Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Supervision and inspection – education'

Counselor supervision has evolved as a skillset unique from counseling in the last 30 years. Approaches to counselor supervision, often created with counselor developmental models in mind, are examined, and the author claims that a combination of postmodern approaches to counselor supervision (narrative, systemic, reflective, and IPR strategies), referred to as constructivist approaches, are worthy of additional consideration and assessment. However, no instrument currently exists that validates constructivist approaches to counselor supervision. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore constructivist themes and characteristics associated with constructivist supervisors and supervisees' preference for each of the constructivist supervisor characteristics. The author sent a peer-reviewed and pilot-tested Constructivist Supervisor Scale to multiple counselor supervises. A principal components analysis was used to determine how many components are representative of constructivist supervision. Three components were revealed during the exploratory process: Warm and non-directive relationship, past and present experiences, and acceptance of various styles. Results also revealed that supervisees preferred constructivist supervisor characteristics. Future supervisors can use the Constructivist Supervisor Scale to determine whether constructivist methods are being used during supervision. The Constructivist Supervisor Scale can also be used to assess supervisees' preference for constructivist supervisor characteristics.

Recent studies have focused on international students’ needs and experiences in counseling training and supervision, however, there is a lack of research regarding effective approaches for supervising international students. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether international counseling supervisees' perceptions regarding the degree to which multicultural discussion occurred in their university supervision moderates the relationship among supervision related variables, including acculturation, counselor self-efficacy, supervisory working alliance, and role ambiguity in supervision. The research questions were: (a) Does the frequency of cultural discussions in university supervision, as perceived by international counseling supervisees, moderate the relationship between acculturation to the US and counseling self-efficacy among international counseling students in the US, (b) Does the frequency of cultural discussions in university supervision, as perceived by international counseling supervisees, moderate the relationship between supervisory working alliance and counseling self-efficacy among international counseling students in the US, and (c) Does the frequency of cultural discussions in university supervision, as perceived by international counseling supervisees, moderate the relationship between supervisory working alliance and counseling self-efficacy among international counseling students in the US. Three moderation analyses were utilized, using regression analysis, to answer each research question. The results from the analysis indicated no significant moderating affect of frequency of multicultural discussions among supervision related variables of interest. Interpretation of the results included possibility of a direct relationship among the variables, or other potential moderators as well as probability of false negative results (Type II Error).

The purpose of this study is to examine the differences between counselor supervisors’ and supervisees’ perceptions of the impact of multicultural supervision on client outcome. Counselor supervisors and supervisees may have differences in how much they believe multicultural factors affect client outcome and this study aims to determine what differences exist. These differences are important in understanding how supervisors might better serve supervisees and in turn clients. There were 61 participants in the study that consisted of faculty, counselor supervisors, counselors, and graduate students in counseling-related fields. The current study found that multicultural supervision/competence alone predicted supervisor client outcome. The findings suggest that training in supervision and multicultural supervision is vital to the professional development of counselors and trainees in counseling-related fields. This training is also necessary because of the impact it has on clients. The implications of this study are to be able to improve the knowledge of those in counseling-related fields as to the importance of multicultural counseling and competence in training. Further research on what supervisees consider as important contributions to client outcome should be considered. One recommendation is to explore further what subscales of both the independent variables of supervision satisfaction, counselor self-efficacy, the supervisory working alliance, multicultural supervision/competence and the dependent variable of perceived client outcome to provide more specific information about what aspects are important contributions to perceived client outcome by supervisors and supervisees.

Many forms of distance clinical supervision (DCS) have been used in the last decade, but a sparse amount of research addressing (DCS) in counselor education exists to date. The author used random and snowball sampling to survey American Counseling Association members, with a analytic sample total of 96 participants. In the sample, 54.2% of participants were licensed counseling professionals and 39.6% were student or post-masters level interns. The average participant age was 43, ranging from 23 to 74 years. Participants had a mean of 8.1 years of experience. A total of 37.5% of participants had used DCS at some point for supervision sessions. Overall, participants have a positive attitude toward DCS, agreeing most that DCS is a valid form of supervision and that they are interested in learning about DCS. Overall, participants are being minimally exposed to DCS (x¯ = 1.61). A moderate, negative relationship (r = -.39, p < .001) exists between individuals whom have used DCS and attitudes toward DCS (Cohen, Cohen, West, & Aiken, 2003, p. 52). Also, a weak, negative relationship (r = -.23, p < .05) was found between individuals who have used DCS and their level of exposure to DCS. There is a limited amount of literature related to DCS and counseling professionals are being minimally exposed to distance clinical supervision. Despite limited exposure and literature, professionals are still using DCS to conduct supervision sessions. Therefore, it would seem important to increase research focused on DCS and develop relevant practices in order for DCS to be an effective form of supervision.

The research topic is the development of competence as perceived by addiction counselor trainees during supervision. Researchers explored the topic of competence in the fields of social work, psychology, medicine, and professional counseling. Researchers explored competence as it related to multicultural counseling, medical understanding, and specific counseling techniques. Addiction counselor training includes an understanding the 12 core functions within addiction counseling, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine’s six dimensions of addiction counseling. However, a gap in the research indicated the need to understand the development of competence within addiction counselor training given the different dynamics of addiction counseling preparation. The following research question was used to guide the research project: How do addiction counselor trainees describe the development of competence during supervision? A generic qualitative approach was used to understand the perceptions of addiction counselor trainees. Participants were 10 addiction counselor trainees in two Midwestern states. The sample included seven female and three males of which seven participants were Caucasian, one was Native American, one was African, and one was Hispanic. Nine of ten completed their Master’s degree while one completed an Associate’s degree. The data analysis method used after coding the raw data was thematic analysis. The following themes arose from the coding process once analyzed: (a) prior personal and professional experience, (b) consortium training, (c) academic preparation, (d) supervision, and (e) emotional intelligence. The participants believed the development of competence resulted from personal and professional experience, exposure to and active involvement in addiction services during training, academic preparation in college, active use of supervision during training, and the degree of personal emotional intelligence. While most addiction licensing boards identify the importance of academic preparation, training hours, and competency based testing procedures, none have identified the use of prior personal and professional experience and the degree of emotional intelligence. Further exploration in the utilization of emotional intelligence testing during addiction counselor training is indicated for future research based on the findings of this dissertation.

To address the void in scholarly literature, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe the experiences of counseling supervisors involved in cross-disciplinary supervision in post-educational settings. This research study was qualitative in nature and utilized a phenomenological approach. The central questions being asked were: (a) How do counseling supervisors experience cross-disciplinary supervision? and (b) How does power impact cross-disciplinary supervision? Seven participants were interviewed from the following professional disciplines within the state of North Carolina: social work, professional counseling, marriage and family therapy, and counseling psychology. Data analysis yielded the following textural themes: (a) challenging, (b) collaborative experiencing, (c) impact on belief system, and (d) managing power in relationships. Analysis also yielded the following structural themes: (a) supervision setting, (b) supervision format, (c) supervision structure, and (d) supervision perspective. Supervisors regarded cross-disciplinary supervision as a valuable part of their professional career, despite the challenges. From the findings, cross-disciplinary supervision is an experience of interdependence that encourages professional growth and development, and ultimately supports quality client care. Recommendations for future research include: (a) expanding the target population to include a more diverse supervisor demographic, (b) including field observations, (c) investigating the frequency of supervisees who engage in cross-disciplinary supervision and (d) exploring the impact of a more formal evaluative process, specifically for cross-disciplinary supervision experiences.