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ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT OF COUNSELING PROGRAMS
BY

Patrick J. O'Connor

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
In partial fulfillment of the requirements
For the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Educational Administration

2000

ABSTRACT

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT OF COUNSELING PROGRAMS
By

Patrick J. O'Connor

The purpose of this study was to provide a clear definition of
administrative support of counseling programs and to develop and test a valid,
reliable, credible, and comprehensive instrument with which to measure the
multiple facets of administrative support of school counseling programs. In the
first part of this study, a content analysis was conducted on the existing literature
on administrative support in general. This content analysis was compared to
the content analysis of notes taken in a series of focus groups with high school
counselors, who discussed what administrative support of counseling programs
meant to them. A working definition of administrative support of counseling
programs was created from this comparison. This working definition contained
five components for the construct.

In preparation for the second part of the study, items were developed for
an instrument designed to measure administrative support of counseling
programs. These items were field tested with two other sets of focus groups,

who provided suggestions and comments on the items. An instrument

measuring administrative support of counseling programs was developed, the
Counseling Assessment Questionnaire (CAQ).

In the second part of this study, the CA0 was sent as part of a
questionnaire packet to 711 public high school counselors in the greater Detroit
area. The questionnaire packet also contained two instruments measuring
support—related constructs, the School Climate Survey ($03, which measured
school climate), and the short version of the Minnesota Satisfaction
Questionnaire (MSQ, which measured job satisfaction).

A confirmatory factor analysis of the CA0 affirmed the existence of five
factors, or components, for the construct of administrative support of counseling
programs. Four of the five components revealed in the factor analysis matched
the components of the working definition developed in part one of the study.

The reliability measure of the CA0 was .97 (Cronbach’s alpha), and the
CA0 was shown to correlate very highly with the SOS ( Pearson product moment
correlation of .87) and the M80 (.55). As a result, the utility of the CA0 as a
measure of administrative support of counseling programs was confirmed.

In addition to offering new insights into the nature of administrative
support in general, the development and testing of the CA0 leaves the field with
an instrument that provides a comprehensive measure of administrative support
of school counseling programs and lends specific direction to counselors and

administrators for increasing existing levels of administrative support.

 

. max J
23):

Copyright by
PATRICK J. O’CONNOR

2000

To the educators, colleagues, family, and friends
who quietly saw this work to its completion,
especially Dianne, Leland, and Lily; Mom, Dad, and Brian;
to all who seek to make a difference;

and to the counselors.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work is the product of the expertise, insights, wisdom, patience, and
love of many individuals, whose support and contributions I acknowledge here
with a humble and grateful heart:

To my dissertation committee, whose view of what education is, and could
be, inspired me as a student. Their insights, as well as their patience, humor,
and humanity, made this endeavor a meaningful capstone to my doctoral
program:

Dr. Frederick Ignatovich, chair of my committee, whose encouragement,
wisdom, and keen appreciation for clarity, rightness, and statistical
representation helped me find my voice in writing this work and in bringing it
from abstract concept to reality.

Dr. Philip Cusick, whose insight and pragmatism helped me focus this
work at both the abstract and applied levels.

Dr. Marvin Grandstaff, whose view of education as a supportive structure
inspired me to keep the interest of the students in mind throughout the
completion of this work.

Dr. Norman Stewart, whose perspective on the historic and future
directions of school counseling helped keep this work focused on how school

counselors can be better supported.

vi

To the former members of my committee, whose commitment to my
pursuit of a doctoral degree at the early stages of my work as a graduate student
is manifested in this work as well:

Dr. Richard Cole, whose insights into education and public policy were of
tremendous benefit to me in executing the survey component of my work.

The late Dr. Sam Moore, whose perspective on the changing and
demanding field of educational administration gave powerful breadth to my
academic program.

To Susan Miller, whose editing and word-processing abilities combined
with her expertise in dissertations and her gracious flexibility to produce this
work in its final form in record time.

To the counselors of the Greater Metropolitan Detroit area, who gave so
generously of their time, talent, and expertise in completing the surveys and
participating in the focus groups that served as the basis for this work.

To the educators who never had me as a student but treated me as one of
their own in guiding my steps at crucial points throughout this work:

Dr. John Sutton, Jr., of the University of Southern Maine, for his
willingness to Share his knowledge on counselor support and self-efficacy, and
for his willingness to provide copies of the modified School Climate Survey for
this work

Dr. Theodore Coladarci of the University of Maine, for his permission to

use and print the School Climate Survey in this work.

vii

Dr. Ernie Bauer of Oakland Schools (Oakland County, Michigan), for his
willingness to discuss statistical and measurement issues at a moment’s notice
with humor and breadth.

To those fellow eduwtors whose examples of professionalism and
compassion have been invaluable in inspiring this study:

Dr. Joan Firestone of Oakland Schools, for her insights into the nature of
supporting students, and for her assistance in procuring resources for this work.
Gwen Hairabedian of Oakland Schools, for her tireless interest in
providing resources and opportunities for educators to renew and improve

themselves.

Roxanne Reschke of Oakland Schools, for her creative insights in
inspiring and supporting the education of all children.

Dr. Carl Barnes of Oakland University, whose understanding of and
appreciation for scholarship anchored this work in many ways.

Sandra Trosien of Washtenaw lntennediate School District, for her
example of offering support to educators and administrators to create new
opportunities for students.

Dr. Bernard Brock of Wayne State University, for his enthusiastic support
and interest in this study, and for his insights into the nature of scholarly work.

James Wolfe, whose love for counseling and his children serves as a
constant inspiration to me and to many.

Dr. Cathy Pietrofesa, whose sense of caring, commitment, balance, and

joy is an example for all to follow.

viii

To my colleagues, who have provided assistance and support that has
made all the difference in the completion of this work:

Chancellor Richard Thompson and the Board of Trustees of Oakland
Community College, who provided me the opportunity to begin this work by
granting me a sabbatical.

Maryanne Nagler, librarian at Oakland Community College, for her
expertise in finding resources and references for this study, no matter how
obscure, and for her encouragement and enthusiasm in discussing this work with
me.

Dr. Michael Khirallah of Oakland Community College, for reviewing a draft
of a dissertation prOposal at a crucial time of this work, and for sharing his
insights into the pursuit of a dissertation.

Dr. Martha Smydra, President of the Royal Oak/Southfield Campus of
Oakland Community College, for her enthusiastic interest in the completion of
this work, and her insistent reminders that this work be completed without great
sacrifice to my family.

Barbara Einhardt, Thomas Kress, Mary Kay Lawless, Dr. Vera Lewis,
Alicia Paramo-Dionne, Noreen Ruehs, and John Sloan, counselors at the Royal
Oak/Southfield campus of Oakland Community College, for their support of my
work and their willingness to lend a hand when needed.

Vice Chancellor Carol Brown of Oakland Community College, for her
counsel on the nature of academic work, and her demonstrated belief in the

power of quiet determination.

ix

Robin Evans, administrative assistant at Oakland Community College, for
her invaluable technical support in the production of this work.

Carolyn Harrison, Director of Instructional Support Services at Oakland
Community College, for her interest in and support of this work, and her interest
in academic pursuits for all students.

Ernestine Sanders, whose interest in pursuit of a doctoral degree inspired
me to begin my studies.

The members and staff of the National Association for College Admission
Counseling, whose professional excellence in working with students and families
in the college selection process inspired me in this work, and inspires me in my
daily work

To my friends, whose support made a difference in this endeavor, as it
does in my life:

Dr. Peter Vandenbosch, for his enthusiastic support of this work and his
ability to see and articulate what could be.

Dr. Marjorie Weiss, whose completion of her Ph.D. inspired me to do the
same, as did her words of encouragement.

Steven Rost and Andrea Eis, for their examples of the pursuit of
excellence through lives of constant growth and contribution.

Susan and Roger Bratt, for their understated yet ever-present interest in
my studies.

Audrey Hill, whose example of selfless giving inspires me to do better.

Dr. Ron Koger, who still sees students on a daily basis as a college vice-

president, for his understanding of what really matters.

Joyce Smith, who always sees what is possible and works tirelessly
toward its realization.

Edward Benyas, whose life is a testament to the value of what matters.

J. Thomas Black, for his interest in this work and his inspired ability to
provide the right idea at the right time.

The members of the Metro Detroit College Fair, for their constant support
of my work and my life.

To my family, who always understands:

My parents, Richard and Ila O’Connor, for stressing the value of
education in word and deed, for being there whether things went well or not, and
for modeling the value of the power of love.

My brother, Brian O’Connor, for demonstrating the importance of caring,
wanting to do more, finding a way to achieve, and never giving up.

My late brother, Charles Josef Jennings, for demonstrating the
importance of the search for self.

My children, Leland and Lily O’Connor, for crawling into their father's lap
at the computer, even when he says he’s busy.

My wife, Dianne O’Connor, who never stops believing, and whose vision

inspires me each moment of my life.

xi

US’IOFTA

 

LIST OF Flf

C‘aser

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ............................................... xv
LIST OF FIGURES .............................................. xvi
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY ........................ 1
Introduction .......................................... 1
Background of the Problem .............................. 3
Statement of the Problem ............................... 4
Purpose of the Study ................................... 5
Research Questions ................................... 6
Conceptual or Substantive Assumptions ................... 7
Rationale and Theoretical Framework for the Study ........... 9
Importance of the Study ............................... 14
Definition of Terms ................................... 15
Scope and Delimitations of the Study ..................... 16
Procedures ......................................... 18
Summary and Overview ............................... 19
ll. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ......................... 21
Introduction ......................................... 21
Management and Organizational Theory .................. 22
The Importance of Administrative Support to Organizations . 22
The Benefit of Administrative Support to Employees ....... 26
The Importance of Measuring Administrative Support ...... 27
Summary ........................................ 27
Administrative Support in Human Services, Including
Education Programs Other Than Counseling ............ 29
Studies of Support in Human Services Other Than
Education ..................................... 29
Literature in Education Framing the Concept of
Administrative Support ........................... 30

xii

Administrative Support and School Climate and

Effectiveness .................................. 32
Administrative Support and the Vitality of Teachers ....... 34
Administrative Support of Specific Academic Programs . . . . 37
Summary ........................................ 43

Administrative Support of Counseling Programs ............ 44
The Importance of Support .......................... 44
Administrative Support and a Comprehensive Guidance

Plan ......................................... 46
Administrative Support and Role Congruence ............ 48
Administrative Support and Communication ............. 49
Administrative Support of Counseling Programs and

School Location ................................ 52
Administrative Support of Counseling Programs and

Counselor Efficacy .............................. 53
Administrative Support of Counseling Programs and

Evaluation ..................................... 54
Summary ........................................ 55

Chapter Summary .................................... 56
METHODS ......................................... 58
Introduction ......................................... 58
Defining Administrative Support of Counseling Programs ..... 59
Literature Searches ................................ 59
Content Analysis of the Literature ..................... 60
Creation of the Final Definition ....................... 61
Creation of a Counselor-Based Definition ............... 62
Creation of the Final Definition ....................... 66
Operationalizing the Definition of Administrative Support
of Counseling Programs ............................. 66

Development of the Counseling Assessment Questionnaire . 66
Field Testing the Instrument: A Second Series of

Focus Groups .................................. 68
Creation of the Questionnaire Packet .................. 69
Field Testing the Questionnaire Packet ................. 71
Conducting the Survey .............................. 72
Analysis of Survey Data ............................. 74

PRESENTATION OF THE STUDY FINDINGS .............. 77
Introduction ......................................... 77
Findings From Part One ............................... 78
Content Analysis of the Literature ..................... 78
Content Analysis of Focus Groups ..................... 92
Synthesis of the Content Analyses ................... 102
Comprehensive Definition of Administrative Support ...... 108
Development of the Instrument ......................... 1 15

xiii

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S,

Field Testing the Instrument ........................ 1 17

Field Testing the Questionnaire Packet ................ 118
Analysis of Survey Data ............................ 120
Chapter Summary ................................... 133

V. SUMMARY, DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS,
IMPLICATIONS, AND REFLECTIONS ................... 135
Introduction ........................................ 135
Summary of the Study ................................ 136
Purpose and Need for the Study ..................... 136
Major Findings ................................... 137
Development of the Instrument ...................... 147
Survey Results ................................... 148
Implications of the Findings ........................... 152
Theoretical Implications ............................ 152
Practical Implications .............................. 159
Evaluative Implications ............................ 161
Implications for Further Research .................... 163
Reflections ........................................ 172

APPENDICES

A. Questionnaire Packet ................................ 177
B. Materials Used With First Series of Focus Groups .......... 188
C. Materials Used With Second Series of Focus Groups ....... 193
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................... 205

xiv

10.

LIST OF TABLES

Total Variance Explained, Five-Factor Analysis of the CAQ ........ 121
Rotated Component Matrix, F ive-Factor Analysis ................ 123
Predicted Loadings and Actual Loadings of CAQ Items,

F ive-Factor Analysis ...................................... 124
Total Variance Explained, Four-Factor Analysis of the CAQ ........ 124
Rotated Component Matrix, Four-Factor Analysis ................ 125
Predicted Loadings and Actual Loadings of CAQ Items,

Four-Factor Analysis ...................................... 126
Reliability of the CAQ ..................................... 130
Reliabilities of the MSQ and the 808 ......................... 131
Correlations of the CAQ and the SOS ......................... 132
Correlations of the CAQ and the MSQ ......................... 133

LIST OF FIGURES

Role of Administrative Support in Effectiveness of
Counseling Programs ...................................... 12

Components and Subcategories of Administrative Support of
Counseling Programs as Revealed by a Content Analysis of
the Literature ............................................. 81

Components and Subcategories of Administrative Support of
Counseling Programs as Revealed by a Content Analysis of

the Focus Group Notes ..................................... 95
Components of Working Definition of Administrative Support of

Counseling Programs ..................................... 110
Scree Plot of CAQ Components ............................. 121

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY

mm

Managerial theorists have long recognized the importance of the element
of support in the relationship between managers and workers. Argyris (1957)
identified the importance of managerial support in helping workers achieve a
sense of personal satisfaction, which, once realized, strengthens the
commitment of workers to improving performance at the workplace. The
importance of this relationship served as the bedrock of Likert’s (1961) work in
producing his System 4 theory of Interdependent teamwork and the principle of
supportive relationships, wherein managerial support is viewed as the single
most important element in maintaining and developing a worker’s “sense of
personal worth and importance” (p. 103). This sense of worth, in turn, improves
the worker’s contributions on the job (Likert, 1967).

These vital managerial theories have proven to be helpful in studying the
relationship between school administrators and the teachers they supervise.
Administrative support has been identified as central to the success of a wide
variety of school programs, including literacy education (Lickteig, 1995), school

library programs (Oberg, 1996), and the overall emotional and physical health,

 

  
   
  

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job satisfaction, and professional longevity of general and special educators
(Littrell, 1994). In a Rand study (1978), administrative support was identified as
highly valued by teachers in school settings across the United States,
emphasizing the importance of building administrators in creating an atmosphere
of mutual respect and support that motivates teachers to make even greater
contributions to the success of the school and the adoption of new programs.
Specific to guidance, support by the principal has been found to make a
difference in the success of counselor-consultants in schools (Mayer, 1983), as
well as to middle school practitioners (Vaught, 1995). Sutton and Fall (1995)
discovered that administrative support of counselors was a strong predictor of
high self-efficacy of counselors, a trait that ultimately leads to improved job
performance. Principal support was found to be key to the implementation of
successful counseling programs by Hayslip and Carr (1990), Perry (1991 ), and
Morgan (1990), who cautioned, “Make sure you have the support of your
administration because if you do not the task will be impossible" (p. 165). Ajoint
study by the College Board and the National Association of College Admission
Counselors (1994) indicated that principal involvement in a team approach to
counseling can improve the effectiveness of a school’s guidance program.
Counselors considered this support to be so important that the ERIC
Clearinghouse on Counseling and Student Services (1998) published a book
written by counselors explaining how principals can support specific elements of

school guidance programs.

Background of the Problem

Although administrative support is seen to be vital to the health—and,
ultimately, the success-of school counseling programs, the current body of
knowledge of what constitutes administrative support of counseling programs is
fragmented. Much of the current literature emphasizes the importance of
administrative support through qualitative remarks that assume its importance
based on professional experience (Hayslip 8. Carr, 1990; Murray, 1995a;
Vaught, 1995). Such remarks provide counselors and administrators with a
general sense of the value of administrative support, but these insights, even
when taken together, do not provide a comprehensive view of administrative
support. This incomplete definition makes further study and understanding of
administrative support and its relationship to other key variables difficult to
achieve, thus limiting the efforts of researchers, administrators, and counselors
to discuss, operationalize, quantify, and change existing levels of administrative
support in schools.

Similarly, efforts to quantify administrative support that have been
reported in the current literature offer limited definitions of administrative support
that shed light on only parts of the construct. Mayer (1983) operationalized
administrative support through the variables of attendance at meetings with
counselor consultants, accessibility, and praise of teachers who support
counseling initiatives. Sutton and Fall (1995) operationalized principal support
as broad statements contained in a larger school climate survey. Sattes and

Miller (1989) operationalized principal support by asking counselors and

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principals openéended questions about how administrators provide leadership
and resources to counselors. As is the case with the qualitative contributions to
the literature, these efforts offer useful insights into the nature of administrative
support, but they leave the construct of administrative support itself fragmented

and difficult to build on.

wmentflig Prgt2l_e_rn

As applied to the relationship between school administrators and school
counselors, managerial theory suggests that administrative support is important
to the success and growth of school counseling programs. The current literature
on administrative support of counseling programs provides insights into some of
the components of administrative support, but these insights and partial
measures of administrative support vary greatly in definition, scope, and
structure. Taken as a whole, these efforts to describe and measure
administrative support of school counseling programs have left the literature with
a fragmented definition of the construct.

The incomplete nature of the current definition of administrative support of
school counseling programs has significant consequences. Without a
comprehensive definition of administrative support, researchers, administrators,
and counselors lack a common starting point from which to understand
administrative support. This lack of understanding leads to limited awareness of
administrative support, which in turn makes discussion and measurement of

administrative support arduous, if not impossible. The absence of discussion

 

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and measurement of administrative support constrains efforts to measure current
levels of administrative support, handicapping any efforts to improve the level of
such support. This significantly burdens any effort to change current levels of
administrative support and help counseling programs become more effective and
successful. In sum, there is a lack of knowledge about what constitutes the
construct of administrative support of school counseling programs, and this lack
of knowledge ultimately limits both the efforts of administrators to increase the
support they give to school counselors and consequently the effectiveness of

school counseling programs.

Purpose of the Study

The researcher’s purposes in this study were (a) to provide a clear
definition of administrative support of counseling programs and (b) to develop
and test a valid, reliable, credible, and comprehensive instrument with which to
measure the multiple facets of administrative support of school counseling
programs. To accomplish these purposes, the research was conducted in two
phases.

In the first phase of the study, through a review of literature in the area of
administrative support, and through several series of focus-group interviews with
practicing counselors, the researcher constructed a comprehensive definition of
administrative support of counseling programs. In the second phase, this
definition was operationalized through the construction of a valid and reliable

instrument designed to measure administrative support. This instrument was

 

 

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then cross-validated with measures of school climate and job satisfaction, on
which administrative support has been found or suggested to have an impact.
This cross-validation was completed in order to measure and confirm the validity

and reliability of the newly created instrument.

Research Questions

 

The following research questions were addressed in the first phase of the
study:

1. What are the components of administrative support of counseling
programs, as viewed in the literature?

2. What are the components of administrative support of counseling
programs, as viewed by counseling practitioners?

3. What similarities and differences exist between the components of
administrative support as viewed in the literature and as seen by counseling
practitioners?

4. Based on the reviews and comparisons of the existing body of
literature and the views of counseling practitioners, what constitutes a working
definition of administrative support of counseling programs?

The following research questions were answered in the second phase of
the study:

5. Are the components of administrative support, as defined in phase
one of the study, confirmed by a factor analysis of the instrument designed to

measure administrative support of counseling programs?

6. Does the instrument contain a high degree of reliability in measuring
administrative support of counseling programs?

7. Is there a strong, positive correlation between this measure of
administrative support of counseling programs and other instruments used to
evaluate the support-related measures of school climate and counselor job

satisfaction?

Conceptual or Substantive Assumptions

The following assumptions served as the underpinnings for the rationale
and design of this study:

1. Administrative support of counseling programs is something that
school counselors value.

2. Administrative support of counseling programs is a construct that can
be defined in both broad and specific terms.

3. Administrative support of counseling programs is a construct that,
although not fully articulated in the literature, is understood by practicing
counselors.

4. Administrative support of counseling programs influences the
motivation and behavior of counselors.

5. The motivation and behavior of counselors influence the effectiveness
of counseling programs.

6. Administrative support is central to the effectiveness of a school

counseling program.

 

7. A more comprehensive definition of administrative support of
counseling programs will lead to improved methods of measuring and assessing
administrative support of counseling programs.

8. Improved methods of measuring and assessing administrative support
of counseling programs will increase awareness and understanding of the
importance of administrative support of counseling programs.

9. Increased awareness and understanding of the importance of
administrative support of counseling programs will provide greater focus to the
development of plans to improve the level of administrative support of
counseling programs.

10. The development and implementation of plans to improve
administrative support of counseling programs will increase the likelihood of
increasing current levels of administrative support of counseling programs.

11. Increasing current levels of administrative support of counseling
programs will lead to more successful counseling programs.

12. The relationship between the level of administrative support of a
counseling program and the success of that program is nonlinear.

13. Factors other than administrative support influence the success of
school counseling programs.

14. School counselors are the most appropriate persons to evaluate the

degree of administrative support of school counseling programs.

 

Rationale and Theoretical Framework for the Study

The basis of the importance of principal support can be found in the work
of a number of educational and organizational researchers. Argyris (1957)
pointed to the importance of deveIOping a supervisor-employee relationship in
which support of the employee by the supervisor leads to the fulfillment of the
basic personal needs of the employee. In turn, this fulfillment results in
improved job satisfaction and greater contribution to the organization by the
employee.

-The importance of support of workers by their supervisor was the basis of
Likert’s (1961) ground-breaking work in developing the managerial system
known as System 4, a participative, teamwork-oriented method of leadership and
management that relies on interdependence, trust, and mutual respect. Likert’s
work showed that companies and organizations embracing a System 4 style of
management created an atmosphere that provided greater support to workers;
these same companies and organizations were also the leaders in their
respective industries in terms of productivity and profitability.

From his studies, Likert identified supportive leadership as one of the key
causal variables that ultimately affects the productivity of an organization.
Improvement in these causal variables leads to improvement in what Likert
called intervening variables, such as favorable attitudes toward the leader, open
and accurate communication, and high subordinate motivation. Improvements in

these intervening variables, according to Likert, then augment the end-result

variables, including enhanced productivity and quality of work, and reduced
turnover and grievances.

From this research, Likert developed the principle of supportive
relationships, which emphasizes the need for managers to lead in a way that is
viewed as supportive by all other members of the organization, especially those
who are supervised by the manager. In taking these actions, the manager not
only supports the employees, but also promotes the mission and goals of the
organization by inspiring employees to make greater contributions to the
workplace, thereby improving its effectiveness.

The same approach to support-based management is prevalent in
organizational theory today. Leaders of the quality and empowerment
movements in business, including Drucker (1999) and Welch (as cited in Slater,
2000), have emphasized the importance of understanding and meeting the
needs, values, and goals of employees in improving the quality of both the
workplace and the work product. Bennis and Goldsmith (1997) echoed this
theme, stressing the need for organizations to place employees at the center of
the workplace by giving meaning to their work. In addition, Wheatley’s (1999)
work on chaos and complexity theory placed the importance of relationships at
the center of effective leadership, a theme that relates directly to Likert’s ground-
breaking work.

In presenting the principle of supportive relationships, Likert emphasized
the importance of measuring a wide variety of variables, including causal

variables such as managerial support, in order to effect organizational change.

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Among the variables Likert (1961) cited as being important to measure was “the
extent to which members of the organization feel that the atmosphere of the
organization is supportive and helps maintain each individual’s sense of
personal worth” (p. 193).

As shown in Figure 1, the role of administrative support of counseling
programs becomes clear when managerial theory is applied to a school setting.
When a building administrator demonstrates support of the school’s counseling
program (identified as a causal variable in Figure 1), the school counselor views
this support as an endorsement of his or her work and, as Argyris (1957) and
Likert (1961) would suggest, an endorsement of the counselor as well. This
affirmation, according to management theory, results in a change in the
intervening variables, including more favorable attitudes toward the principal by
the counselor, more open and accurate communication between the principal
and the counselor, and higher motivation on the part of the counselor. The
change in these intervening variables can be measured in part with instruments
designed to assess job satisfaction and school climate. Improvement in these
intervening variables heightens the counselor’s commitment to the workplace
and the profession, which, according to managerial theory, would improve the
counselor’s level of contribution to the organization. This improvement would
lead to enhanced results for the organization, such as the development of new
counseling services, increased student and parent satisfaction with the school’s
counseling program, and a decrease in turnover and grievances filed by

counselors.

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Management theory suggests that administrative support of counseling
programs is a causal variable that affects the success of those programs.
Hence, knowing more about the specific nature of administrative support of
counseling programs-and, according to Likert, being able to measure the
degree to which such support is present—is important. Likert (1961) identified
the following key steps for improving the presence of any kind of variable
-causal, intervening, or resultant. A valid, reliable instrument is used to
measure the current level of the variable. The results of this measurement are
then analyzed and discussed. This discussion leads to the development of
action plans'that, if successfully implemented, would be expected to change the
level of the variable and improve the results for the organization. Once these
plans are implemented, another measurement of the variable occurs, and the
cycle repeats itself.

These steps toward improving a variable can easily be applied to school
settings. If a comprehensive definition of administrative support of counseling
programs (a causal variable) can be constructed, a valid, reliable measure of
administrative support of counseling programs can be developed from that
definition. The instrument can then be used to measure the current level of
administrative support of counseling programs. The results of this measurement
would then be analyzed and discussed; from this discussion, principals and
counselors could create action plans designed to improve the elements of

administrative support that need improvement, according to the instrument.

13

Once these plans are activated, administrative support of counseling programs

is measured a second time, and the process begins again.

Immrtance of the §tudy

The primary importance of this study lies in the creation of a
comprehensive definition of administrative support of counseling programs and
in the creation of a single instrument to measure the facets of administrative
support of counseling programs. Through the creation of this definition and
instrument, administrators and counselors will be provided with both a common
language that can be used to discuss this important concept in consistent and
specific terms, and a tool that can be used in a wide variety of situations to
determine how much support school administrators are giving the counseling
program. This detailed information can then be used to initiate dialogue for the
development of action plans for improving administrative support of counseling
programs in specific ways.

This study is also significant in that the insights of current counselor
practitioners were used in developing the construct of administrative support.
Unlike many studies measuring administrative support, in this research the
issues used to define administrative support were identified with the help of
counselors in the initial phase of developing the instrument, rather in the field-
testing component of instrument development.

Counselors were involved in the initial phase for two reasons. First,

because the literature contains only partial definitions of administrative support,

14

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counselor input into the development of the definition of administrative support
of counseling programs was deemed necessary to create a comprehensive
definition of the construct. Developing this comprehensive definition at the
outset was deemed vital to strengthening the subsequent steps of the study.
Second, because counselor input was gathered in the early stages of
developing the definition of administrative support of counseling programs, the
researcher hoped that the definition and the instrument developed from that
definition would be better rooted in the experiences of counselors currently in
the field, thereby producing a more realistic picture of what administrative
support means to counselors. This more realistic picture not only would
strengthen the instrument’s construct validity, but it might also increase
acceptance of the instrument within the counseling community. Such
acceptance would increase the likelihood of the instrument’s being used as a
tool for measurement, discussion, and improvement of administrative support of

counseling programs.

Definition of Terms
The following terms are defined in the context in which they are used in
this dissertation.
Administrative suppgrt. Those professional actions executed or endorsed
by the building principal or the principal’s agent to support counseling programs.
A majority of the studies on administrative support define that support as coming

from the principal, in large part because the principal is seen as the leader of the

15

school administrative team. At the same time, it is likely that administrative
decisions regarding counseling programs may come from an assistant principal
or another school official; this is especially true in larger high schools, where an
assistant principal often is assigned to serve as an administrative liaison with the
counseling department. To have a design that captures the greatest possible
number of activities and attitudes of administrators, the definition of
administrative support used for this study included administrators acting on
behalf of or in concert with the building principal.

alob satisfaction. The degree of pleasure and success derived by
counselors from their work, as measured by the short form of the Minnesota
Satisfaction Questionnaire.

School climate. The quality of the school environment for counselors, as
measured by the School Climate Survey (Sutton & Fall, 1995).

