Date of Award

4-2008

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Suzanne M. Hedstrom

Second Advisor

Dr. Stephen Craig

Third Advisor

Dr. Karen Blaisure

Abstract

Although the field of professional school counseling has recognized the positive impact that supervision offers, discussion of its use with new-entrant school counseling professionals has been limited. This study responds to the limited discussion of supervision with new-entrant professional school counselors by describing the supervision experiences and perceived needs of 15 new-entrant professional school counselors.

Participants of this study described advantages and disadvantages of receiving supervision. When discussing supervision activities as new-entrant professionals, participants frequently confused the process of supervision with mentoring and evaluation. Supervision quality was described as deficient, and the structure of supervision varied among participants. Participants described that they needed support in their new role as professional school counselors. They also identified supervision needs that have been met as well as needs that have gone unmet in their work as new professionals.

Supervision types and the focus of supervision emerged as overarching themes from participants' descriptions of their supervision experiences and perceived needs. The participants most frequently described their supervision experiences and perceived needs as administrative supervision. Reports of clinical and developmental supervision experiences were limited to participants whose supervisors were licensed as professional counselors. Fewer participants described their need for clinical and developmental supervision when compared to those who described their need for administrative supervision. As participants described their supervision experiences and perceived needs, their descriptions largely focused on concerns with their own performance rather than the impact of their performance on others.

Implications for the practice of professional school counselor supervision and for the specific practice of supervision for new-entrant professional school counselors were discussed based on the experiences and perceived needs reported by the study's 15 participants. Implications of these results were also included for professional school counseling organizations as well as for counselor educators who prepare both school counselors and supervisors. Limitations of this study were described and recommendations were made for future research as it related to the practice of newentrant professional school counselor supervision.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

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