Date Awarded
1986
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
Department
Education
Abstract
The Problem. The purpose of this study was to measure discrepancies between perceived "importance", "attainment" and "effectiveness" of school counselor role and function behaviors as viewed by principals, counselors, and teachers. It was hypothesized that counselors, teachers, and principals will differ significantly in their perceptions of what is important, attained and effective in counselor role and function.;Research Procedure. The subjects (N = 687) were principals, counselors and teachers randomly selected from Virginia public secondary schools. A 55-item Counselor Role Repertoire Needs Assessment Survey was developed to collect role and function data on eleven constructs of: Educational/Occupational Guidance, Counseling, Research, Staff Consultation, Parent Consultation, Placement, Referral, Pupil Appraisal, Program Development, Public Relations, and Professionalism.;Findings. There was a significant difference among principals, teachers, and counselors on their perceptions of perceived "importance" of all role constructs except Placement and Research; on the "attainment" of all role constructs except Research and Program Development; and on the "effectiveness" of counselor role and function of all constructs except Educational Occupational Guidance, Research, Parent Consultation, and Professionalism. Principals and counselors appeared to respond similarly on the attainment of Staff Consultation and Placement and on the importance of Professionalism and Public Relations. Teachers differed on these four constructs. Principals and counselors felt Staff Consultation and Placement was attained to a greater degree than teachers felt it was attained. Principals and counselors also gave more importance to Professionalism and Public Relations; teachers felt it was less important.;Conclusions. The findings of this study have implications that counselors continue to rely on the individual treatment model for counseling and the administrator role of sorting and allocating students through the secondary curriculum with an emphasis on educational and occupational guidance. Counselor caseload, function, role and responsibilities should be more clearly delineated and redistributed to provide a more therapeutic environment for developmental counseling. Suggestions for program enhancement and recommendations for further research is provided.
DOI
https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.25774/w4-97y3-h304
Rights
© The Author
Recommended Citation
Thompson, Rosemary A., "A comparison of counselor, principal and teacher perceptions of the role and function of the school counselor in Virginia public secondary school" (1986). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. William & Mary. Paper 1539618281.
https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.25774/w4-97y3-h304