School counseling programs. The services offered by one or more full-
time school employees contracted to serve as a school guidance counselor(s) at

the public high school level.

Scope and Delimitations of the Study

Although this research will strengthen the existing body of literature on
administrative support of counseling programs, some delimitations to the study
should be noted. First, the investigation was delimited to counseling programs

in public high schools.

16

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Second, although in the second phase of this study the researcher
measured the presence of administrative support, he did not measure the
outcome of that support-the effectiveness of the guidance program itself.
Whereas many writers have strongly suggested that greater levels of
administrative support lead to more effective programs, an examination of the
varied measures used in schools to assess the effectiveness of counseling
programs, the audiences evaluating school counseling programs, and the
methodological complications of creating a single reliable measure of
effectiveness was beyond the scope of this study. Given the recognized
importance of administrative support to counseling success as implied in the
literature, it is possible that the results of this study, if they suggest a valid
measure of administrative support, could serve as part of the foundation of a
future study analyzing the influence of administrative support on the
effectiveness of counseling programs.

Finally, it should be recognized that this study was undertaken to provide
a clear definition of administrative support of counseling programs, and to
develop a valid, reliable instrument with which to measure the current level of
administrative support. The researcher did not intend to outline a
comprehensive process for overcoming the obstacles that can prevent
administrators from lending greater support to counseling programs. The
instrument developed in this study will provide counselors and administrators a
snapshot of the current level of administrative support, but it will not explain how

that level of support came into existence, or what will be necessary to alter that

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level of support. Having a comprehensive definition of administrative support
and knowing the current level of support are but the first steps in developing a
comprehensive strategy that will lead to increased administrative support of
counseling programs. This study was undertaken to contribute to those crucial

first steps.

Procedures

The study began with a comprehensive review of the literature on
administrative support of school counseling programs. A series of content
analyses of the results of this review served as the basis for compiling a set of
common elements, phrases, and ideas that were used to describe aspects of
administrative support.

A series of focus groups was then held with practicing high school
counselors to gain their perspective on administrative support of counseling
programs. A content analysis of the counselors’ responses was performed, and
the results were blended with the outcomes of the final content analysis of the
literature review to create a comprehensive definition of administrative support of
counseling programs.

This comprehensive definition was used as the basis for creating an
instrument designed to measure the level of administrative support of school
counseling programs. After field testing the instrument and modifying it where
necessary, the researcher surveyed high school counselors using the new

instrument; the School Climate Survey (SCS), used to measure school climate;

18

 

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and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ), used to measure job
satisfaction. These two additional measures were used to cross-validate the
new instrument.

A factor analysis and a correlation analysis were conducted on
counselors' responses to the surveys. A factor analysis was conducted on the
items in the new instrument, to determine whether the components of
administrative support, as defined in phase one of the study, were confirmed by
the subjects’ responses on that instrument. A reliability measure was used with
the new instrument to determine the consistency of that instrument in measuring
administrative support. Responses on the new instrument were correlated to
those on the $08 and the MSQ to determine the strength and direction of the
relationship of the last two instruments to the new instrument. The results were
used in answering the research questions and provide the basis for continued

exploration of this important topic.

Summary and Overview

Because of the increasing challenges and pressures facing students
today, school guidance programs need to offer effective services, in the best
interests of the students, their families, and their communities. Because
administrative support is widely recognized as being crucial to the development
of effective school counseling programs, it is both surprising and problematic
that the current literature lacks a comprehensive understanding of the nature of

administrative support of counseling programs.

19

The researchers aim in this study was to expand the knowledge of what
administrative support of counseling programs consists of and how it can be
measured. In the first phase of this study, the body of current literature was
reviewed (as discussed in Chapter ll), and a content analysis was performed on
the ideas and concepts used in the literature to describe and study
administrative support. The results of the content analyses of the literature and
the first round of focus groups were compared and combined to create a general
definition of administrative support of counseling programs.

In the second phase of the study, this general definition was
operationalized through the development of an instrument designed to measure
administrative support of counseling programs. The specific procedures used in
phases one and two of the study are explained in Chapter III. The results are
presented and discussed in Chapter IV. In Chapter V, the findings are
discussed, and they are related to new questions to consider in the area of
administrative support of counseling programs. Recommendations for practice
and for further research also are presented, as are the researcher’s reflections

on the study.

20

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Introduction

The researcher’s purposes in this study were (a) to provide a clear
definition of administrative support of counseling programs and (b) to develop
and test a valid, reliable, credible, and comprehensive instrument with which to
measure the multiple facets of administrative support of school counseling
programs. This chapter contains a review of the literature related to
administrative support of school counseling programs. The review is divided into
three sections. The first section is a review of literature from the fields of
management and organizational theory addressing the importance of
supervisors’ support of employees. The second section contains a review of
literature from the fields of human services, including writings addressing
administrative support in areas other than counseling. Literature on
administrative support of school counseling programs is reviewed in the third

section.

21

Management and Organizational Theog

Thg lmmrtance of Administrative
Sugmrt to Qrganizations

Many theoretical constructs affirming the importance of administrative
support of school counseling programs can be found in management and
organizational theory. In Personality and Qrganization, Argyris (1957) analyzed
the numerous studies had been done in the fields of management theory and
human relations theory. In conducting this review, he detailed the conflict that
exists between a hierarchically structured organization’s need for employees
who are passive and obedient, and individual employees’ need to find personal
fulfillment through autonomy and self-actualization. Argyris contended that the
organization’s need to have control over the professional lives of its employees
is at great odds with employees’ needs, as individuals, to have control over their
work and their lives.

After detailing the many implications of these conflicting viewpoints,
Argyris (1957) claimed that “management actions can decrease the degree of
incongruence between the individual and formal organization” (p. 237), thereby
helping to resolve the conflict. By acting as the mediator between the demands
of the organization and the demands of employees, managers can create
workplace atmospheres that both provide employees with opportunities to
demonstrate autonomy and self-actualization, and generate a level of
productivity that allows the organization to grow and prosper. Argyris referred to

this kind of management as "reality-oriented leadership” or “employee-centered

22

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leadership" (p. 237), a managerial style that emphasizes the importance of
administrative support of employees.

This mediating approach toward management that bases the success of
an organization in the fulfillment of employees’ needs is at the core of Likert’s
work. In his book New Patterns of Management (1961 ), Likert presented the
findings from a series of sample interviews and controlled field studies
undertaken to analyze the management practices of companies as they related
to the firms’ productivity, turnover, and rates of employee motivation and job
satisfaction. Likert found that the companies with the most success were those
that engaged in a management approach that not only took the needs of
employees into consideration, but actually engaged the employees in the
decision-making processes of management itself. Likert named this approach
the ”collaborative” management system and later renamed it System 4,
indicating the highest level of teamwork possible in an organization’s
management structure.

One of the concepts inherent in the implementation of System 4 is Likert’s
(1961) principle of supportive relationships, which states:

The leadership and other processes of the organization must be such as

to ensure a maximum probability that in all interactions and in all

relationships within the organization, each member, in light of his
background, values, desires, and expectations, will view the experience
as supportive and one which builds and maintains his sense of personal

worth and importance. (p. 103).

As a result of his research, Likert concluded that management actions

such as positive and empathic responses to employee concerns create a work

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atmosphere that is supportive rather than punitive, and responsive rather than
reactive. Likert saw management actions as among the causal variables that
can affect what he called intervening variables, such as the employee’s attitude
toward the supervisor, or the strength of communications between the employee
and the supervisor. Improvement in these intervening variables, according to
Likert, leads to improvement in the end-result variables, such as higher
productivity, lower absenteeism and turnover rates, and improved productivity.
in sum, Likert discovered that the key to a successful organization is, in part, the
use of managerial interactions that affirm the needs, values, and goals of
employees, which in turn enhance the communication between supervisors and
employees and strengthen the commitment of employees to the organization.
This improved commitment leads employees to make even greater contributions
to the organization, helping the organization realize greater success, growth,
and profit, all due to an increase in the causal variable of administrative support.
Likert’s model of causal, intervening, and end-result variables was
supported in a study by Dossett, Cella, Greenburg, and Adrian (1983), who
evaluated the roles of participation in goal setting and leader support in
productivity. In the experimental design, subjects experienced different levels of
supervisor support and varying degrees of influence in setting goals for
completion of assigned tasks. The results indicated that the subjects who felt
the most positive about their experience in the study were those in a group
supervised by someone who was supportive and allowed subjects to participate

in selecting the productivity goal. However, the most productive unit in the

24

experiment had been led by someone who was supportive and established a
high production goal without consulting the subjects at all.

Dossett et al. (1983) concluded that this study suggested that leader
support did not directly affect output. It may be, the authors suggested, that
leader support may encourage employees to set high goals for themselves, thus
indirectly leading them to greater levels of productivity, but the results did not
indicate that support and productivity had a direct cause-and-effect relationship.
This conclusion supported Likert’s assertions regarding the role of administrative
support as a causal variable that influences an intervening variable (in this case,
employee goal setting), which in turn affects an end-result variable (in this case,
productivity). Although the relationship between administrative support and
productivity is indirect, the level of support ultimately affects the level of
productivity and is therefore important to the organization.

Likert’s principle of supportive relationships is a fundamental component
of many of the managerial theories used today. Leaders of the total quality
movement of managerial theory, including General Electric chairman Jack
Welch (Slater, 2000) and Peter Drucker (1999), have recognized the importance
of understanding the needs of the employee. “[The employees] need to know
the organization’s mission, and to believe in it,” wrote Drucker (p. 20), who
added that the way to create this awareness is to understand what employees
want, what their values are, and what their goals are.

This same emphasis on understanding and involving employees in the

workplace has been echoed by leaders of the empowerment theory of

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management, including Warren Bennis, who stressed the importance of placing
employees at the center of the success of the workplace by giving their work
meaning (Bennis & Goldsmith, 1997). This same idea was articulated by chaos-
theory author Margaret Wheatley (1999), who embraced Likert’s principle of
supportive relationships when she said that “relationships are a growing theme

in today’s leadership thinking“ (p. 164).

The Benefit of Administrative Support to Employees

Whereas Argyris, Likert, and current theorists have pointed to the
advantages of administrative support to the goals of the organization, a study by
Fairhurst and Chandler (1989) indicated the benefit of administrative support to
the power of employees within the organization. In a business setting, the
authors conducted an ethnographic study of power as it related to the closeness
of supervisor-employee relationships. Fairhurst and Chandler concluded that
employees with personal ties to their supervisors were more inclined to express
their opinions and have their opinions heard by the supervisors. In addition,
employees with close ties were able to present more persuasive arguments for
their viewpoints when discussing issues with their supervisors, whereas those
employees who were more distant from their supervisors were more likely to
receive the full brunt of the supervisors’ authority. These findings suggest that
employees who receive administrative support (as measured by the closeness of
their relationship to the supervisor) have greater influence in the decision-

making processes used by their supervisors. Conversely, those employees who

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periphery of the organization’s decision-making structure.

The Immrtance of Measuring Administrative Support

In addition to stressing the importance of supervisors’ demonstrating
support to their employees, Likert (1967) advocated the measurement and
evaluation of all variables affecting the organization. Likert asserted that, in
measuring any variable, including the causal variable of administrative support,
a cycle of improvement could be developed, based on the measurement of the
variable. After a valid, reliable measurement of the variable was obtained, the
results of the measurement could be assessed and evaluated. Discussion would
ensue in an effort to account for the current level of the variable, and this
discussion would serve as the basis for the development of action plans
designed to affect the variable in a positive way. These action plans would then
be implemented, and the variable would be measured again following the
implementation of the action plan, leading to the start of a new cycle of
evaluation, all based on the ability to measure the current level of a variable in a

reliable and valid manner.

Summer y

The importance of administrative support of employees was introduced by
both Argyris and Likert, who emphasized the importance of such support, not
only as a tool to help employees of an organization realize personal fulfillment,

but also as a key ingredient to help the organization realize increased

27

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productivity. These benefits were confirmed in later studies. Fairhurst and
Chandler (1989) demonstrated the greater organizational influence that can be
wielded by an employee who receives appropriate administrative support, and
Dossett et al. (1983) showed the role of administrative support as a variable that
indirectly leads to increased productivity for the organization.

Given the importance of administrative support, Likert emphasized the
need to create valid, reliable instruments with which to measure the variables
that affect the health and success of an organization—variables like
administrative support. The development and use of such instruments is a vital
step in creating a basis for discussions and action plans that will lead to
improved levels of these variables, thereby leading to greater organizational
success.

The findings discussed in this section established the importance of
administrative support and of knowing more about the theoretical underpinnings
of such support. This knowledge is necessary in order to create an appropriate
instrument to measure the level of administrative support within an organization.
Measurement of administrative support is important because it is the starting
point of a process that can ultimately lead to higher levels of administrative

support, employee satisfaction, and organizational productivity.

28

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Administrative Supmrt in Human Services, Including
Education Programs cher Than Sounseling

tdies of u rtin Human ervices

ther Than Education

Since the introduction of the principle of supportive relationships in 1961,
Likert’s work has served as the basis of management theories and studies in a
wide variety of organizational settings, including many areas of human services.
In a study of a social work agency, Kahn (1993) emphasized the need for
administrators to provide support to those directly involved in giving care to
clients. In a six-month qualitative study, Kahn observed the patterns and
directions of support among directors, administrators, and social workers in one
agency. The purpose of making these observations was to determine what
kinds of support, or what Kahn referred to as caregiving, were needed in a
human service organization to maintain organizational effectiveness and avoid
burnout among caregiving professionals. Kahn followed up these observations
with individual interviews of all of the personnel who participated in the study, as
a means of clarifying the feelings participants were experiencing as a result of
the interactions he had observed.

Kahn’s (1993) findings supported Likert’s principle of supportive
relationships. He concluded that “the implications for the administration of
caregiving organizations include establishing connections between
administrators and caregivers that allow not simply for the exchange of
information and resources but for emotional expression and support” (p. 562).

Among the qualities Kahn cited as essential for administrators to demonstrate in

29

caregiving environments were “empathy, considerateness, and validation”
(p. 562).

Likert’s work also has been used in studies of the association between
supervisor-employee relationships and employee job satisfaction. In one such
study, Bonsutto (1993) developed a training module for supervisors of child-care
workers. The training module, which included role-playing exercises, was
designed to improve the supervisors’ support skills. Using a pretest/intervention]
posttest methodology, Bonsutto found a significant increase in job satisfaction
among workers after their supervisors had received the training. The findings
from this study, combined with those from Kahn’s research, affirm the utility of
Likert’s theory of supportive relationships (and therefore the importance of

administrative support) in human service settings.

Litgrature in Education Framing the
Soncept of Administrative Support

In addition to literature on administrative support in the field of human
services, a wide body of literature exists on the specific topic of administrative
support in schools, which has served to establish the boundaries and
underpinnings of the construct. Likert’s principle of supportive relationships was
affirmed in an essay by Selander (1986). In describing the development of
decision-making teams of administrators and teachers in his high school,
Selander, a principal, expressed satisfaction with his newly discovered ability to
work more closely with staff in a school environment that was rich in collegiality

and mutual support. Although he mentioned counseling just briefly and indirectly

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(“We are also looking at our support services from a different angle,“ p. 3),
Selander confirmed the validity of Likert’s assertion that an organization is more
effective when the needs of its members are given a high priority.

Other contributions to the literature, including two studies by Blase
(1987a, 1987b), have provided more specific insights into the construct of
administrative support. In part one of the first study, Blase used a case study
approach to determine the elements that contributed to teachers’ perspectives
toward work. Once administrative leadership had been identified as one of
these elements, Blase conducted additional interviews in part two of that study to
determine what teachers considered to be effective leadership practices of high
school administrators. In the second study, the researcher interviewed teachers
to determine what they considered to be ineffective leadership practices of high
school administrators.

The results of Blase’s (1987a) study indicated nine “task-related themes"
to which principals must be attentive in demonstrating leadership: accessibility,
consistency, knowledge/expertise, clear and reasonable expectations,
decisiveness, goals/direction, follow-through, ability to manage time, and
problem-solving orientation (p. 594). In addition, he identified five
“consideration-related themes”: support in confrontations/conflict, participation!
consultation, faimesslequitability, recognition, and willingness to delegate
authority" (p. 594). Blase concluded by asserting that the presence of these
elements would lead to open, inviting atmospheres in schools, where principals

would be viewed as effective (or supportive), whereas the absence of these

31

 

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would be judged to be ineffective (or not supportive).

A ministrative u rtand chool

Slimatp and Effectiveness

Several studies on administrative support have indicated that such
support has an effect on overall school climate and school effectiveness. In a
study related to administrative support, Lyman (1987) identified elements that
lead to improved trust in an administrator-teacher relationship. Stating that
teachers need to be viewed as “managers” of their own classrooms (p. 2),
Lyman contended that supervisors must demonstrate qualities such as
confidentiality, sincerity, consistency, integrity, and a sense of teamwork in the
activities of supervision (pp. 2—5). Lyman emphasized honesty, positive
feedback, frequent communication, and gratitude as key elements of the
supervisory process. He also stressed the importance of the administrator’s
demonstrating these qualities first, as a model for teachers to follow.

Based on this model, Lyman ( 1987) conducted a survey of elementary
teachers to identify what administrators did to create an atmosphere of trust.
Common qualities that respondents mentioned included providing a strong
orientation for teachers who were new to the building, establishing a good
building tone, demonstrating concern, using good communication skills such as
listening and giving feedback, spending time with teachers, and supporting
teachers—although Lyman did not define any of these constructs, including

support. Based on the results of this survey, Lyman developed a 12-step staff

32

development program designed to build trust in a school. These steps followed
the same pattern as Likert’s process of measuring and improving the presence
of a variable in an environment.

With regard to school effectiveness, Hoy, Tarter, and Witkoskie (1992)
conducted a survey among elementary schools in New Jersey to determine what
relationships, if any, existed among the concepts of supportive leadership,
teachers’ trust in the principal, collegiality among teachers, trust in colleagues,
and school effectiveness. Using reliable and valid instruments to measure each
of these constructs, Hoy et al. found that supportive leadership directly affected
the teachers’ trust in the principal and collegiality among teachers. These two
factors, in turn, influenced trust in colleagues, which in turn affected school
effectiveness. These findings differed from the authors’ hypothesis that
supportive leadership would have a direct influence on school effectiveness. At
the same time, the findings gave some support to Likert’s notion that the causal
variable of administrative behavior (in this case, principal support) indirectly
affects the end-result variable (in this case, school effectiveness).

The importance of administrative support as it relates to school
effectiveness was also confirmed in an article describing changes in the
evaluation methods of teachers in Anchorage, Alaska. Fenton and Nancarrow
(1 989) were able to observe three different modes of teacher evaluation as the
school district moved toward a cooperative evaluation method that replaced a
checklist method of evaluation, which had led to either too much or too little

administrative involvement. In comparing the method of teacher evaluation with

33

the level of communication between teacher and evaluator, and the level of
innovative teaching practices demonstrated in the classroom after teacher
evaluation was completed, it was found that the cooperative evaluation
method-the method that included the highest degree of administrative
support—elicited more classroom innovation and higher teacher-evaluator
communication than did the authoritative method or the laissez-faire method.
Another reflective piece on the importance of administrative support to
school effectiveness and climate came from Leslie (1989), who showed how a
school district in Oregon improved its teachers’ level of job satisfaction. Based
on the Likert-like premise that “principals must seek out ways to give teachers a
sense of their own importance and expertise” (p. 22), Leslie identified four tools
that the district had used in its successful effort to increase satisfaction:
effective use of the district office and school board, use of research to create a
picture of what mattered to teachers, clear and consistent articulation of what
was expected of teachers and how they would be evaluated, and wide and
varied forms of communication and recognition (pp. 19-20). Manifestations of
these elements of administrative support (a causal variable in the Likert model)

made a significant difference in raising teachers’ satisfaction (an intervening

variable in the Likert model).

Administrative Support a_nd the Vitality of Teachers

In addition to its effect on school climate and effectiveness, administrative

 

support has been shown to have an influence on the efficacy of teachers. In a

survey measuring rates of teacher efficacy, student achievement, and student-
teacher interaction, Ashton, Webb, and Doda (1983) found that teachers with
high efficacy maintained high academic and behavioral expectations for students
and preserved a supportive classroom atmosphere. In discussing the results of
their survey, the authors suggested that principal support may have played a

role in the level of efficacy experienced by teachers.
Hipp (1996) investigated the relationship between teacher efficacy and

administrative support. Through telephone interviews, direct observation, field
studies, and quantitative survey data, she studied the influence principals had
on teacher efficacy in 10 middle schools identified as being involved in major
change initiatives. The findings indicated that principals played a significant role
in teacher efficacy, a role based on the principals’ demonstration of five key
factors: modeling behavior, inspiring group purpose, providing contingent
rewards, holding high performance expectations, and providing support (p. 25).
The last factor, providing support, was said to consist of the principals’ respect
for teachers’ knowledge of the subject matter, respect for the decisions teachers
made, principals’ participation in student discipline, principals’ modeling of risk
taking or innovation, and strong personal support of teachers (pp. 19-22). Hipp
also identified several factors that limited the role of the principal in teacher
efficacy. These included excessive workload for the principal, budget cuts,

people’s loss of trust in public education, and “negative environmental

indicators” that Hipp did not define further.

35

Corroborating these findings, Littrell, Billingsley, and Cross (1994)
showed the effect that principal support can have on the careers and lives of
teachers. After conducting a literature review, Littrell et al. defined principal
support in terms of four key factors: emotional support, instrumental support,
informational support, and appraisal support. Using a questionnaire method, the
researchers conducted a survey of general and special educators to measure
these four key factors of administrative support in terms of how much support the
subjects were currently receiving and how important that support was to them.
Subjects were also given surveys measuring personal stress, school
commitment, health, job satisfaction, and desire to stay in teaching. The authors
constructed items measuring the four factors of support; the other measures
were based on existing instruments. Results of the survey showed that the
measures of school commitment, health, desire to remain in the job, and job
satisfaction were all affected by at least one key factor of administrative support,
with emotional support being identified overall as the most important kind of
administrative support needed by teachers. Noting that the current levels of
administrative support were lower than the levels of support teachers thought
they needed, the authors concluded that principals would do well to create
positive school environments centered on mutual trust in order to increase the
levels of administrative support.

The results of the study by Littrell et al. were supported by the findings of
a study by Singh and Billingsley (1996). Measuring many of the same variables

used in the study by Littrell et al., Singh and Billingsley found a strong

36

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relationship between job satisfaction and the desire to stay in teaching. They
noted that ”the strongest influence on job satisfaction was principal support”

(p. 44). In this study, educators recommended that principals demonstrate
greater support by offering feedback and problem-specific suggestions to
educators and by seeking suggestions from educators in a collaborative fashion
(p. 45). These conclusions, combined with the results of the studies by Ashton
et al. (1983), Hipp (1996), and Littrell et al. (1994), reinforce Likert’s point that
administrative support influences intervening variables (such as efficacy and job
satisfaction), leading to positive changes in end-result variables (such as stress,

commitment to the school, and desire to remain in teaching).

Administrative Support of Specific
Academic Prpgrams

Thus far, the writer has reviewed literature concerning the importance of
administrative support to an entire organization (a human services agency or a
school), or to the entire group of caregivers (or teachers) who work there. In
addition to these studies of administrative support at a macro organizational
level, many contributions to the literature on administrative support have focused
on the importance of administrative support of a specific school program or
department. These contributions also shed further light on specific elements, or
underpinnings, of administrative support.

In a Rand study prepared for the United States Department of Education,
Berman and McLaughlin (1978) looked at federally funded programs in schools

and tried to determine what factors in the school setting contributed to the

37

successful implementation of these programs and the continuation of the
programs after supporting federal resources were no longer available. Of the
seven factors identified in the study, principal leadership was the factor of
greatest significance in the eyes of the authors, who identified ”moral support”

(p. viii) as the key element the principal could contribute in creating a school
environment that was positive and receptive to change. Berman and McLaughlin
also identified the principal’s aggressiveness in pursuing district funding to
replace federal funding as pivotal. ”All told,” the authors concluded, "the
principal aptly merits the title of “gatekeeper of change” (p. viii).

In another study analyzing the results of two case studies that measured
administrative support of grant-funded projects, Arends (1982) identified four
supportive administrative behaviors that affected the success of the programs:
promoting the project through verbal statements to a wide variety of audiences,
providing grant participation with a sense of clarity and steadiness as the project
is introduced to the school environment, defending the project from those
opposed to it, and giving something of value (personnel, supplies, and so on) to
those involved in the project (pp. 82-86). Arends concluded his study by
suggesting that, in administrative training programs, potential administrators be
reminded that the proper execution of basic administrative tasks, combined with
words of encouragement, goes far to create an atmosphere of support.

With regard to specific academic departments, Tyler (1987) conducted a
study of administrative support of special educators. Based on a review of the

existing literature on special education, as well as interviews with special

38

education teachers, she developed a survey instrument designed to measure
the attitudes of special education teachers, special education supervisors, and
building principals regarding the level of support special education teachers
should receive from administrators, and the level of support those teachers were
currently receiving from administrators. The results of the study indicated that
special education teachers evaluated the current level of administrative support
much lower than did either the special education supervisors or the building
principals; no other differences among groups were discovered. When asked
how administrators could improve their current levels of support, special
education teachers identified greater solicitation of teacher input and stronger
listening skills as two key areas in which growth could occur.

Billingsley, Gersten, Gilmar, and Mowant (1995) summarized several
studies concerning special educators’ perceptions of administrative support. In
concluding that special educators thought that building administrators had a
powerful effect on special education programs, the authors identified four
barriers that prevented principals from supporting special education programs
more fully. These barriers were principals’ lack of understanding of what special
educators do, principals’ failure to recognize special education teachers”
challenges and successes, limited principal assistance with day-to-day issues
such as discipline, and principals’ lack of interest in involving special education
teachers in long-range planning of the special education program (p. i). The
keys to removing these barriers, according to the authors, were improved

respect of the teachers by the principal, strong communication skills on the part

39

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of the principal, and meeting teachers” needs, all of which can be viewed as
demonstrations of administrative support.

Schetz and Billingsley (1992) conducted telephone interviews with
speech pathologists and asked them to give examples of how principals
provided support. In addition, subjects were asked to give ideas on how they, as
principals, would support speech pathologists, and to explain what support
meant to them. Using interrater verification, the authors found four key elements
of support: adequate working conditions and resources, advocacy of the speech
program, promotion of staff development, and direct assistance with
programmatic and day-to-day concerns (pp. 154-156).

Mayer, Butterworth, Komoto, and Benoit (1983) studied the effect that
administrative support can have on school consultants. A group of school
consultants instituted programs designed to reduce vandalism in several
schools. Once the programs had been introduced, the researchers measured
the degree to which each program was implemented, the costs of vandalism
experienced by each school, and the degree of principal support of the program.
Principal support was measured by the number of meetings the principals
attended at workshops that were part of the program, overall accessibility of the
principals as evaluated by the school consultants, and principals’ praise of
teachers who had actively implemented the program in their classrooms. Data
were gathered from nine schools. The results indicated that buildings where
principals’ support of the consultants’ efforts was high experienced greater

teacher involvement in the program and greater reductions in school vandalism.

4O

As a result of the study, Mayer et al. concluded that principal support was key to
effecting school change.

In assessing administrative support of English programs, Stewig (1986)
discussed the need for teachers of English (rather than school administrators) to
be in charge of redesigning the curriculum. Stewig also stressed the importance
of basing curricular changes on data and core competencies, rather than on
whims or instinct. With regard to administrative support, Stewig acknowledged
the need for teachers involved in changing a curriculum to ”seek out avenues of
influence which will enable them to have an effect on public opinion” (p. 77).
The author cited two specific areas in which administrators’ professional
assistance is helpful. First, administrators must help English departments cope
with the influx of large numbers of teachers who are neither credentialed nor
experienced in teaching English, but are compelled to do so during times of
layoffs or teacher shortages. Second, administrators can support English
programs by revitalizing experienced teachers who may have allowed
complacency to set in, which could be a barrier to the introduction of new
approaches or content in the curriculum.

Voss (1989) developed an instrument to assess the current practices and
desired levels of performance in a science department. As part of that
assessment, he also evaluated administrative support. Through the study, Voss
identified the need for administrative support in the areas of teacher assignment,

evaluation of teaching staff, budgeting, and support of working conditions.

