Undergraduate students as academic advisers

An experimental college tried to solve its academic advising problems by employing undergraduate students to advise freshmen. The evaluation of faculty, freshmen students, and the undergraduate students themselves was generally positive, although some problems arose.     

Supervision groups for health advisers working with patients with HIV disease

This paper describes a case supervision group with health advisors working in a clinic specializing in the treatment of patients with HIV Infection. Themes discussed in the group are presented with an evaluation of the group intervention, some consideration of group process and the health advisers views on their work. This is discussed in relation to present research into occupational stress in this field.     

The shaping of discourse positions in the development of support and supervision for personal advisers in England

A policy of inclusion has focused the 'gaze' of the UK government toward youth services and resulted in the development of the Connexions service in England. Within that context, the practice and professional identity of careers advisers (now called personal advisers) has changed. Many are working intensively with so-called 'harder-to-help' young people in 'challenging' situations where support and supervision appears to be essential. This paper discusses the findings from a qualitative case study, which sought to question that need and to investigate the perceived purpose of support and supervision. The study explored these perspectives with the aim of foregrounding differences and similarities. It is not suggested that the themes discussed are fixed; however, the discourse of practitioners needs to be heard and not silenced by louder definitions about purpose. The findings, however tentative, may be pertinent for circumstances where guidance and counselling are seen as relevant activities for the promotion of social inclusion.     

Expectations, recall and evaluation of careers guidance interviews by pupils and careers advisers: a preliminary study

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the perceptions of initial careers guidance interviews as expressed by pupils and careers advisers. A sample of 51 careers guidance interviews were studied, which were carried out by 16 qualified careers advisers operating under normal working conditions. The school pupils were from the lower streams of 16 different secondary level schools, half were male, and the majority were either unsure of leaving or were planning to leave school at the earliest opportunity. The study adopted a quantitative repeated measures design where both interview participants completed pre-interview expectation questionnaires, post-interview recall questionnaires and scales measuring interview evaluations. The results suggested a range of differences between careers advisers' and pupils' expectations, recall and evaluations of careers guidance interviews. However, both participants' overall satisfaction with the careers interview was significantly related to the interpersonal aspects of the process, while the provision of careers advice contributed to overall satisfaction expressed by careers advisers only. The findings are discussed in relation to evaluation of provision and the preparation of clients for participation in careers guidance interviews.