Student Epistemological Beliefs of Counselling and Theory Choice Wendy Hoskins and Lisa Bendixen University of Nevada, Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV USA

Aim/Purpose Graduate level counsellor education involves a variety of learning experiences and instructional methods designed to help new counsellors integrate theory and practice. In order to better prepare counsellor educators to work effectively with counselling students, the aim of this study is to explore the development of beliefs about counselling epistemology and theory of choice among beginning level counselling students.

Theoretical Framework A growing body of research literature supports that counselling students’ general beliefs about knowledge and knowing can change over the course of their training. One framework used to consider this growth is based on the work of Perry’s (1970) theory of general epistemological development that includes three broad levels: 1) Dualist (i.e., knowledge is seen as right/wrong), 2) Multiplist (i.e., knowledge is considered completely relative and based on personal views), and 3) Evaluativist (i.e., knowledge is viewed as relative but certain within contexts based on evidence)

Counseling Students’ Epistemological Beliefs Using Perry’s scheme, Granello (2002) found longitudinal evidence to support this developmental view over the course of counselling students’ training and that shifts in beliefs were most associated with interaction with clients later in their educational experience (e.g., counselling students close to completing their programs had more advanced or evaluativst views). Epistemological development can also be examined in terms of specific and interrelated dimensions of epistemological beliefs and research supports that these beliefs can be domain-specific and/or topic-specific.

Counseling Students’ Epistemological Beliefs cont’ To gain a more nuanced view of student counsellors’ epistemic beliefs we adapted and used a measure developed by Braten and colleagues that assesses four dimensions of counselling knowledge and knowing. Each dimension is based on a continuum of beliefs ranging from more naïve views to more advanced beliefs and includes: Certainty of knowledge about counselling (i.e., absolute truth exists – knowledge is tentative and evolving), Simplicity of knowledge about counselling (i.e., knowledge is based on simple, discrete facts – knowledge is complex and highly integrated), Source of knowledge about counselling (i.e., knowledge resides outside the self – knowledge is constructed), and Justification of knowing about counselling (i.e., knowledge can be justified by what feels right or from authority – knowledge is based on critical thinking and evaluation).

Method Participants Theory-Based Practice Course Forty-seven students participated (Females = 37, Males = 10, Mean Age = 28.65) in the study during their first semester of entering a Master’s level Counsellor Education Program in the U.S. Theory-Based Practice Course Each student participated in a course that focuses on an understanding of basic theories of counselling, a better understanding of the student’s own views of counselling, and to understand the process of building collaborative relationships within the counselling experience. There is also a skills-based curriculum that focuses on student’s ability to: incorporate methods of theory-based interventions in the counselling setting, to incorporate the core skills of attending and responding in the counselling experience, and to better understand their own personal philosophy of counselling.

Measures – Epistemological Beliefs about Counselling This study adapted and used a version of a topic-specific measure of epistemological beliefs developed by Braten and Stromso. This measure contains 49 items based on a 10-point Likert scale and includes four dimensions of epistemological beliefs related to counselling: Certainty of counselling knowledge (e.g., “The knowledge concerning counselling is constantly changing.”), Simplicity of counselling knowledge (e.g., “Within counselling research, facts are more important than theories.”), Source of counselling knowledge (e.g., “When I read about issues concerning counselling, the author’s opinion is more important than mine.”), and Justification for knowing about counselling (e.g., “To find out whether or not what I read about counselling problems is trustworthy, I try to compare knowledge from multiple sources.”).

Measures – Counselling Theory Students were also asked to identify one of three theoretical umbrellas (pre and post) that seemed to fit their personhood best. The three theoretical umbrellas include: Behavioral/Cognitive Behavioral Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Humanistic/Transpersonal This study was interested in student selection as an indicator of personal and professional growth, insight to self, and level of personal autonomy as indicated by the Spectrum Model of Counseling Theories.

Findings To investigate shifts in counselling students’ beliefs about counselling over the course of the semester, means on each of the four dimensions of epistemological beliefs were compared (pre and post) using paired-samples t tests. The Simple Knowledge dimension showed a significant increase in mean from pre (M = 78.11) and post (M = 83.14) at the p < .05 level indicating that students viewed counselling knowledge as more complex at the end of the course than they did at the beginning of the course. Although not significant, the means for the Certain Knowledge dimension pre (M = 84.01) and post (M = 88.79) and the Source of Knowledge pre (87.47) and post (M = 91.29) also increased indicating shifts in students’ beliefs about the relative and constructive nature of counselling knowledge. Interestingly, the Justification of Knowledge dimension slightly decreased for the pre (M = 87.15) and post (M = 86.58).

Findings continued In addition, analyses indicate that 30% of the counselling students changed their theoretical umbrella at the end of the course to a more non-directive, client-centered view (i.e., Humanistic theory) . This further indicates that the course on counselling was effective at advancing students’ view of the nature counselling knowledge and knowing.

Research Limitations and Recommendations The research is small scale limiting generalizability. There is a lack of current counselling related epistemology research to draw from. Recommendations for further research: Replication of this study longitudinally is already taking place. Engage a larger sample size by reaching out to additional counsellor education programs nationally and/or internationally.

Educational Implications Obtaining information on students’ beliefs along the lines of the four epistemic dimensions offer counsellor educators a better chance to more effectively reach their students. For example, students at the end of the entry-level course viewed counselling knowledge as more complex and integrated (rather than made up of simple, unrelated facts). This may be due, in part, to being exposed to the course content that includes a number of theories and skills associated with counselling. Also encouraging were the shifts to a more humanistic view of counselling knowledge that were apparent in the students at the end of the course. Learning about and challenging students views of counselling brought about important change.

References Astramovich, R. L. (2002). A spectrum model of counseling theories. Astramovich, R. L., Hoskins, W. J., & Coker, J. K. (2013). Organizing and evaluating data-driven school counseling programs. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt. Braten, I., & Stromso, H. I. (2004). Epistemological beliefs and implict theories of intelligence as predictors of achievement goals. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 29, 371-388. Fong, M. L., Borders, L. D., Ethington, C. A., & Pitts, J. H. (1998). Becoming a counselor: A longitudinal study of student cognitive development. Counselor Education & Supervision, 38, 100-114. Granello, D. H., (2002). Assessing the cognitive development of counseling students: Changes and epistemological assumptions. Counselor Education & Supervision, 41, 279-292. Hofer, B. K., & Pintrich, P. R. (Eds.). (2002). Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Kuhn, D., & Weinstock, M. (2002). What is epistemological thinking and why does it matter? In B. K. Hofer & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (pp. 121-144). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Muis, K. R., Bendixen, L. D., & Haerle, F. C. (2006). Domain generality and domain specificity in personal epistemology research: Philosophical and empirical reflections in the development of a theoretical model. Educational Psychology Review, 18, 3-54. Nye, R. D. (2000). Three psychologies: Perspectives from Freud, Skinner and Rogers (6th edition). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole. Perry, W. G. (1970). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.