ED435947 1999-00-00 Technology

Competence of Counselor Educators.

ERIC Digest.

ERIC Development Team

www.eric.ed.gov

Table of Contents

If you're viewing this document online, you can click any of the topics below to link directly to that section.

Technology Competence of Counselor Educators. ERIC Digest.......... 1

METHODOLOGY............................................................... 2

RESPONDENTS................................................................ 3

RESULTS........................................................................ 3

RECOMMENDED COURSE OF ACTION.................................. 4

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION.............................................4

REFERENCES.................................................................. 4

ERIC Identifier: ED435947

Publication Date: 1999-00-00

Author: Myers, Jane E. - Gibson, Donna M.

Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Counseling and Student Services Greensboro NC.

Technology Competence of Counselor

Educators. ERIC Digest.

THIS DIGEST WAS CREATED BY ERIC, THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

INFORMATION CENTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC, CONTACT

ACCESS ERIC 1-800-LET-ERIC

To many people, technology is simply a fact of life - it affects virtually every aspect of

ED435947 1999-00-00 Technology Competence of Counselor Educators. ERIC Digest. Page 1 of 6
our daily living. Thus, the increasing use of technology in counseling is viewed as

unavoidable and even desirable. To others, technology has little place in counseling

beyond the traditional uses of computers for assessment and career counseling, as

described by Walz (1997). The increasing availability of inexpensive computer

applications and networks is a major force promoting the infusion of technology in our

field (Sampson, Kolodinsky, & Greeno, 1997), yet the extent to which counselors and

counselor educators use these resources is largely unknown.

If counselors find uses for technology in their work, may it be assumed that they will

learn technology skills in pre-service preparation? To what extent do counselor

educators use technology in their classrooms? In a recent survey of members of the

Association for Assessment in Counseling, participants indicated that they used the

Internet for assessment and for the purpose of searching for data (Lundberg & Cobitz,

1999). Little research is available concerning how counselor educators use technology

and how prepared they feel for the technological revolution; however, it appears that

technology competence is not a universal priority. For example, Hackney (1990), in

Changing Contexts for Counselor Preparation in the 1990s, devotes no attention to the

impact of technological change. At the same time, educators have realized that students

have different learning modalities and can benefit from a variety of teaching approaches

that utilize technological advances (Hayes, 1999).

The benefits of technology are numerous for both students and educators (Hayes,

1999; Morrell, 1992), and it is educators who provide the impetus as well as the medium

for much technological literacy, through course assignments and instructional methods.

It is timely to ask the question, how competent are counselor educators in the use of

technology? The answer to this question may establish training needs of counselor

educators and promote research on how best to meet these needs. We expect our

students to be technologically literate, but how competent are counselor educators in

the technology skills they require their students to possess?

METHODOLOGY

To answer the question posed above, we created a survey, based on the 12 technology

competencies for students identified by the Technology Interest Network of the

Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES;

http://www.auburn.edu/ccp/acestin). The survey was published in the Spring, 1999,

issue of the ACES Spectrum, and asked ACES members to self-assess their

technology competence. The availability of the survey was also announced to members

of the CESNET listserv, which is used by counselors, students, counselor educators,

and supervisors. Each competency was stated and readers were asked to respond

using a Likert-type scale with the following points: 1-no competence in this area; 2-a

little competence; 3-about average competence; 4- above average competence; and

5-very competent. Surveys could be completed using a web-based form on-line, sent

through e-mail, or the hard copy filled out and returned by "snail-mail." An opportunity

www.eric.ed.gov ERIC Custom Transformations Team

Page 2 of 6 ED435947 1999-00-00 Technology Competence of Counselor Educators. ERIC Digest.
was provided at the end of the survey for open-ended comments concerning technology

competence in counselor education and supervision.

