Student Perceptions of the Teacher-counselor Role at the Albina Youth Opportunity School
Student Perceptions of the Teacher-counselor Role at the Albina Youth Opportunity School

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 1973

Total Pages: 74

ISBN-13:

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This project is a descriptive study of the Albina Youth Opportunity School of Portland, Oregon. The school is described as one whose primary function is to help disadvantaged students who have extreme social and academic problems. The study focused on the students' perception of their teachers, who are defined by the school as teacher-counselors. Of the seventy full-time students, sixty-five participated in the study, and five refused to do so. The major questions of the study were concerned with the students' assessment of the teacher-counselors characteristics. Main areas for exploration dealt with the students' perception of the role of a teacher-counselor in relation to their specific needs. Factors taken into consideration were sex, age, length of attendance at the school, and the student's belief that the teacher-counselor liked or disliked him. A questionnaire was administered to each student in order to determine his assessment of the teacher-counselor role. Date was analyzed with the help of scale-measured attitudes of variables dealing with teaching and counseling items and tests of significance. Indices were computed from the data. Descriptive statistics included the use of frequency distribution, percentages, means, medians, and correlations. Study findings indicated that some students see the role differently, and some differences were difficult to interpret in terms of specific traits. There were differences in perception associated with the factors of sex, end length of attendance at the school. The findings suggest that the student's belief that the teacher-counselor like or dislike s him or her is associated with perception. They also yield evidence that the students perceive the teacher-counselor concept as a duel role. Implications are that the students who attend this school are being provided learning environment which is helpful to their needs.

College Students' Attitudes and Perception of the Therapeutic Competence of Counselors and Other Mental Health Professionals
College Students' Attitudes and Perception of the Therapeutic Competence of Counselors and Other Mental Health Professionals

Author: Mohamed Badra

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 116

ISBN-13:

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The public's perception of counselors has been a topic of concern for many researchers. However, research examining the attitudes towards seeking mental health services and the effect such perceptions have on the propensity of public use is in its prime. Such knowledge is necessary for the benefit of the consumer as well as concerned mental health professional organizations. Furthermore, the ability to discriminate consumer perception based on the professional identity of the mental health service provider will serve as a benchmark for a young profession- counseling- to understand its current status in the minds of the general public, in comparison to related mental health professions, and for counseling professional organizations to better allocate resources aimed at professional advocacy efforts. As potential consumers of mental health services, it is of great merit to understand college students' perceptions of mental health professionals' therapeutic competence, and their attitudes towards seeking services based on the identity of the mental health service provider; i.e. counselor, psychologist, or social worker. This study provided an overview of - three helping professions: counseling, psychology, and social work. Additionally, it expanded upon the circumstances surrounding the origination of each discipline and their governing bodies, current vocational opportunities and average salaries for members of each discipline, the rationale for conducting this study and the psychometric properties of the instrument- the Inventory of Attitudes toward Seeking Mental Health Services (IASMHS)- utilized by this study. The primary hypothesis which suggested a significant difference in student perception of the mental health professional's level of competence with respect to the identity of the professional was tested. Additionally, student attitudes towards seeking mental health services were measured and a comparison on the basis of the identity of the helper was drawn. The research was unable to find statistical significance regarding the previously posed hypotheses. However, a significant difference was noted between the sexes and their propensity to seek mental health services such that the females in this sample were more likely to seek mental health services than were the male participants. Furthermore, a statistically significant and moderate relationship existed between the number of courses taken in a helping discipline and participants' attitudes towards seeking professional mental health services such that as the number of courses completed increased, so did the positive manner in which participants viewed seeking mental health services. The researcher concluded the study by addressing its limitations and discussing future suggestions for researchers.