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76-27,127
«i

LIPSON, Renee Sue, 1930THE PERCEIVED NEEDS OF PEER COUNSELORS
IN STUDENT SERVICE CENTERS IN MICHIGAN
SCHOOLS.
Michigan State University, Ph.D., 1976
Education, guidance and counseling

Xerox University Microfilms,
(c) Copyright by
RENEE SUE LIPSON
1976

Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106

THE PERCEIVED NEEDS OF PEER COUNSELORS
IN STUDENT SERVICE CENTERS
IN MICHIGAN SCHOOLS
By
Renee Sue Lipson

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Secondary Education and Curriculum

1976

ABSTRACT
THE PERCEIVED NEEDS OF PEER COUNSELORS
IN STUDENT SERVICE CENTERS
IN MICHIGAN SCHOOLS

By
Renee Sue Lipson

The purpose of this study was to determine the
perceived training needs of peer counselors in student
service centers in Michigan schools.
Student service centers have been in operation
in several Michigan schools since 1972.
there were twenty-three centers:

In January, 1976

twenty-two in senior

high schools and one in a junior high school.

These

centers were designed to provide students with a place
in which their school peers and an adult staff were ready
to listen to, talk with, and inform them about a variety
of problem areas and concerns.
The peer counselors received varying degrees of
training and supportive services from either their
director, school, regional substance abuse prevention
education program, Michigan State Department of Education
or other sources.

They needed a variety of educational

training experiences in many areas to perform their tasks

Renee Sue Lipson
more effectively.

At this time, no formal on-going

statewide training and supportive services were provided.
Related literature was reviewed with a focus on
peer counselors, who were most often found interacting
with adolescents in school settings.
was grouped under the headings of:

Background literature
History and Background

of Student Service Centers in Michigan Schools, High
School Programs, Junior High School Programs, Elementary
School Programs, and Other Related Material.

Research

using peer counselors was sparse, but where found was
identified with the program review.
Peer counseling programs were shown to be very
beneficial both to peer counselors and their counselees.
Improvement in personal commitment; self-concept; improve­
ment in attitude toward school, family, achievement, peer
relationships, and attitude toward younger children;
awareness of the needs of others; and improvement in
relationships with adults and authority figures were some
of the positive affective changes shown by those students
who participated in peer counseling programs.
For this study a questionnaire was sent to all
peer counselors in Michigan student service centers,
in operation in January, 1976, to ascertain their per­
ceived training needs.

The questionnaire was validated

by two panels of experts.

A pilot test was administered.

The data were tabulated and analyzed.
hypotheses were tested:

The following null

Renee Sue Lipson
Hypothesis 1 :

There is no significant difference on the degree of
need, as expressed by the total score/ between peer
counselors working under one year, and those working
one to two years.
This hypothesis was rejected.
was .02.

The measure of p value

Those peer counselors working under one year

had a significantly higher need for training than those
working one to two years.
Hypothesis 2 :
There is no significant difference on the degree
of need, as expressed by the total score, between
peer counselors' with high and moderate levels of
activity.
Hypothesis 3 :
There is no significant interaction between length
of service and activity level.
These hypotheses failed to be rejected.
Two research questions were discussed:
1.

Is there agreement in the rank ordering of needs
between peer counselors working under one year
and those working one to two years?

2.

Is there agreement in the rank ordering of needs
between peer counselors with a high level of
activity and those with a moderate level of
activity?
There was some agreement in the rank ordering of

needs between the two groups differentiated by length.
Two need areas:

family communication problems and run­

away situations, appeared in the highest five ranking

Renee Sue Lipson
needs of both groups.

In comparing the rank ordering of

needs between highly active and moderately active peer
counselors, two needs appeared in common among the highest
priority five needs:

improving counseling skills and

runaway situations.
More agreement in the rank ordering of needs was
obtained for both the length of service and activity
level variables when weighted frequencies were used.
Need areas of improving counseling skills, runaway situ­
ations, and family communication problems appeared in
the highest priority six needs of both length of service
groups.

