Standard 2 Aspect E

Standard 2e. Establish goals for their own professional growth and engage in self-assessment, goal setting, and reflection

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Data Sources & Analysis:

Data Source 1

Counselor Disposition Assessment (Full Survey, Data Set, n=44): 
Field practice site supervisors rate completers based on their field practice at different school districts or programs serving primary and secondary pupils. Site supervisors rate completers on the following items based on their observations and by using the following ratings: 0= not observed; 1=inadequate; 2=meet expectations; 3=exceed expectations.

Perspective Captured from Data Source: Field practice site supervisors

Rationale for using Data Source:
Although these evaluations take place while candidates are still in the credential program, we believe that assessing them in these key areas prepares them to draw on the knowledge and skills they develop once they enter the field. 

Specific Elements of Data Source:
The following items demonstrate candidates’ ability to establish goals for their own professional growth and engage in self-assessment, goal-setting, and reflection:

• Continually evaluates the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (e.g., students, clients, families, and other professionals in the learning community). 
• Applies, assesses, reflects upon, and adjusts counseling strategies to different needs of clients

Definition of Success for Each Element:
Candidates are considered successful if they receive ratings of 2 or 3.  If they receive a 0, that means the site supervisor didn’t get a chance to observe their abilities in that category.

COUN 249: Counselor Disposition Survey Data n=43

On the Counselor Disposition form, the supervisors ranked the students with an average of 2.7/3 on the item, “continually evaluates the effects of his/her choices and actions on others. The site supervisors also ranked the students with 2.77/3 on the item, “applies, assesses, reflects upon, and adjusts counseling strategies to different needs of clients.” The mode for the responses on both items indicated “exceeds expectations.” Overall, these ratings demonstrate that our candidates are able to establish goals for their own professional growth and engage in self-assessment, goal-setting, and reflection. 

Data Source 2

2021 Survey of Recent School Counseling Graduates
In Spring 2021, Dr. Dominiqua Griffin, at the time the coordinator for the School Counseling Program, administered a survey to current and recent completers of the school counseling program, with a goal of learning their perceptions of how well the program had prepared them. Respondents were invited to rate their abilities in a number of key areas of school counseling on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (outstanding).  An email with the survey was sent to 132 alumni, 22 of whom responded for a response rate of 20.5%. 

Perspective Captured from Data Source: Program Completers

Rationale for using Data Source:
Since the other data focused on the site supervisors’ perspectives, this data set provides information about how completers view their abilities and skills in counseling diverse student populations. 

Specific Elements of Data Source:
The item relevant to Standard 2E include is (Full survey):

Additionally, candidates had the opportunity to respond to an open-ended item that asked about their recommendations for the program.

Definition of Success:
Programmatically, our goal is for all respondents to respond yes, that the program did prepare them.

Program Completers’ (n=27) Responses to Program Completer Survey:

• Narrative Excerpts from the survey include: 
  “I think collaborating with outside districts and having MOU's in place can make the process of interning a whole lot easier. Early on, catch the students that are commuting (are from outside the area), ask where they plan on interning, start the process so we don't have to physically do it ourselves. I know the school has a great relationship with Fresno unified but not so much with others in my experience. Maybe bring in some community stakeholders- school counseling program and have them go over their roles.”
• “Some of my suggestions would be modifying the Masters program in school counseling two were more of the coursework is heavily related to the day-to-day activities of a school counselor as well as for the strokes for customers to understand the operations and functions of the school districts and schools in how their role meshes with the function of school operations. This may involve like administrative and technical skills such as being aware of student information systems and how to operate them or just being familiar with them and knowing how to read transcripts and be familiar with transcripts, and learning more about the A-G requirements. In addition also becoming more aware of data informed practices and existing programs and frameworks in place that support the day-to-day operations of student success such as PBIS and MTSS. I think overall learning about and being familiar with jargon used in the educational setting such as SARB. In regards to research since it since it’s heavily emphasized and it is important in the education field, I hope there’s sways to strengthen student confidence in engaging with research. I feel like it should be exposed early on in the program just because the longer students are exposed to and aware of it then they could be more comfortable with engaging in research methods to where they tend be aware of how they can collect data in the school setting and engage in action research to best support the student population that they are working with. As a graduate student who completed the program last year I think my biggest struggle now is feeling prepared to do job hunts so I hope the program definitely providing guidance and support for students to have the tools and confidence in the job hunting process after graduation. And this may not be related to the program but I hope the CSI organization provides more ways for members to be involved in the community and in the schools I am so finding creative ways to create these partnerships and opportunities for professional growth and visibility.”

