Online Teaching and Learning in Counselor Education: A 23‐Year Content Analysis

Abstract

Online teaching and learning has become increasingly prevalent in counselor education, particularly during the COVID‐19 pandemic. We conducted a content analysis on the frequency, type, and topics for 48 articles of online teaching and learning published from 1998 to 2020 in 26 counseling journals. Implications for online counselor education and future research are provided.

Predictors of counselor trainees’ satisfaction with online learning during COVID‐19

“…After the spring break of 2020, many in‐person counseling programs, like others in higher education, suspended their face‐to‐face classes and adopted an emergency remote learning mode (Ghazi‐Saidi et al., 2020 ). In tandem with this swift transition, the steady proliferation of online (50% or more of a program's curriculum is offered online) counseling programs had been a trend that started prior to the pandemic (Li & Su, 2021 ). The confluence of these two change processes—the forced, abrupt transition to remote learning and the incremental growth of online counseling programs—delineated the new landscape of counselors training (Harrison, 2021 ).…”

“…Counseling students are active participants of online learning, but how they perceive and experience this modality has been understudied (Li & Su, 2021 ). The prevalence of computer‐mediated learning due to COVID‐19 further made it imperative to extend this line of inquiry.…”

“…It is worth noting that scholars have not come to consensus on a unified definition of online learning, distance learning, or e‐learning (J. L. Moore et al., 2011 ). In counseling, the term online denotes a wide range of computer‐mediated instruction modes (e.g., remote, distance, technology, hybrid, cyber, and internet; Li & Su, 2021 ). To ensure clarity and consistency, online in this study broadly refers to a modality where “educators and students communicate with each other synchronously (i.e., at the same time) or asynchronously (i.e., at different times) via telecommunications technology in formats ranging from a small online component in teaching and learning to an entire program offered online” (Li & Su, 2021 , p. 317).…”

“…In counseling, the term online denotes a wide range of computer‐mediated instruction modes (e.g., remote, distance, technology, hybrid, cyber, and internet; Li & Su, 2021 ). To ensure clarity and consistency, online in this study broadly refers to a modality where “educators and students communicate with each other synchronously (i.e., at the same time) or asynchronously (i.e., at different times) via telecommunications technology in formats ranging from a small online component in teaching and learning to an entire program offered online” (Li & Su, 2021 , p. 317). To this end, counseling students from either online/distance programs or in‐person programs but experienced remote learning due to the pandemic were eligible to participate in this study.…”

“…Same with online education, students’ satisfaction is often a significant predictor of their learning outcomes (e.g., Eom et al., 2006 ). Nevertheless, counselor trainees’ satisfaction with online learning was relatively understudied, which was a natural consequence of the overall paucity of literature aimed at online teaching and learning in counselor education (Barrio Minton & Hightower, 2020 ; La Guardia, 2021 ; Li & Su, 2021 ). And it was not uncommon to see the construct of satisfaction examined by self‐constructed measures (e.g., Furlonger & Gencic, 2014 ).…”