Computer Utilization by School Counselors.

are in the midst of what Toffler (Mead, 1996) has termed the information age, with a third shift in the U.S. vocational landscape. We have moved from an agrarian economy to an industrial-based economy and now into a data-driven, super high-speed, information-processing economy that Toffler terms the information revolution. The United States leads the world in state-of-the-art computing technology and software design and production. A recent report, America's Children and the Information Superhighway (1996), noted that while in 1984 only 25% of workers used computers on the job, the figure had risen to 47% by 1993. Today, well over half of the existing jobs require some degree of information and technological literacy. It is estimated that in the year 2000, 60% of the new jobs will require technological skills possessed by only 22% of the young people entering the labor market! A 1993 study reported that a shocking 80% of all school computers were considered to be "obsolete" (America's Children and the Information Superhighway, 1996). Moore (1992) examined computer applications by Arkansas school counselors as part of his doctoral research. He sent 1,174 surveys to school counselors employed in the 1989-90 school year and received 781 (67%) responses. Next he chose a subsample of counselors and found that about 30% of the counselors were using computers for counseling-related tasks. Sabella (1996) offered school counselors specific time-saving tips and showed how personal computers could easily automate and expedite routine tasks and help counselors easily manage heavy workloads. There is little doubt that the computer can represent a powerful tool for performing many counseling-related tasks, but little is known about the extent to which school counselors are using this tool in their work. The present study sought to investigate computer utilization among school counselors in the Commonwealth of Kentucky in an attempt to determine the extent to which computers were being used in the schools. Two hundred public schools with at least one counselor on staff were randomly selected from among the public schools listed in the Kentucky School Directory. The pool consisted of 50 elementary, 50 middle, 50 secondary, and 50 vocational schools. Of the 200 surveys mailed, 92 completed surveys were returned, representing a return rate of 46%. Of these, 68 were completed by female (73.9%) and 24 by male respondents (26.1%). The age of all respondents ranged from 29 to 58 years (M = 43.1 years, SD = 6.93 years). Instrument The instrument used to collect data was a 19-item survey developed for the purpose of soliciting information from school counselors in two general areas. The first area solicited information about the counselors as well as their experience in education and in counseling. The second area solicited information regarding the availability and current use of computers by school counselors. Specifically, the instrument was used to determine (a) the availability and type of computer equipment provided or available to the school counselor, (b) whether the respondent had and used a computer at home, (c) the amount of time a computer was used each week in job-related work, (d) the nature and type of the work performed, (e) the level of skill and confidence the respondent had in using a computer, (f) the degree to which a computer was seen as enhancing the productivity of the counselor, and (g) the type of software applications most frequently used. Procedure After selecting the 200 public schools within the state, the Computer Utilization Survey (CUS) was mailed to each school along with a request that the survey be completed by the school counselor and returned in a self-addressed and stamped envelope. All data were collected during a 5-week period during March and April of 1996. The responses to each of the 19 items were then tabulated. Following initial examination of the responses, three of the items (#11 relating to weekly computer usage, #14 relating to computer confidence, and #15 relating to enhanced productivity) were statistically evaluated to determine if significant differences existed among the elementary, middle, and secondary respondents using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). …