RESPONDENTS

Ninety-two individuals responded to the survey, including 62 counselor educators, 22

students, 13 professional counselors, and 7 supervisors. Among the counselor

educators, 14 checked that they were assistant professors, 13 associate professors,

and 23 full professors. These individuals had a combined total of 850 years of

experience, with an average of 13.9 years (s.d. = 9.6). The average years of experience

by rank were as follows: assistant professors, 3.86 years (s.d. = 1.41), associate

professors, 9.85 years (s.d. = 4.76), full professors, 22.5 years (s.d. = 7.07). Six of the

students were entry-level and 19 doctoral-level. The overall response rate to the survey,

based on 2,492 ACES members, was 4%.

RESULTS

The means and standard deviations for all respondents for each of the 12 competencies

are included in Table 1. For each item except competency number two, responses

ranged from 1 to 5. For competency two, responses ranged from 2 to 5. The mean

competency ratings ranged from 2.95 to 4.55. The variability, as indicated by the

standard deviations, ranged from .82 to 1.29.

The table also shows the rank order of each competency based on the mean scores.

The highest ranks, indicating the highest level of competency, were for using e-mail (1),

accessing listservs (2), and using audio-visual equipment (3). These were also the three

competencies for which the least amount of variability in responses occurred, as noted

by a review of the standard deviations for each competency. The lowest competencies

were reported for using computerized testing (10), knowledge of webcounseling (11),

and using computerized statistical packages (12). There was a large amount of

variability in responses to these items compared to the top rated competencies, as

noted in the table.

MANOVAs for each competency computed between educators and students revealed

three significant differences. Counselor educators self-rated as more competent than

students for competencies 9 and 10 (F = 7.09, df=35, p = .01 and F = 8.21, df=35, P =

.01, respectively), knowledge of ethical codes relating to counseling on the internet and

knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of counseling on the internet. Students

rated themselves as higher on ability to use audiovisual equipment (F = 4.84, df=35, p =

.035). Eighty-eight of the 92 respondents indicated that they "actively seek opportunities

to develop my technology skills" while two indicated that they "avoid opportunities to

develop my technology skills."

Thirty respondents provided comments related to the survey or counselor education

technology competencies. Only three individuals reported that technology competence

was infused into the curriculum in their counselor education training program, and that a

ERIC Resource Center www.eric.ed.gov

ED435947 1999-00-00 Technology Competence of Counselor Educators. ERIC Digest. Page 3 of 6
high level of competence was expected of students throughout their enrollment in the

program. Concern for lack of access to computers, especially by adult, commuter

students, was noted as a barrier to instructor use of the web for dissemination of syllabi

and other course materials. Several individuals noted that they were unaware of the

competency levels of other persons, thus rating themselves in relation to other

counselor educators was a difficult and possibly inaccurate process.

RECOMMENDED COURSE OF ACTION

Strategies for increasing technology competence among counselor educators, students,

and counseling professionals seem to be a necessity as we enter the 21st century. The

results of our survey, though limited in scope, provide baseline data to help determine

the present state of the field and suggest current and future directions for training and

research. More research on counselor educator technology competence is needed to

provide a basis for designing continuing education programs to increase technology

skills. In addition, specific technology competencies for counselor educators that may

be over and above those needed by counseling students have not yet been identified,

and competencies for practicing professional counselors remain undetermined.

Continued research as well as dialog concerning technology competencies in

counseling is needed, as well as discussion concerning ways to infuse technology

competence into counseling and counselor training. As part of this discussion, the

relative importance of various competencies needs to be considered, as well as the

desirability, feasibility, or necessity of being "very competent" in all areas.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

As the impetus for advanced technology continues, counselor training programs are

increasingly required to adapt. Results of the ACES survey on technology competencies

for counselor educators and students indicate that counselor educators and counseling

students lack a uniformly high level of technology competence. Given the likely

possibility that primarily "technology-interested" individuals completed the survey, the

results probably overestimate, by an unknown amount, the actual levels of technology

competence among counselor educators and students.

Further research is needed to determine the relative importance of each of the

technology competencies in the various settings in which counselors work. With this

information, it will also be necessary to determine the extent to which the competencies

are currently infused into counselor preparation programs as well as strategies for

promoting technology training. It will be important to address both pre- and in-service

preparation that will enhance needed technology competence in our field.

