Training School Counselors in Program Evaluation

The Practice and Perceptions of School Counsellors: A View from Urban China

“…School counsellors around the world will likely understand the feelings of lack of respect articulated by participants (Inman et al 2009). Although sometimes slow to embrace this approach, counsellors are increasingly using data driven approaches to demonstrate how students are different as a result of the counsellor's intervention (Astramovich et al 2005). Approaches that clearly demonstrate positive student outcomes will provide a mechanism for counsellors to gain respect among all members of the school community.…”

Program evaluation competencies for prospective school counseling practitioners

“…School counselors may feel criticized since this is a judgment-oriented evaluation (Patton, 1997). From this perspective, it is not surprising that school counselors are reluctant to conduct program evaluations because they fear that their work will be found ineffective based on their evaluation results (Lusky & Hayes, 2001;Astramovich et al, 2005). For these reasons, removing the accountability focus of evaluation and defining school counselors' efforts with a competency-based accountability approach should be explored within the profession.…”

“…There is no doubt that statistical methods are useful tools for program evaluation; however, simply training school counselors in statistics does not make them competent in program evaluation. It is striking that most of the participants in the study by Astramovich et al (2005) stated that they had ample research skills; however, they needed to learn how to apply those skills to a program evaluation framework. When framing school counselors' evaluation competencies, bringing out statistical competencies as the core competencies for program evaluation might conflate evaluation with statistics.…”

“…Psikolojik danışmanlardan, kendi programlarının başarılı mı yoksa başarısız mı olduğuna dönük, hesap verme amaçlı bir program değerlendirme yapmaları temel beklenti olursa; psikolojik danışmanlar, sonuca dair olumsuzlukları, eleştiriye maruz kalma endişesiyle paylaşmak istemeyebilirler (Patton, 1997). Bu açıdan bakıldığında, okul psikolojik danışmanlarının, sonuç olumsuz çıkabilir kaygısıyla program değerlendirme yapmaya istekli olmamaları şaşırtıcı değildir (Lusky & Hayes, 2001;Astramovich et al, 2005). Tüm bu sebeplerle, okul psikolojik danışmanlarının, hesap verme amaçlı ve sonuç odaklı değerlendirme yaklaşımlarından çok; programı süreç içinde iyileştirmeye, dönüştürmeye ve geliştirmeye dönük, süreç odaklı program değerlendirme anlayışları üzerinden eğitim almaları ve bu yönde yeterlilikler geliştirmeleri daha uygun olacaktır.…”

Evaluating Addictions Counseling Programs: Promoting Best Practices, Accountability, and Advocacy

“…Promoted for several decades by researchers in various counseling specialties (e.g., Astramovich, Coker, & Hoskins, 2005;Benkofski & Heppner, 1999;Loesch, 2001;Wheeler & Loesch, 1981), program evaluation involves a systematic and planned process of gathering, analyzing, and reporting program-related data for the purposes of program improvement and for determining cost effectiveness and efficiency (Royse, Thyer, & Padgett, 2010). Although program evaluation methods originally were developed for use primarily in the business sector, human services organizations also have adopted program evaluation strategies as a means for identifying effectiveness of interventions and for providing accountability.…”