A Study of Practices and Procedures used to Prepare Competent Group Leaders by Instructors in CACREP-Accredited Master's Level Group Courses

A Study of Practices and Procedures used to Prepare Competent Group Leaders by Instructors in CACREP-Accredited Master's Level Group Courses

Date: August 2002
Creator: Simpson, Christopher S.
Description: This study identified the practices and procedures of instruction that is being implemented by group counseling instructors at CACREP-accredited institutions. A survey questionnaire developed by the researcher was used to gather data from 160 CACREP-accredited counseling units across the United States. The survey was designed to collect input from group instructors on how the didactic, practicum, and experiential components of the master's level group course are being implemented. Three assumptions were made in conducting this study: 1.) The majority of master's level group instructors will report that they use a didactic component in preparing students to become effective group leaders, 2.) The majority of master's level group instructors will report that they use an experiential component in preparing students to become effective group leaders, and 3.) The majority of master's level group instructors will report that they use a practicum component in preparing students to become effective group leaders. The survey questionnaire and, consequently, the results were divided into the respective sections of didactic, experiential, and practicum. The results indicated that each of these components were utilized in the instruction of master's level group courses.
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A descriptive study of accredited counseling programs.

A descriptive study of accredited counseling programs.

Date: December 2001
Creator: Brew, Leah
Description: The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP) is the accrediting body for the field of counselor education. Since the inception of the standards, several individuals have published journal articles reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of CACREP accreditation. The purpose of this study was to do a preliminary survey of the opinions of individuals within CACREP accredited programs to discover the effects of accreditation on programs. The survey of opinions from respondent CACREP accredited programs indicated interesting results. The eleven frequently held beliefs about improvements after accreditation was substantiated by the number, the percentage, and the Chi Square results from respondent programs. Therefore, after CACREP accreditation, most programs reported the opinion that: students have higher grade point averages and test scores; students are younger, learn better, and receive more employment opportunities; a higher percentage of students pass the licensed professional counselor examination; average scores are higher on the nationally certified counselor examination; programs receive more applicants and faculty is more professionally active, publishes more, and presents more. The second part of the survey indicated that a large percentage of respondent programs offer courses beyond the CACREP core curriculum experiences (91%) and that a variety of courses are ...
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An Investigation into how CACREP Accredited Institutions meet the CACREP Practicum Standards

An Investigation into how CACREP Accredited Institutions meet the CACREP Practicum Standards

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community.
Date: December 2004
Creator: Muro, Joel Hart
Description: This study was designed to determine how institutions accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) meet the practicum requirements set forth in CACREP's 2001 standards. Practicum is a vital part of the matriculation process of counselors in training. This clinical based course allows students to practice the skills they have learned in previous, more didactic based courses. Trainees can stretch skills, all under the watch of a counselor supervisor with greater experience. Although CACREP instructs all accredited counseling programs to have such a course in place, the standards are not specific. Schools are often interpreting the standards in a multitude of ways, presumably to successfully meet the standards while still serving the student as well as the clientele who seek out mental health assistance (Pitts, 1992a). The purpose of this study was to determine what measures CACREP accredited institutions enact to meet the clinical practicum standards. The difference between this study and prior research that has addressed the practicum requirement is that the instrument used in this study specifically addressed every CACREP practicum standard, including technology, diversity, and concerns with supervision and meeting the direct client contact hour requirement. The results of the ...
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Analysis of the Impact of CACREP Accreditation of Counselor Education Programs on Student Knowledge Outcomes

Analysis of the Impact of CACREP Accreditation of Counselor Education Programs on Student Knowledge Outcomes

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community.
Date: May 2001
Creator: Scott, Susan W.
Description: The principal investigator (PI) for this study analyzed mean scores on the National Counselor Examination (NCE) of students from CACREP accredited and non- CACREP accredited programs. Data was provided by the National Board of Certified Counselors, Inc., for a total of ten examination administrations across six years. The fourteen variables examined in the study consisted of the eight common-core knowledge domains identified in CACREP standards, the five counselor work behavior areas identified by NBCC via periodic job analysis of counseling practice, and one overall or total score on the NCE. NCE mean scores of students from CACREP accredited programs were higher than NCE mean scores of students from non-CACREP accredited programs on all variables across all ten NCE administrations. Data seem to indicate that students from CACREP accredited programs perform significantly better on the NCE than students from non-CACREP accredited programs, in all fourteen variables. Sample size was large, totaling 9707, so the PI calculated effect sizes using Cohen's d for each variable to aid interpretation of statistical significance. Five variables had large effect sizes of .70 or higher. The higher effect size statistics were associated with the counselor work behavior areas, with the highest effect size (.85) associated with ...
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