The Use Of A Peer Rating Technique In Appraising Selected Attributes Of Counselor Trainees

Abstract

The training and skills expected of emerging counselors are of a type and variety which would seem to demand unique assessment. In the area of interpersonal relationships alone, the skills, understandings and attitudes are of such nature that the more traditional evaluative techniques appear inadequate. One technique which seems to merit consideration in gaining greater insight into counselor progress and achievement is the method of rating by classmates. This paper is a report of a peer rating technique used with a group of counselor trainees enrolled in a one semester N.D.E.A. Counseling and Guidance Training Institute.The group was made up of twenty-five counselor trainees who were selected for the institute program on the basis of high academic records, common goals, and similar course backgrounds. All were relatively untrained secondary school counselors or secondary teachers aspiring to engage in counseling. Their background training included at least one and not more than five graduate courses in guidance. The program for all institute participants included guidance seminars, supervised counseling practice, and courses in measurement, counseling theory, and education of the gifted student.Since the nature of the program encouraged considerable group interaction, it presented an unusual opportunity to observe the results of a peer rating technique. Description and Administration of ScaleDuring the last week of the institute, enrollees were asked to rate each classmate on four counselor behavior characteristics : contribution to class,

Differences among Male A, B, and C Master's Degree Candidates in a Counseling Practicum

“…Various approaches have been used in recent years to improve the predictive validity of methods for screening candidates in counselor education. Some investigators have concentrated on differences between counselors rated high and low in effectiveness on the basis of peer ratings (Arbuckle, 1956;Blocher, 1963;Dole, 1964;McDougall, 1961;Steffire, King, & Leafgren, 1962). Others have used ratings by counselor educators as a means for differentiating between the most and least competent counselors (Demos & Zuwaylif, 1966;Jansen, Robb, & Bonk, 1970).…”

Evaluation of Education for the Professions

“…Peer ratings have often been used as criterion measures in validating other screening devices for selecting prospective counselors (Blocher, 1963;Dole, 1964;McDougal & Reitan, 1961). They also show promise for screening prospective counselors, especially when they are used in the first course with a reasonable size class (Ohlsen & Schultz, 1954;Dilley, 1964).…”

Supervisory Ratings of Counselor Trainees in a Simulated Work Setting as Compared with Peer and Instructor Ratings of the Same Trainees in an Academic Setting

“…One approach to such evaluation is by means of ratings by people who have had ample opportunity to observe. Instructor and peer ratings fall into this category and have been used (1,2,5,6,7).As Stemre, King, and Leafgren (7) have pointed out, ratings by these groups may be affected by knowledge of the trainee's academic performance and by knowledge of the instructor's perception and evaluation of the trainees. If ratings could be obtained in a non-academic, simulated work setting by persons independent of the academic influence, such ratings might be better indicators of the counselor's counseling activities than ratings affected by knowledge of the counselor's academic activities.…”

“…One approach to such evaluation is by means of ratings by people who have had ample opportunity to observe. Instructor and peer ratings fall into this category and have been used (1,2,5,6,7).…”