41

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Oberg (1996) reviewed the results of three qualitative studies on
administrative support of school library programs. Taken as a group, the
schools involved in the studies had library programs that had experienced widely
varied degrees of success and effectiveness. In analyzing the studies, Oberg
identified three elements of effective administrative support. First, principals
worked directly with teachers in promoting the library program, including in-
service activities that involved the teachers with the library. Second, the
principals modeled support of the library by making supportive statements about
the library, by spending time in the library, and by taking students they might
have been working with to the library. .Third, the principals allocated appropriate
funding for library materials and staffing, and for in-service training for librarians.
Oberg emphasized the need for librarians to educate principals about the
importance of school libraries. Two effective ways of doing this were to create
good lines of communication with the principal and to work with the principal to
create long-term goals for the library program.

In yet another academic area, Lickteig, Parnell, and Ellis (1995)
measured principals’ support of literacy programs by analyzing the written
statements made by teachers in Nebraska who had nominated their principals
for a literacy award. After categorizing the statements made by the teachers, the
authors assigned the following attributes to the “ideal” principal:

Places the development of literacy as a priority; inspires faculty and

children to do their best; provides moral support; provides support

through acquisition of books and materials and through inservice

opportunities; offers leadership through special events celebrating
literacy; becomes involved with children; becomes involved in

42

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professional reading associations; is available; is a good listener; offers
encouragement. (p. 306)

m
The literature in this section confirmed the groundwork laid by Likert’s

principle of supportive relationships. From social work agencies to schools in
general to specific departments and programs in schools, administrative support
has been viewed as a necessity in maintaining many of the vital elements of a
human services organization. These elements include teacher/caregiver
effectiveness, school/organizational climate, teacher efficacy, teacher health,
teacher commitment, and program vitality.

In addition, many of the contributions to the literature have demonstrated
the benefits of being able to measure the level of a particular variable in an
organization. By using accepted instruments to measure constructs such as
stress, job satisfaction, school climate, program longevity, and administrative
support, it is possible to evaluate the direction and strength of the relationships
between and among these constructs. As these measurements are taken and
analyzed, it is possible to gain a clearer understanding of each construct
(including administrative support), in terms of how one variable affects other
variables and the specific underpinnings of each variable.

Finally, these contributions to the literature have both reinforced the
cemmon conclusion as to the importance of administrative support to human
services organization and to schools, and offered useful insights into the nature

of the underpinnings of the construct of administrative support. Using a variety

43

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of qualitative and quantitative research techniques, personal reflection, and
professional opinion, the authors whose works were reviewed in this section
furnished a wide array of perspectives and conclusions on the nature of
administrative support, varying from intuitive frameworks for administrative
support to specific, research-based conclusions on the nature of administrative
support. These contributions are helpful in expanding the dimensions of the

construct of administrative support.

Administrative Support of Sounseling Programs

 

The lmmrtance of Supmrt

VVrthin the area of administrative support in educational settings, a strong
body of literature exists on the specific topic of administrative support of
counseling programs in schools. In their study, Sattes and Miller (1989)
contacted school counselors in a six-state area and asked them to identify
exemplary school counseling programs; counselors could use their own
judgment in deciding what made a program exemplary. The researchers
contacted the schools that the counselors had recommended, and they
interviewed counselors and principals of some of those schools in an effort to
determine what factors had led to the success of the counseling programs at
their schools. When asked to identify the relevance of school administrators”
support of the counseling program, 93% of the counselors who were interviewed
saw ”working closely” with the principal as ”very important” (p. 18). In addition,

85% of the principals who were interviewed saw themselves as supportive of

 

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their schools” programs, and 58% saw themselves as the overseers of the
counseling programs.

Bloom and Davidson (1998)_compiled a list of positive and negative
administrative behaviors that affect school counselors and school counseling
programs. Based on their observations and experiences as educators, the
authors stressed the importance of communication, evaluation, availability of
resources, inclusion in the larger school community, and focus on professional
counseling activities as tools a principal can use to demonstrate support of
counseling programs.

Writers of a guide issued by the University of Tennessee emphasized the
need to have strong administrative support when creating a comprehensive
career center (Tennessee State Department of Education, 1990). Designed as a
manual for counselors to use when developing or updating a career program,
the guide spoke to the need for administrators who would provide direct support
for the center through the budgeting process. Although this was seen as the key
element of support, the manual also suggested that it would be helpful if the
administrator had an understanding of the needs counselors would have in
developing, supplying, staffing, and evaluating the center.

In an essay addressing the many needs of counselors, Aubrey (1973)
called for a reevaluation of the purpose and function of the school counselor. In
making this proposal, Aubrey identified seven topics counselors should
emphasize if a revitalization of counseling is to occur. These topics were

recognition of counselors, counselor autonomy, counselor flexibility, accessibility

45

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to students, ownership by counselors of the counseling program, appropriate
physical space and facilities for counseling, and counselors teaming with
teachers. This list provides counselors with a framework for study, and it gives
administrators a framework with which to build a program of administrative
support of counseling programs.

Supporting Aubrey’s assertion that the role of the school counselor is
often unclear and subjective, Murray (1995a) suggested that the root of good
communication lies in the development of a strong, clear definition of the
counselor’s role in the school on which both the principal and the counselors
agree. This agreement should be reinforced through regularly scheduled
meetings between the principal and counselors, and through the development of
a long-term strategic plan for the counseling program. Such activities would

lead to increases in administrative support.

Administrative Support and a Comprehensive
Suidance Plan

The strategic planning approach to counseling programs was at the heart

 

of a comprehensive guidance program model introduced by Gysbers and
Henderson (1988). After conducting survey research indicating that school
counselors were often engaged in more paperwork and quasi-administrative
activities than service to students, the authors identified four key areas of school
counseling services: guidance curriculum, individual planning, responsive
services, and system support. They encouraged counselors to use these four

services as the foundation for a comprehensive guidance program, one that is

46

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built with the advice and support of a counseling advisory committee. Gysbers
and Henderson recommended that this committee should include teachers,
parents, students, other student support personnel, community agency
representatives, and school administrators.

In a later article, Drier and Gysbers (1993) concluded that administrative
involvement is essential in providing the support and resources that counseling
offices need in order to serve students and their communities. These findings
confirmed the results of a summary of 30 years of research on effective
guidance programs by Borders and Drury (1992), who advocated strong lines of
communication between principals and counselors, if only to help counselors
avoid being given duties unrelated to counseling (p. 495). Drier and Gysbers”s
findings also supported the conclusions reached by Sears (1993), who
advocated counselor leadership in the development of effective counseling
programs. Sears specifically encouraged administrators to support counselors
by giving them time to develop components of the counseling program, use
methods of evaluation, and access professional development opportunities.

Gysbers”s concept of a group approach to developing comprehensive
guidance programs was supported in a study by Dassance and Tulloch (1983),
who discussed the benefits of educators” working in teams in order for
institutions to achieve goals related to counseling at community colleges. With
regard to administrative support, the authors pointed out the benefits of working
with school administrators, who “play the major role in the establishment of

priorities throughout the budgeting process” (p. 50).

47

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The advantages of a planned counseling program were affirmed in a
report by the Utah State Board of Education (1992). After observing other states
adopt the Gysbers program as a statewide model for school counseling
programs, the Utah Board of Education based the design of its new statewide
guidance curriculum on the Gysbers model as well. In the model, the Board of
Education cited three benefits as enticements for school administrators to
properly implement and support the program: The model provides a structured
counseling program with specific guidance content, it provides a means for
measuring the effectiveness of the guidance program, and it enhances the
community’s image of the guidance program. These benefits, then, serve as
examples of the end-product variables that can be affected if a planned
counseling program is implemented with a high level of the causal variable of

administrative support.

Administrative Support ja_pd Role Congruence

In studying administrative support of counseling programs from a different
perspective, Stickel (1988) investigated the degree of congruence between
principals and counselors with regard to their perceptions of the school
counselor”s role. As a measure of congruence, Stickel used the Counselor Role
Inventory to survey principals and counselors. Each group was asked to
respond to the instrument in two ways. First, subjects were asked to respond

based on their perceptions of the counselors actual role in their school; second,

48

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subjects were asked to respond based on their perceptions of what the
counselors role should be.

Stickel (1988) discovered a high level of congruence between counselors
and principals regarding the counselor’s current role, confirming the findings
from a study by Ibrahim, Helms, and Thompson ( 1983). The greatest
disagreement was with how much paperwork counselors were expected to do.
In the entire study, the greatest difference was found between counselors”
perceptions of what their role should be and principals’ perceptions of what the
counselors” role should be. The counselors reported a wide gap between
current practice and the ideal role, whereas principals thought the current
practice nearly approximated the ideal role. These findings mirrored the results
of a study by Frank (1986) of principals and counselors in Iowa.

In the same study, Stickel (1988) measured counselor burnout and job
satisfaction to determine whether a relationship existed between counselor-
principal role congruence and either burnout or job satisfaction. Using the
Maslach Bumout Inventory to measure burnout and the Minnesota Satisfaction
Questionnaire to measure job satisfaction, Stickel found no relationship between
congruence and burnout, but discovered a mild relationship between level of

congruence and job satisfaction.

Administrative Support a_nd Communication
In her conclusions, Stickel (1988) suggested that the overall findings

pointed to a need for improved communication-a clear manifestation of

49

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administrative support of counseling programs-between counselors and
principals, and a need for counselors and administrators to create a clear set of
mutual expectations of the counselors role. These suggestions were supported
in articles by Bryant (1991), who emphasized the importance of principals”
understanding the philosophical framework and functions of counselors, and by
Studer and Allton (1996), who suggested that differences in perceptions of
administrative support stem from differences in perceptions between counselors
and principals concerning the purpose of the counseling program, the uses of
counselor confidentiality, counselors’ advocacy for students, and the use of
discipline (pp. 54-55).

Other writers have emphasized the importance of communication as an
indication of administrative support of counseling programs, and have stressed
the importance of counselors” taking the lead in seeking out administrative
support. In advocating the development of strategic plans for counseling
programs, Murray (1995a) stressed the importance of good communication
between administrators and counselors. This recommendation is pivotal if
counselors wish to avoid the creation of a crisis-driven mentality toward
counseling by school administrators and by the school community at large. In
response to the wide body of literature on the importance of school counseling
programs, Gerler (1992) supported the importance of counseling programs but
emphasized that it is the duty of counselors to document and communicate the
effectiveness of their programs to the public in general and principals in

particular. Snyder and Daly (1993) pointed out the importance of having

50

counselors lead the process of changing counseling programs, as opposed to
having administrators invoke changes.

In their summary of research on effective counseling, Andersen and
Reiter (1995) concluded that counselors should not be satisfied with the level of
support administrators offer, but should develop strategies for gaining
administrative support of their programs. The authors pointed to two specific
communication activities that would advance efforts to improve support:
Counselors should update administrators on research in the counseling field,
and counselors should have an interest in developing innovative counseling
activities for students (p. 42).

The benefits of counselors” taking the lead in establishing strong
channels of communication with administrators were set forth in a study by Eddy,
Richardson, and AIlberg (1982). The authors first described the significant
cumulative losses that counseling programs experience when counselors are
asked to engage in noncounseling tasks, such as filing, administering discipline,
and filling in for a teacher in an emergency. The authors then cited six case
studies in which counselors either successfully deflected attempts to add
noncounseling duties to their assignments, or convinced administrators to
reduce the existing levels of noncounseling duties that were part of their
assignments. These cases, concluded the authors, bolstered the argument for
counselors’ development and use of persuasive communication skills when

explaining their function and service to administrators. Such proactive

51

 

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communication would result in a strengthening of demonstrated administrative
support for the counseling program.

A ministr tive u rt of ounselin

Pr rams and chool Location

Findings from two studies on administrative support of counseling
programs indicated that geography might play a role in the degree of
administrative support given to counseling programs. In a survey of counselors
who served as the only counselor in a school building, Sutton (1988) found that
these ”isolated” counselors reported receiving more support from administrators
and staff than did counselors who worked in buildings with several counselors.
Sutton suggested that this situation might have resulted from the isolated
counselors’ experiencing more frequent contact with teachers and
administrators.

Two years later, Sutton and Southworth (1990) conducted a study to
determine whether perceptions of administrative support among counselors in
rural schools in Maine differed from those of counselors in urban schools in the
state. The survey results indicated that differences in perceptions did exist, as
counselors in the rural schools reported having better relationships with their
administrators than did their urban counterparts. The authors suggested that
these higher levels of support-which they defined as trust, acceptance,
cooperation, and principals’ knowledge of the counseling role—may have arisen

out of necessity because the geographic isolation of rural counselors and

52

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administrators from their respective colleagues put pressure on them to rely
more on each other.

The results of Sutton and Southworth’s study also indicated that this
closer relationship between counselors and administrators in rural schools led to
a greater degree of counselor autonomy, greater innovation in the counseling
program, greater willingness to take risks, and greater job satisfaction-all
intervening variables that are affected by the degree of administrative support of
counseling programs. In contrast to other studies, the authors also found that
levels of stress were higher among rural counselors, even though they felt more
support from their administrators. The authors suggested that this difference
might have been due to the absence of ancillary counseling resources for
students in rural areas, thus leaving school counselors with a feeling that they

must ”do it all.”

Administrative u rtof ounselin Pro rams

and Sounselor Efficag

Studying a concept closely related to the intervening variable of job
satisfaction, Sutton and Fall (1995) examined the relationship between
counselor efficacy and school climate. Hypothesizing that counselor efficacy
played an important role in the productivity and effectiveness of school
counseling programs, the authors modified existing survey instruments to
measure counselor efficacy and school climate. The instrument they used to
measure school climate, the School Climate Survey ($08), was a modified

version of an instrument designed by Coladarci to measure school climate

53

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among teachers. When Coladarci used it, the $08 revealed two subelements to
the construct of school climate: administrative support and support of teachers
in the building. In analyzing their results, Sutton and Fall concluded that
”counselor self-efficacy may be related to school climate” (p. 335). The results
of the study indicated that both collegial support and administrative support were

important in the development of strong counselor self-efficacy.

Administrative u rt of Counselin
Prpgrams and Evaluation

The importance of administrative support of counseling programs also
was addressed in two articles on the proper method of evaluating a counseling
program. In a manual designed to assist counselors with the evaluation of
counseling programs, Johnson and Whitfield (1991) provided counselors with a
list of questions designed to help in evaluating the degree of administrative
support given to the counseling program. These questions centered on the
issues of principals’ awareness of the goals and results of the counseling
program, provision of budget and resources for counseling programs, garnering
teacher support of counseling activities, and use of counselors” expertise in
schoolwide issues and programs.

Keene and Stewart (1989) shared professional insights into the
importance of administrative support of the evaluation of counseling programs.
After reviewing the appropriate procedures for evaluation, the authors identified
several barriers to effective evaluation that exist in schools. Among those

barriers was a lack of resources given to counselors to interpret the results of

54

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evaluation instmments after the instruments had been distributed and collected.
This lack of support led to a lack of support in creating action plans for improving

counseling programs, a crucial step in Likert’s process of improving a variable.

Swim—aw

As was the case with the literature in the previous two sections, the
literature on administrative support of counseling programs underscored the
importance of administrative support to the health and vitality of both an
organization (in this case, counseling programs) and the employees of that
organization (in this case, counselors). In a variety of articles and research
studies, administrative support of counseling programs has been shown or
suggested to be vital to constructs such as counselor efficacy, long-range
planning of comprehensive guidance programs, evaluation of counseling
programs, principal-counselor congruence concerning the role of a counselor,
and effectiveness of the counseling program.

As was the case with the literature discussed in the other two sections of
this review, some writers addressing administrative support of counseling
programs have emphasized the point Likert raised concerning the importance of
being able to measure the level of a variable (administrative support) in order to
develop plans to raise the level of that variable. Researchers who have
measured administrativesupport of counseling programs have found that
relationships existed between administrative support and the number of

counselors in a given school (Sutton & Southworth, 1990), and between

55

fu

administrative support and counselor self-efficacy (Sutton & Fall, 1995). In
addition, the ability to measure administrative support of counseling programs
has been seen as important to the evaluation of those programs (Johnson &
Whitfield, 1991 ). The use of these measures confirmed the role of authentic
measurements in defining, measuring, and improving levels of administrative
support of counseling programs.

Finally, as was the case with the literature related to administrative
support of human services programs and school programs other than
counseling, the conclusions researchers have reached concerning
administrative support of counseling programs represent valuable contributions
to the underpinnings of the construct of administrative support. From improved
communication to the need for autonomy to appropriate levels of budgeting,
these findings provide insights into the elements of administrative support of
counseling programs, insights that have come from both professional experience
and research-based conclusions. These insights constitute a rich foundation for

further studies on administrative support of counseling programs.

Shapter Summapy

The literature reviewed in this chapter strengthened the view that
administrative support is vital to the success of counseling programs. Overall,
the writers affirmed the role of administrative support as a causal variable that

affects a wide number of intervening variables, such as school climate, job

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satisfaction, and counselor efficacy. These variables, in turn, lead to increased
levels of the end-product variable of improved counseling programs.

The literature addressing the importance of administrative support of
counseling programs contains an array of opinions on the underpinnings and
effect of administrative support. The literature also contains the results of
research confirming the importance of administrative support as a concept, but
providing no insight into the underpinnings of administrative support. Hence,
there is a need to advance the efforts to define and measure administrative
support of counseling programs. This can be done by synthesizing the valuable
but untested insights of professionals and using the results of that synthesis to
develop underpinnings of the construct of administrative support of counseling
programs.

If these underpinnings can be used to develop an instrument that is a
valid and reliable measure of administrative support of counseling programs,
that instrument can be used not only to confirm the relationship between the
causal variable of administrative support and a variety of intervening variables,
but also to provide data-based support of the intuitions of educators regarding
how levels of administrative support can be improved. The present study was

undertaken to advance the literature in just that way.

57

CHAPTER III

METHODS

Introduction

The researcher’s purposes in this study were (a) to provide a clear
definition of administrative support of counseling programs and (b) to develop
and test a valid, reliable, credible, and comprehensive instrument with which to
measure the multiple facets of administrative support of school counseling
programs. To accomplish these purposes, the research was conducted in two
phases.

The methods that were used in carrying out the two parts of the study are
described in this chapter. The purpose of part one of the study was to construct
a comprehensive definition of administrative support of counseling programs by
conducting a thorough review of the literature in the area of administrative
support, and by conducting a series of focus groups with practicing counselors
to ascertain their perceptions of administrative support. The purposes of the
second part of the study were to operationalize the definition created in part one
of the study through the creation of an instrument designed to measure
administrative support, and to cross-validate this new instrument with measures

of other factors that are affected by administrative support.

58

efinin Administrative u ort of ounselin Pr rams
Literature Searches

The first step in this part of the study was to conduct several literature
searches to review a broad range of materials related to administrative support
of school counseling programs. A literature review was conducted through the
databases of the Educational Resources lnforrnation Center (ERIC) and
Dissertation Abstracts. The keywords used in these searches included
”administrative support of counseling programs,” ”administrative support,”
”principal support,” and ”counseling programs.” Additional searches were made
on these databases using keywords pertaining to school improvement programs
because it is commonly believed that administrative support is a key ingredient
in school improvement.

In addition to these searches, the researcher contacted several
professional education associations to determine what literature, if any, their
staffs were familiar with in the area of administrative support, and to determine
what literature these associations had published in this area. Associations
contacted included the American School Counselors Association (ASCA), the
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the National
Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), and the National
Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). In addition, the editors of
the study Stacking the Qdds (Snyder & Spindel, 1996), produced by the Indiana
Youth Institute, were contacted to obtain their recommendations of sources for

potential information.

59

 

9a

Because the relationship between school administrators and counselors
could be viewed in a broader context as the relationship between a supervisor
and workers, it was also necessary to research the theoretical underpinnings of
the broader areas of managerial support, managerial theory, organizational
psychology, organizational development, organizational theory, and human
motivation. To aid in this search, the researcher asked professors of business
and psychology at Oakland Community College in Royal Oak, Michigan, for their
recommendations of relevant historic and current literature in those areas that
might relate to the topic of administrative support of counseling programs.

The searches yielded literature of many different formats, including
quantitative studies, qualitative studies, and articles reflecting personal opinions
and professional experience. No article was excluded because of its format, as
the researcher thought that reviewing literature using different approaches would
create a richer picture of the existing body of literature on administrative support

of counseling programs.

Sontent Analysis of the Literature

Once the above-mentioned searches had been conducted, the researcher
read each piece of literature relevant to administrative support of counseling
programs. A content analysis of each piece was then conducted, using
Krippendorff's (1989) description of content analysis as a guide. In completing
each content analysis, the researcher summarized the general themes and

concepts of each piece of literature, as well as the specific ideas, phrases, and

60

keywords presented by the author(s) that, according to the frame of reference
developed in that piece, were relevant to the concept of administrative support of
counseling programs. In addition, for articles in which a writer(s) discussed any
kind of research method that had been used to address the topic of
administrative support of counseling programs, the type of method was noted, as
were the procedural steps and the results of the research.

By using the content analysis of each piece of literature as the basis of
comparison, the researcher discovered the ways in which the many theoretical
frameworks of administrative support had been developed, and realized the
specific concepts, ideas, examples, and research methods that had been used in
expanding and developing those frameworks. This comparison of articles also
created a history of the development of the construct, indicating those elements
of the construct that had been advanced through adaptation, replication, and
clarification; those elements that had been introduced and not advanced; and

those aspects that have yet to be investigated and defined.

Sreation of the Final Definition

Once each piece of literature was read, a final definition of administrative
support of counseling programs was created. As was the case in doing the
content analysis of each article, the guiding principle used in developing this
definition was to consider the individual frames of reference presented by the
authors of the individual articles. Based on a comparison of the topics and

concepts presented in each article, the final definition included the concepts

61

In

H!-

most frequently presented in the literature at all levels, from the common
elements of the broad theoretical framework of the construct, to similarities of
specific examples demonstrating the construct. This definition also included
elements of administrative support that were unique to one article but were
either so new or so strongly presented that their inclusion was vital to a
comprehensive view of the construct. This was done to give the most complete
view possible of the construct of administrative support of counseling programs,

as currently substantiated in the literature.

Sreation of a Sounselor—Bgsed Definition

After the literature review was completed, a series of focus groups with

 

high school counselors was convened. The purpose of the focus groups was to
elicit ideas from counselors who were currently involved in school counseling
programs regarding the meaning of administrative support, and to gather specific
examples of administrative support experienced by practitioners. The
perspectives presented by the counselors would be used in developing the final
definition of administrative support of counseling programs, and this definition
would serve as the basis of an instrument designed to measure administrative
support. Because this instrument was going to be field tested in the second part
of the study, counselor input into the definition of administrative support of
counseling programs was viewed as essential to the creation of an instrument
that would be viewed by the counseling community as an authentic barometer of

administrative support of counseling programs. These insights would also

62

 

promote the creation of an instrument that would have greater construct validity
when field tested.

To select participants for the focus group, the researcher drew a simple
random sample of 60 high school counseling offices from a master list of all
public high schools in Genesee, Macomb, Oakland, Wayne, and Washtenaw
counties in Michigan ( referred to hereafter as the greater Detroit area). This list
was drawn from the 1999 Man Educa_tipn Dipeptgy.

The researcher then contacted the high schools contained in the random
sample in the order in which they had been selected. When calling the high
schools, the researcher asked to speak to the head or chair of the counseling
department. This request often led to the call”s being transferred to the school’s
counseling office, where it was then transferred to the counseling department
chair. In schools where there was no department chair, the counseling office
secretary directed the call to an available counselor. If a counselor was
unavailable to take the call, the researcher left a message with the counseling
office secretary and then called the next high school on the list. Offices that had
not returned messages by the time all 50 schools had been contacted were
called a second time.

When speaking to the school counselor, the researcher identified himself,
explained the purpose of the call, and invited the counselor to attend a focus
group. A formal script provided the framework of the researchers remarks, but
he departed from the script to answer any questions the counselors asked, to

respond to remarks the counselors made, or to keep the counselors engaged in

63

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the conversation. If the counselor declined the invitation to attend the focus
group, the researcher inquired whether another counselor might be interested in
participating. Depending on the counselor’s response to this inquiry, the call
was either terminated or transferred to another counselor.

In all, 16 counselors agreed to participate in the first round of focus
groups. Confirmation letters were sent to these counselors, along with
directions to the location of the focus group meeting. The focus groups were
scheduled for late weekday afternoons in three geographically diverse locations
in the greater Detroit area. One focus group was held on Wednesday,
December 9, 1998, at the Bloomfield Township Public Library in Bloomfield Hills;
the second on Monday, December 14, 1998, at the Holly Schools Administration
Center in Holly; and the third on Tuesday, December 15, 1998, at the Alfred
Noble Library in Livonia. Of the 16 counselors who agreed to attend, 12 actually
appeared for one of the three focus groups. Participants represented school
districts of diverse geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and schools of
different sizes. Each participant was given an introduction to the purpose of the
focus group and was asked to sign a participation waiver before the session
began. All participants complied with this request.

The questions the researcher asked in the focus groups were based on
the results of the review of literature on administrative support of counseling
programs. The questions were broad in scope, to provide a minimal framework
for the construct the participants would complete by sharing their professional

insights into and experiences with administrative support during the discussion.

64

 

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In addition, these questions were minimal by design, in order to create an
atmosphere of discussion that was as free from preconceived notions as
possible. This neutral environment allowed for a free exchange of ideas among
participants and did not require the discussion to follow the concepts of
administrative support as established in the literature.

Where appropriate during the focus groups, the researcher asked
additional questions in order to clarify, redirect, or summarize points that had
been raised during the sessions. These additional questions were used to
facilitate the discussion based on the content of the discussion itself, and not on
the concepts contained in the literature on administrative support or on the
researchers opinions. During the focus groups, the researcher took notes on
the points being discussed; no other recordings of the discussions were made.
At the conclusion of each focus group, the researcher thanked the counselors
for their participation and sent them each a follow-up letter of appreciation at
their respective high schools.

The researcher analyzed the notes he had taken during the three focus
groups for common themes and ideas. As in the literature review, the common
components of specific examples, general ideas, and broad concepts were
noted. This content analysis served as the basis for creating a definition of
administrative support of counseling programs as viewed by high school
counselors. Similar to the creation of the definition of administrative support of
counseling programs based on the literature review, this definition was created

by identifying the common elements of support that had been identified by many

65

to

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focus-group participants, as well as elements of support that may have been
articulated by only one participant, but were viewed as relevant when reviewing
the focus-group notes as a whole. Such inclusion resulted in a broad definition
of administrative support, varying in both levels of specificity (from broad
constructs to specific examples) and in practitioners” viewpoints (from ideas

commme shared to those expressed by only a few).

Srpation of the Final Definition

Next, the researcher compared the definition of administrative support
constructed from the literature review to the definition constructed from the
comments of focus-group participants. The elements common to both definitions
of administrative support were identified, as were those that had been identified
in only one of the two definitions and yet seemed vital to the creation of a
comprehensive definition of administrative support. These elements were
combined to create a final definition of administrative support that included a
broad theoretical framework with five key components as underpinnings.
Supporting descriptions of each component were also included to make the
definition easier to understand and apply in schools.

garationalizing the Definition of Administrative
moon of Counseling Programs

Development of the Sounseling
Assessment Questionnaire

Once a final definition of administrative support of counseling programs

was constructed from the definitions based on the literature review and the focus

66

If

f,

groups, the second part of the study was initiated through the development of an
instrument designed to measure the presence of the components included in the
final definition constructed in the first part of the study. Using Likert”s (1961)
principle of supportive relationships as a basis for decision, the researcher
determined that the instrument should measure administrative support of
counseling programs as perceived by those intended to receive that support-the
school counselors.

Because perception of support is viewed as a subjective evaluation based
on a combination of data and affect, it was determined that the instrument should
contain a series of statements constructed to measure the degree to which
counselors felt the presence of each component of administrative support in
their schools. Statements were constructed for each component of the final
definition of administrative support of counseling programs; the number of
statements developed for each concept depended on the number of statements
the researcher thought was necessary to obtain a complete measure of the
concept. As a whole, the statements were designed to measure the presence of
both the broad concepts presented in the final definition and the supporting
descriptions used to clarify each concept. In many cases, the wording of the
statements was based on the phrases and wording presented in the literature,
by focus group participants, or both.

To develop an instrument that would accurately measure the presence of
administrative support of counseling programs, a Likert-type response scale was

incorporated into the instrument. Subjects completing the instrument would be

67

asked to respond to each item by indicating the degree to which they agreed or
disagreed with the statement, using a 5—point Likert scale ranging from Strongly
Disagree (1) through Neutral (3) to Strongly Agree (5).

