Specialist's Project. Counselors Without Teaching Experience

This paper is composed of three sections. The first discusses research and the background rationale for the counselor education program at the University of Minnesota. Studies by Peterson and Brown, Harper, Brown and Pfister are included, each being concerned with the teaching requirement for counselors. The University of Minnesota's program is set up to prepare counselors who have no teaching experience. To date, five candidates have completed the program. Included in the program of two years of graduate study are a counseling theory course, practicum, and internship. The internship is spent in a public school setting with an in school supervisor who could give immediate feedback. Interns were encouraged to bring guidance into the classroom, and had to teach a four week unit on identity. Evaluation at this time is difficult. All graduates from the programs have been offered second year contracts and superiors attest to the satisfactoriness of these counselors and their work. While many of the counselors have self doubts, they feel that they have a good working relationship with students and teachers. Tentative feelings about the program are that there is no need for previous teaching experience to be an effective counselor, provided the training offered is adequate. [Not available in hard copy due to marginal legibility of original document.] (KJ)