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AN INVESTIGATION OF COUNSELOR EDUCATORS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES AND PERCEIVED BARRIERS TO THE INCORPORATION OF EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES IN COUNSELOR EDUCATION CURRICULA

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Date Issued:
2010
Abstract/Description:
The overall purpose of this study was to investigate counselor educatorsÂÂ' attitudes towards evidence-based practices (EBPs) and perceived barriers to the inclusion of EBPs in counselor education curricula. Additionally, this study aimed to assess whether counselor educatorsÂÂ' level of agreement towards the presence of motivational interviewing (MI) principles in the counseling relationship impacted attitudes towards EBPs. As such, this researcher analyzed four research questions using two instruments and a demographic questionnaire. Two hundred sixty nine counselor educators (39.8% response rate) from the Association of Counselor Education and Supervision responded to an electronic survey, which consisted of the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS; Aarons, 2004), the BARRIERS Scale (Funk, Champagne, Wiese, & Tornquist, 1991), and a demographic questionnaire. Specifically, this study investigated four research questions to determine: (a) the difference in attitude towards adopting EBPs among counselor educators with respect to specific individual factors (i.e. specialized training in evidence-based practices, years of professoriate experience, and primary counselor education focus); (b) the difference in perceived barriers towards adopting EBPs into counselor education curricula among counselor educators with respect to organizational factors (i.e. type of program, status of CACREP accreditation, and faculty position); (c) the influence of EBP attitude on perceived barriers to the inclusion of EBPs in counselor education curricula; and (d) the correlation between counselor educators reported level of agreement towards MI principlesÂÂ' presence in the counseling relationship and their attitude towards EBPs. Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) were computed to analyze the data for the first two research questions, while linear regressions were utilized to compute the data for the last two research questions. In terms of individual factors, study results indicated that neither specialized training in EBPs nor years of professoriate experience resulted in significant differences with regards to attitudes towards EBPs. However, data analysis did reveal a significant difference between counselor educators with a clinical focus and counselor educators with a vocational focus. With regards to organizational factors influence on perceived barriers to the inclusion of EBPs in counselor education curricula, analyses revealed that neither CACREP accreditation nor faculty position resulted in any significant differences. Although, analysis did reveal that counselor educators in masters only programs perceived significantly less barriers to the inclusion of EBPs than did counselor educators in doctorate granting programs. Furthermore, results suggested a negative correlation between attitude towards EBPs and barriers towards the inclusion of EBPs in counselor education curricula, and a positive correlation between counselor educatorsÂÂ' agreement towards the inclusion of MI principles in the counseling relationship and their attitudes towards EBPs. Limitations of the study, implications for this study, and recommendations for future research as it relates to EBPs in counselor education and the counseling profession are addressed.
Title: AN INVESTIGATION OF COUNSELOR EDUCATORS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES AND PERCEIVED BARRIERS TO THE INCORPORATION OF EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES IN COUNSELOR EDUCATION CURRICULA .
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Name(s): Patel, Samir, Author
Hagedorn, Bryce, Committee Chair
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2010
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: The overall purpose of this study was to investigate counselor educatorsÂÂ' attitudes towards evidence-based practices (EBPs) and perceived barriers to the inclusion of EBPs in counselor education curricula. Additionally, this study aimed to assess whether counselor educatorsÂÂ' level of agreement towards the presence of motivational interviewing (MI) principles in the counseling relationship impacted attitudes towards EBPs. As such, this researcher analyzed four research questions using two instruments and a demographic questionnaire. Two hundred sixty nine counselor educators (39.8% response rate) from the Association of Counselor Education and Supervision responded to an electronic survey, which consisted of the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS; Aarons, 2004), the BARRIERS Scale (Funk, Champagne, Wiese, & Tornquist, 1991), and a demographic questionnaire. Specifically, this study investigated four research questions to determine: (a) the difference in attitude towards adopting EBPs among counselor educators with respect to specific individual factors (i.e. specialized training in evidence-based practices, years of professoriate experience, and primary counselor education focus); (b) the difference in perceived barriers towards adopting EBPs into counselor education curricula among counselor educators with respect to organizational factors (i.e. type of program, status of CACREP accreditation, and faculty position); (c) the influence of EBP attitude on perceived barriers to the inclusion of EBPs in counselor education curricula; and (d) the correlation between counselor educators reported level of agreement towards MI principlesÂÂ' presence in the counseling relationship and their attitude towards EBPs. Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) were computed to analyze the data for the first two research questions, while linear regressions were utilized to compute the data for the last two research questions. In terms of individual factors, study results indicated that neither specialized training in EBPs nor years of professoriate experience resulted in significant differences with regards to attitudes towards EBPs. However, data analysis did reveal a significant difference between counselor educators with a clinical focus and counselor educators with a vocational focus. With regards to organizational factors influence on perceived barriers to the inclusion of EBPs in counselor education curricula, analyses revealed that neither CACREP accreditation nor faculty position resulted in any significant differences. Although, analysis did reveal that counselor educators in masters only programs perceived significantly less barriers to the inclusion of EBPs than did counselor educators in doctorate granting programs. Furthermore, results suggested a negative correlation between attitude towards EBPs and barriers towards the inclusion of EBPs in counselor education curricula, and a positive correlation between counselor educatorsÂÂ' agreement towards the inclusion of MI principles in the counseling relationship and their attitudes towards EBPs. Limitations of the study, implications for this study, and recommendations for future research as it relates to EBPs in counselor education and the counseling profession are addressed.
Identifier: CFE0003063 (IID), ucf:48293 (fedora)
Note(s): 2010-05-01
Ph.D.
Education, Department of Child Family and Community Sciences
Doctorate
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): Counselor Education
Counselor Educator
Evidence-Based Practices
Motivational Interviewing
Attitudes
Barriers
Diffusion
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003063
Restrictions on Access: public
Host Institution: UCF

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