Fl l T sin the Instrument: A econd

ngps Q Focus Sroups

To field test the new instrument, the researcher conducted a second
series of focus groups. Using the same methods of random selection and
contact that were used in selecting participants for the first series of focus
groups, the researcher invited high school counselors to attend one of two focus
groups. These focus groups were also held late in the afternoon on weekdays;
one was held on Monday, March 29, 1999, at the Royal Oak Public Library in
Royal Oak, and the other was held on Tuesday, March 30, 1999, at the Oakland
Intermediate School District (Oakland Schools) offices in Waterford. The
process used to select participants for the second round of focus groups was
independent of the one used to select participants for the first round. Six
counselors agreed to attend one of the focus groups, and they were sent
confirmation letters and directions. One of these counselors had also
participated in the first round of focus groups.

Although six counselors agreed to participate in the second round of
focus groups, three actually did so. After being introduced to the purposes of
the focus group, each counselor signed a participation waiver and was then
asked to review the statements concerning administrative support of counseling

programs and the broad concepts of support the statements were intended to

68

measure. Participants also were asked to comment on the clarity of each
statement and to evaluate the comprehensive nature of the instrument as a
whole. The researcher gave directions to facilitate the review process and
clarified ideas or questions that participants raised. The researcher also took
notes during the discussions. At the conclusion of each focus group,
participants were thanked, and letters of appreciation were sent to them at their
respective high schools.

The researcher then reviewed the comments and suggestions made by
participants in the second round of focus groups. Based on these comments,
minor changes were made in the statements for purposes of clarity. A question
was added in order to measure more fully a specific component of the definition

of administrative support.

Sreation of the Questionnaire Pfiket

The modified statements served as the core of the experimental

 

instrument, the Counseling Assessment Questionnaire (CAQ). Six open-ended
questions were added to the CAQ to give respondents an opportunity to expand
on their answers, and to provide normative data on the number of years they and
their principals had worked in education individually and as a team. The CAQ
was then combined with the statements used in Sutton and Fall’s (1995) School
Climate Survey and the short version of the Minnesota Satisfaction
Questionnaire (MSQ) to constitute the questionnaire packet that would be

mailed to study participants.

69

Sutton and Fall (1995) used the $08 to measure school climate in a study
that indicated a relationship between school climate and counselor self-efficacy.
The 808 used in Sutton and Fall’s study was an adaptation of a school climate
survey that Coladarci constructed to measure teachers” perceptions of school
climate. Both Sutton and Fall and Coladarci identified two subscales within the
808, one of which measured administrative support and the other staff support;
neither subscale was broken down into smaller components. Sutton and Fall
evaluated the two subscales of the $08 for internal consistency, using
Cronbach”s alpha. The alpha coefficient for the administrative support subscale
was .91, and the alpha coefficient for the staff support subscale was .90.

The SCS was included in this study to cross-validate the CAQ because
Sutton and Fall (1995) had discovered a link between administrative support and
school climate. Because a high positive correlation was discovered in the
Sutton and Fall study, finding a similar correlation between the CAQ and the
SOS in this study would suggest that the CAQ was a valid measure of
administrative support.

Stickel (1988) used the long version of the MSQ in affirming the
relationship between counselor job satisfaction and administrative support.
Designed to measure job satisfaction in 20 categories, the MSQ was developed
through field testing statements on job satisfaction with subjects from a wide
variety of vocations. The field testing revealed two subscales on the MSQ-
intrinsic satisfaction and extrinsic satisfaction. Median Hoyt reliability

coefficients for the short version of the MSQ were .86 for the intrinsic satisfaction

70

subscale, .80 for the extrinsic satisfaction subscale, and .90 for general
satisfaction.

In addition to a long version of the MSQ, a short form was also
constructed, consisting of one item from each of the 20 categories; this short
form was developed for use when time constraints prohibited using the long form
of the instrument. The short version of the MSQ was used in the current study to
avoid having a packet of instruments that would take participants too long to
complete.

Because employee job satisfaction is an integral component of Likert”s
(1961) principle of supportive relationships, finding a high positive correlation
between the CAQ and the MSQ in this study would suggest a strong relationship
between administrative support of counseling programs and counselor job
satisfaction. Such a correlation would also suggest that the CAQ was a valid

measure of administrative support of counseling programs.

Field Testin the uestionnaire Packet

To determine the length of time counselors would need to complete the
questionnaires in the packet, a third series of focus groups was conducted. The
counseling department heads of two high schools in the greater Detroit area
agreed to allow the researcher to conduct timings on the packet as part of their
respective department meetings. At each of the meetings, the researcher
introduced himself and gave a brief description of the purpose of the study.

Each of the counselors involved signed a participation waiver and then

71

completed the packet, with the department head noting the time each participant
finished writing.

Ten counselors participated in these focus groups, each of which was
held during the regular school day. At one focus group, a counselor was called
away from the meeting during the timing and was unable to complete the
materials. The researcher called this participant several days after the focus
groups were held to gain his insights into the questionnaire packet. As the
timings were being completed and after they were concluded, the researcher
asked the participants for feedback on the statements and formats used on the
instruments. This feedback was sought, in part, to supplement the feedback
provided in the second set of focus groups, which were not as well attended as
the researcher had hoped. Feedback was provided, and the researcher thanked
the participants. The department heads were also sent letters of thanks for the
participation of their department members. Based on the feedback from the third
series of focus groups, a minor change was made in the explanation of one of

the steps of the Likert response scale used on the CAQ.

Sonducting the Survey

Population sample. After the field testing was completed, questionnaire
packets were prepared and mailed to every high school counselor in every
public high school in the greater Detroit area. This population was selected in
part because of its geographic proximity to the researcher, but primarily because

of the diverse socioeconomic conditions that exist in the region and the wide

72

variety of school sizes in the area. Any sample taken from this population would
be likely to contain representation from small, medium, and large schools, and
from schools in rural, urban, and suburban settings, resulting in a testing of the
instrument in a rich array of school counseling programs, with data coming from
counselors working under vastly different circumstances. Names of the high
school counselors were generated from lists provided by local intermediate
school districts or directly by the high schools, which the researcher telephoned.
Due to confidentiality policies, the names of the counselors at two high schools
were unavailable. Counselors at those schools received packets addressed to
”Counselor.”

A total of 711 questionnaire packets were sent by first-class mail; each
packet contained a letter of introduction, the questionnaire packet itself, and a
postage.paid, retum-mail envelope (the questionnaire packet is contained in
Appendix A). The entire population was included in the sample because a large
number of completed questionnaire packets was needed to conduct the factor
analysis and the cross-validation of the CAQ, and it was impossible to predict
the return rate.

Participants were given an opportunity to receive a summary of the survey
results by providing the researcher with their names and mailing addresses. If
participants provided this information, the researcher immediately separated it
from the survey upon receipt of the packet, in order to ensure participant
confidentiality. Two weeks after the initial mailing, a reminder postcard was sent

to those counselors whose packets had not been returned.

73

An I sis of urve ta

Wis. Participants” responses to the scaled items in the
questionnaire packets were entered on a computer spreadsheet. Data entry was
completed by the researcher, who verified the accuracy of the data entry by
reviewing each page of raw data with the corresponding entries in the
spreadsheet for proper alignment. Once completed, this spreadsheet was
converted to a Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) file for
analysis.

The researcher then conducted a confirmatory factor analysis on
responses to the items on the CAQ in order to test the hypothesis that
administrative support of school counseling programs has five key components
or underpinnings. Using squared multiple correlations as estimates for the
measure of communality, initial Eigenvalues were calculated and analyzed, as
was the corresponding Scree plot. Five factors were then extracted and
subjected to Varimax rotation to clarify which items contributed to each factor.
Loadings on these five rotated factors were reviewed to determine the items that
loaded on one or more of the five factors at a level of .4 or higher. These same
procedures were conducted for analysis of four factors and three factors, in
order to evaluate the appropriateness of using a five-factor analysis.

Reliability. Using Cronbach’s alpha, reliability measures were calculated
on the CAQ as a whole and on each of the five factors derived in the
confirmatory factor analysis to determine whether the instrument was consistent

in its measurement of administrative support of counseling programs. Reliability

74

measures were also calculated on the SCS and MSQ and their respective
subscales because it was of interest to compare the degree of reliability of the
instruments as they were used in this scale to the measures of reliability
reported by the developers of the instruments.

gross-validation. Because the SCS is a measure of school climate, and
strong administrative support has been viewed in the literature as a necessary
component of strong school climate (Sutton & Fall, 1995), a two-tailed
correlation test was conducted between the SCS and the CAQ. This test was
completed using the Pearson product moment correlation with p s .01. A strong,
positive correlation between the two instruments would show that the quality of
the school climate is better in a school where administrative support of
counseling programs is strong, thus confirming the findings in the literature.
Two-tailed correlation tests also were conducted between the subscale for
administrative support of the SCS and the subscales and total scale of the CAQ.
These tests also were conducted using the Pearson product moment correlation,
with p s .01. Strong positive correlations on these tests would confirm the
validity of the items on the CAQ to measure administrative support of school
counseling programs as a whole and to confirm the validity of the subcategories
of the construct as well.

A two-tailed correlation test also was conducted between the CAQ and
the MSQ, using the Pearson product moment correlation, with p s .01. Because
administrative support is considered to be vital to employees” job satisfaction

(Likert, 1961) and specifically that of school counselors (Stickel, 1988), a strong,

75

positive correlation between these two instruments would show that the MSQ, an
established measure of job satisfaction, and the CAQ, an experimental measure
of administrative support of counseling programs, confirm the findings
established in the literature. Like the correlation between the CAQ and the SCS,
a strong, positive correlation between the CAQ and the MSQ would affirm the
validity of the CAQ as a measure of administrative support of counseling
programs.

Based on the literature review and the focus groups conducted in part one
of this study, the researcher expected that both of these correlations would
indicate strong, positive relationships between the CAQ and the SCS, and
between the CAQ and the MSQ. Such relationships would confirm the utility of

the CAQ as a measure of administrative support of school counseling programs.

76

CHAPTER IV

PRESENTATION OF THE STUDY FINDINGS

Introduction

The researcher’s purposes in this study were (a) to provide a clear
definition of administrative support of counseling programs and (b) to develop
and test a valid, reliable, credible, and comprehensive instrument with which to
measure the multiple facets of administrative support of school counseling
programs. The findings of the study as they relate to the research questions are
presented in this chapter. To answer the first research question, the
components of administrative support of counseling programs, as defined in the
literature, are presented. Next the components of administrative support of
counseling programs, as defined by counseling practitioners, are presented, to
answer Research Question 2. The components of these two definitions are then
compared and contrasted to answer the third research question. The answers to
the first questions were synthesized to create a comprehensive definition of
administrative support of counseling programs, which is presented to answer the
fourth research question.

To answer the remaining research questions, the results of statistical

tests of an instrument designed to measure administrative support of counseling

77

programs are presented. First, the steps taken to create and field test the
instrument are reviewed. Then the results of the confirmatory factor analysis of
the instrument are presented, to answer the fifth research question. The sixth
research question is answered by presenting the reliability measures of the new
instrument. Research Question 7 is answered by presenting the correlation
measures of the new instrument, which were used to cross-validate the new
instrument with instruments that are currently being used to evaluate support-

related measures of school climate and counselor job satisfaction.

Findings From Part Onp

Sontent Analysis of the Literature

Research Question 1: What are the components of administrative
support of counseling programs, as viewed in the literature?

To answer this question, the researcher conducted a content analysis of
the literature on administrative support of counseling programs. The purpose of
this content analysis was to determine the components of administrative support
of counseling programs presented in the literature. These components served
as the elements of a literature-based definition of administrative support of
counseling programs.

As described in Chapter III, a series of literature searches was
undertaken to establish a body of writings representing all facets of
administrative support of counseling programs present in the literature. As a
result of these searches, 67 pieces of literature related to administrative support

of counseling programs were located and reviewed. Of these 67 pieces, 35

78

were articles from professional journals, 21 were monographs of reports or
conference papers, 5 were educational guides, 4 were books, and 2 were
doctoral dissertations. With regard to content, 4 of the pieces of literature were
from the area of organizational and management theory, 28 were from the areas
of administrative support of human service agencies and administrative support
of school programs other than counseling, and 35 were from the area of
administrative support of counseling programs. Of the 67 pieces of literature
that were located, 66 were primary sources.

The main themes of each piece of literature were analyzed and
summarized. As described in Chapter III, the main themes of each piece were
determined in part by the number of times a theme was used in a given piece,
and in part by the emphasis a theme received in a certain piece. For example,
the theme of counselor efficacy was mentioned throughout an article by Sutton
and Fall ( 1995) as a variable that is strongly affected by administrative support
of counseling programs; as a result, this theme was considered a major theme.
This same article briefly mentioned the relationship between administrative
support of counseling programs and counselor perception of school climate, but
emphasized this point in the discussion section of the article as relevant to the
findings of the research conducted in the study. Whereas the theme of
counselor efficacy as an outcome of administrative support of counseling
programs was referred to throughout the article, the theme of counselor
perception of school climate as an outcome of administrative support of

counseling programs received enough emphasis in the discussion section of the

79

article to be considered a second major theme. As a result, both self-efficacy
and counselor perception of school climate were viewed as main themes from
this article that contributed to a literature-based definition of administrative
support of counseling programs.

The major themes of each piece of literature were then compared,
contrasted, and sorted into categories. The categories were intended to clarify
the components of administrative support of counseling programs and to serve
as distinct elements for a literature-based definition of the construct. Therefore,
the categories were designed to be exhaustive and mutually exclusive. Because
the purpose of the content analysis was to determine how many components of
administrative support of counseling programs existed in the literature, no
a priori number of categories was assigned.

As a result of the categorization of the major themes of each piece of
literature, the content analysis revealed a definition of administrative support of
counseling programs that had three components: administrative support of
program implementation, administrative support of counselors as individuals,
and administrative support of resource allocation. The content analysis also
revealed subcategories of administrative support of counseling programs within
each of these three components. (See Figure 2.)

The component of administrative support of program implementation
contained four subcategories; listed in order of emphasis as presented in the
literature, they are (a) administrative assistance with problem solving,

(b) administrative knowledge of counseling programs, (c) strong internal

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communication with counselors, and (d) strong communication with audiences

external to the counseling program. The component of administrative support of

counselors as individuals had two subcategories: (a) support of counselors as

people and (b) support of counselors as professionals. The component of

administrative support of resource allocation had two subcategories:

(a) administrative support through the budgeting process and (b) administrative

support through allocation of non-budget-based resources.

Component

Administrative Support of
Program Implementation

Administrative Su port of
Counselors as In ividuals

Administrative Support of
Resource Allocation

Subcategories

- Administrative assistance with problem
solvrng

. Administrative knowledge of counseling
programs

- Stron internal communication with
counse ors

- Strong communication with audiences
external to the counseling program

- Support of counselors as people

- Support of counselors as professionals

- Administrative support through the
budgeting process

. Administrative support through allocation
of non-budget-based resources

Figure 2: Components and subcategories of administrative support of
counseling programs as revealed by a content analysis of the

literature.

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Administrative support of prpgram implementation. Of the three

components of administrative support of counseling programs evidenced in the
literature, administrative support of program implementation was the most
prevalent. The premise underlying this component is that the best way for
administrators to demonstrate support of the counseling program is to be
actively and appropriately involved in the delivery of counseling services to
students. This appropriateness is demonstrated by administrative assistance
with problem solving, knowledge of school programs, and effective internal and
external communication. .

A significant part of this component of support is a willingness to help
educators solve problems. From their study of special educators, Billingsley et
al. ( 1995) concluded that a large element of administrative support involved
offering assistance to special educators in resolving day-to-day issues that
arose in the classroom. This same troubleshooting approach was emphasized
by Blase (1987a), who identified a problem-solving orientation as an important
task-related theme in effective leadership. Although neither of these studies
suggested that teachers would like to have the principal solve problems for
them, the principal’s willingness to develop an understanding of the daily
problems faced by teachers and to offer suggestions on how to resolve the
problems lends an air of genuineness to the administrative support of a given
program.

If they are to serve as legitimate resources to teachers, administrators

must possess a strong knowledge of any given program. Blase (1987a)

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emphasized the necessity of knowledge and expertise in an effective school
leader. Similarly, a study of speech pathologists by Schetz and Billingsley
(1992) indicated that administrators” knowledge of what speech pathologists did
was a key element in the demonstration of administrative support.

The importance of an administrator’s knowledge of programs applies in
the realm of counseling, as well. In their study of rural counselors in Maine,
Sutton and Southworth (1990) identified principals’ knowledge of the counselor's
role as a vital part of the support rural counselors received from their principals.
Further, Stickel’s (1988) study of role congruence indicated a relationship
between a principals understanding of the role of the counseling program and
counselors” job satisfaction, underscoring the need for strong administrative
awareness of the purposes of counseling.

Johnson and Whitfield (1991) affirmed this need for principals to
understand the goals and results of counseling programs as being part of an
effective evaluation of counseling services. This same need was stated by
Bryant (1991) and Studer and Allton (1996), who saw the knowledge of what
counselors do as essential to effective support.

The literature also pointed out the importance of strong communication
between educators and administrators. Fenton and Nancarrow (1989), Lyman
(1987), and Stickel (1988) each suggested that strong communication is a good
avenue for creating administrative knowledge of a program and a good channel

to use in building on that understanding, once it is established.

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For communication to be successful, internal communication, or
communication between the principal and the educators involved with the
program, must occur on a variety of levels. In identifying the ways in which
administrative support could be improved, special educators frequently identified
the importance of their being included in the development of long-range plans
for the school (Billingsley et al., 1995). Frequent communication between
teacher and evaluator was identified as an integral element of the success of a
new evaluation program studied by Fenton and Nancarrow (1989), and Leslie
(1989) identified the importance of variety in communication methods in
increasing teachers” satisfaction.

In discussing the promotion of trust between teachers and administrators,
Lyman (1987) identified the communication skills of listening and giving
feedback as essential. In addition, Stickel’s (1988) study of counselor
congruence emphasized communication between counselors and principals as a
strong part of creating greater agreement between the two groups concerning
the appropriate role of counselors and counseling programs.

Each of these references pointed to a specific component of
communication that was viewed as important to the development of a mutually
supportive relationship between counselors and administrators. Taken as a
whole, in these references the role of communication between administrators
and educators-in this case, counselors—was viewed as being at the heart of

supporting the implementation of counseling programs.

In addition to effective internal communication, the literature emphasized
the role of external communication or communication about the importance of a
school program or department to audiences other than those directly involved in
the day-to-day implementation of the department. f Promotion of a program’s
goals and achievements to other teachers, central office administrators, and
school board members is viewed by those involved with the program as a strong
endorsement of the program. This endorsement strengthens the importance of
the program in the eyes of external audiences, which in turn increases the value
of the program in the eyes of those involved with the program, as well.

Support for the value of external communication was offered by Arends
(1982), who concluded that principals’ verbal support of a program was one of
four key administrative behaviors influencing the success of the program.
Schetz and Billingsley (1992) identified advocacy of speech programs as one of
the four key aspects of administrative support of speech pathologists. In
addition, Oberg (1996) noted that school librarians felt supported by
administrators who communicated the importance of the library program to
classroom teachers.

With respect to administrators communicating the value of counseling
programs to external audiences, Mayer et al. (1983) identified promotion of
counseling programs with classroom teachers as one of three measures of
administrative support. Another way to communicate the value of counseling to
external audiences was identified by Bloom and Davidson (1998), who listed

inclusion of counseling in the larger school community as an element of

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administrative support of counseling programs. In their discussion of the
evaluation of counseling programs, Johnson and Whitfield (1991) cited the
principals ability to communicate with classroom teachers and garner their
support of counseling activities as an important component of the evaluation of
caunseling programs.

Communication of the importance of counseling programs, both to those
involved in the delivery of counseling services and to external audiences, has
been viewed as a key component of administrative support of the
implementation of counseling programs. Writers have pointed out that this
communication can be effective only if administrators first develop a strong
klnowledge of what counselors do. This knowledge base, combined with good
communication between counselors and administrators, gives administrators a
good understanding of how to apply their expertise on a regular basis in order to
make the implementation of counseling services more effective. Combined,
these four subcategories constitute a component that represents the importance
of knowledge.based administrative support of counseling programs that
articulates the importance of counseling and is of practical use to counselors on
a daily basis.

Administrative suppgrt of counselorsfi individuals. The second
strongest component of the literature-based construct of administrative support
of counseling programs concerned the support given to counselors as
individuals. A variety of themes used in the literature conveyed a need for

administrators to help employees feel a sense of success and contribution in the

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workplace. Part of this sense of success is rooted in counselors’ personal
realization of a greater degree of self-expression in the vocational part of their
lives. Another aspect of this sense of success is the importance of
administrators respecting counselors” professional contributions to the
productivity and effectiveness of the organization. Although the literature
evidenced greater emphasis on the need for personal recognition than
professional recognition, both subcategories convey the importance of
administrators recognizing the worth of counselors as a way of conveying the
worth of counseling.

The importance of personal support was strongly conveyed in the
litertature from the fields of management and organizational theory. Maslow
identified the desire for this kind of support as the need for self-actualization, a
need viewed by Wiles and Lovell (1975) as essential to the success of
management theory. This theme was also prevalent in the work of Argyris
(1957), who based his theory of reality-centered management on the importance
of organizations’ helping employees achieve their personal goals in order for
organizations to succeed. Empirical support for the value of the personal side of
administrative support was provided by Dossett et al. (1983), who found that
subjects in an experiment preferred a more personal management style over a
more task-oriented, aloof style of management. These findings were
corroborated by the ethnographic research of Fairhurst and Chandler (1989),

who concluded that employees Who had personal relationships with their

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employers were likely to contribute more of their own opinions and insights when
discussing work-related issues.

This theme of personal support was also evident in the literature on
support of human service organizations and schools. In Kahn”s (1993) study of
support at a social work agency, the words emotional expression, empathy,
considerateness, and validation (p. 562) were used to convey the personal
component that administrative support must contain. Leslie (1989) described
the need for administrators to ”give teachers a sense of their own importance”
(p. 22), and Hipp (1996) identified strong personal support of teachers as a key
element of administrative support. In a study of the effect of administrative
support on educators” job satisfaction, Littrell et al. (1994) identified emotional
support as the element of support that teachers viewed as most important.

The importance of administrators” respect for the work of counselors as
professionals was also presented in different ways. Aubrey (1973) identified the
need for counselors to experience a sense of respect as evidenced by
professional autonomy. This finding was supported in a study by Sutton and
Southworth (1990), in which rural counselors reported greater autonomy and
closer relationships to their administrators than did urban counselors. Sears
(1993) emphasized this same theme of autonomy, encouraging administrators to
give counselors the opportunity to take the lead in program innovation and
evaluation.

Andersen and Reiter ( 1995) also touched on the issue of professional

respect. They encouraged counselors to update administrators on research in

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the counseling field and to develop innovative counseling activities for students.
Improvements in these two professional areas, the authors concluded, would
lead administrators to have greater respect for the professional efforts of
counselors, an increase the authors equated with an increase in administrative
support.

As presented in the literature, the themes of self-actualization, validation,
autonomy, and respect point to a component of administrative support of
counseling programs that transcends the mere advocacy of the counseling
program. These smaller themes introduce a part of administrative support that
encourages the employee as an individual to contribute to the vitality and utility
of the organization in ways that draw upon the employee’s personal reserves of
ability, interest, perspective, and enthusiasm. These subcategories also reflect
the importance of administrators” acknowledging the contributions counselors
make to school communities through the execution of their duties in a
knowledgeable and professional manner. Combined, these two subcategories
recur in the literature with such frequency that their inclusion as an element of
the construct of administrative support of counseling programs is essential.

Administrative support of resource allocation. In addition to the
components of support of program implementation and support of counselors as
individuals, the third component of administrative support of counseling
programs evidenced in the literature was administrative support of resource
allocation. Whereas support of program implementation provides a hands-on

element to the construct, and support of counselors as individuals lends an

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affective element to the construct, support of resource allocation serves as a
more practical component of support because the other two components cannot
exist if adequate resources-either budget—based or nonfinancial-are not
provided for counseling programs at the outset.

In the literature, the need for administrative support of resource allocation
was centered on the topic of the school budget. Berman and McLaughlin (1978)
concluded that one of the primary reasons federally funded programs were
maintained after federal resources were no longer available to fund them was
principals” assertiveness in garnering district funds to keep the programs going.
Voss ( 1989) identified proper budgeting and support of working conditions as
areas valuable to support of school science programs. Appropriate funding was
also recognized as valuable to school librarians (Oberg, 1996) and teachers of
literacy (Lickteig et al., 1995). Also, Johnson and Whitfield (1991) emphasized
the importance of evaluating the appropriateness of the counseling budget when
evaluating a counseling program.

In addition to budgets, support of resource allocation had other, less
prevalent dimensions in the literature. Arends (1982) identified the need for
administrators to give something of value, such as personnel, supplies, and
prime office space, to a grant-funded program in order for the program to
succeed. Aubrey (1973) cited the need for appropriate physical space and
counseling facilities in counseling programs. Availability of resources also was

emphasized by Bloom and Davidson (1998) in their appraisal of administrative

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support, and by the Tennessee State Department of Education (1990) in its
guidelines for the development of an effective career center.

Drier and Gysbers (1993) stressed the importance of resource allocation
in providing support of comprehensive guidance programs, as did Sears (1993),
who saw support manifested in the allocation of time for program development
and review, and access to professional development opportunities. This same
kind of resource allocation was emphasized by Keene and Stewart (1989), who
stressed the need for administrators to allocate time to counselors to analyze the
results of an evaluation of counseling services. Counselors need this time to
develop plans for improvement, based on the results of the evaluation.

From budgetary needs to physical space to time for reviewing the
effectiveness of counseling services, counseling programs need administrative
support to secure the resources to develop and maintain effective, modern,
productive counseling services. Although administrative support of resource
allocation received the least attention in the literature, its value to counseling
programs is significant enough to view it as the third component of the construct
of administrative support of counseling programs.

Summary of the content analysis of the literature. The literature reviewed
from the fields of management and organizational theory, human resource
agencies, schools in general, school departments, and counseling departments
represented a wide array of opinions, interests, and empirical approaches in
viewing the importance of administrative support and its manifestations in

organizations. At the same time, these different views constituted a body of

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common ideas, phrases, findings, and insights that formed three components of
administrative support: (a) support of program implementation (as demonstrated
in administrative assistance with problem solving, administrative knowledge of
counseling programs, strong internal communication with counselors, and strong
communication with audiences external to the counseling program); (b) support
of counselors as individuals (as demonstrated in administrative support of
counselors as people and support of counselors as professionals); and

(c) Support of resource allocation (as demonstrated in administrative support
through the budgeting process and administrative support through allocation of
non-budget-based resources). Because these components were designed to be
exhaustive and mutually exclusive, they represent a complete, literature-based

definition of administrative support of counseling programs.

Sontent Analysis of Focgs Grog

Research Question 2: What are the components of administrative
support of counseling programs, as viewed by counseling practitioners?

 

To answer this question, a series of focus groups was conducted with
high school counselors in the greater Detroit area. The purpose of these focus
groups was to obtain ideas about and examples of the components of
administrative support of counseling programs from those currently involved in
delivering counseling services in schools.

The researcher presented questions to the focus groups that were
broadly framed on the literature-based definition of administrative support of

counseling programs (see Appendix B). The researcher took notes during each

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of the focus group discussions, writing down the main point of each response to
every question. To allow maximum freedom in the discussion, no attempt was
made to summarize or classify responses at any time during the focus groups.
At the end of the series of focus groups, the researcher reviewed his notes from
each of the three meetings for clarity.

The researcher then conducted a content analysis of the notes taken
during the focus groups, to create a definition of administrative support of
counseling programs as viewed by counseling practitioners. The steps taken in
this content analysis were similar to those taken in conducting the content
analysis of the literature addressing administrative support of counseling
programs. The main themes of the focus groups were determined, in part, by
the number of times a theme was presented or affirmed by focus group
participants, and in part by the emphasis a theme was given when presented by
a focus group participant. For example, many focus group participants stressed
the importance of administrators’ communicating the value of the counseling
programs to teaching faculty; as a result, this idea was viewed as a main theme.
At the same time, one counselor placed heavy emphasis on the importance of
administrative support as respect for the counselor as a professional; as a result,
this idea was also viewed as a main theme, even though no other focus group
participant emphasized the idea as strongly as that counselor had.

The major themes of the focus groups were then sorted into categories.
As was the case with the content analysis of the literature, the categories

created in this content analysis were formed to be mutually exclusive and

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exhaustive. Whereas the questions given to focus group participants were
based on the results of the content analysis of the literature, no a priori number
of categories was assigned during the content analysis of the notes from the
focus groups.