When weighted frequencies were used for the

highly active and moderately active levels, the needs
of drug reaction management, runaway situations, improving
counseling skills, family communication problems, and
working with adults appeared in the top six needs of
both groups.
Conclusions were drawn from the data analyzed
and recommendations were discussed within the framework
of the study limitations.
research were indicated.

Implications for further

DEDICATED
To the Strength and Potential
of Youth

ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A special note of appreciation for my committee
chairperson, Dr. Ben A. Bohnhorst, for his time and
patience with me and his dedication to the quest for
excellence.

To my dissertation chairperson, Dr. Dale

Alam, a special thank you for allowing me to learn by
experiencing, to make my own judgments and mistakes,
and for being available to aid me when I requested
assistance.
A note of recognition for committee members
Dr. John Suehr and Dr. James McKee for raising issues
to help expand my thinking and to point to future
directions and projects.
And to Eric Gordon, Office of Research Consul­
tation, my appreciation for his time, patience, and
manner of teaching, so I could better learn.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter
I.

II.

THE P R O B L E M ...................

1

Background.................................
Rationale for the Concept of Peer
Counseling .
Purpose of the Present Study.............
Rationale for This S t u d y ................
Definition of Terms.......................
A s s u m p t i o n s .............................
Limitations
....................
Research Questions .......................
O v e r v i e w .................................

3
12
12
14
15
15
16
17

REVIEW OF RELATED L I T E R A T U R E .............

18

History and Background of Student Ser­
vice Centers in Michigan Schools.
.

.

1

18

Training.............................
Center Usage
..........................

26
27

High School P r o g r a m s ................... .

28

Project Pride . . . . . . . . .
Teen Involvement P r o g r a m .............
Peer Sex Information and Referral
Program
.
Socio-Psychological Approach to
Education...................
Denver Program..........................
Schaumburg, Illinois Program . . . .
Help and Information Program . . . .
Maryland Program .......................
The Palo Alto P r o g r a m ................
The Everett Program . . . . . . .
Patrick Henry High School .............
Little Brothers and Sisters
. . . .
Positive Peer Culture in a High
School.................................

28
29
30
30
31
33
35
36
37
45
46
47
48

Chapter
PEER— Positive Educational Experiences
in R e l a t i o n s h i p s .......................
E x T e n d ....................................
Manual for Trainers.......................
Michigan Program for Disadvantaged
Youth....................................
Psychology of Counseling Curriculum
. .

52
54

Junior High School Programs................

55

Communication Training Study.............
Counseling and Tutoring
. . . . . .
Training Design ..........................
A California Junior High ................

55
57
58
59

Elementary School Programs ................

61

Drop-in Center
.............
Bi-lingual P r o g r a m .......................
Peer H e l p e r s .............................
Peer-Facilitated Groups
................
Cross-Age Program
.......................

61
62
63
64
65

Other Related Material

III.

50
50
51

....................

67

Positive Peer C u l t u r e ....................
Sex Differences in Response to
E m o t i o n .................................
Students' Perceived Problems.............

67
68

69

S u m m a r y ....................................

70

DESIGN OF THE S T U D Y ..........................

72

H y p o t h e s e s .................................
Research Questions..........................
Sample and Population.......................
P r o c e d u r e s .................................
Instrument Development
....................
Instrument Sent to Peer Counselors
. . .
Data A n a l y s i s .............................
Amendments to the Initial Design . . . .

72
73
73
74
75
78
80
82

The Sample Amendments ....................
Statistical Analysis Procedures
A m e n d m e n t s ..............................
Rationale for the New Analysis . . . .

82

S u m m a r y ....................................

v

84
85
86

Chapter
IV.

THE ANALYSIS OF DATA .

....................

Analyses of Hypotheses.

.

.

.

.

.

.

88

Analysis of Hypothesis 1 .............
Post Hoc Analysis of Hypothesis 1
Supplemental Findings Relative to the
Data Collected for Hypothesis 1
Analysis of Hypothesis 2 .............
Analysis of Hypothesis 3 .............

90
91
92

Research Questions .......................

92

Discussion— Research Question 1 .
Discussion— Research Question 2 .
Rank Orders with Weighted Frequencies.
.
Need Areas Generated by the Peer
C o u n s e l o r s .............................
Summary....................................
V.

