School Counseling Site Supervisor Training: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

This study explored the supervision training needs of site supervisors of master's program school counseling interns via the construct of selfefficacy. Using the Site Supervisor Self-Efficacy Survey developed for this study, the authors surveyed school counseling site supervisors in the states of Oregon and Washington (N = 147) regarding their hours of supervision training and their supervisor self-efficacy. Results indicated that 54% of school counseling site supervisors had little or no counseling supervision training. Supervisor self-efficacy appeared to be relatively strong, consistently so for school counseling site supervisors with over 40 hours of supervision training. A partial correlation indicated a slightly positive relationship between the hours of supervision training received and perceived self-efficacy regarding supervision. Implications regarding school counseling site supervisor training and future research are offered.

Supervision Training, Practices, and Interests of California Site Supervisors

“…Although there is evidence that some of the participants in this study received an introduction to supervision in their counselor education programs, of 181 respondents to this question, only 8% ( n = 15) felt well trained in this area. Our finding that 41% ( n = 74) of 220 respondents reported receiving no training in supervision is consistent with previous studies, with one study reporting that 54% received little or no training (DeKruf & Pehrsson, ) and another reporting that 60% of school counseling site supervisors received no training (Studer & Oberman, ). This training gap creates a dilemma in that there are no other formal structures in California for ensuring such training.…”

“…There is some evidence that school counselors report inadequate supervision training through counselor education programs. DeKruyf and Pehrsson () examined the relationship between hours of supervision training and school counselor site supervisor self‐efficacy regarding their ability to supervise interns. Forty percent of respondents reported no supervision training, and most who did report training cited state and national conferences as their training settings.…”

“…The source and amount of supervision training is not specified. This lack of specificity and training oversight, may result in little, if any, training in supervision (DeKruyf & Pehrsson, ; Studer & Oberman, ).…”

Preparing Site Supervisors of Counselor Education Students

“…Although many forms of supervision training have been proposed (Bernard, 1981;DeKruyf & Pehrsson, 2011;Granello et al, 2008;Manzanares et al, 2004;McMahon & Simons, 2004;Swank & Tyson, 2012), a standardized method of preparing site supervisors of counselor education students that would meet CACREP (2009) requirements is nonexistent. The goal of the current study was to evaluate a model of site supervisor preparation that would support supervisors in developing self-efficacy in their various roles.…”

“…The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP; ) requires that site supervisors obtain specific training in supervision, and counseling program faculty members maintain a responsibility for providing site supervisors with “orientation, assistance, consultation, and professional development opportunities” (p. 16). However, DeKruyf and Pehrsson () revealed that more than half of site supervisors surveyed had little or no training in supervision. It is especially important that site supervisors have the preparation and resources they need to help mold young counselors and evaluate their progress effectively.…”