Computer‐Based Accountability: Implications for Training

Abstract

Since the call for professional accountability in the early 1970s, counselors and counselor educators have attempted to assess counseling effectiveness, to upgrade programs as a result of assessments, and to communicate results of program assessment and change to their publics. Until recently, their efforts have been impeded by the interpersonal nature of counseling, insufficient training in research and evaluation, and available low-cost computer technology. This article addresses each of the impediments with the focus on how present computer technology, specifically computer-assisted systems, can be used to help counselors and counselor educators ethically input, store, and retrieve pertinent client and program d a t a 4 a t a that can be used to achieve program evaluation and lead to accountable program development. The Counselor Accountability System is presented as an example of an easy-to-use computer program designed to facilitate counselor accounLability.

Assessing Counselor Education Students' Attitudes Toward Computers and Multimedia Instruction

“…Computers have become important tools in today's society and have proven beneficial in the field of education (Alpert, Pulvino, & Lee, 1984;Lee & Pulvino, 1988;Morton, 1996;Phillips, 1984). Technology has had an amazing effect on lives, in general, and on education, in particular.…”

Computers in Counselor Education: Four Years After a Special Issue

“…The final section of the special issue included two articles that focused on a variety of evaluation and research issues. Alpert, Pulvino, and Lee (1984) presented the "Counselor Accountability System", a system for monitoring counselor activities and effectiveness toward achieving client goals. The program provides a systematic way of collecting and managing accountability data for use in training and evaluation.…”

Contributions and Limitations in the Use of Computers in Counselor Training

“…Beyond the benefits of computers in research and evaluation efforts (cf. Alpert, Pulvino, & Lee, 1984), or in synchronizing supervisory feedback (Froehle, 1984), the capacities of a computer to facilitate skill acquisition lie primarily in two areas. First, a computer can be programmed to present the skill to be learned in the programmed learning format outlined above.…”