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Article Excerpt
Counselor educators (N = 167) in programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs were surveyed regarding research training received during their doctoral studies. Respondents shared perspectives regarding the quality and quantity of their research course work as well as suggestions on how to enhance research training in counselor education programs. Differences in the amount, type, and attitudes toward research were found according to programs from which educators were graduated and year of graduation. The influences of mentoring as a critical practice in research training also emerged. Implications for research training in counselor education are discussed.
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Recent literature indicates a growing concern with the doctoral research training of counselor educators and counselors (Betz, 1997; Fong, 1992; Kline & Farrell, 2005; Lundervold & Belwood, 2000; Reisetter et al., 2004). Increasingly, literature has addressed the need for counselor educators and counselors to be more conversant with qualitative and quantitative research methodologies (Fong, 1992; Fong & Malone, 1994; Kline, 2003; Kline & Farrell, 2005). In a recent editorial in Counselor Education and Supervision, Kline and Farrell enumerated their concerns regarding the large number of flawed research-based manuscripts submitted to the journal. The methodological errors they identified as rampant in submitted manuscripts were almost identical to those identified by Fong and Malone in their editorial review of the same journal. One can assume that some of the research-based challenges evident in manuscripts submitted for publication by counselor educators and counselors could be traced back to the authors' research training (Galassi, Stoltz, Brooks, & Trexler, 1987; Kline & Farrell, 2005; Lundervold & Belwood, 2000).
Kahn (2001) hypothesized that the problems found in counselor educators' research articles may be due to a dislike of research, insufficient training in research methodologies, and lack of opportunity to participate in research. After completing a research study that explored the predictability of research interest among rehabilitation counseling students and faculty, Bard, Bieschke, Herbert, and Eberz (2000) asserted that "most graduates of doctoral-level training programs demonstrate a lack of interest and involvement in research activities" (p. 48). They identified factors that they believed could contribute to the development of a sustained interest in research. These factors ranged from the research training environment and personality variables to sociocognitive variables such as research self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Lundervold and Belwood (2000) also summarized concerns about research training methodology in counselor education. These concerns included poor preparation to conduct research, pedagogy on irrelevant research methods, lack of proper practice settings, poor choice of research methodology instructors, and insufficient content of the research methods courses. Thus, research related to understanding factors that influence the quality of research and research productivity by counselor educators is critical.
In their exploration of doctoral students' perceptions of qualitative research, Reisetter et al. (2004) found that the participants perceived qualitative research methodology as congruent with their worldview, counseling theory and skills, research identity, and professional viability. The students involved in the study also described how exposure to qualitative research provided them with a holistic research experience. However, no research has explored additional variables specifically about training related to qualitative and quantitative methodologies in counselor education.
In addition to formal course work in research methods, the quality and kind of mentoring graduate students receive as they progress through graduate school is closely linked to research productivity (Hollingsworth, 2000; Kahn, 2001; Nelson & Neufeldt, 1998). Betz (1997) recommended that among other forms of motivating graduate students to engage in research, mentoring was particularly effective, especially if the faculty adviser was actively engaged in research activity. This perspective was shared by Nelson and Neufeldt, who also observed that mentoring and social support provided an "engaging and motivating research experience" (p. 76) for students. Understanding how mentoring affects research quality and productivity in counselor education is clearly important; however, no research of this kind exists.
In addition to mentoring, literature (Bard et al., 2000; Hollingsworth, 2000; Kahn, 2001) had indicated that lack of research efficacy may be a factor that leads to avoidance of research activity. Kline and Farrell (2005) suggested that understanding counselor educators' research efficacy might lend insight to the sources of errors in manuscripts that counselor educators and counselors submitted for publication. However, little is known about counselor educators' experiences in research training and research.
The purpose of this article is to address concerns raised in the literature about counselor educators' research skills by analyzing the research training experiences and environments of counselor education faculty. Considering the ongoing calls (Fong, 1992; Fong & Malone, 1994; Kline & Farrell, 2005) for improving the quality of research manuscripts submitted for publication by counselor education faculty, this study sought to examine counselor educators' perceptions of their training in research methodology. Also, in light of the ongoing calls (Bard et al., 2000; Kahn, 2001) for improving the quality and quantity of research training provided in doctoral counselor education programs, this study sought to identify changes over time in the quantity and perceived quality of doctoral research courses taken by Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) program faculty. Additionally, in response to literature indicating the importance of mentoring in developing research efficacy, this study dedicated four survey items to the examination of current counselor educators' opinions on research-specific mentoring. These questions assessed the level of importance counselor educators placed on mentoring and their perceptions of the values of the practice in doctoral training programs. The study also aimed to identify needs for continuing research training among counselor educators. Therefore, the following research questions were posed for this study:
1. Do differences exist in the quantity and type of doctoral research course work received by CACREP program faculty based on year of graduation?
2. Do differences exist in the way CACREP program faculty assess the quality and quantity of their doctoral research course work based on year of graduation?
3. Do CACREP program faculty support the infusion of additional quantitative and qualitative research components into doctoral counseling programs?
4. Do CACREP program faculty support research-specific mentoring in doctoral programs?
5. What do CACREP program faculty identify as their current research...
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