Power’s influence on boundary-crossings between counselor educators and counselor education students

Abstract

Counselor educators (CEs) hold legitimate power over counselor education students (CESs). It would be helpful for CEs to understand how power differentials influence boundary-crossing perceptions within the legitimate hierarchy of counselor education. CEs and CESs were separately shown the same 16 boundarycrossing scenarios that could occur between the groups. When CEs are negotiating boundary-crossings with CESs, Burian and Slimp's model would likely be most helpful as it is specific to counselor education and requires CEs to contemplate motives when evaluating boundary-crossings. However, when CESs are negotiating boundary-crossing concerns with CEs, Gottlieb's model would likely be most helpful. CESs in this study were very concerned about boundary-crossings that encroached upon their personal needs that were not a requirement for successfully graduating from a counselor education program. Consequently, CEs may want to become clearer in their understanding of the differences between optional behaviors versus those of mandated requirements for graduation. A CE and a CES sharing a car ride to a professional meeting is an optional boundary-crossing because it does not ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Beginning counselor educators’ experiences of growth and challenges in teaching

“…A unique finding in our study was how some participants felt challenged in navigating boundaries with students. Counselor educators may be unaware of their boundary crossing because they are in positions of power and students may not feel confident in their abilities to identify and negotiate boundary crossing (Burns, 2020). Therefore, some beginning counselor educators may benefit from more support and accountability around setting boundaries with students, especially since their relationships with students might remain unseen by other faculty until an issue arises.…”

“…Therefore, some beginning counselor educators may benefit from more support and accountability around setting boundaries with students, especially since their relationships with students might remain unseen by other faculty until an issue arises. Since beginning counselors educators might struggle to recognize their power (Burns, 2020), establishing feedback processes early in a counselor educator's career might help them proactively understand how others are perceiving their interactions with students and lead to discussions about how they navigate boundaries with students.…”