REFERENCES

Hackney, H. (1990). Changing contexts for counselor preparation in the 1990s.

www.eric.ed.gov ERIC Custom Transformations Team

Page 4 of 6 ED435947 1999-00-00 Technology Competence of Counselor Educators. ERIC Digest.
Alexandria, VA: Association for Counselor Education and Supervision.

Hayes, B. G. (1999). Where's the data? Is multimedia instruction effective in training

counselors? Journal of Technology in Counseling 1.1 [On-line]. Available:

<http://jtc.colstate.edu.>

Lundberg, D. J., & Cobitz, C. I. (1999). Use of technology in counseling assessment: A

survey of practices, views, and outlook. Journal of Technology in Counseling 1.1

[On-line]. Available: <http://jtc.colstate.edu>.

Morrell, P. D. (1992). The effects of computer-assisted instruction and students'

achievement in high school biology. School Science and Mathematics, 92 (4), 177-181.

Sampson, J. P., Jr., Kolodinsky, R. W., & Greeno, B. P. (1997). Counseling on the

information highway: Future possibilities and potential problems. Journal of Counseling

& Development, 75, 203-218.

Walz, G. R. (1997). Using the I-way for career development. In R. Feller & G. R. Walz

(Eds.), Career transitions in turbulent times: Exploring work, learning and careers (pp.

415-427). Greensboro, NC: ERIC/CASS Publications.

Jane E. Myers, Ph.D., LPC, is a Professor in the Department of Counseling and

Educational Development at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Donna

Gibson, M.S., S.S.P., is a doctoral candidate at The University of North Carolina at

Greensboro in the Department of Counseling and Educational Development. Portions of

this Digest were published previously in the ACES Spectrum and in the cyber-book,

Cybercounseling and Education in the Millennium: A Handbook for Human Resources

Specialists, edited by John Bloom and Garry Walz.

This publication was prepared with funding from the Office of Educational Research and

Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. The ideas and opinions expressed in the

Digest do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI, ED, or the

Clearinghouse. This Digest is in the public domain and may be freely reproduced

TABLE 1

==========================================================

Technology Competence of Counselor Educators

ACES Technology Competencies:

mean s.d. rank

1. Be able to use productivity software to develop web pages,

3.32 1.18 9

presentations, letters, reports, etc.

2. Be able to use such audiovisual equipment as video

4.12 0.91 3

recorders, audio recorders, projection equipment,

and playback units.

3. Be able to subscribe, participate in, and sign off

ERIC Resource Center www.eric.ed.gov

ED435947 1999-00-00 Technology Competence of Counselor Educators. ERIC Digest. Page 5 of 6
4.16 0.96 2

counseling-related listservs.

4. Be able to access and use

counseling-related CD-ROM databases.

3.45 1.29 7

5. Be able to use e-mail.

4.55 0.82 1

6. Be able to use computerized statistical packages.

2.95 1.19 12

7. Be able to use computerized testing,

diagnostic, and career

3.31 1.29 10

Title: Technology Competence of Counselor Educators. ERIC Digest.

Document Type: Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs)

(071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073);

Reports---Research/Technical (143);

Available From: ERIC Counseling and Student Services Clearinghouse, University of

North Carolina at Greensboro, 201 Ferguson Building, P.O. Box 26171, Greensboro,

NC 27402-6171.Tel: 336-334-4114; Tel: 800-414-9769 (Toll Free); Fax: 336-334-4116;

email: ericcass@uncg.edu; Web site: http://www.uncg.edu/edu/ericcass.

Descriptors: College Students, Competence, Computer Assisted Instruction, Computer

Literacy, Counselor Educators, Counselor Training, Educational Technology, Graduate

School Faculty, Higher Education, Measures (Individuals), National Surveys,

Performance Based Assessment, Performance Technology, Professors

Identifiers: Association for Counselor Educ and Supervision, ERIC Digests

###

[Return to ERIC Digest Search Page]

www.eric.ed.gov ERIC Custom Transformations Team

Page 6 of 6 ED435947 1999-00-00 Technology Competence of Counselor Educators. ERIC Digest.