88

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS .
Summary....................................
C o n c l u s i o n s .............................
Recommendations ..........................
Implications for Future Research
. . .
Personal Reflections
....................

88

89

95
98
100
104
105
108
108
112
115
122
125

APPENDICES
APPENDIX
A.

LETTER TO CENTER DIRECTORS .................

127

B.

PEER LISTENER QUESTIONNAIRE.................

129

C.

INSTRUCTION SHEET ...........................

131

D.

LISTING OF STUDENT SERVICE CENTERS OPER­
ATIVE IN JANUARY, 1976

133

E.

CROSS TABULATION ANALYSIS

134

F.

RANK ORDERS OF N E E D S .......................

137

G.

LIST OF NEEDS GENERATED BY PEER COUN­
SELORS ....................................

139

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................

141

Vi

.................

LIST OP TABLES
Table
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

6

.

7.

8

.

D-l.
E-l.
E-2.
F-l.
F-2.

THE ORIGINAL DESIGN OP THE TWO-WAY ANOVA
WITH NINE C E L L S ...................

84

AMENDED DESIGN OP TWO-WAY ANOVA WITH FOUR
C E L L S ....................................

85

ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE: NEED BY LENGTH AND
A C T I V I T Y .................................

89

ONE-WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE:
VARIABLE
NEED BY ACTIVITY..........................

91

HIGHEST RANK ORDERS OF NEED FOR THE
LENGTH OF SERVICE GROUPS ................

95

HIGHEST RANK ORDERS OF NEED FOR THE
ACTIVITY LEVEL GROUPS ....................

98

WEIGHTED HIGHEST PRIORITY RANK ORDERS FOR
THE LENGTH OF S E R V I C E ........................

102

WEIGHTED HIGHEST PRIORITY RANK ORDERS FOR
THE ACTIVITY L E V E L ...........................

103

LISTING OF STUDENT SERVICE CENTERS OPER­
ATIVE IN JANUARY, 1976........................

133

CROSS TABULATION ANALYSIS OF TRAINING
NEEDS BY LENGTH OF S E R V I C E .................

134

CROSS TABULATION ANALYSIS OF TRAINING
NEEDS BY ACTIVITY L E V E L .....................

136

RANK ORDERS OF NEEDS BY LENGTH OF SER­
VICE, WITH WEIGHTED FREQUENCIES.
. .

.

RANK ORDERS OF NEEDS BY ACTIVITY LEVEL,
WITH WEIGHTED FREQUENCIES
.................

vii

137
138

CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM
Background
Student Service Centers

(SSCs) have been in

operation in several Michigan schools since 1972.
were initiated in the Flint schools.

They

Since that time,

SSCs have been spreading statewide and now are in oper­
ation in schools throughout the state.

Twenty-three

centers, located in secondary schools, including one
in a junior high school, were operational in January
1976.

Several more are planning to open in the near

future, while several others are working to maintain
their status as functional centers, hoping to remain
open.
Student Service Centers are designed to provide
students a place where their school peers and adult staff
are ready to listen to, talk with, and inform them about
a variety of problem areas and concerns.

The SSC staff

includes peer counselors, who serve as helpers and lis­
teners with their fellow students, and one or more adult
directors.

1

The peer counselor is the key component in the
concept of the SSC.

Well over 20,000 interviews were

held in the SSCs in the 1974-75 school year between peer
counselors and their schoolmates.
These peer counselors receive varying degrees of
training and support services from either their director,
their school, regional substance abuse prevention edu­
cation program, the State of Michigan Department of Edu­
cation, or other sources.

They need a variety of edu­

cational training experiences in many areas to perform
their tasks more effectively.

Without training and sup­

port services, their work would undoubtedly be more diffi­
cult and less effective.

At this time, no formal on­

going statewide training and support services are provided.
A new statewide voluntary organization has just
been formed to unite SSC directors and staffs.

Their

role is being defined at this writing.
Since the peer counselors deal with a variety of
problems and concerns, they need a great many skills and
techniques to work with these problem areas.