Interpretation of Findings and Next Steps:
On the Exit Survey, 68% of completers identified that they felt the curriculum prepared them to perform essential functions of their employment and 32% indicated that the curriculum did not prepare them to perform essential functions of their employment. In the qualitative feedback from completers they requested more practical information/experiences with documents used in K-12 (ex. strengthening partnerships, mentoring, A-G Requirements, etc.)

Our curriculum has been updated and many changes have been made to COUN 242S, which will incorporate partnering with the local school district to work on identified needs in the district. The students will serve as consultants and apply course content to daily aspects of the school counselor experience. They will receive feedback from the district partners and the instructor further support their professional development. This information will provide opportunities for self-assessment, goal setting and reflection. This new course is now operating for Fall 2021.

Data Source 3

Site Supervisor Program Evaluation Survey
Each year, site supervisors are invited to rate candidates based on their perceptions of how well the program guided their development of knowledge, ability, and understanding to work in K12 institutions with students and their families.  Site supervisors rate candidates from 1-4, with 1 being least satisfied and 4 being most satisfied. They are also provided with an opportunity to narrate specifics of the strengths and weaknesses of the program in developing the school counselors they have observed.  

Perspective Captured from Data Source: Site Supervisors

Rationale for using Data Source:
The Site Supervisor Program Evaluation Survey provides very useful information to the program as it captures the perspectives of K-12 individuals who observe our candidates in action during their field placement experiences. Although these observations take place while candidates are still in the credential program, we believe that the site supervisors’ perspectives are helpful for learning overall programmatic strengths and challenges. 

This item selected for analysis was created by the faculty to gage how supervisors perceive completers’ ability to establish goals, self-assess, and engage in self-reflection. Site supervisors complete this survey at the end of the completers’ field practice experience.

Specific Elements of Data Source:
The following item, relevant to 2f, was selected: 

• Q15 - Please indicate your level of satisfaction with your student's educational preparation on a scale of 1- very dissatisfied to 5-very satisfied, regarding establishing goals for their own professional growth and engaging in self-assessment, goal setting and reflection.

Full Dataset: Site Supervisor Satisfaction Survey 2021

2021 Site Supervisor Ratings of School Counseling Program (n=11)

 

Interpretation of Results:
The Site Supervisor survey Item #15 averaged 4.64/5 on satisfaction with students’ establishing goals for their own professional growth and engaging in self-assessment, goal setting and reflection. The site supervisors were mostly very satisfied with their students on this item.

Students also develop a learning contract that is submitted for review as part of their Coun 249-Field Practice in School Counseling (i.e., internship). Goals must be reflective of students’ interests, areas of desired growth, counseling skills, cultural competence, ethics, and engagement with stakeholders in diverse settings. Goals must be robust enough to facilitate a high-quality 600-hour applied learning experience. 

• An example of the agreement: Coun 249 Planning Contract

Next Steps:
As we move forward, we will also seek to incorporate a critical reflection paper that directly connects to the learning contract that students develop at the outset of the internship experience. More specifically, students will be required to discuss how they have addressed goals outlined in their learning contract, insights and how they have engaged in a process of meaning-making during the applied experience, and areas for future growth. The critical reflection paper might be used as a future data source to further support students in establishing goals for professional growth and engaging in self-assessment, goal setting, and overall reflection. The site supervisor and instructor of Coun249 (Field Practice Course) will do a mid-semester and end of semester check in to see how they are meeting their goals set at the beginning of the semester.

Aspect F →