The categorization of major themes that were present in the notes from
the focus groups revealed a definition of administrative support of counseling
programs that had three components: administrative support of program
implementation, administrative support of counselors as individuals, and
administrative support of resource allocation. As was the case with the previous
content analysis, this content analysis also revealed subcategories of
administrative support of counseling programs within each of these three
components. Presented in order of their emphasis in the focus group notes (and
shown in Figure 3), the component of administrative support of program
implementation contained three subcategories: (a) administrative assistance
with problem solving, (b) strong internal communication with counselors, and
(c) strong communication with audiences external to the counseling program.
The component of administrative support of counselors as individuals had two
subcategories: (a) support of counselors as professionals and (b) support of
counselors as people. The component of administrative support of resource
allocation had two subcategories: (a) administrative support through allocation
of non-budget-based resources and (b) administrative support through the

budgeting process.

Component Subcategories

Administrative Sup ort of ' Administrative assistance with problem
Program lmplemen tlon SOIVINQ

- Strong internal communication with
counselors

. Strong communication with audiences
external to the counseling program

Administrative Su port of - Support of counselors as professionals
Counselors as In ividuals
- Support of counselors as people

Administrative Support of - Administrative support through allocation
Resource Allocation of non-budget-based resources

- Administrative support through the
budgeting process

Figure 3: Components and subcategories of administrative support of
counseling programs as revealed by a content analysis of the
focus group notes.

Administrative supwrt of program implementation. Focus group

 

participants placed the greatest emphasis on the component of administrative
support of program implementation. Several counselors mentioned how
administrators encouraged them to get involved in their schools” weekly
homeroom periods in order to advance the goals of the counseling curriculum
with respect to academic advising and career counseling. Other counselors
recognized the risks principals accepted when helping counselors organize and
present schoolwide counseling activities, including informational assemblies and

programs with motivational speakers. Noting the amount of criticism principals

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received from classroom teachers about such programs, counselors remarked
about the irony that teachers supported pep assemblies but lacked enthusiasm
for counseling activities.

Other counselors mentioned the value of administrators” offering specific
strategies for meeting the demands of a counseling workload. One counselor
described the sense of validation the counselors received from their principal
when the principal told the counselors to block out one half-day each week to
complete paperwork related to counseling. Another counselor was grateful for
the time the principal hired extra clerical help in order to free up the counselor’s
time to tend to students” needs. Another counselor pointed out how something
as simple as administrative approval of a regular candy sale run by the
counseling department led to the purchase of computer equipment that greatly
enhanced students” abilities to search and apply for college scholarships.

Many of the discussions generated in the focus groups centered on the
importance of communication between counselors and administrators. One
counselor emphasized the importance of principals” demystifying the role of
counselors and debunking myths of what counselors do. On this same theme,
another counselor expressed appreciation for the number of times the principal
visited the counseling center each day just to see what was happening. The
counselor viewed these visits as acts designed to open the lines of
communication between counselors and the principal.

Several counselors thought that administrators and counselors could work

more closely together on matters of student discipline, where counselors would

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intervene with students before a situation required disciplinary action. Other
counselors thought it was important for administrators to ask advice from the
counselors about how administrators should complete their tasks, as counselors
hold a unique place in the school community. These examples show the
creativity that can be generated between counselors and administrators when
strong internal communication is established and maintained.

Counselors participating in the focus groups viewed principals” contact
with external groups as being just as important as communication with
counselors. One counselor saw this communication as needful to protect
counselors from the ill will of the faculty. Several other counselors supported
this idea, noting that teachers have no idea what counselors do, especially as it
relates to scheduling. Another counselor expressed the hope that myths held by
teachers about the nature of counseling work would one day be dispelled, as
many teachers believe counselors always deal with just one issue at a time.

In an example of strong support through external communications, one
counselor noted that, when a principal presented statistics at an all-school
faculty meeting on the number of students counselors had seen during class
registration week, the teachers responded by giving the counselors a standing
ovation. Such recognition is rare but exhilarating, according to one counselor.

The above-mentioned examples given by the focus group participants
demonstrate the power that is evident when administrative support is focused on
improving the delivery of counseling services. This hands-on approach to

support was clearly valued by the counselors, who gave numerous examples of

97

what a difference such support makes, through its presence as well as its
absence.

Key to the component of administrative support of program
implementation is the role of communication. Focus group participants saw the
need for counselors and principals to work together in creating effective
channels of communication with each other, and for principals to communicate
the value of counseling programs to a wide variety of external audiences.
Although it was not often stated, it was apparent that focus group participants
saw administrative understanding of the role and duties of counselors as the
basis of strong communications.

Administrative support of counselors as individuals. Second to the need
for administrators to support counselors in the implementation of counseling
programs, counselors mentioned the need for demonstrated trust and respect of
counselors as professionals to exist among counselors and administrators.
When asked to rate the importance of trust on a scale from 1 to 10, one
counselor responded with an answer well above 10, suggesting that, for them,
trust was the key element in administrative support of counseling programs.

Counselors in other focus groups echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the
importance of trust in creating a work atmosphere in which creativity and
program development were encouraged. Other counselors mentioned counselor
competence as a prerequisite to administrative trust, suggesting that counselors
must first show administrators they are capable before administrators can extend

trust to them.

98

Whereas trust and respect were frequent topics of discussion in the focus
groups, the topic of personal support rarely arose. One counselor articulated
the value of emotional support, and another stressed the value of being viewed
as a person by the administrator, no matter what. In general, however, focus
group participants seemed to view the importance of validation as more of a
professional issue than a personal one. When asked whether support of
counselors was more important than support of programs, one counselor
remarked that support of the program was support of the counselor. Another
counselor noted that validation was nice when it came, but it was not necessary
in order for him to do his job.

Overall, focus group participants spent much more time discussing how
administrators could help counseling programs succeed than how administrators
could support counselors as individuals. When support of counselors was
mentioned in the focus groups, the discussion was usually within the context of
how administrators could help counselors do their jobs better; one counselor
expressed the opinion that support of the program was support of the counselor
and vice-versa. Very little discussion of the personal component of
administration was mentioned. When it was brought up, such support was
viewed as a positive, but not necessary, element in the component of
administrative support of counselors as individuals.

Administrative support of resource allocation. Many counselors in the
focus groups underscored the importance of administrators supporting

counseling programs through the allocation of proper budgeting, staffing, and

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physical space. Although the counselors tended to view this kind of
administrative support as less important than any other aspect of support, some
emphasis was given to the importance of resources as they related to creating a
positive atmosphere for counseling programs.

When providing specific examples of the kinds of support needed in this
area, most counselors spoke of the need for appropriate physical space to run
small-counseling-group activities. Items such as telephones, voice mail,
computers, bulletin boards, and private offices that did not have to be shared
with other student service personnel (e.g., school nurses) were also mentioned.
However, the importance of these resources almost always was directly
connected to their value in improving counseling services; few, if any,
counselors spoke of the need to have more things merely for the sake of having
them.

Many counselors did mention the importance of administrative support of
the physical appearance of the counseling area. One counselor noted that the
counseling area was usually the place most frequently visited by all kinds of
people—teachers, students, parents, and visitors-and yet that area generally
received the hand-me-down supplies and furnishings. Other counselors
mentioned the strategic importance of locating all of the counselors together in
one building. This unified department had to be located outside the bounds of
the administrative offices, however, because students shy away from dropping in

to the principals office.

100

Administrative support of resource allocation was viewed as important by
the counselors who participated in the focus groups. Whereas some counselors
stressed the importance of having strong budgets (and autonomy over them),
other counselors emphasized the need for good basic supplies, new furniture,
and freshly painted walls. In either case, counselors recognized the value of
having administrative support in procuring these necessities and saw the
significance this element had in defining administrative support of counseling
programs.

Summagi of content analysis of focus groups. Many elements of
administrative support of counseling programs were discussed in the focus
groups, but practicing school counselors placed the greatest importance on
administrative support of program implementation. Examples of this direct
assistance included making suggestions concerning time management and
hiring clerical staff to allow counselors greater latitude in serving students.

\Mthin this component of program implementation, focus group
participants saw communication as a key subcategory. This communication
included internal communication with counselors in order for administrators to
develop and demonstrate a better understanding of what counselors did.
Communication also included having administrators express the importance of
the counseling program to external audiences, most notably classroom teachers
in the same building.

Demonstration of trust and respect of school counselors was viewed as

the next most important component of administrative support of counseling

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programs. Counselors in the focus groups tended to downplay the importance of
administrative support of counselors as individuals, but they emphasized the
importance of building an atmosphere of trust and respect for counselors as a
way of showing respect for the counseling program.

Finally, the focus group participants recognized the value of
administrative support in securing appropriate supplies, budget, and physical
space for counseling programs. Although this area of support was viewed as the
least important of all the components, relative emphasis was placed on the
importance of creating an inviting physical environment in the counseling office
so that students would feel welcome to come in and use the services offered by

the counseling department.

Synthesis pf the Sontent Analyses
Research Question 3: What similarities and differences exist between the

components of administrative support as viewed in the literature and as

seen by counseling practitioners?

To answer this question, a synthesis was created of the content analysis
of the literature on administrative support of counseling programs and the
content analysis of the notes from the focus groups with counselors regarding
the same construct. The purpose of this synthesis was to compare and contrast
the components and subcategories that were presented in each content analysis

and to review the relative emphasis each component and subcategory received

in the content analyses.

102

In creating the synthesis, all components and subcategories presented in
both content analyses were reviewed. The emphasis given to each component
and subcategory in one content analysis was compared to the emphasis that
component or subcategory received in the other content analysis. From this
comparison emerged the patterns of similarities and differences needed to
answer the third research question.

The synthesis of the content analyses revealed the existence of three
common components of administrative support of counseling programs. Both
the content analysis of the literature and the content analysis of the notes from
the focus groups contained the components of administrative support of program
implementation, administrative support of counselors as individuals, and
administrative support of resource allocation.

' All but one of the subcategories of the three components were present in
both content analyses. For the component of administrative support of program
implementation, the three common subcategories were (a) administrative
assistance with problem solving, (b) strong internal communication with
counselors, and (c) strong communication with audiences external to the
counseling program. The component of administrative support of counselors as
individuals had two common subcategories: (a) support of counselors ”as people
and (b) support of counselors as professionals. The component of
administrative support of resource allocation had two common subcategories:
(a) administrative support through the budgeting process and (b) administrative

support through allocation of non-budget-based resources. The subcategory of

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administrative knowledge of counseling programs, which was present in the
component of administrative support of program implementation in the content
analysis of the literature, was not present in the content analysis of notes from
the focus groups.

Although all but one of the subcategories were common to both content
analyses, several were given greater emphasis in one of the analyses; some
were given equal weight in each analysis. For the component of administrative
support of program implementation, the content analyses of the literature and
the focus group notes indicated strong emphasis on the need for administrators
to demonstrate support of counseling programs by offering assistance with the
implementation of those programs. What Blase (1987a) saw as a problem-
solving orientation was clearly supported by several examples given in the focus
groups. From offering assistance with handling paperwork to supporting a
counseling department candy sale, counselors valued the assistance of
administrators in fine-tuning counseling delivery systems for maximum efficiency
and success.

With regard to communication with counselors, participants in the focus
groups confirmed the content analysis of the literature in emphasizing the value
of communication in counseling programs. Just as the literature conveyed the
importance of communication between counselors and principals, counselors in
the focus groups stressed the need for frequent communication from

administrators on everything from touching base to see how a counselor's day

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was going, to engaging in active listening in order to understand what
counselors did and what their needs might be.

Whereas communication with counselors was given equal value in the
two content analyses, focus group participants gave more weight than the
literature did to the value of external communication with teaching faculty. In
explaining the importance of having teachers understand what counselors do,
focus group participants emphasized the role of the administrator in affirming the
work of counselors to the classroom faculty and in defending the work of
counselors to the faculty during times of controversy.

The value of administrators” communications with other external
audiences also was cited in both content analyses. Articulation of the
importance of counseling programs to central office administrators and school
board members was seen as important in both analyses. Even more important
to counselors in the focus groups was the ”backing up” of counselors’ decisions
by administrators when parents sought administrative assistance in resolving an
issue.

Another difference between the two content analyses was discovered in
the subcategories of the component of administrative support of counselors as
individuals. As mentioned under the content analysis of the focus group notes,
participants in the focus groups placed considerably less value on personal
support or validation than was evidenced in the literature. Most of the focus
group participants’ references to administrative support of counselors were

made in the context of administrative support of the implementation of the

105

counseling program. Many focus group participants saw support of counselors
and support of counseling programs as the same thing.

Because of this close link between administrative support of the counselor
as an individual and administrative support of program implementation, focus
group participants referred to the more professional concepts of trust, respect,
and awareness more often than did the literature. Although authors such as
Lyman (1987) did mention trust in their writings, the concept of support of the
counselor as a professional was much more prevalent in the focus groups. At
the same time, the concept of affective support for the counselor as an individual
was mentioned more frequently in the literature. In comparing the results of the
two content analyses, the contrast between administrative support of the
counselor as an individual and administrative support of the counselor as a
professional was the most profound.

The two content analyses indicated modestly different views of the
importance of the subcategories of the component of administrative support of
resource allocation. In the literature, the primary importance of this component
was a reminder of the power the building principal holds over the purse strings of
the counseling department. In contrast, counselors who participated in the focus
groups saw the strength of this component as an opportunity to engage the
principal in creating an inviting atmosphere in the counseling department
through the acquisition of fresh supplies, appropriate physical space, and

updated furnishings. As a result, the two subcategories of support through the

106

budgeting process and support through allocation of non-budget-based
resources received opposite emphases in the two groups.

The content analysis of the literature revealed three components that
were viewed as exhaustive elements of the construct of administrative support
of counseling programs: (a) administrative support of program implementation,
(b) administrative support of the counselor as an individual, and (c)
administrative support of resource allocation. These same three components
were identified in the content analysis of the notes from the focus groups.

Regarding the subcategories within each component, only two
subcategories received equal weight in both content analyses. IMthin the
component of administrative support of program implementation, the
subcategories of strong internal communication with counselors and
administrative assistance with problem solving were given similar value.

The value given to each of the remaining six subcategories differed in
each content analysis. Within the component of administrative support of
program implementation, communication with audiences external to the
counseling program (especially teaching faculty) received greater emphasis in
the notes from the focus groups than in the literature. Within this same
component, the literature emphasized the need for administrative knowledge of
counseling programs; this need was given so little attention in the focus groups
that it did not merit recognition as a subcategory.

Within the component of administrative support of counselors as

individuals, the literature placed greater emphasis on the subcategory of support

107

for the counselors as people, whereas the focus groups emphasized the
subcategory of support of counselors as professionals almost to the exclusion of
the subcategory of support for the counselors as people. Within the component
of administrative support of resource allocation, the literature emphasized
administrative support through the budgeting process, whereas the focus groups
gave greater weight to the administrator's support through allocation of non-

budget-based resources.

Somprehensive Definition of Administrative Support
Research Question 4: Based on the reviews and comparisons of the

existing body of literature and the views of counseling practitioners, what

cbnstitutes a working definition of administrative support of counseling

programs?

To answer this question, the answers to the first three research questions
were reviewed and compared. This was done to reconsider the major
components and subcategories of administrative support of counseling programs
presented in the literature and in the focus groups.

The researcher first examined the synthesis created to answer the third
research question to determine whether each component appeared in both of
the two content analyses with enough frequency and emphasis to be considered
essential to the definition of administrative support of counseling programs. The
researcher reconsidered the results of the content analyses to confirm the
review of the synthesis.

The researcher also reviewed the synthesis to determine whether a

subcategory appeared in each of the two content analyses with enough

108

frequency and emphasis to stand as a separate component in the final definition
of administrative support of counseling programs. If the combined findings of the
two content analyses yielded a series of major themes for a subcategory of a
component that were distinct from both the other subcategories within that
component and the remaining components, the content analyses were reviewed
to confirm those major themes. Where a subcategory was removed from an
component in order to create a new component, the remaining subcategories of
the component were reviewed and the component was retitled.

Two of the three components of administrative support of counseling
programs discovered in the content analyses were divided and retitled. As
shown in Figure 4, the component originally titled administrative support of
program implementation was divided into two components: (a) administrators
communicate with counselors and (b) administrators communicate the value of
counseling with others. The component originally titled administrative support of
resource allocation was divided into two components: (a) administrators support
counseling programs and the work of counselors and (b) administrators provide
physical space and technology for counselors. The component of administrative
support of the counselor as an individual was retained in its entirety in the final
definition of administrative support of counseling programs; it was renamed
administrators support counselors through demonstrations of autonomy and
trust.

Within the component of administrative support of program

implementation, the literature recognized the importance of administrators”

109

knowledge of counseling programs as a prerequisite for good communication,
whereas the topic was barely recognized in the focus groups. Because this
subcategory had very little recognition in one content analysis and only
moderate recognition in the other content analysis, it would have been difficult to
include administrative knowledge of counseling programs as a subcategory of

the final definition. As a result, it was discarded as a subcategory.

Component From Content Related Component(s) in Working

Analyses Definition
Administrative Support of - Administrators communicate with
Program Implementation counselors

. Administrators communicate the value of
counseling with others

Administrative Support of - Administrators support counseling
Resource Allocation programs and the work of counselors
- Administrators provide physical space and
technology for counselors
Administrative Su port of - Administrators su port counselors through
Counselors as In ividuals demonstrations o autonomy and trust

Figure 4: Components of working definition of administrative support of
counseling programs.

When administrative knowledge of counseling programs was eliminated
as a subcategory, the component of administrative support of counseling

programs had three remaining subcategories: (a) administrative assistance with

110

problem solving, (b) strong internal communication with counselors, and (c)
strong communication with audiences external to the counseling program. In
reviewing the synthesis of the content analysis, the subcategories of
administrative assistance with problem solving and lntemal communication with
counselors were seen to be integrally related. At the same time, the content
analysis of the literature gave minor support to the subcategory of
communication with audiences external to the counseling program, whereas the
content analysis of the focus group notes gave this subcategory significant
support and clear identification as a category separate from strong lntemal
communication with counselors.

The results of the review of the synthesis led to division of the three
remaining subcategories of the component of administrative support of program
implementation into two new components. Administrative communication with
counselors was created to represent the emphasis internal communication was
given in the synthesis of the content analyses; this new component also included
the subcategory of administrative assistance with problem solving, a
subcategory that was closely related to lntemal communication in the synthesis.
The subcategory of external communication was retitled administrators
communicate the value of counseling to others and was identified as a
component separate from administrative communication with counselors, as
suggested in the synthesis.

The synthesis indicated that the subcategories of the component of

administrative support of resource allocation received opposite levels of

111

emphasis in the two content analyses. Whereas the content analysis of the
literature highlighted the importance of administrative support through the
budgeting process, the content analysis of the focus group notes evidenced very
littlerecognition of this role. At the same time, although the focus group notes
stressed the importance of involving the administrator in securing non-budget-
based resources that would make the counseling atmosphere more inviting and
open, this same subcategory was given only modest support in the literature.

These sharp differences in recognition led the researcher to divide the
two subcategories into two separate components. From the subcategory of
administrative support through the budgeting process, a new component was
created, emphasizing administrative support of counseling programs and the
work of counselors. This component emphasized the literature-based
importance of administrators supporting counselors through the purchase of
items (clerical support, professional development opportunities, and so on) that
would help them execute their professional duties.

The subcategory of administrative support of non-budget-based
resources was retitled administrators provide physical space and technology for
counselors. This new component emphasizes the importance of administrators
supporting counseling programs by providing a feeling for counseling that is
current and updated. Although many of the things needed to maintain this
feeling—paint, furniture, computers—are budget based, the emphasis of this
component is on administrators supporting the atmosphere under which

counseling services are provided within the school.

112

The remaining component of administrative support of counseling
programs, administrative support of counselors as individuals, was included in
the final definition with a minor alteration. The content analysis of the literature
showed strong support for the subcategory of administrative support of the
counselor as a person, but the content analysis of the focus group notes showed
almost no mention of this subcategory. In addition, the literature-based content
analysis evidenced little emphasis on the subcategory of administrative support
of the counselor as a professional, whereas the content analysis of the focus
group notes gave this subcategory significant emphasis.

In reviewing the notes from the content analyses, the researcher realized
that many of the same words had been used to describe both personal support
and professional support. These words-respect, recognition, affirrnation-
suggest that both the literature and the focus groups may have valued the same
construct, but labeling this construct as either personal or professional might
have created a dichotomy that did not accurately convey the nature of the
construct. As a result, the component of administrative support of counselors as
individuals (and its corresponding subcategories) was retained; it was renamed
administrators support counselors through demonstrations of autonomy and
trust.

In synthesizing the content analyses of the literature review and notes
from the focus groups of high school counselors, and in reviewing the answers

to the first three research questions, the researcher identified the following five

113

components as essential in creating a comprehensive definition of administrative
support of counseling programs:

1. Administrators support counseling programs and the work of
counselors. This component addresses part of the theme of administrative
support of budget-based resource allocation. For administrators to support
counseling programs, they must first provide counselors with the tools necessary
to perform their duties. These ”tools” can include such things as clerical
support, time, professional development, and opportunities to implement
schoolwide counseling presentations.

2. Administrators communicate with counselors. In the synthesis of
the content analyses of the literature review and the focus group notes, the role
of communication and problem solving between administrators and counselors
was “strongly emphasized. This emphasis was so great that it seemed as if
administrator-counselor communication was the only component present in the
component of administrative support of program implementation. Therefore, it
seemed necessary to give communication with counselors a more prominent role
in the final definition.

3. Administrators communicate the value of counseling with others.
As was the case with communication with counselors, the role of external
communication was also strongly emphasized in the synthesis of the content
analyses. Specifically, the importance of administrative communication with
classroom teachers regarding the importance of the counseling program was a

strong common theme in the focus group discussions with high school

114'

counselors. As a result, the researcher made communication with others a
component of its own.

4. Administrators provide physical space and technology for
counselors. This component is the second part of the theme of administrative
support of resource allocation. Whereas the first component emphasizes the
role of the administrator as the keeper of the budget, this component addresses
the need for administrators to help counselors create afresh, inviting
atmosphere in the counseling office. Because part of keeping current involves
the introduction of new technologies, technological support was included in this
component.

5. Administrators support counselors through demonstrations of
autonomy and trust. This component is a mixture of the theme of personal
support of counselors (from the content analysis of the literature) and the theme
of support of the counselor as a professional (from the content analysis of the
focus group notes). Taken together, the words autonomy and trust suggest the
importance of administrative support for the counselor as both a person and a
professional. These words also provide ample room for individual interpretation
of this component, a need that was valued by focus group participants in

particular.

Development of the Instrument

In part two of the study, the researcher developed an instrument with

which to measure administrative support of counseling programs. As a means of

115

introducing the findings that will be used in answering Research Questions 4
through 7, the steps taken to develop the instrument are described in the
following paragraphs.

Using the five components that were included in the working definition of
administrative support of counseling programs, items were developed for a
questionnaire designed to measure the presence of these components in school
counseling programs. In developing the items for the instrument, the researcher
used two key criteria as guides. First, if a compOnent in the working definition
included one or more subcategories, items were designed to measure those
subcategories. Second, if the synthesis of the literature indicated that a
component or a subcategory of a component was given greater emphasis in the
content analyses than the other components and subcategories, more items
were designed to measure the presence of that component or subcategory.

In developing the wording for items, the researcher included key phrases
and concepts that he had discovered in the content analyses of the literature
and the focus groups. A first draft of the items was created; these items were
then compared to the content analyses to determine whether they accurately
reflected the findings of those analyses. After minor revision, these items were
accepted as the first version of the instrument (see Appendix C). In this version
of the instrument, seven items addressed the component of support of
counseling programs and the work of counselors, eight addressed the

component of communication with counselors, four addressed the component of

116

communication of the value of counseling with others, three addressed physical

space and technology, and six addressed autonomy and trust.

Field Testing the Instrument
As described in Chapter III, public high school counselors from the

greater Detroit area were selected at random and asked to field test the first
version of the instrument. Of the six counselors who initially agreed to
participate, three counselors representing three different public school districts
participated in the field testing of the instrument.

Participants in the focus groups that field tested the instrument were
provided with brief descriptions of the five components of administrative support
of counseling programs (see Appendix C). Based on those definitions and on
their own experiences as high school counselors, participants were then asked
to review each item for clarity and relevance. They were also asked to evaluate
the number of items addressing each component, to ensure that the breadth of a
component was adequately covered. The researcher took notes during the
review times and the ensuing discussion periods. He reviewed those notes after
the conclusion of all field tests to make changes in the instrument.

Focus group participants” responses to the instrument were very positive.
\lVith one exception, counselors thought the items on the instrument represented
a comprehensive definition of administrative support of counseling programs,
and they agreed that the items on the instrument were clear. One participant
sUggested that another item be added to those measuring the component of

communication with counselors. This item would address the degree to which

117

principals used counselors” professional resources. This suggestion, along with
some proposals for minor changes in the wording of certain items, were
incorporated into the next draft of the instrument.

In addition to these recommendations, one counselor suggested that each
item referring to ”the principal” be changed to refer to ”theadministrator'
because some counseling programs reported to an administrator other than the
building principal. This change was not incorporated into the instrument
because it would have eliminated the leadership dimension that is unique to a
building principal. Although the definition of administrative support used in this
study included support by the principal or the principals agent, this component
of principal leadership was viewed as an important component in the literature
on administrative support. Thus, the researcher thought it would be
inappropriate to eliminate that component of leadership at that point in the study.

Another focus group participant asked whether he should respond to the
items on the instrument from the viewpoint of a counselor or from the viewpoint
of an administrator. The investigator directed him to respond from his viewpoint
as a counselor because the purpose of the study was to measure administrative

support of counseling programs as viewed by counselors.

Field Testing the Questionnaire Packet

Minor changes were made to the instrument, which was now titled the
Counseling Assessment Questionnaire (CAQ). This new draft of the CAQ was

combined with the School Climate Survey (SCS) and the Minnesota Satisfaction

118

Questionnaire (MSQ) to create the questionnaire packet that would be used in
the survey. As described in Chapter III, this questionnaire packet was field
tested to determine the amount of time study participants would need to
complete the packet. This field testing also provided an additional opportunity to
review the items on the CAQ for clarity and breadth. The researcher took notes
throughout the field testing; these notes served as the basis for changes that
were made to the CAQ after the field testing was complete.

Ten public high school counselors from two school districts participated in
this round of field testing. The amount of time field study participants needed to
complete the questionnaire packet varied from 13 minutes to 25 minutes.
Participants from both field test focus groups made comments on specific items
as they were completing the forms. These comments generally affirmed the
quality of an item on one of the instruments (e.g., ”That’s a good question!”).

At the end of each focus group, participants broke into spontaneous
discussions with their colleagues about how they had responded to the
instruments. These discussions then gravitated toward the quality of
administrative support their counseling departments were currently receiving,
and ideas about how the level of administrative support could be improved.

One participant suggested a modification to the explanation of the
response scale on the CAQ. In explaining the degree of agreement assigned to
each number on the Likert scale used in the CAQ (e.g., ”5 means you strongly
agree with the statement”), the description associated with a response of 3 was

”You are neutral towards this statement.” The participant thought that some

119

counselors might think that levels of administrative support were strong in one
area one day but weak in that same area another day. He suggested that the
explanation of response 3 be changed to read, ”You are neutral towards this
statement, or you sometimes agree and sometimes disagree with this
statement.” This suggestion was incorporated into the draft of the CAQ that was

mailed out as part of the survey.

Analysis of Survey Data

Rate of return. A total of 711 questionnaire packets were sent by first-
class mail to all public school counselors in the greater Detroit area. Each
packet contained a letter of introduction, the questionnaire packet itself, and a
postage-paid, retum-mail envelope. Two weeks after the initial mailing, a
reminder postcard was sent to those counselors whose packets had not been
returned.

Of the 711 packets that had been sent out, 338 were returned, for a return
rate of 47.5%. Of the packets that were returned, four were returned after the
data analysis had been conducted and two were returned empty. All of the
remaining 332 packets contained responses to the CAQ, 331 contained
responses to the SOS, and 319 contained responses to the MSQ.

Factor analysis.

Research Question 5: Are the components of administrative support, as
defined in part one of the study, confirmed by a factor analysis of the
instrument designed to measure administrative support of counseling
programs?

120

Table 1 contains the initial eigenvalues that were calculated from the
results of the survey, using squared multiple correlations as estimates of the
measure of communality. Using a five-factor solution, 74.8% of the total
variance was explained; the fifth factor had an eigenvalue of .882 and explained
slightly more than 3% of the variance. The scree plot of the CAQ for the

maximum number of potential factors is shown in Figure 5.

