teaching and higher intentions to enter the teaching profession compared to medium and low androgynous student–teachers. No significant relationships were found between gender, on the one hand, and commitment to teaching and the intention to enter the teaching profession, on the other hand. Findings are discussed in the context of teacher and teacher education in Tanzania.     

Teaching counselling in universities: Match or mismatch?

University courses in counsellor training have mushroomed over the past decade. Questions are raised about the match between the culture of counselling and the culture of universities. A comparison is drawn between traditional university styles of pedagogy and the learning requirements of trainee counsellors. Issues relating to teaching methods and assessment procedures are examined. Kolb's model of experiential learning is offered as a framework for this comparison. Attention is drawn to the effect of moves towards the accreditation of prior learning upon the cohesion of student groups, and to the changes in curriculum occasioned by the move towards credit rating of university courses. On the other side of the coin, the niche which counselling has forged for itself in universities is seen as a vehicle for professional legitimation. It is concluded that the challenge faced by university counselling teachers is to find ways to resolve the tension between the two cultures     

Towards networking in counselling: a follow-up study of Finnish school counselling

A follow-up study (1990-1997) and in-depth interviews on school counselling practices and problems in Finland showed that in the last 10 years the work of the school counsellor has extended and become more diversified. This article analyses this change in school counselling in terms of the problems and core tasks of counselling and the new challenges faced by Finnish counsellors, such as dismantling the traditional gender divisions in working life and counselling for immigrants. In addition, the article examines how school counsellors have attempted to solve the problems related to their work, for example, by establishing counselling networks inside and outside the school.     

The concomitants of system orientation in secondary school counsellors

Counsellors resolve their working dilemmas in terms of an orientation which they bring to the system in which they work. This ranges from extremes of acceptance and close co-operation, to extremes of challenge and independence. Evidence is given to indicate that the position which an individual adopts on such a continuum is related to factors in his personality, to his experience of inter-role conflict between teaching and counselling, to his experience of intra-role conflict with colleagues, to the designation of his role, to the amount of time available for its fulfilment, and to the length of the counselling training he has received. The findings tend to indicate that counselling is beset by internal philosophical tensions, and that the introduction of counselling is not necessarily part of a historically inevitable movement towards more openness in schools.     

Young people generating a repertoire of counselling psychology: Talking theory

This paper is concerned with how young people, who are trained as peer supporters in British secondary schools, construct a counselling repertoire. Issues of identity, boundaries and the dilemma of advice giving are all raised when pupils aged 14-17 talk about their roles in peer support. It becomes evident that young people's constructions of themselves and their schemes reflect the assimilation of both traditional psychological theories and contemporary counselling culture. In essence, their scheme may be marketed as a counselling/advising service, which could lead the young people to take on the role of 'counsellors'. On the other hand, their scheme may be promoted as a listening and/or support service and this will lead to young people questioning their role in the scheme. This paper will introduce these issues. This research is taken from an ongoing PhD project which uses language based research as its methodology.