They also

need to know when it is more appropriate to refer the
helpees to other school individuals, services or
resources, or agencies and institutions outside of the
school.
In 1 9 7 4 - 1 9 7 5 Evaluation Report, Substance Abuse
Prevention Education Program," Michigan Department of
Education, November 1975, p. 31.
(Mimeographed.)

3
Rationale for the Concept of
Peer Counseling
The concept of education is changing in our
schools.

It has broadened from the purely academic,

the cognitive domain, to include a focus on affective
2
growth.
The students' emotional growth, the interaction
of feelings and attitudes in the learning process, is
becoming legitimized in the total concept of education.
This education for morally and emotionally sensitive
human beings is often missing in our institutions and in
our curricula.

We have a pressing need in our schools

for alternative concepts of how to educate for psycho­
logical maturity.

The best place for this education
3

is m

the school.

"There is no separation of academic

attainment from the emotional reactions to the academic
4
system."
Schools need to provide a variety of educational
experiences for their youth, if they want their students
2
Barbara Goldman McCann, "Peer Counseling:
An
Approach to Psychological Education," Elementary School
Guidance and Counseling 9 (March 1975): 180.
3
Norman A. Spnntha l l , Learning Psychology by
Doing Psychology: A High School Curriculum in the Psy­
chology of Counseling. SEA Report 1, Minneapolis Public
Schools, Minn. Southeast Alternatives Program, November
1973, ED 093 772, ERIC, pp. 1-3.
4
John Robert Giles, "Positive Peer Culture in the
Public School System," National Association of Secondary
School Principals, January 1975, p. 22.

to be successful academically, socially, and emotionally.
Success in these areas is often difficult to separate.
One of the services some schools provide to aid
in supporting a broad base of educational experiences
is SSCs.

Peer counselors, sometimes called peer helpers

or peer listeners, are the key component of this service.
From the helper therapy principle we learn of helper
benefits from the helping role.

The initial helping role

may be giving little help to the helpees, but may be
highly beneficial to the helper, who then becomes more
efficient and better motivated.

The person's self-image

improves from his helping another student in need.

5

The

helpee student is often aided to develop in new directions
and behaviors.^
The process of helping often results in other
changes for the helpers:

improved self-concept, a posi­

tive attitude change toward themselves and others, more
effective and satisfying interpersonal relations, and a
reduction in the helpers'

social and behavioral problems.

Often the helper is helped the most.

7

The helpers also

5

Frank Riessman, "The 'Helper' Therapy Principle,"
Social Work 10 (April 1965): 27-32.
Thelma Jones Vriend, "The Peer Influence Model
in Counseling," Educational Technology, March 1969, p. 51.
7
Joseph A. Durlak, "Ninth Graders as Student
Aides: Making Use of the Helper Therapy Principle,"
Psychology in the Schools 10 (July 1973): 334.

grow in that the role expectations for them are positively
influenced and since role behavior is a dynamic phenome­
non, their behavior often improves with the performance
of this role.

Peer programs also allow students to

fulfill their own need to be of service.
The positive research in this area suggests that
the helper therapy principle is an important mechanism
whereby increased learning and growth opportunities may
g
occur within the school.
Schools often do not take advantage of the
resources available to them in the reaching of their
objectives.

One of the resources, other than those of

the individual teacher or counselor, is peer influence.
Peer approval is a major aspect of the adolescent sub­
culture.^

Schools need to look at better ways to use

the peer influence models.

Students have peers in the

school who influence their attitudes toward the school,
friends, studies,

learning, and adults.

They are influ­

enced by them because they care about their opinions.
These friends also provide recognition, approval, and
o

Wilbur B. Brookover, "Role and Self-Concepts,
Students," The Encyclopedia of Education, ed. Lee C.
Deighton, v o l . 7 (New York: Macmillan Co. and The Free
Press, 1971), p. 557.
9
Durlak,

"Ninth Graders as Student Aides," p. 334.

^ J a m e s Coleman, The Adolescent Society (New York:
The Free Press, 1961).

the support and help they desire.

The peer influence

model is not a new one, but one that can be used advan­
tageously as an intervention strategy for schools . 1 1
Students learn to see themselves and their world more
realistically, as reflected by others; the experiences
also enhance self-awareness and increase problem-solving
and decision-making skills, in order to better cope with
these real life situations.