Table 1: Total variance explained, five-factor analysis of the CAQ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Initial Eigenvalues
Component
Total % of Variance Cumulative %
1- 16.537 57.025 57.025
2 1 .580 5.449 62.474
3 1 .534 5.291 67.765
4 1.153 3.975 71.740
5 .882 3.040 74.780
20
5
10-
Q)
3
(U
E
ii? 0 WWW D I? n r

 

 

 

1 5 5 i s 1'1 1‘3 1'5 1'7 1'9 2'1 2'3 2'5 27 2
Component Number

Figure 5: Scree plot of CAQ components.

121

 

Five factors were then extracted and subjected to varimax rotation to
clarify the items contributing to each factor. Loadings on these five rotated
factors were reviewed to determine the items that loaded on one or more of the
five factors at a level of .4 or higher. The results of the varimax rotation are
shown in Table 2. Of the 29 items on the CAQ, each item loaded on at least one
factor at a level of .4 or higher. In addition, only 4 of the 29 items on the CAQ
loaded on two factors at levels of .4 or higher, and no item loaded on more than
two factors at levels of .4 or higher.

The predicted loadings and actual loadings of the items are shown in
Table 3. Items 1 through 5 were expected to load on one factor (programs),
Items 6 through 13 were expected to load on a different factor (communications
with counselors), and Items 14 through 20 were expected to load on a third
factor (communication with others). The results of the factor analysis indicated
that Items 1 through 4 loaded on one factor, Items 5 through 7 loaded on a
second factor, and Items 8 through 20 loaded on a third factor. The actual
loadings matched the predicted loadings for Items 21 through 23 (physical
space/technology) and Items 24 through 29 (autonomy/trust).

These same procedures were followed for an analysis of four factors, in
order to evaluate the appropriateness of using a five-factor analysis. As shown

in Table 4, a four-factor analysis explained 71.7% of the variance.

122

Table 2: Rotated component matrix, five-factor analysis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘ Factor
CAQ Item 1 2 3 4 5
1 .365 .162 .741 .178 .250
2 .386 .202 .748 .173 .230
3 .296 .236 .757 .165 .208
4 .178 .176 .682 .105 .088
5 .210 .312 .347 .098 .562
6 .366 .057 .215 .119 .738
7 .326 .242 .161 .128 .760
8 .681 .148 .332 .178 .359
9 .623 .331 .228 .229 .341
10 .700 .231 .281 .139 .326
1 1 .682 .408 .189 .066 .225
12 .601 .547 .226 .109 .271
13 .715 .391 .214 .115 .223
14 .743 .301 .237 .149 .228
15 .772 .241 .232 .125 .241
16 .675 .330 .374 .203 .198
17 .783 .296 .213 .210 .175
18 .705 .383 .223 .241 .160
19 .725 .306 .221 .229 .168
20 .628 .387 .288 .192 -.004
21 .162 .197 .157 .758 .113
22 .138 .093 .142 .865 .042
23 .225 .177 .120 .725 .127
24 .316 .587 .296 .279 .254
25 .350 .605 .442 .223 .120
26 .326 .759 .092 .215 .118
27 .304 .822 .154 .158 .143
28 .496 .704 .212 .109 .134
29 .360 .751 .230 .094 .152

 

 

123

Table 3: Predicted loadings and actual loadings of CAQ items, five-factor

 

 

 

 

 

 

analysis.
Predicted Loading Actual Loading
Factor (Item Nos.) Factor (Item Nos.)

Support of Counseling 1-5 3 14
Programs and the Work of
Counselors '
Communicate Vlfith 6-13 5 5-7
Counselors
Communicate the Value of 14-20 1 8-20
Counseling With Others
Provide Physical Space and 21-23 4 21-23
Technology
Demonstrations of 24-29 2 24-29
Autonomy and Trust

 

 

 

 

 

Table 4: Total variance explained, four-factor analysis of the CAQ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Initial Eigenvalues
Component . .
Total % of Variance Cumulative %
1 16.537 57.025 57.025
2 1 .580 5.449 62.474
3 1.534 5.291 67.765
4 1.153 3.975 71.740

 

 

 

 

The results of a varimax rotation using a four-factor solution are shown in

Table 5. Of the 29 items on the CAQ, each item loaded on at least one factor at

a level of .4 or higher. In addition, 8 of the 29 items on the CAQ loaded on two

factors at levels of .4 or higher (as compared to 4 of the 29 items when using a

five-factor analysis), and no item loaded on more than two factors at levels of .4

or higher.

124

 

Table 5: Rotated component matrix, four-factor analysis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Factor
CAQ Item 1 2 3 4
1 .389 .199 .748 .186
2 .396 .246 .745 .182
3 .303 .267 .760 .172
4 .154 .207 .662 .113
5 .387 .250 .495 .088
6 .629 a051 .398 .107
7 .588 .161 .366 .113
8 .738 .210 .364 .184
9 .664 .378 .331 .233
10 .737 .298 .308 .146
11 .667 .481 .199 .073
12 .600 .594 .262 .113
13 .695 .471 .218 .124
14 .729 .389 .234 .159
15 .766 .333 .229 .135
16 .647 .414 .363 .214
17 .744 .399 .191 .221
18 .660 .472 .207 .251
19 .687 .400 .203 .240
20 .517 .494 .226 .207
21 .166 .201 .177 .758
22 .123 .108 .138 .867
23 .232 .189 .139 .725
24 .329 .587 .353 .278
25 .295 .638 .447 .229
26 .274 .773 .128 .215
27 .258 .828 .196 .157
28 .434 .751 .223 .114
29 .315 .770 .262 .096

 

 

 

 

 

125

 

As shown in Table 6, the actual loadings in a four-factor analysis

approximated the predicted loadings; the items measuring the factors of

communication (administrators communicate with counselors and administrators

communicate the value of counseling with others) loaded on the same factor.

Table 6: Predicted loadings and actual loadings of CAQ items, four-factor

 

 

 

 

 

 

analysis.
Predicted Loading Actual Loading
Factor (Item Nos.) Factor (Item Nos.)
Support of Counseling 1-5 3 1-5
Programs and the Work of
Counselors
Communicate With 6-13 1 6-20
Counselors
Communicate the Value of 14-20
Counseling Vlfith Others
Provide Physical Space and 21 -23 4 21 -23
Technology
Demonstrations of 24-29 2 24-29

Autonomy and Trust

 

 

 

 

 

A comparison of the four- and five-factor analyses of the CAQ provided

strong support for the presence of five components of administrative support of

counseling programs. The additional component introduced in the five-factor

analysis contained three items, each with a loading of .5 or more. In addition,

the five-factor analysis reduced the number of items that loaded on more than

one component from eight to four. Although the initial eigenvalue of the fifth

factor was less than 1.0, this could have been a result of the small number of

126

 

items measuring the fifth factor, rather than the strength of the component itself.
Thus, the factor analysis confirmed the existence of five components of the
construct of administrative support of counseling programs.

Although the factor analysis of the CAQ confirmed the presence of five
components for administrative support of counseling programs, it only partially
confirmed the presence of the five specific components identified in part one of
the study. Items representing two of the original components-administrators
provide physical space and technology and administrative support as shown by
autonomy and respect-all loaded as predicted. Items representing the
remaining three components—administrators support the work of the counseling
program and the work of counselors, administrators communicate with
counselors, and administrators communicate with external audiences-also
loaded as predicted, with the exception of Items 5 through 7, which created a
new factor that had not been discovered earlier in this study. In addition, the
remaining items measuring two components-administrators communicate with
counselors and administrators communicate with external audiences—combined
to load on a common factor.

Based on these differences, the researcher decided to reconsider the
nature of the five components. After analyzing the results of the factor loadings
and reviewing the content analyses used to create the original definition of
administrative support of counseling programs, the definition of administrative

support of counseling programs was reconstructed to read:

127

Administrative support of counseling programs comprises those actions
taken by administrators that demonstrate:

Program and logistical support (Items 1-4 on the CAQ). Through the
budgeting process, the administrator supplies the resources necessary for
complete implementation of all facets of a traditional counseling curriculum,
including counseling curriculum development, program implementation, and
program evaluation.

Encouragement of program growth (Items 5-7). The administrator
gives the counseling program the ability to expand beyond the parameters of the
traditional counseling curriculum by encouraging the use of schoolwide
counseling activities for delivery of some counseling services and counselor
participation in professional development activities in order to stay abreast of
new trends in the field.

Engaged advocacy (Items 8-20). The administrator demonstrates
awareness and consideration of the needs and purposes of the counseling
program by creating broad avenues of communication with counselors that are
used on a regular basis, and by keeping the counseling program in mind while
completing a variety of routine administrative tasks, including meetings with
external audiences, execution of everyday problem-solving skills, and
communication with external audiences.

Capital allocations (Items 21-23). The administrator dedicates

appropriate capital resources to counseling in the areas of physical plant and

128

technology, resulting in work areas for counseling that are fresh, updated,
functional, and welcoming.

Affirmation (Items 24-29). The administrator trusts the judgment and
abilities of the counselor as evidenced by the autonomy the principal provides
the counselor and by the tenor of the work relationship between the
administrator and the counselor.

Although the factor analysis required that the five components be
modified, the new components still represent the most significant themes
identified in the content analyses of the literature review and the focus group
notes. The need for budgetary support is the key aspect of the component
called program and logistical support. The need for administrators to
understand counseling programs is a key aspect of the component of engaged
advocacy, as are good lntemal and external communication. The need for
administrators to assist in the development of a positive atmosphere for
counseling is the emphasis of the component of capital allocation. The need for
administrators to respect counselors as professionals and as individuals is the
foundation of the new component of affirmation.

Of all of the new components, only encouragement of program expansion
includes aspects that were not emphasized in either the literature or the focus
groups. Although professional development and schoolwide counseling
activities such as assemblies and workshops were mentioned in both the
literature and the focus groups, their presence in either content analysis was not

strong enough to merit consideration as an independent component. The

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presence of this component in the factor analysis of the data suggests that this
area of administrative support of counseling programs deserves closer scrutiny
in future studies.

Be_|ia_b.ili_t¥-

Research Question 6. Does the instrument contain a high degree of
reliability in measuring administrative support of counseling programs?

Reliability measures of the CAQ were calculated using Cronbach’s alpha.
These measures were calculated on the instrument as a whole and on each of
the five factors derived in the confirmatory analysis. These measures were
taken to determine whether the instrument was consistent in its measurement of
administrative support of counseling programs.

The reliability measures of the CAQ and its five factors are shown in
Table 7. The reliability value of the CAQ as a whole was .97. The reliability
values of the subscales of the CAQ ranged from a low of .77 to a high of .97. All
of these measures of reliability fell within the high range of Cronbach’s alpha; it

can therefore be concluded that the CAQ and its subscales are highly reliable.

Table 7: Reliability of the CAQ.

 

Total Program and Encouragement of Engaged Capital Affirma-
lnstrument Logistical Support Program Growth Advocacy Allocations tion

 

.97 .88 .77 .97 .79 .93

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reliability of the SCS and the MSQ. Reliability measures of the SCS and

the MSQ and their subscales were also calculated to confirm the reliabilities of

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the instruments reported by their developers. As shown in Table 8, the reliability
of the entire SCS as measured in this study was .95; the reliability of the entire
SCS was not reported by Sutton and Fall (1995). For the SOS subscale of
administrative support, the reliability measure from this study was .94, compared
to the reliability measure of .91 reported by Sutton and Fall. For the subscale of
staff support, the reliability measure from this study was .90, compared to the

reliability measure of .90 reported by Sutton and Fall.

Table 8: Reliabilities of the MSQ and the SOS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MSQ SCS
Total I Extrinsic I Intrinsic Total I Admin. Support I Affect
.96 I .88 I .96 .96 I .94 I .90

 

ross-validation of the A .

Research Question 7. Is there a strong, positive correlation between this

measure of administrative support of counseling programs and other

instruments used to evaluate the support-related measures of school
climate and counselor job satisfaction?

Using the Pearson product moment correlation with p s .01, the CAQ was
cross-validated with both the SOS and the MSQ. The SCS was used as a cross-
validation instrument because administrative support has been viewed as a key
element of school climate in the literature (Sutton & Fall, 1995). The MSQ was
used as a cross-validation instrument because administrative support has been

seen in the literature to be vital to the job satisfaction experienced by school

counselors (Stickel, 1988). A strong, positive correlation between the CAQ and

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the SOS, and between the CAQ and the MSQ, would support the findings
reported in the literature and confirm the utility of the CAQ as a measure of
administrative support.

The results of the cross-validation of the CAQ and its subscales with the
SCS and its subscales are shown in Table 9. The Pearson product moment
correlation between the GAO and the SCS was .87, which was significant at
p s .01. The correlation values of the subscales of the CAQ and the SCS
ranged from .41 to .91; all of the correlation values of the subscales were
significant at p s .01. Of the 18 correlations presented in Table 9, 6 were in the
range of .40 to .60 (indicating a modest relationship), 8 were in the range of .61
to .80 (indicating a strong relationship), and 4 were in the range of .81 to 1.00

(indicating a very strong relationship).

Table 9: Correlations of the CAQ and the SCS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instrument and Subscale
'"Slfumem and Subsca'e 803 Total 303 Adminis- scs Affect
trative Support

CAQ Total .87 .91 .67
CAQ Program & Logistical .69 .71 .55
Support

CAQ Encouragement of .66 .70 .50
Program Growth

CAQ Engaged Advocacy .86 .91 .66
CAQ Capital Allocations .51 .53 .41
CAQ Affirrnation .75 .78 .58

 

 

 

 

 

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The results of the cross-validation of the CAQ and its subscales with the
MSQ and its subscales are shown in'Table 10. The Pearson product moment
correlation between the CAQ and the MSQ was .55, which was significant at
p s .01. The correlation values of the subscales of the CAQ and the MSQ
ranged from .19 to .74; all of these values were significant at p s .01. Of the 18
correlations presented in Table 10, 10 were in the range of .40 to .60 (indicating
a modest relationship) and 4 were in the range of .61 to .80 (indicating a strong

relationship).

Table 10: Correlations of the CAQ and the MSQ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instrument and Subscale
Instrument and Subscale
MSQ Total MSQ Intrinsic MSQ Extrinsic

CAQ Total .55 .43 .74
CAQ Program & Logistical .44 .33 .65
Support

CAQ Encouragement of .45 .36 .55
Program Growth

CAQ Engaged Advocacy .53 .42 .72
CAQ Capital Allocations .27 .19 .41
CAQ Affirmation .53 .46 .66

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shapter Summagy

The content analyses of the literature and the focus groups revealed the
same three broad components of administrative support of counseling programs,

but each analysis emphasized different subcategories of these components.

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These differences were taken into account when synthesizing the two analyses
by using some of the subcategories as separate components, creating a working
definition of administrative support of counseling programs that had five
components. The instrument based on this working definition was modified only
slightly after two field testings.

The five components identified in the confirmatory factor analysis of the
CAQ largely agreed with the five factors identified in the working definition of
administrative support of counseling programs created in the first part of the
study. The modest changes made to the components as a result of the factor
analysis (and the subsequent renaming of the components) reflected the
integration of two components that were previously separate, and the
introduction of a new component.

The reliability measures of the CAQ and its subscales show an instrument
that is highly reliable. In addition, the strong, positive correlations between the
CAQ and the SCS, and between the CAQ and the MSQ, confirmed the strong
relationships between administrative support and school climate and between
administrative support and counselor job satisfaction. As a result, the utility of
the CAQ as a measure of administrative support of school counseling programs

was confirmed by the findings of this study.

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CHAPTER V

SUMMARY, DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS,

IMPLICATIONS, AND REFLECTIONS

Introduction

The procedures and results of parts one and two of the study are
summarized and discussed in this chapter. After the findings have been
summarized, their significance is examined. The theoretical implications for
administrative support of counseling programs are discussed, and the utility of
the study findings in the daily work of school counselors and building
administrators is presented. The evaluative implications of the study also are
discussed, including the merits of the CAQ as a tool for evaluating and
improving current levels of administrative support of counseling programs.

The chapter continues with a discussion of how the results from this study
can be used as the basis for further study of the construct of administrative
support of counseling programs. Questions for further research that arose after
examining the findings of this study also are presented. The researcher’s

reflections are presented as a conclusion to the chapter.

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Summagy of the Study

Pu e and N for the tud

The researchers purposes in this study were (a) to provide a clear
definition of administrative support of counseling programs and (b) to develop
and test a valid, reliable, credible, and comprehensive instrument with which to
measure the multiple facets of administrative support of school counseling
programs. Articles on the topic of administrative support of counseling programs
contained a variety of opinions on the importance of support, as well as
examples of how such support can be demonstrated, but these articles offered
only partial views of the construct. Although these opinions were often based on
the authors” years of experience as administrators or counselors, the writings
lacked empirical confirmation of the authors’ opinions and judgments.

The literature also included studies indicating a relationship between
administrative support and factors such as job satisfaction, school climate, and
counselor self-efficacy. These studies offered some empirical support for the
importance of administrative support of counseling programs, but the theoretical
basis of the instruments used to measure administrative support offered little
insight into the specific elements of the construct of administrative support itself.
Because these studies presented the construct of administrative support of
counseling programs in broad contexts, the instruments developed for those
studies could not be used to measure any of the specific elements of the
construct. As a result, these studies led to a better understanding of the

importance of administrative support of counseling programs but did not

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advance the understanding of what specific elements exist within the construct
itself.

Because the reflective essays were too specific in their references to
administrative support of counseling programs, and because the references in
the research studies were too broad, the literature lacked a comprehensive
definition of the facets or elements of the construct of administrative support of
counseling programs. Because of the absence of such a definition and the
concomitant lack of an instrument to measure all of the elements of such
support, counselors and administrators are deterred from discerning the level of
administrative support of counseling programs in their schools.

Knowledge of the level of administrative support of the counseling
program is important because such knowledge promotes discussion, goal
setting, and implementation of strategies to increase administrators” support of
these programs. Such strategies ultimately support efforts to improve
counselors” commitment to school counseling programs, which in turn increases
the effectiveness of those programs. Because developing a valid, reliable
instrument with which to measure administrative support of counseling programs
would ultimately increase efforts to improve counseling programs, this study was

undertaken to create such an instrument.

Major Findings
In this section, each research question is restated, followed by a

discussion of the findings pertaining to that question.

137

Research Question 1: What are the components of administrative
support of counseling programs, as viewed in the literature?

To answer this question, a content analysis of the literature related to
administrative support of counseling programs was conducted. The central
themes and ideas of 67 pieces of literature were analyzed and summarized.
These main themes were determined in part by the number of times a theme was
used in a given piece and in part by the emphasis a theme received in a
particular piece. The major themes were then compared, contrasted, and sorted
into categories.

As a result of the categorization of the major themes of each piece of
literature, this content analysis revealed a definition of administrative support
that contained three components; subcategories within each component also
were identified. The three identified components (and their respective
subcategories) were as follows:

Administrative support of program implementation. This component
centered on the importance of administrators demonstrating support by providing
appropriate, practical assistance to counselors in completing the work of the
counseling office. This component, the strongest of the three components
presented in the literature, emphasized the need for principals to be accessible
to counselors and take a hands-on approach to helping counselors achieve
success with their work.

Administrative support of program implementation had four subcategories

(listed here in the order of their significance in the literature). Administrative

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assistance with problem solving referred to an administrator’s willingness to work
with counselors in finding solutions to problems that arise when implementing
the counseling curriculum. WW
emphasized the need for an administrator to understand the school’s counseling
department and the work of counselors. Strong lntemal communication with
counselors stressed the importance of having multiple, effective avenues of
communication between administrators and counselors. Strong communication
with audiences external to the counseling program emphasized the need for
administrators to promote the value of counseling to audiences not directly
involved with the day-to-day operations of counseling.

Administrative support of counselors as Individuals. Whereas the
element of administrative support of counseling programs showed the need for
administrators to support the counseling department, this second component
emphasized the need for administrators to support the counselors themselves.
Administrators manifest this kind of support by helping counselors feel valued
and respected by administrators, and by viewing them as making a difference in
the work of both the counseling program and the school in general.

The component of administrative support of counselors as individuals
contained two subcategories. Suppgrt of counselors as people emphasized the
need for principals to appreciate and articulate the worth of the personal
qualities counselors bring to their work. In identifying and valuing the individual
attributes each counselor demonstrates at school, the administrator helps the

counselor realize a sense of personal achievement at the workplace. Support of

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counselors as prgfessionals identified the importance of administrators
recognizing the professional competence and expertise of counselors. By
acknowledging counselors’ ability to complete their work effectively and by
recognizing when counselors go above and beyond what is normally expected of
them, administrators demonstrate respect for counselors’ knowledge, judgment,
and professional insights.

Administrative support of resource allocation reflected the importance
of administrators supplying counselors and counseling programs with adequate
materials to complete their work. This third component of administrative support
of counseling programs received the least amount of attention in the literature,
but it is fundamental to the existence of the other two components of
administrative support because it would be difficult to provide hands-on support
or affirmation to counselors if a counseling program lacked appropriate staffing,
materials, or physical space.

The component of administrative support of resource allocation had two

subcategories. Administrative support throggh the budgeting process

 

emphasized the importance of the principal offering direct financial support of
the counseling program. By allocating monies for appropriate levels of
counselors, counseling support staff, and program materials, administrators
reinforce their philosophical support of counseling programs through the
dedication of tangible fiscal resources, which all members of a school
community, including counselors, view as precious. Support of nonfinancial

resources stressed the importance of administrators providing institutional

140

materials to the counseling program that are not directly related to the budgeting
process. For example, in assigning the counseling department to a physical
space that is properly sized, conveniently located, and appointed with updated
furnishings, administrators help counselors create a department that is open and
inviting to members of the school community, especially students.

Research Question 2: What are the components of administrative
support of counseling programs, as viewed by counseling practitioners?

After the content analysis of the literature review was completed, a series
of focus groups with high school counselors was conducted to gain the
perspective of practicing counselors on the components of administrative
support of counseling programs. A random sample of public high school
counselors who worked in the greater Detroit area was invited to participate; 12
counselors participated in one of the three focus groups that were held in this
series. The researcher posed broad questions based on the findings from the
literature review on administrative support of counseling programs as guidelines
for the focus group discussions.

The researcher conducted a content analysis on the notes he had taken
during the focus groups. Using the same steps taken in conducting the content
analysis of the literature review, the researcher established the main themes and
ideas presented in the focus groups. He then constructed a definition of
administrative support of counseling programs based on the content analysis of
the focus group notes. This definition contained the same three components of

administrative support of counseling programs that had been identified in the

141

content analysis of the literature on support. However, the subcategories
identified in the content analysis of the focus group notes differed in both
number and relative importance from those identified in the content analysis of
the literature review.

For the component of administrative support of program
Implementation, only three subcategories were identified: administrativa
assistance with problem sglving, strong internal communication with counselors,

and strong communication with audiences external to the counseling prggram.

The subcategory of administrative knowledge of counseling programs that
emerged from the content analysis of the literature review received very little
attention in the three focus groups and thus could not be considered a
subcategory.

Of the three subcategories of administrative support of program
implementation presented in the focus groups, the subcategory of administrative
assistance with problem solving was discussed most frequently. At the same
time, the remaining two subcategories-strong lntemal communication with
counselors and strong communication with audiences external to the counseling
program—received more attention in the focus groups than they did in the
literature review.

For the component of administrative support of counselors as
individuals, focus group discussions contained the two subcategories of

supmrt of counselors as professionals and support of counselors as people.

Focus group participants placed much greater emphasis on the need for

142

administrative support of counselors as professionals, citing the importance of
counselors receiving trust and autonomy from administrators in order for them to
be successful in their work. The subcategory of support of counselors as people
received mild recognition in the focus groups. Although a few participants saw
such support as important, many others viewed personal support as something
that was valued when it was demonstrated, but not essential to their work as
counselors.

For the component of administrative support of resource allocation,
the subcategories of aplministrative support through allocation pf non-_ggge_t-
based resources and administrative suppgrt through the budgeting process were
apparent in the focus group discussions. Participants in those discussions
placed greater emphasis on administrative support of nonfinancial resources,
citing the need for administrators to help counselors create a warm atmosphere
in the counseling office through the allocation of appropriate physical space and
furnishings.

Research Question 3: What similarities and differences exist between the

components of administrative support as viewed in the literature and as

seen by counseling practitioners?

To answer this question, the researcher synthesized the definitions of
administrative support of counseling programs based on the content analyses of
the literature review and the focus group notes. In the first part of this synthesis,

the strength and frequency of the components and subcategories of each

content analysis were compared and contrasted.

143

In this first part of the synthesis, several similarities were discovered.
Both content analyses had revealed the same three components of
administrative support of counseling programs: administrative support of
program implementation, administrative support of counselors as individuals,
and administrative support of resource allocation. In addition, nine identical
subcategories were found in the two content analyses. For the component of
administrative support of program implementation, the three common
subcategories were administrative assistance with problem solving, strong
internal communication with counselors, and strong communication with
audiences external to the counseling program. The component of administrative
support of counselors as individuals had two common subcategories: support of
counselors as people and support of counselors as professionals. The
component of administrative support of resource allocation had two common
subcategories: administrative support through the budgeting process and
administrative support through allocation of non-budget-based resources.

The synthesis also showed that two of the subcategories were given
equal value in the two content analyses. Under the element of administrative
support of program implementation, the subcategories of administrative
assistance with problem solving and strong internal communication with
counselors were given high value in both content analyses.

Several differences between the two content analyses also were revealed
in the synthesis. The subcategory of administrative knowledge of counseling

programs, which was present in the component of administrative support of

144

program implementation in the content analysis of the literature, was not
apparent in the content analysis of the focus group notes. In addition, focus
group participants gave more weight to the subcategory of strong external
communication, especially communication with teaching faculty.

For the component of administrative support of counselors as individuals,
focus group participants placed much more importance on the subcategory of
administrative support of counselors as professionals than did the literature.
The focus group participants also gave much less consideration than did the
literature to the importance of administrative support of counselors as people.

For the component of administrative support of resource allocation, the
literature placed more emphasis on the subcategory of administrative support
through the budgeting process than the focus groups did. In contrast, the focus
groups gave much more emphasis to the subcategory of administrative support
through allocation of non-budget-based resources than was evidenced in the
literature.

Research Question 4: Based on the reviews and comparisons of the

existing body of literature and the views of counseling practitioners, what

constitutes a working definition of administrative support of counseling
programs?

Because several subcategories received different degrees of importance
in the two content analyses, the synthesis of the content analyses led to a
realignment of the relative importance of the subcategories and to the creation of

new components of administrative support of counseling programs that better

reflected this realignment of subcategories. Through the synthesis of the

145

content analyses, a final working definition of administrative support of
counseling programs was created that contained five components with no
subcategories:

Administrators support counseling programs and the work of
counselors. This component addressed part of the theme of administrative
support of budget-based resource allocation. For administrators to support
counseling programs, they must first provide counselors with the tools necessary
to execute their duties.

Administrators communicate with counselors. The synthesis of the
two content analyses strongly emphasized the role cf communication and
problem solving between administrators and counselors. This emphasis was so
great that it seemed as if administrator-counselor communication was the only
element present in the component of administrative support of program
implementation. Based on this synthesis, it seemed necessary to give
communication with counselors a more prominent role in the final definition.

Administrators communicate the value of counseling with others. As
was the case with communication with counselors, the role of external
communication also was strongly emphasized in the synthesis of the content
analyses. Specifically, the importance of administrators” communication with
classroom teachers regarding the importance of the counseling program was a
strong common theme in the focus group discussions with high school
counselors. As a result, communication with others was made a component of

its own.

146

Administrators provide physical space and technology for
counselors. This component was the second part of the theme of
administrative support of resource allocation. Whereas the first part emphasized
the role of administrators as keepers of the budget, this one addressed the need
for administrators to help counselors create a fresh, inviting atmosphere in the
counseling office. Because part of keeping current involves introducing new
technologies, technological support was included in this element.

Administrators support counselors through demonstrations of
autonomy and trust. This component was a mixture of the theme of personal
support of counselors (from the content analysis of the literature) and the theme
of support of the counselor as a professional (from the content analysis of the
focus group notes). Taken together, the words ”autonomy” and ”trust” suggest
the importance of administrative support for the counselor as both a person and
a professional. These words also provided ample room for individual
interpretation of this element, a need that was valued by focus group participants

in particular.

Development of the Instrument

The final working definition served as the basis for part two of the study,
in which an instrument was developed to measure administrative support of
counseling programs. Using the content analyses as guides, the researcher
constructed items for the instrument that reflected the tone and frequency of

each of the five components in the working definition. In some cases, items

147

were constructed using key words or phrases that were frequently used in the
literature on administrative support, the focus groups, or both.

This instrument was field tested with a second series of focus groups
made up of high school counselors, who were asked to review the instrument for
its theoretical comprehensiveness and for item clarity. Based on the results of
these field tests, minor wording changes were made to the instrument, and an
additional item was developed for the component of communication with
counselors.

