Psychometric Evaluation of the Traditional Chinese Version of CCS-R Practicum Evaluation
Condition: Peer Group
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      This study aims to translate the original Counselor Competencies Scale-Revised (CCS-R,
      English version) into traditional Chinese. It will then test the psychometric properties of
      the newly translated CCS-R to examine its factorial structure using both exploratory factor
      analysis (EFA) and CFA.
    

Detailed description: 
      Clinical supervisors are charged with facilitating the development of their supervisees
      toward becoming ethical and competent. In addition, clinical supervisors are expected to
      serve as gatekeepers for the profession and deny entry to students who demonstrate a
      deficiency of necessary competencies. Despite the developmental and remedial expectations for
      clinical supervisors, specific guidelines to direct clinical supervisors' evaluation of their
      supervisees' level of counseling competencies are limited. The lack of agreed-upon and
      standardized evaluation criteria for supervisees' minimum level of counseling competencies
      and the limited availability of tested assessments to measure supervisees' counseling
      competencies fosters subjectivity in supervisory assessment and potential remediation.
      Therefore, additional research is warranted relating to clinical supervisory evaluation
      instruments.

      Supervisory evaluation is "the nucleus of clinical supervision". Specifically, "supervisors
      document and provide supervisees with ongoing feedback regarding their performance and
      schedule periodic formal evaluative sessions throughout the supervisory relationship".
      However, clinical supervisors are often uncomfortable in evaluating their supervisees.
      Nevertheless, effective and ethical supervision supports supervisees' development of
      counseling competencies in which supervisors provide their supervisees with both formative
      and summative evaluative feedback within the context of a strong supervisory alliance.
      Limited research was identified investigating supervisory evaluation processes with
      standardized assessment tools such as the counselling competencies in Hong Kong.

      An initial quantitative investigation of the 23-item counselling competencies scale-revised
      (CCS-R) supported the construct validity (e.g., exploratory factor analysis identified a
      ﬁve-factor model [professional behaviors, professional behaviors, counseling skills,
      assessment and application, and professional dispositions], accounting for 72.61% of the
      variance), internal consistency reliability, interrater reliability (r ¼.570), and
      criterion-related validity (correlation between supervisees' practicum course grade and ﬁnal
      CCS score, r ¼.407,) of the instrument. The researchers concluded that "the CCS is a
      promising instrument for assessment in counselor education and supervision". Nevertheless,
      qualitative data are warranted to evaluate the CCS with a sample of clinical supervisors and
      their supervisees around its (a) functionality in communication of supervisory feedback with
      the CCS, (b) consistency in CCS evaluation, and (c) emotional reactions to supervisory
      evaluation with the CCS. Therefore, this study aims to translate the original Counselor
      Competencies Scale-Revised (CCS-R, English version) into traditional Chinese. It will then
      test the psychometric properties of the newly translated CCS-R to examine its factorial
      structure using both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and CFA.
    

Intervention name(s): Evaluation of Counselling competencies
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): To complete a set of questionnaires
Observational model: Cohort
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        Young people in Hong Kong who complete the training of peer counselling for smoking
        cessation or anti-drug abusing will be selected and invited to participate in the proposed
        study