A Pre-Experimental Pilot Study of School Counselors Completing an 8-Month Professional Development Program to Improve Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Researchers have minimally studied school counselor professional development practices and their associations with school counselor self-efficacy. To fill this gap, we examined the School Counseling Fellowship Program (SCFP), which utilized an innovative professional development model to promote better classroom lesson design among school counselors. In a pre-experimental pilot study about the program with three data collections, results indicated that school counselors in the SCFP (N = 19) reported significantly increased overall school counselor self-efficacy (p < .001, η_p² = 0.54), as well as significantly improved self-efficacy in personal and social development (p < .001, η_p² = 0.50), leadership and assessment (p < .001, η_p² = 0.55), career and academic development (p < .001, η_p² = 0.52), collaboration (p < .001, η_p² = 0.36), and cultural acceptance (p = .006, η_p² = 0.25). Results suggest tentative positive support for the SCFP model to be used in future practice.

Keywords:

• Professional development
• school counselor
• self-efficacy
• cohort model
• university partnership

Notes on Contributors

Dr. Clare Merlin-Knoblich is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research interests include school counselors’ anti-oppressive, social justice leadership and advocacy efforts in schools.

Dr. Hilary Dack is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research interests include preparing school counselors and teachers for effective instructional decision-making with K-12 learners.

Dr. Joseph Anthony Elizondo is an Assistant Professor at the University of La Verne in Los Angeles, California. His research interests include creating and maintaining positive school counseling relationships, the role of the school counselor on K-12 campuses, school counselor advocacy, and school counseling strategies which are culturally relevant, culturally responsible, and effective.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by a University of North Carolina at Charlotte Faculty Research Grant. We have no known conflict of interest to disclose.