The newly developed instrument, the Counseling Assessment
Questionnaire (CAQ), was then combined with cross-validating measures
contained in the School Climate Survey (SCS) and the Minnesota Satisfaction
Questionnaire (MSQ) to serve as the questionnaire packet for the survey
component of the study. The questionnaire packet was field tested with a third
series of focus groups, consisting of 10 high school counselors, in order to
evaluate the comprehensiveness of the CAQ and to determine the amount of
time needed for counselors to complete the questionnaire packet. Comments
from these focus groups led to changes in the instructions for completing the

CA0.

Survey Results

Research Question 5: Are the components of administrative support, as
defined in phase one of the study, confirmed by a factor analysis of the
instrument designed to measure administrative support of counseling
programs?

148

The questionnaire packet was distributed to 711 public high school
counselors in the greater Detroit area; 338 of the packets were returned, for a
response rate of 47.5%. The results of the survey were used to conduct a
confirmatory factor analysis of the CAQ. Using the initial eigenvalues calculated
from the survey, the researcher found that a five-factor solution explained
74.78% of the total variance, whereas a four-factor solution explained 71.7% of
the variance. Five factors were then extracted and subjected to varimax rotation
to clarify the items contributing to each factor. Each of the 29 items on the CAQ
loaded on at least one factor at a level of .4 or higher, and 4 of the 29 items
loaded on two factors at a level of .4 or higher. In comparison, when four factors
were extracted and subjected to varimax rotation, each item loaded on at least
one factor at a level of .4 or higher, but 8 of the 29 items loaded on two factors at
a level of .4 or higher. Because the five—factor solution explained a greater
percentage of the total variance than did the four-factor solution, and because
the loadings of a five-factor analysis provided greater clarity than did the
loadings of a four-factor analysis, the analysis confirmed the existence of five
components in the construct of administrative support of counseling programs.

Although the factor analysis confirmed the presence of five components in
the construct of administrative support of counseling programs, the factor
loadings showed that only the items measuring two of the five a priori
components of administrative support of counseling programs loaded exactly as
predicted. As a result, the wording of the items designed to measure the

remaining three a priori components were reviewed, as were the factor loadings.

149

These steps were taken to identify the central themes or ideas that best
represented the newly discovered loadings.

Based on the reviews of the items and factor loadings, the titles and
content of three of the five components of the construct of administrative support
of counseling programs were reconfigured. Based on these changes, the five
components of administrative support of counseling programs were identified as:

Program and logistical support. Through the budgeting process, the
administrator supplies the resources necessary for complete implementation of
all facets of a traditional counseling curriculum, including counseling curriculum
development, program implementation, and program evaluation.

Encouragement of program growth. The administrator gives the
counseling program the ability to expand beyond the parameters of the
traditional counseling curriculum by encouraging the use of schoolwide
counseling activities for delivery of some counseling services and counselors’
participation in professional development activities to stay abreast of new trends
in the field.

Engaged advocacy. The administrator demonstrates awareness and
consideration of the needs and purposes of the counseling program by creating
broad avenues of communication with counselors that are used on a regular
basis, and by keeping the counseling program in mind while completing a variety
of routine administrative tasks, including meeting with external audiences,
executing everyday problem-solving skills, and communicating with external

audiences.

150

Capital allocations. The administrator dedicates apprOpriate capital
resources to counseling in the areas of physical plant and technology, resulting
in workplaces for counseling that are fresh, updated, functional, and welcoming.

Affirrnatlon. The administrator trusts the judgment and abilities of the
counselor, as evidenced by the autonomy the principal provides the counselor
and by the tenor of the work relationship between the administrator and the
counselor.

Research Question 6: Does the instrument contain a high degree of
reliability in measuring administrative support of counseling programs?

Survey data also were used to calculate the reliabilities of the CAQ, the
SOS, the MSQ, and the subscales of each of the three instruments. Using
Cronbach’s alpha, reliability of the CAQ was measured at .97, and reliabilities of
its subscales ranged from .77 to .97, indicating a high level of reliability.
Reliabilities of the SOS and the MSQ were .95 and .90, respectively; reliabilities
of their subscales ranged from .88 to .96. These values also indicated high
levels of reliability for both instruments and were consistent with the values
reported by the developers of the instruments.

Research Question 7: Is there a strong, positive correlation between this

measure of administrative support of counseling programs and

instruments used to evaluate the support-related measures of school

climate and counselor job satisfaction?

Data from the survey were used to cross-validate the CAQ, first with the
SCS and then with the MSQ. The Pearson product moment correlation for the

CAQ and the SCS (total instruments) was .87. The correlations of the subscales

of the CAQ and the SOS ranged from .41 to .91. All of these correlations were

151

significant at p < .01. Because a relationship between administrative support of
counseling programs and school climate was found in previous studies, the high
correlation between the CAQ and the SCS confirmed the utility of the CAQ for
measuring administrative support of counseling programs.

The Pearson product moment correlation for the CAQ and the MSQ (total
instruments) was .55, and the correlations of the subscales of these instruments
ranged from .19 to .74. All of these correlations were significant at p < .01.
Because a relationship between administrative support of counseling programs
and job satisfaction was found in previous studies, the high correlation between
the CAQ and the MSQ also confirmed the utility of the CAQ for measuring

administrative support of counseling programs.

Implications of the Findings

The answers to the research questions posed in this study provide
significant insights into the construct of administrative support of counseling
programs. These insights have important theoretical, practical, and evaluative
implications for the field of education. These implications are discussed in the

following pages.

Theoretical Implications

The comprehensive definition of administrative support of counseling
programs created in part one of this study is an important theoretical contribution
to the literature. Before this study, most of the theoretical basis of administrative

support of counseling programs was presented through reflective pieces by

152

educators. These pieces emphasized only certain aspects of administrative
support of counseling programs and left the reader without a comprehensive
view of the construct. Conversely, the remaining literature addressing
administrative support of counseling programs presented the construct in terms
that were too broad. In this latter group of literature, administrative support of
counseling programs was recognized as important, but the specific elements of
the construct were not articulated.

In using a content analysis to synthesize the existing literature on
administrative support from the fields of organizational theory, management
theory, human service agencies, and education (for schools in general and for
counseling programs in particular), the researcher combined the individual
essays, opinions, and studies presented in the literature to create a construct of
administrative support of counseling programs that has both a strong theoretical
framework (from the broad-based literature) and a comprehensive level of
specificity (from the personal-opinion and essay-based literature). When the
literature was combined with the results of focus group discussions with high
school counselors on administrative support of counseling programs, a final
definition was achieved that has a strong theoretical foundation and a rich
pragmatic tone. Through a combination of these elements a definition of
administrative support of counseling programs was created that advances the
theory of the construct in terms of size, scope, and realism.

This enriched view of administrative support of counseling programs also

contributes to the literature a theoretical framework for future exploration of the

153

construct that is simultaneously more flexible and more directive. By
establishing a framework for the construct of administrative support of
counseling programs, this study gives researchers and practitioners a starting
point from which to view the construct. At the same time, the components
presented in the definition of administrative support of counseling programs
provide researchers and practitioners the option of studying individual aspects of
the construct, rather than studying the construct in its entirety.

As an example, Sutton and Fall (1995) suggested that a relationship
exists between administrative support of counselors and counselor self-efficacy.
Before the current study was completed, further exploration of this relationship
was limited to investigation of counselor self-efficacy and administrative support
of counseling programs as a whole. As a result of this study, researchers now
have the option of studying the relationship between counselor self-efficacy and
one or two components of administrative support of counseling programs. For
example, the relationship between counselor self-efficacy and the
administrative-support component of affirmation can be studied, or a study of the
relationship between counselor self-efficacy and the administrative-support
components of engaged advocacy and capital allocations can be conducted.
Because this study provided a broad, comprehensive definition of administrative
support of counseling programs, investigations of the construct can now be more
tightly focused, if researchers so desire.

In addition to providing a more comprehensive definition of administrative

support of counseling programs, this study also has made a significant

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theoretical contribution by creating a reliable, valid instrument with which to
measure administrative support of counseling programs. The field testing of the
CAQ as an instrument for measuring administrative support of counseling
programs has left the literature with a tool that can be used to measure the
presence of administrative support of counseling programs in individual schools.
This tool can be of tremendous assistance to future contributors to the literature
because it gives them the ability to measure and compare the presence of
administrative support of counseling programs (or any components of the
construct) with a number of other factors. As a result, the CAQ expands the
utility of the theoretical framework of administrative support of counseling
programs by giving researchers and practitioners a tool that makes it possible to
apply the theoretical framework to schools and counseling programs.

The utility of the CAQ was confirmed by the correlation measures of the
CAQ with the SCS. A correlation of .87 was found between the CAQ and the
SOS, and a correlation of .91 was found between the CAQ and the SCS
administrative support subscale. Taken together, these two measures of
correlation strongly support the value of the CAQ as an instrument measuring
administrative support of counseling programs.

Although the data indicated that the CAQ and the SCS are highly
correlated, the purposes of the two instruments are different. The SCS was
constructed by Sutton and Fall (1995), based on a school climate survey that
was developed by Coledarci in 1986. This original school climate instrument

was designed for educators in general and contained only two identified

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subscales: a subscale of general administrative support and a subscale of staff
support.

In adapting the SOS for use exclusively with counselors, Sutton and Fall
assumed that the components of administrative support for counselors were the
same as those for teachers in general. The researchers used the general
subscales of the SOS to measure the relationship between administrative
support for educators in general and counselor self-efficacy. They did not
provide further insight into the components of administrative support of
counseling programs because that was not the purpose of their study.

In contrast, items for the CAQ were based on the five components of
administrative support of counseling programs as discovered in the content
analyses of the literature and of notes from focus groups of high school
counselors. These items were constructed specifically for counselors, and not
for classroom teachers. As a result, the findings from this study contribute
greater insights into the specific elements of the construct of administrative
support of counseling programs, advancing the abilities of researchers and
practitioners to study and discuss the construct in more specific terms.

The measurement of the five components of administrative support of
counseling programs is a crucial difference between the SCS and the CAQ.
Whereas in measuring such support the SCS provides no clear information on
the presence of particular components of support, the CAQ furnishes specific
information on the current level of support for each of the five components of the

construct. With this more detailed information from the CAQ, future contributors

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to the literature can analyze the measurements taken by the CAQ and evaluate
the relationship of any of the components of administrative support of counseling
programs to other factors. This more specific information might help to further
refine the construct of administrative support of counseling programs, clarify the
relationship between administrative support of counseling programs and known
support-related factors, or discover the existence of a relationship between
administrative support of counseling programs and a support-related factor that
is currently unknown. In summary, although the CAQ and the SOS are highly
correlated instruments, the utility of the CAQ in measuring the construct of
administrative support of counseling programs in a comprehensive, specific way
opens up tremendous opportunities for researchers and practitioners to explore
the construct in a more detailed manner.

In addition to its theoretical significance in the field of administrative
support of counseling programs, this study provides an important theoretical
contribution to the larger fields of administrative support of educators and
managerial support of employees. In conducting the content analysis of the
literature for this study, the researcher reviewed 24 articles about administrative
support of school programs other than counseling. Of these 24 articles, only
one (Arends, 1982) presented a theoretical framework for administrative support.
This suggests that the theoretical literature in the field of administrative support
of educators as a whole is in need of significant expansion.

The method of instrument development used in the current study serves

as a model for theoretical advancement. By conducting a content analysis of the

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existing literature and by conducting focus groups of educators other than
counselors, researchers can develop definitions of administrative support for
other content-specific teachers (biology teachers, special educators), teachers
of a specific grade level (elementary, secondary), teachers in different school
settings (rural, urban, suburban),'or educators in general (including counselors).
These definitions could then serve as the basis for creating instruments
designed to measure administrative support, which can be statistically analyzed
for validity and reliability, as was done in this study.

The benefits of devising instruments to measure administrative support of
educators other than counselors would be tremendous. If successfully
developed, these instruments (and the definitions that serve as the basis of their
development) would advance the theoretical literature on administrative support
of teachers just as this study has advanced the literature on administrative
support of counseling programs.

With valid instruments that measure components of administrative
support for groups other than counselors, researchers can refine the construct of
administrative support for specific groups of teachers (rural teachers, biology
teachers, elementary school teachers, and so on), or for teachers in general.
These results would help in identifying the similarities and differences in support
that exist among different groups of educators. This same information can help
researchers better understand the relationship between administrative support of
specific groups of teachers and support-related factors (health, job satisfaction,

and so on).

158

This advancement in the theoretical construct of administrative support
can lead to significant breakthroughs in the degree of support demonstrated by
administrators to all educators. Advancements in this area would lead, in turn,
to increased teacher commitment to schools, which would lead to improved
school effectiveness, according to Likert (1961) and the theory surrounding
today’s empowerment and quality movements. The theoretical implications of
the current study help clarify the construct of administrative support of
counseling programs, but they also have significant potential for advancing the

theoretical framework of administrative support of teachers in general.

Practical Implications

In addition to contributing to the theoretical literature on administrative
support of counseling programs, this study has significant practical applications
for school administrators and counselors. The comprehensive definition of
administrative support of counseling programs developed in the first part of this
study provides administrators and counselors with five specific components to
consider when addressing administrative support. Administrators can use these
components as guideposts for self-evaluation when reviewing the actions they
take in support of counselors and counseling programs. In addition, counselors
can use these components in reviewing the actions taken by their administrators
to support counseling programs.

Although both of these applications of the comprehensive definition of

administrative support of counseling programs can be helpful, it is hoped that the

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results of this study will be used by administrators and counselors together to
initiate an effective discussion of the current level of administrative support of
the school’s counseling program. This study indicated that communication with
counselors is oneof the five components of administrative support of counseling
programs. As a means of improving the current level of support in this
component, administrators and counselors can use the results of this study in
working together to build more effective bridges of communication. An
appropriate first step toward improvement would be to discuss the components
of administrative support of counseling programs presented in the study. This
discussion would be followed by the development of examples of how each of
the components is currently being demonstrated toward the school’s counseling
program. As an alternative to discussing the definition provided in part one of
this study, counselors and administrators can use the GAO for a more structured
approach to evaluating current levels of administrative support of their schools”
counseling programs.

By discussing the components of the definition of administrative support
of counseling programs, or by responding to the items on the GAO.
administrators and counselors can perform a thorough evaluation of the current
levels of administrative support of counseling programs. Such an evaluation can
serve as a basis for discussing how levels of administrative support of the
counseling program can be improved. The ideas presented in a discussion of
this nature can serve as a basis for formulating action plans designed to improve

levels of administrative support of counseling programs. Development of these

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action plans is a key step in realizing actual increases in the levels of
administrative support of counseling programs, which in turn improve
counselors’ level of commitment to the counseling program and to the school,
thereby improving the quality of counseling programs (Likert, 1961 ).

In addition, an initial measure of administrative support of counseling
programs using the CAQ can be used as a baseline comparison for subsequent
uses of the CAQ. This would help administrators and counselors determine
whether improvement in any of the five components of administrative support of
counseling programs has occurred over a period of time. It can also serve as
the basis of a longitudinal comparison of levels of administrative support of a

counseling program over many years.

Evaluative Implications

The CAQ also has strong evaluative implications. As a valid, reliable
measure of administrative support of counseling programs, the CAQ can be
used to provide normative data on the levels of administrative support of
counseling programs in schools. This would make it possible for researchers
and practitioners to evaluate the current state of administrative support of
counseling programs in general, and establish a benchmark for future
measurements of levels of administrative support of counseling programs. The
same normative data can be used to compare the levels of administrative

support of counseling programs at different schools.

161

The use of the CAQ to develop normative data has many potential
benefits. Normative data can be used by school counselors and administrators
for formative evaluation. After comparing the level of administrative support
realized by their school’s counseling program to the normative data,
administrators and counselors can work together to develop plans to improve the
levels of administrative support in their building. Because the CAQ measures
the five components of administrative support of counseling programs, the
normative data provided by the CAQ can be used to develop plans to improve
any one component, several components, or all five components of support.
Regardless of the current level of administrative support experienced by a
school’s counseling program, administrators and counselors at all schools can
use the normative data generated by the GAO to review existing practices of
administrative support of counseling programs and develop plans of action to
increase the levels of support.

Normative data generated by the CAQ can also be used for summative
evaluations. Because the CAQ is a valid, reliable measure of administrative
support of counseling programs, administrators can use the normative data from
the instrument to make decisions in a number of areas, from assigning
administrative oversight of counseling to another administrator, to terminating
the administrator currently assigned to oversee the counseling department, to
undertaking a districtwide restructuring of the counseling program.

Similarly, counselors can use the normative data from the CAQ to decide

whether the level of administrative support of the counseling program merits an

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increase in counselors’ commitment to that program. Counselors can also use
the normative data to make significant career decisions, including transferring to
a building with a higher level of administrative support of the counseling
program, or accepting a position as a building administrator in order to increase
the level of administrative support in that building.

The normative data generated by the CAQ can lead to effective dialogues
between counselors and administrators on how to improve the levels of
administrative support of counseling programs. These data also can be used by
groups of counselors and principals from different buildings to generate a better
understanding of how administrative support of counseling programs is
manifested in different schools. When used appropriately, the normative data
generated by the CAQ can help administrators and counselors better understand
the construct of administrative support of counseling programs and devote more

attention and resources to improving current levels of support.

Implications for Further Research

The formulation of a comprehensive definition of administrative support of
counseling programs and the development and cross-validation of the CAQ as a
valid, reliable measure of the construct are important contributions to the
literature on administrative support. At the same time, this study generated

several new questions to be answered in future research:

163

Can the CAQ be improved so that It is an even more effective
measure of administrative support of counseling programs?

Two avenues of exploration exist to answer this question. The results of
this study indicated that two of the five components of the construct of
administrative support of counseling programs measured by the CAQ
(encouragement of program expansion and capital allocation) are represented
by only three items on the CAQ. As can be seen in Table 7, the reliability of
these two components was low, compared to the reliability of the other three
components measured by the CAQ and the CAQ as a whole.

To improve the measures of reliability for these two components,
additional items designed to measure the two components should be developed
and tested. The high reliability of the CAQ as a whole and the high reliability of
the subcategories on the CAQ (as shown in Table 7) suggest that these new
items can replace existing items on the CAQ without threatening the reliability of
either the overall instrument or the components of support that are represented
by many items on the instrument. This testing will lead to a greater degree of
reliability of two of the five components measured by the CAQ and provide
additional insight into the make-up of these components of support.

Another change to the CAQ should be tested to determine whether the
flexibility and accuracy of the instrument can be improved. In the current CAQ,
subjects are asked to respond to the items assuming that all components of

administrative support of counseling programs are of equal value to all

164

counselors. What the current CAQ does not measure is the relative importance
each respondent assigns to each of the components.

Although the components presented in the definition of administrative
support of counseling programs are comprehensive, the results of both the
literature review and the focus groups indicated that some counselors placed
greater emphasis on some components in the definition and less importance on
others. Adding a scale of relative importance to each item on the CAQ would
give counselors an opportunity to tailor the instrument to their own tastes and
circumstances, thus making the instrument even more useful. This could be
done by adding a second Likert scale to each item. On the first Likert scale,
respondents would evaluate the current level of administrative support in a
particular area; on the second scale, respondents would indicate how important
that aspect of support is to them.

This technique has been used in other studies of support and program
evaluation. The evaluation instrument for science programs created by Voss
(1989) included a second Likert scale on which respondents indicated their
perceptions of importance, as did the study of counselor-administrator
congruence conducted by Stickel (1988). Studer (1997) recommended including
a second Likert scale when this researcher asked him how measures of
administrative support of counseling programs could be improved.

Such a change in the CAQ might result in a measure of administrative
support of counseling programs that would bring about more precise discussions

and action plans designed to improve the components of support that are of

165

greatest importance to counselors in an individual building. This
individualization might enhance the likelihood that counselors will perceive an
increase in administrative support of counseling programs, which empowerment
and quality theory has identified as the key variable in improved employee
contributions to the workplace. Because modifying the CAQ to include a scale of
importance for each item could increase the value of the CAQ, such a
modification could serve as the basis of an appropriate future study.

What Is the current level of administrative support of high school
counseling programs today?

The idea of using the CAQ to provide normative data on current levels of
administrative support of counseling programs was introduced in the section on
evaluative implications. Normative data can serve as a baseline of comparison
against future measures of administrative support of counseling programs.
These comparisons can form the basis of a longitudinal analysis of the state of
administrative support of counseling programs over several years.

Administrators and counselors can use the normative data generated by
the CAQ to begin evaluating the level of administrative support of their schools”
counseling programs. This kind of formative evaluation can lead to the
development of action plans designed to improve levels of administrative
support of counseling programs, leading to more effective counseling programs.

Of all the implications of the current study, the most significant one is the
utility of the CAQ in helping counselors and administrators create more effective

counseling programs. Because the appropriate use of normative data generated

166

by the CAQ would serve as the foundation for more effective counseling
programs, this research question is an appropriate subject for future study.

What factors influence the level of administrative support of
counseling programs?

Although much of the literature on administrative support of counseling
programs discussed how administrative support affects other factors, no writings
examined in this study addressed the topic of what factors affect the level of
administrative support. It may be possible that certain factors exist in the school
environment that effectively prohibit a school administrator from providing
additional support to a school’s counseling programs, even if the administrator
desires to do so. In addition, certain factors might exist in the school
environment that prevent a school counselor from recognizing an increase in the
level of administrative support of the counseling program. If these factors do
exist, the current literature has not identified them.

Identification of the factors that prevent administrators from providing
effective support to counseling programs (and factors that prevent counselors
from recognizing improved support) is an important topic for future research. A
wide-ranging literature review would have to be conducted to identify the
elements of environments and relationships that hinder or mask change agents.
Whereas some of these elements may be as basic as school size or the number
of years a counselor and administrator have worked together, others may be

more subtle and complex.

167

Once these elements are identified, instruments designed to measure
their presence would have to be researched or developed, and then used to
compare the presence of the element with the level of administrative support of
counseling programs. The results of such an inquiry would yield useful
information on how to help administrators and counselors identify factors that
inhibit improvement in levels of administrative support of counseling programs.

The purpose of the CAQ is to provide a baseline of information for
counselors and administrators to use in improving their working relationship. If
environmental factors exist that affect the utility of the information generated by
the CAQ, future studies should be centered on Ieaming more about these factors
and on how to overcome them.

What other factors exist that are related to administrative support of
counseling programs?

In reviewing the literature for this study, the researcher found many
articles and studies indicating a relationship between administrative support and
a host of other factors, including health, job stress, school climate, and job
satisfaction. All of these studies were conducted using measures of support
based on broad definitions of the construct that lacked specificity; with the
development of the CAQ, studies can be conducted to evaluate more precisely
the relationship between administrative support of counseling programs and
other factors.

Of the many relationships that could be explored using the CAQ, the

relationship between administrative support of counseling programs and self-

168

efficacy would serve as the basis for an appropriate next study. Results of a
study by Sutton and Fall (1995) suggest that a relationship might exist between
administrative support and counselor self-efficacy. A study measuring this
relationship could lend significant support'to Likert’s theory of supportive
relationships, as well as the theory underlying the empowerment movement, the
quality movement, and even chaos theory.

In using the CAQ to explore the relationship between administrative
support and self-efficacy, researchers can compare measures of the construct of
administrative support as a whole and of the five components of support to
measures of self-efficacy. This will lead to a detailed level of analysis that was
not possible before the CAQ was created, which will show whether some of the
components of administrative support of counseling programs are more closely
related to counselor self-efficacy than others.

The purpose of providing administrative support to counseling programs
is to give counselors a sense of their worth and value in the workplace.

Because counselors’ perceptions of self-efficacy are an indication of their belief
that they can contribute to the workplace in a meaningful way, no more important
study could be completed that one that measures the relationship between
counselor self-efficacy and administrative support of counseling programs.

Does a relationship exist between administrative support of
counseling programs and the effectiveness of counseling programs?

Perhaps the most significant future study to be conducted using the CAQ

is one designed to measure the relationship between administrative support of

169

counseling programs and the effectiveness of counseling programs. In
discussing the limitations of this study in Chapter I, it was explained that
analyzing the relationship between administrative support of counseling
programs and the effectiveness of those programs was beyond the scope of this
research. At the same time, one of the theoretical assumptions of this study was
that increased levels of administrative support of counseling programs lead to
more effective school counseling programs.

As a result of this study, one of the major obstacles to conducting a study
of the relationship between administrative support of counseling programs and
effective counseling programs has been removed. In this study, a
comprehensive definition of administrative support of counseling programs was
created, and a valid, reliable instrument that measures the presence of such
support was devised.

The next step in completing a study of administrative support of
counseling programs and counseling programs’ effectiveness requires the
creation of a valid, reliable instrument with which to assess the effectiveness of
school counseling programs. Such an instrument could be created and tested
by following the instrument-development procedures used in this study,
beginning with a content analysis of the literature on the effectiveness of school
counseling programs. This content analysis would be followed by a series of
focus groups addressing the topic of effective school counseling programs.

The researchers brief exposure to the literature on effectiveness of

school counseling programs suggests that the themes, opinions, and ideas

170

regarding this topic are remarkably diverse and, at times, conflicting. In addition,
although it is appropriate to interview school counselors to determine how they,
as recipients of administrative support of counseling programs, would define
such support, school counselors are the distributors and not the recipients of
counseling services. To hold true to the model of exploration presented in this
study, focus groups of recipients of counseling services would need to be
conducted. For these focus groups to be comprehensive, all recipients of
counseling services-students, parents, teaching faculty, staff, and school
administrators—would have to be included.

The importance of a study of the relationship of administrative support of
counseling programs and the effectiveness of school counseling programs
cannot be overstated. If properly conducted, such a study would furnish
meaningful insights into the nature of the constructs of both administrative
support of counseling programs and effective counseling programs. Such a
study would also provide important information on the credibility of Likert’s
theory of supportive relationships as applied to school administrators and school
counselors.

At the same time, the hurdles involved in conducting such a study are still
very high. Although the introduction of the CAQ has helped clarify the nature of
administrative support of counseling programs, the body of literature on what
constitutes effective counseling programs is vast and diverse, as are the
methods of delivery systems used in school counseling departments. The

results of the current study modestly advance the literature on administrative

171

support of counseling programs. For the area of effective counseling programs,
it can only be hoped that the results of this study offer encouragement to those

pursuing clarification of a complex issue.

Reflections

The results of this study represent two significant contributions to the field
of administrative support of counseling programs. First, the development of a
comprehensive definition for the construct of administrative support of
counseling programs leaves the field with a clear, thorough understanding of the
construct, both in terms of how it is defined in the literature and how it is
demonstrated in the eyes of school counselors. Second, the creation of the
CAQ gives the field a valid, reliable instrument with which to measure the
elements of administrative support of counseling programs. Used separately or
together, these contributions can serve as the foundation for dialogue between
counselors and administrators on the best ways to improve and support school
counseling programs.

Although this study offers new insights into the important construct of
administrative support of counseling programs, it was by no means perfect.
Although the initial content analysis of the literature left the researcher with a
good understanding of the broad components of administrative support of
counseling programs, the researchers understanding of the depth and
importance of the subcategories of the components was significantly

strengthened, both during the synthesis of the content analyses of the literature

172

and the focus groups, and during a complete rereading of the literature as part of
the preparation of this dissertation. Although the researcher is confident that the
research completed in this study was of high quality, a more thorough first
reading of the literature, and especially the presence of a more comprehensive
set of notes taken on the first reading, might have strengthened the subsequent
steps taken in completing the study, and eased the completion of those steps.
An additional point for procedural considerations concerns the timing of
the mailing of the questionnaire packet. The packets were mailed in the middle
of the fourth academic quarter of the school year, a time that finds counselors
involved in a wide variety of activities. Although the researcher was encouraged
by a return rate of more than 47%, and although many counselors think that
every month of the schoolyear is just as busy as any other, it is always possible
that the distribution of the questionnaire at this time of the year may have had a
negative effect on the rate of return. As a result, the researcher would be
inclined to send future questionnaires to school counselors at some other time of
the year, such as late October or early November, after academic scheduling
activities have waned in high school counseling offices, but before the
conclusion of the first academic quarter. Such a mailing might shed light on the
quality of the return rate of the questionnaires realized in the current study.
Finally, consideration of modification of the instructions for completing the
CAQ may be in order. As stated in Chapter I of this study, administrative
support of counseling programs was defined as those professional actions

executed or endorsed by the building principal or the principals agent to support

173

counseling programs. This definition was not presented in the directions for
completing the CAQ; in addition, the items on the CAQ were phrased to center
on the ”principal,” and not the ”administrator,” as was suggested in the second
series of focus groups with high school counselors.

