African American Students' Perceptions of Their High School Career Counseling Experiences
Date
2013
Authors
Byrd, Leah
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Abstract
This study examined the perceptions of 10 <bold>African American</bold> 12th-grade students from one <bold>suburban high school</bold> regarding their high school <bold>career counseling</bold> experiences. The purpose was to better understand how students perceive their <bold>career counseling</bold> interactions and to ascertain what factors were relevant in the counseling relationship. An individual, in-person interview was conducted with each participant. An analysis of the individual interviews was conducted which yielded a number of themes that were relevant to each participant. A further analysis of all 10 student cases collectively identified eight themes that emerged as common amongst multiple participants. The common themes were: (a) counselors need to be a useful resource, (b) counselors need to emotionally connect with students, (c) counselors need to be personable, (d) students did not seek career development assistance, (e) students judged counselors based on observations of work ethic (f) college-bound students reported similar counseling needs, (g) male students reported generally favorable experiences, and (h) counselor demographics not mentioned. These themes identify characteristics of the counseling relationship that the participants found significant to them.
Description
Keywords
Education policy, School counseling, African American, Career Counseling, High School, Qualitative, School Counseling, Student Perceptions