Counselor involvement in professional development and preparedness for roles in tech prep

An ex post facto survey design was used with secondary and postsecondary counsellors situated within seven purposively selected community colleges in Illinois to examine relationships among their personal and professional backgrounds, professional development experiences, and perceptions of roles and responsibilities in tech prep. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Principal Axis Factor (PAF), and correlational analysis. Results show few counsellors participated in ongoing experiential professional development approaches such as curriculum planning, study groups, or action research. Discrepancies emerged between counsellor involvement in professional development approaches and their perceptions of the most helpful methods of professional development and preparedness for roles in tech prep. Qualitative results suggest these differences may be associated with the omission of counsellors in decision making about professional development, limited resources to support counsellor involvement in tech prep, and scepticism among counsellors about the viability of tech prep benefits for all students.

Published abstract. Copyright held by JVER.

An ex post facto survey design was used with secondary and postsecondary counsellors situated within seven purposively selected community colleges in Illinois to examine relationships among their personal and professional backgrounds, professional development experiences, and perceptions of roles and responsibilities in tech prep. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Principal Axis Factor (PAF), and correlational analysis. Results show few counsellors participated in ongoing experiential professional development approaches such as curriculum planning, study groups, or action ...  [+] Show more