High school counselors who report to an administrator other than a
principal often discuss the level of support that administrator gives to the
counseling program when the topic of administrative support arises, even when
other counselors are discussing support in the context of the building principal.
At the same time, rewriting the directions on the CAQ to include the definition of
administrative support would give counselors greater clarity in knowing which
administrative relationship should serve as the basis of their answers to the
questionnaire. This change will be strongly considered before the GAO is used
again.

In discussing the changing nature of management theory, Wheatley
(1999) pointed out that American society is at an organizational crossroads. In
reviewing the history and direction of management theory over the past 100
years, Wheatley suggested that management culture must begin to shed the
perception that man-made structures (such as organizations) are mechanistic,
and embrace the concept that these structures, like humans, are organic.
Wheatley argued that, once this theoretical shift is made, the atmosphere of
organizations will become more holistic, more empathic, more productive, and

more supportive.

174

Against the backdrop of this need for a shift in organizational and
managerial theory, the caseloads of school counselors continue to expand, in
terms of both the number of students needing service and the number of
services needed by students. As a result, the professional counselors charged
with meeting students” needs, and showing students the value of organic
qualities such as adaptability and continuous growth, often view themselves as
overworked, underpaid, and unsupported by an administrative structure that can
all too quickly take on an appearance of being distant, complex, and
mechanistic.

It is hoped that counselors and administrators will continue to work
together to find opportunities to build professional relationships based on mutual
understanding, support, and growth. Because of increased demands on school
administrators and counselors, it has never been more difficult to find the time
needed to create such opportunities-and yet, because of these same demands,
the need for the time has never been more acute. The results of this study can
be used to create time, and then guide the use of that time, however modestly,
toward the ultimate advancement of our counseling programs, our students, our

schools, and our culture.

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APPENDICES

176

Appendix A

Questionnaire Packet

177

Patrick J. O’Connor
5880 Bumham Road
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302
248.540.8249

23 April 1999
Dear Counselor.

I am writing to ask you to give 25 to 30 minutes to complete a study that could
improve counseling services to students.

I’m asking you to complete the enclosed forms and return them as part of a
research study I’m doing for a doctoral dissertation. The results of the study
may shed some light on how school counseling programs are supported by
building administrators, an area where remarkably little research has been done.
Your answers will be used to report the group response of counselors from the
Metropolitan Detroit area. If you make comments on the survey, they may be
used in the dissertation, but they will be referenced anonymously.

Enclosed in this packet are three very brief surveys. One asks you to evaluate
the level of support your building principal gives to the counseling program; one
asks you about your job satisfaction, and one asks about your school climate.
The surveys should reflect how you respond as an individual, so please
complete them without assistance or counsel from others, especially from other
counselors in your building.

Your participation in the study is vegy important to its success. Once you’ve
completed all three forms— a process which should take no longer than 25 to 30

minutes—please return all three forms in the pre-paid envelope to me as soon as
possible, but no later than Tuesday, May 25. If you’d like to see a copy of the
cumulative results of the study, please indicate that on the counseling survey;

I'll remove the form ID information from your answers as soon as I receive them-
so, once again, your answers will remain anonymous.

By returning the forrns, you’re indicating your consent to participate in the study.
I would expect to have the results of the surveys tallied by late summer.

Thank you for your support of this study.
Sincerely,

Patrick J. O'Connor

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Counseling Assessment Questionnaire and School Climate Survey

Directions: Each of the statements below relates to some aspect of your work
as a school counselor. Read each statement, then circle the number that best
indicates the degree to which you agree with the statement:

5: You strongly agree with the statement (Stg Ag)

4: You agree with the statement (Ag)

3= You are neutral towards the statement, or you sometimes agree and

sometimes disagree with the statement (N)

2= You disagree with the statement (Dis)

1= You strongly disagree with the statement (Stg Dis)

1. My principal provides the necessary time,
staff, and resources for the implementation of
counseling programs and activities.

2. My principal provides the time, staff, and
resources for the review, evaluation, and
development of counseling activities.

3. My principal provides the time, staff, and
resources necessary for the preparation and
follow-up duties that accompany counseling
programs and activities (processing paper
work, reviewing files, phone calls, consultations,
etc.).

4. My principal assigns me only duties relevant
to my work as a counselor.

5. My principal provides resources and
opportunities for professional development
of counselors.

6. My principal promotes counselor-Initiated
activities in the classroom.

7. My principal promotes schoolwide
counseling programs (assemblies, speakers,
etc.).

8. My principal takes the time to update his/her
understanding of the duties and functions
of counselors.

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Stg 319
Ag Ag N Dis Dis

5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1

9. My principal seeks and welcomes information
from counselors on school, community, and
professional issues.

10. My principal keeps counselors informed
of school, community, and professional
issues that might impact the work

of counselors.

11. My principal keeps in touch with me on a
regular basis.

12. My principal encourages an atmosphere
of open communication with me.

13. My principal expresses appreciation to
counselors.

14. My principal appropriately involves counselors
in building-wide planning, problem solving,
and decision-making activities.

15. My principal appropriately involves counselors
in long-range planning.

16. My principal effectively utilizes my resources
as a counselor.

17. My principal promotes the work of counselors
to other faculty and staff.

18. My principal promotes the work of counselors
to parents and the community.

19. My principal promotes the work and needs
of counselors to the superintendent and other
members of the central office staff.

20. My principal supports counseling decisions
when those decisions are appealed to the principal
by those affected by the decisions (parents,
students, teachers, etc).

180

Stg 3‘9

Ag Ag N Dis Dis

5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1

 

Sta Sta
Ag Ag N Dis Dis

21. The office space and rooms needed for
counseling activities are available and
accessible. 5 4 3 2 1

22. The lighting, painting, and furniture needs
of the offices and rooms used by counselors are
maintained at appropriate levels. 5 4 3 2 1

23. The technology needs of the department
(phones, computers, etc.) are maintained at
appropriate levels. 5 4 3 2 1

24. My principal gives me appropriate flexibility
in my role as a counselor. 5 4 3 2 1

25. My principal has reasonable expectations for

my work as a counselor. 5 4 3 2 1
26. My principal sees me as capable. 5 4 3 2 1
27. My principal trusts my judgment. 5 4 3 2 1

28. My principal demonstrates respect to me
as a counselor. 5 4 3 2 1

29. My principal demonstrates respect to me
as a person. 5 4 3 2 1

School Climate Survey
Continue to complete the survey using the same directions.

Stg Stg
Ag Ag N Dis Dis
30. The principal at my school is very active
in securing resources which facilitate the
counseling program. 5 4 3 2 1

31. The counselor(s), teachers, and other staff

at my school are cooperative and supportive
of each other. 5 4 3 2 1

181

Sta Sta
Ag Ag N Dis Dis

32. The counselor(s) regularly receive feedback
from the principal regarding their counseling
program. 5 4 3 2 1

33. I have Influence on the decisions within
the school that directly affect the
guidance program. 5 4 3 2 1

34. People at my school try to understand
each others views, even though they
may not agree. 5 4 3 2 1

35. I think the people in this school care

about me as a person; they are

concerned about more than just how well

I perform my role at school. 5 4 3 2 1

36. The principal regularty brings counseling
issues to the counseling staff for discussion. 5 4 3 2 1

37. The counselor(s) in this school system
treat students respectfully and fairly. 5 4 3 2 1

38. After'an assessment of the counseling
program by my principal, a plan for
improvement frequently follows. 5 4 3 2 1

39. The principal seeks ideas and suggestions
from the rest of the staff. 5 4 3 2 1

40. There is an adequate support system
provided for counselor(s) by this
school system. 5 4 3 2 1

41. There is teamwork among the staff at
this school. 5 4 3 2 1

42. The counselor(s) in this school system are
proud of their identity as guidance
counselors. 5 4 3 2 1

43. The principal at my school is responsive to
student problems. 5 4 3 2 1

182

 

44. Important decisions are made at this school
with representation from students, faculty,
counselors, and administration.

45. The school system provides opportunities
for professional development.

46. The counselor(s) in this school system feel
accountable for student psycho—educational
development.

47. When we have staff conflicts at school,
the result is constructive, not destructive.

48. The counselor(s) in this school system are
free to observe other counselor(s).

49. The counselor(s) like to work in this
school system.

50. The principal talks with the counselor(s)
frankly and openly.

51. Everyone respects everyone else, regardless
of area, grade level or position on the entire
school staff.

52. There is clear and strong leadership from the
principal at this school.

53. The counselor(s) in this school turn to the
principal with concerns or problems.

54. Counselors in this system work together to
effectively coordinate the counseling program
within and between grades.

55. The principal visits my department for
formal observations at least twice a year.

56. When all is said and done, I feel that
I count in this school.

183

Stg 319
Ag Ag N Dis Dis

5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1
5 4 3 2 1

 

Finally, please answer the following six questions in your own words:

1. In what area(s) does your principal offer strong support of counseling programs?

2. In what area(s) could your principal offer more support of counseling programs?

3. How many years (including the current school year) have you worked in this building as a
counselor?

4. How many years (including the current school year) has your principal served as principal of
this building?

5. How many students are you responsible for (or, are on your case load)?

6. How many other counselors work in your building?

Thank you for completing the survey. If you would like to receive a summary of the results,
please print your name and mailing address below. This information will be removed from the
survey when it is received, in order to assure anonymity.

The School Climate Survey is used by permission of Dr. John Sutton of the
University of Southern Maine.

184

The School Climate Survey is reproduced in this appendix with permission of
Dr. Ted Coladarci of the University of Maine. The Minnesota Satisfaction
Questionnaire, which was also included in the questionnaire packet, could not
be reproduced in this appendix due to copyright protection.

185

Wording sent on reminder postcards to all counselors who were sent surveys:

14 May 1999
Dear Counselor.

By now, you should have received a survey I sent to you in the last two weeks.
The survey asks about administrative support of the counseling program in your
high school. It’s being given as part of my dissertation work at Michigan State
University, and takes about 25-30 minutes to complete.

Your completed survey is very important to this study. If you’ve already mailed
your survey back, thank you. If you’re still working on the survey, thank you
—and remember, your survey should be sent back to me by Tuesday, May 25"”.
If you haven’t received your survey, please contact me right away at
248.544.5571.

May is a busy time, and counseling is a busy calling. Thank you for supporting
this ground-breaking study.
Sincerely,

Patrick J. O’Connor

186

 

9N§5flli
FAX‘ 51 71432-1171

nwauunaauwne
Dushflnuuaumv
Elluaeaam

IGUsnawm-eaan
wwHana-wnllm

   
 

MICHIGAN STATE

UNIVERSITY

March 9. 1998

TO: Fred Ignatovich
405 Erickson Hall
RE: IRE“: 98-051
TITLE: ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPPORT OF COUNSELING PROGRAM:
CREATING A CONSISTENT MEASURE
REVISION REQUESTED: N/A
CATEGORY: 2-I
APPROVAL DATE: 03/03/90

The University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects’IUCRIHS)

review of this prOJect is complete. I am pleased to adVise that the

rights and welfare of the human subjects appear to be adequacely
rotecced and methods to obtain informed consent are appropriate.
herefore, the UCRIHS approved this progect and any revisions listed

I V8.
PLEASE SEE ATTACHED REVIEWKR SUGGESTIONS.

RINIIIL: UCRIHS approval is valid for one calendar year, beginning with
the approval date shown above. Investigators planning to
continue a project beyond one year must use the green renewal
form (enclosed with t e original approval ieccer or when a_
project is renewed) to seek u be certification. There is a
maximum of four such expedite renewals possible. Investigators
wishing to continue a reject beyond that time need to submit it
again or complete rev aw.

RIVISIONI: UCRIHS must review any changes in procedures involving human
subjects. rior to initiation of t e change. If this is done at

the time o renewal, please use the green renewal form. To
revise an approved protocol at any other time during the year,
send your written request to the CRIHS Chair, requesting reVised
approval and referencing the project's IRB 0 and title. Include
in your request a description of the change and any revised
instruments. consent forms or advertisements that are applicable.

Should either of the followin arise during the course of the
work. investi ators must noti UCRIHS promptly: I1) robleas
(unexpected a de effects coup aincs, e c.) invoIVing uman
subjects or (2) changes in the research environment or new
information indicating greater risk to the human subaects than
existed when the protocol was previously reviewed approved.

If we c
at (517)355-2180 or RA! (517)4

an be of any future helpé pigase do not hesitate to contact us

Sincerely.

. L),

vid 8. Wright, Pb
Ins Chair

DEN:bed

cc: Jatrick J. O'Connor

187

Appendix B

Materials Used With First Series of Focus Groups

188

Script for inviting focus group participants (italicized portions will also be read at
the start of the actual focus group meeting)

My name is Patrick O'Connor, and I'm calling to invite you to participate in a
focus group I'm putting together. The purpose of the focus group is to discuss
administrative support of counseling programs. Some general definitions of
administrative support will be given to you, and you 'll be asked to respond to
them; in addition, you 'll be given the opportunity to share your ideas on what
administrative support means.

The results of the focus group discussions will be used to develop an
assessment tool to measure administrative support of high school counseling
programs. As a result, one benefit from your participation will be your
contribution to the development of an instrument that could help school
counselors and administrator 5 support one another. In addition, you'll have the
opportunity to hear how other high school counselors in the focus group receive
support from their administrators.

This focus group is part of a study being done in partial fulfillment of a doctoral
degree from Michigan State University. The focus group is scheduled for (date)
at (time) at (place) and should last for about 90 minutes. Of course, your
participation is voluntary. Your remarks will remain confidential and anonymous
with the investigator, and all focus group participants will be asked to sign a
consent form agreeing to keep all remarks made in the focus group confidential;
one potential risk to participating is that a participant may consciously or
unconsciously breach confidentiality. The focus group discussions will not be
tape recorded, but the investigator will take notes that will remain confidential.
Summaries of the focus group discussions may appear in the final dissertation.

If you say yes today, you always have the right to change your mind, even once
the focus group has actually begun. In addition, you have the right to refrain
from answering any questions asked at the focus group. Would you be willing to
participate?

(If yes) Great! I'll be sending you a confirmation letter with a reminder of the
date, time, and location of the focus group. If you have any questions about the
focus group or the purpose of the study, my name is Patrick O'Connor, and you
can contact me at any time at 248.544.5571. My dissertation advisor is Dr. Fred
Ignatovich, and he can be reached at Michigan State at 517.353.5342. Thank
you for your interest, and I'll look forward to seeing you on the (date).

(If no) Is there another full-time counselor in your department who might be able
to attend?

(If yes) May I speak to him/her?

(If no) Thank you for your time.

189

gonfirmation Letter

Patrick J. O'Connor
5880 Bumham Road
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302
248.540.8249

1 March 1998
Dear Participant:

Thank you for you willingness to participate in the Focus Group on
administrative support of counseling programs. As a reminder, the Focus Group
will take place on (date) at (time) at (location). A map to the location is provided
in this mailing.

If you have any questions about the focus group or the purpose of the study, my
name is Patrick O'Connor, and you can contact me at any time at 248.544.5571.
My dissertation advisor is Dr. Fred Ignatovich, and he can be reached at

Michigan State at 517.353.5342. Thank you for your interest, and I'll look
forward to seeing you on the (date).

Sincerely,

Patrick J. O'Connor

190

Focus rou onsent Form

Thank you for your willingness to participate in today's focus group. Please read the information
below, which contains a description of the purpose of today’s focus group, the benefits and risk
involved with participation in the focus group, and the procedures used to ensure confidentiality.
If you do not wish to sign the consent form, please advise the Investigator now, a consent form
must be signed by all focus group participants before the program begins.

The purpose of the focus group is to discuss administrative support of counseling programs.
Some general definitions of administrative support will be given to you, and you'll be asked to
respond to them; In addition, you'll be given the opportunity to share your ideas on what
administrative support means.

The results of the focus group discussions will be used to develop an assessment tool to
measure administrative support of high school counseling programs. As a result, one benefit
from your participation will be your contribution to the development of an instrument that could
help school counselors and administrator 5 support one another. In addition, you'll have the
opportunity to hear how other high school counselors in the focus group receive support from
their administrators.

This focus group is part of a study being done in partial fulfillment of a doctoral degree from
Michigan State University. Of course, your participation is voluntary.

Your remarks will remain confidential and anonymous with the investigator, and all focus group
participants, by signing this consent form, agree to keep all remarks made in the focus
group confidential; one potential risk to participating is that a participant may consciously or

unconsciously breach confidentiality. The focus group discussions will not be tape recorded. but

the investigator will take notes that will remain confidential. Summaries of focus group
discussions may be given in the dissertation.

You always have the right to change your mind with respect to participating, even once the focus

group has actually begun. In addition, you have the right to refrain from answering any questions

asked at the focus group.

My name is Patrick O'Connor, and you can contact me at any time at 248.544.5571. My
dissertation advisor is Dr. Fred Ignatovich, and he can be reached at Michigan State at
517.353.5342. Please feel free to contact either of us at any time if you should have any
questions about this research.

 

I consent to participate in the focus group as described above, and I understand that remarks,
comments, and suggestions I make in today's focus group may be used for the purpose of
creating an assessment tool for administrative support. In giving this consent, I also agree to
keep the remarks of all focus group participants confidential.

 

Print Name

 

 

Your signature Today's date

191

I! .

 

Focus rou uestions

We're here today to discuss administrative support of high school counseling
programs. For purposes of this study, administrative support is defined as
"those professional actions executed or endorsed by the building principal or the
principal's agent to support counseling programs." Given that definition, think
about your own high school, or other high schools you know of. What areas of a
high school's counseling program need administrative support?

What kinds of support can administrators show towards high school counseling
programs?

Counseling programs are sometimes divided into categories of counseling
services, counseling personnel, and counseling facilities. What kinds of support
can administrators show towards counseling programs?

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest level of importance and 10 being
the highest level of importance, how important is administrative support of
counseling services? Why?

What kinds of support can administrators show towards counseling personnel?

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest level of importance and 10 being
the highest level of importance, how important is administrative support of
counseling personnel? Why?

What kinds of support can administrators show towards counseling facilities?
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest level of importance and 10 being

the highest level of importance, how important is administrative support of
counseling facilities? Why?

Of the three areas we've been discussing—counseling services, counseling
personnel, and counseling facilities-4n which of these areas is administrative
support most important? Why?

In which area is administrative support least important? Why?

What additional kinds of administrative support can be given to a high school's
counseling program?

Thank you for your participation in today's focus group.

192

Appendix C

Materials Used With Second Series of Focus Groups

193

Script for Inviting Focus Group Participants

My name is Patrick O'Connor. I'm a graduate student at Michigan State
University, and I'm calling to invite you to participate in a focus group I'm putting
together. The purpose of the focus group is to review items that may be used on
an instrument designed to assess administrative support of high school
counseling programs. Some general areas and specific statements of possible
areas of administrative support will be given to you, and you'll be asked to
respond to them, first in writing, then, if you wish, in a group discussion.

The focus group is being held in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a
doctoral program at Michigan State University, and is scheduled for (date) at
(time) at (place). Of course, your participation is voluntary, and your remarks will
remain confidential and anonymous. If you say yes today, you always have the
right to change your mind, even once the focus group has actually begun.

Would you be willing to participate?

(If yes) Thank you! Again, my name is Patrick O'Connor, and I can be reached
at 248.544.5571. My advisor is Fred Ignatovich, and he can be reached at
517.353.5342.

I'll look forward to seeing you at the focus group.
(If no) Is there another counselor in your school who may be able to participate?
(If yes) May I please speak to him/her?

(If no) Thank you for your time.

194

Patrick J. O'Connor
5880 Bumham Road
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302
248.540.8249

Dear High School Counselor:

Thank you for you willingness to participate in the Focus Group on
administrative support of counseling programs. As a reminder, the Focus Group
will take place on (date) at (place). A map to the location is provided in this
mailing.

If you have any questions about the focus group or the purpose of the study, you
can contact me at any time at 248.544.5571. My dissertation advisor is Dr. Fred
Ignatovich, and he can be reached at Michigan State at 517.353.5342.

Thank you for your interest, and I'll look forward to seeing you at the focus
group.

Sincerely,

Patrick J. O'Connor

195

Patrick J. O'Connor
5880 Bumham Road
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302
248.540.8249

Overview of Focus Group

The purpose of this focus group is to review items that may be used on an
instrument designed to assess administrative support of high school counseling
programs. As a result, one benefit from your participation will be your
contribution to the development of an instrument that could help school
counselors and administrators support one another. In addition, you'll have the
opportunity to hear how other high school counselors in the focus group respond
to the items presented for discussion.

This focus group is part of a study being done in partial fulfillment of a doctoral
degree from Michigan State University. The focus group should last for about 90
minutes.

Of course, your participation is voluntary. Your remarks will remain confidential
and anonymous with the investigator, and all focus group participants will be
asked to sign a consent form agreeing to keep all remarks made in the focus
group confidential; one potential risk to participating is that a participant may
consciously or unconsciously breach confidentiality. The focus group
discussions will not be tape recorded, but the investigator will take notes that will
remain confidential. Summaries of the focus group discussions may appear in
the final dissertation. You always have the right to change your mind, even once
the focus group has actually begun. In addition, you have the right to refrain
from answering any questions asked at the focus group.

If you have any questions about the focus group or the purpose of the study, you
can contact me at any time at 248.544.5571. My dissertation advisor is Dr. Fred
Ignatovich, and he can be reached at Michigan State at 517.353.5342. Thank
you for your interest, and I'll look forward to seeing you at the focus group.

196

ocus rou onsent Form

Thank you for your willingness to participate in today's focus group. Please read the information
below, which contains a description of the purpose of today's focus group, the benefits and risk
involved with participation in the focus group, and the procedures used to assure confidentiality.
If you do not wish to sign the consent form, please advise the investigator now; a consent from
must be signed by all focus group participants before the program begins.

The purpose of this focus group is to review items that may be used on an instmment designed
to assess administrative support of high school counseling programs. As a result, one benefit
from your participation will be your contribution to the development of an instrument that could
help school counselors and administrators support one another. In addition, you'll have the
opportunity to hear how other hlgh school counselors in the focus group respond to the items
presented for discussion.

This focus group is part of a study being done in partial fulfillment of a doctoral degree from
Michigan State University. The focus group should last for about ninety minutes.

Of course, your participation is voluntary. Your remarks will remain confidential and anonymous
with the investigator, and all focus group participants, by signing this consent form, agree to keep
all remarks made in the focus group confidential; one potential risk to participating is that a
participant may consciously or unconsciously breach confidentiality.

The focus group discussions will not be tape recorded, but the investigator will take notes that
will remain confidential. Summaries of the focus group discussions may appear in the final
dissertation. You always have the right to change your mind, even once the focus group has
actually begun. In addition, you have the right to refrain from answering any questions asked at
the focus group.

If you have any questions about the focus group or the purpose of the study, you can contact me
at any time at 248.544.5571. My dissertation advisor is Dr. Fred Ignatovich, and he can be
reached at Michigan State at 517.353.5342.

 

l consent to participate in the focus group as described above, and that remarks, comments, and
suggestions I make in today's focus group may be used for the purpose of creating an
assessment tool for administrative support. In giving this consent, I also agree to keep the
remarks of all focus group participants confidential.

 

Print Name

 

 

Your signature Today's date

197

 

Instructions (To be read by Researcher at the start of each Focus Group):

Thank you for your willingness to participate in today's focus group. As was
mentioned in the phone call inviting you to participate today, the purpose of this
focus group is to review items that may be used on an instrument designed to
assess administrative support of high school counseling programs.

Before we begin the actual review, I will distribute a consent form for each of you
to look over and sign. This consent form give you some general information of
the nature of the purpose of the focus group research, and reminds you of the
confidential nature of the information of the written and verbal remarks made
here today. Please take a moment to review the consent form, sign it, and return
it to me.

(After completion) Thank you. I will now distribute the items under discussion
today. (Passes out items, reads directions from top of page 1) Are there any
questions? Then let's begin.

(Answers questions as they arise during individual review.)

(After all participants are finished): At this point, you are invited to share your
thoughts and ideas on the items you've just reviewed. All of your written
comments will be read carefully, and you do not have to give any comment at all
right now, but your insights into the items are welcomed at this time.

Are there any thoughts you'd like to share on the items under Area 1,
Counseling Programs and the Work of Counselors? (Takes notes)

Are there any thoughts you'd like to share on the items under Area 2,
Communication with Counselors? (Takes notes)

Are there any thoughts you'd like to share on the items under Area 3,
Communication with Others? (Takes notes)

Are there any thoughts you'd like to share on the items under Area 4, Physical
Space and Technology? (Takes notes)

Are there any thoughts you'd like to share on the items under Area 5, Autonomy
and Trust? (Takes notes)

What is your overall response to the items?
Are there other areas that should be included?
Do you have other comments you would like to share at this time?

I'll collect your written comments at this time. Thank you for you participation
today.

198

 

Administrative Support of Counseling Programs:
Creating a Consistent Measure

High school counselors have identified the following five areas where
administrative support of counselors is necessary in order for counselors to do
their work. For purposes of this study, administrative support is defined as those
professional actions executed or endorsed by the building principal or the
principal's agent to support counseling programs.

Directions:

Each of the five areas contains statements that offer specific examples where
administrative support can be demonstrated. Read each statement to see if it is
clear; if a statement is unclear, use the space below the statement to write in
questions or suggestions for how the statement could be improved.

At the end of each area, a space is provided for comments on the area as a
whole. Reread all of the statements in that area, then use the space provided at
the end of the area to give your general comments on the clarity and
comprehensive nature of the statements made in that area—would additional
statements make that area more comprehensive? Should fewer statements be
used? '

Your written comments will be most valuable to the development of this
instrument. In addition, an opportunity to discuss the instrument with the
researcher and other focus group participants will occur in approximately 30
minutes, or when all participants have completed their reviews. All comments,
written or verbal, will remain anonymous, but may be quoted in the study.

Feel free to ask the researcher any questions at any time. Please turn the page,
and begin the review now.

199

Administrative Support ls Demonstrated in the Following Ways:

Area I: Counseling Programs and the Work of Counselors

1.

My principal provides the necessary time, staff, and resources for the
implementation of counseling programs and activities.

My principal provides the time, staff, and resources necessary for the review,
evaluation, and development of counseling activities.

My principal provides the time, staff, and resources necessary for the
preparation and follow-up duties that accompany counseling programs and
activities (processing paper work, reviewing files, phone calls, consultations,
etc).

My principal assigns me only duties relevant to my work as a counselor.

My principal provides resources and opportunities for professional
development of counselors.

My principal promotes counselor-initiated activities in the classroom.

My principal promotes school-wide counseling programs (assemblies,
speakers, etc).

Comments, Questions, Additions, or Deletions for This Area:

200

Communication With Counselors

8. My principal takes the time to update his/her understanding of the duties and
functions of counselors.

9. My principal seeks and welcomes information from counselors on school,
community, and professional issues.

10. My principal keeps counselors informed of school, community, and
professional issues that might impact the work of counselors.

11. My principal keeps in touch with me on a regular basis.

12. My principal encourages an atmosphere of open communication with me.

13. My principal expresses appreciation to counselors.

14. My principal appropriately involves counselors in building-wide planning,

problem-solving, and decision-making activities.

15. My principal appropriately involves counselors in long-range planning.

Comments, Questions, Additions, or Deletions for This Area:

201

Communications With Others

16. My principal promotes the work of counselors to other faculty and staff.

17. My principal promotes the work of counselors to parents and the community.

18. My principal promotes the work and needs of counselors to the
superintendent and other members of the central office staff.

19. My principal supports counseling decisions when those decisions are
appealed to the principal by those affected by the decisions (parents,
students, teachers, etc.)

Comments, Questions, Additions, or Deletions for This Area:

202

Physical Space and Technology
20. The office space and rooms needed for counseling activities are available
and accessible.

21. The lighting, painting, and furniture needs of the offices and rooms used by
counselors are maintained at appropriate levels.

22. The technology needs of the department (phones, computers, etc.) are
maintained at appropriate levels.

Comments, Questions, Additions, or Deletions for This Area:

203

Autonomy and Tmst

23. My principal gives me appropriate flexibility in my work as a counselor.

24. My principal has reasonable expectations for my work as a counselor.

25. My principal sees me as capable.

26. My principal trusts my judgment.

27. My principal demonstrates respect to me as a counselor.

28. My principal demonstrates respect to me as a person.

Comments, Questions, Additions, or Deletions for This Area:

Comments, Questions, Additions, or Deletions for the Document in General (use
back if needed):

204

BIBLIOGRAPHY

205

 

 

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Arends, R. l. (1982, Fall). The meaning of administrative support. Educational
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