Blog 7 Chapter 7

Blog 7 Chapter 7

            Chapter seven had me thinking two things.  The first was, yes for the love of God I get it!  I must collect data and will collect data.  Collecting data must be important because that broken record seems to be playing in every counseling course I’ve taken.  Of course I know it is important and I say these things with a little tongue in cheek.  I also think about my counselor interviews and specifically the counselor of 30 years that did not know how to collect data and never had any administrative mandate or professional guidance to do so.  What a perfect illustration as to how school counseling professional standards have evolved over the last 30 years.  Here I am about to enter the field for the first time with the thought “collect data” hardwired into my brain, while the counselor I interviewed who has 30 years of experience has never given data collection any thought.  Chapter seven makes it very clear that the days of assuming counselors are making the school a better place by doing whatever they see fit is long gone.  I recall my interviewee stating how she had free liberty to implement whatever she wanted and that her administrators never questioned her about it.  When I asked her how she new what she was doing was helping the students she paused and said, “well I suppose I could look at their grades.”  Now I know that piece of aggregate data alone would not have been enough to make a fair conclusion about the effectiveness of school counseling.  For example, she would need to disaggregate the data and compare grades, attendance, behavior patterns, test scores, attendance and student attitudes.  Next she would have to determine the needs of her students.  Then she would also have to use evidence-based practices.  Next she would measure the effectiveness of the intervention by how precisely teachers or counselors implemented the intervention and how students received the intervention.  Then she would need to share her findings with stakeholders and revise if necessary.  There is much more to determining if the school-counseling program is working than simply looking at grades. 

Perhaps she just got lucky she was never audited or perhaps she reflects a district that is lacking knowledge about the importance of accountability.  I believe I have a healthy dose a paranoia and I expect to be questioned about what I am doing, why I am doing it, and does what I do help the students.  From our class discussions, my interviews, and the textbook I know that there exists a whole slew of misconceptions about school counseling.  I want very much to prove my worth as an individual as well as prove the value of school counseling as a profession.  I believe the best ammunition for advocacy is facts, pure and simple.

           

Dollarhide, C. T., & Saginak, K. A. (2012). Comprehensive School Counseling Programs.

             (2nd ed.). New York: Pearson, Inc.