12

A supervised program of

peer influence modeling can be one of the most effective
programs in a school.

"The psychological climate of the

program seems healthy and wholesome."

13

Establishing a sense of belonging, no longer
being a face in the crowd in a large institution, and
effective two-way communication are viewed as educational
goals that can help to create more positive classroom
learning experiences.

Here emotional growth is valued

as much as academic growth.

1 1 Vriend,

14

"The Peer Influence," pp. 50-51.

12

Norman Golin and Mark Safferstone, Peer Group
Counseling:
A Manual for Trainers, An Authorized Course
of Instruction for the Quinraester Program, in ERIC ED 082
093, Dade County Public Schools, Miami, Florida.
13

Charles Gilbert Wrenn, The World of the Contemporary Counselor (Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 1973),
p. 255.
14

Sonya Thomas Vassos, "The Utilization of Peer
Influence," The School Counselor 18, 3 (1971): 213.

Some researchers discuss cross age peer relation­
ships as one of the most potent forces in the school, at
all age levels, which forces either rejection or acceptance
of learni n g . ^
When children were asked the important character­
istics of someone who could make them feel most comfortable
in discussing their concerns, responses of being trust­
worthy, able to keep a secret, and being a good listener
were mentioned

16

more than expertise.

17

The quality of adolescent-adult interaction is an
important variable in looking at the differences in
adolescent peer group involvement.

Research has noted:

"The lower the quality of the adolescents interaction
with adults the higher will be his peer-group involve18
ment."

Reciprocity suggests that an adolescent who

does not find interaction with adults satisfying in any
manner is unlikely to seek further interaction with them
and is likely instead to establish relations with those
15

Ronald Lippitt, "The Youth Culture, The School
System, and the Socialization Community," in Schools in
a Changing Society, ed. Albert J. Reiss (New York:
Free
Press, 1965), p. 107.
16

McCann,

"Peer Counseling," p. 181.

17

Joseph H. Koch, "Counselor Power," School Coun­
selor 20, 4 (1973): 290-91.
18

R. G. Iacovetta, "Adolescent-Adult Interaction
and Peer-Group Involvement," Adolescence 10 (Fall 1974):
327.

groups and individuals with whom he/she receives gratifi­
cation and can establish reciprocal obligations.

"For

the adolescent these are likely to be one's peers or
the peer-group."

19

The lower the'quality of adolescent

interaction with adults the higher the frequency of
interaction, dependence upon and higher the autonomy
of interaction with peers.

20

The closest contacts of students are with peers.
Youngsters are best able to talk to and understand each
other.

21

They have time to do this, there are more of

them, and they counsel each other informally.

Signifi­

cant adults could work through peer counselors to help
them through dissemination of information, more and
effective human contact and increase in referral capa­
bilities.

Koch bases his utilization of high school

students in a lay counseling role on the following
assumptions:
1.
2.

The problems are out there, but adequate numbers
of trained professionals are not available.
In many cases students provide more effective
models than adults.

19

Iacovetta, "Adolescent-Adult Interaction,"

p. 328.

20ibla.
21

Christine Pattee, "Population Characteristics
and Sex-Role Patterns in a Youth-Run Crisis Center,"
Journal of Youth and Adolescence 3 (September 1974):
231-32.

9
3.

4.
5.

Since students are in closer physical proximity
to other students than counselors and are "coun­
seling" anyway, they should be trained to be
more effective.
Students can be taught to handle many elementary
guidance functions through minimal training.
Many students are really interested in their own
behavior and thus might be helped through their
training in basic counseling techniques.22
"What is needed is a program of education or

training providing opportunities for children to gain
insight into their own attitudes and those of others; a
chance for them to practice skills of giving and receiving
help; and the development of situations making it possible
for them to examine and understand the consequences of
thexr own behavior on the behavior of others."

23

Giving

help is an attitude producing status and rewards.
Peer teaching is not a new idea.

It is tradi­

tional to have the brighter, older, or more advanced
students assist in different kinds of activities for
other class members.
to be successful.

24

But child teachers need training
"Without it, such children often

merely 'boss' their students and fail to grow themselves."
22Koch, "Counselor Power," p. 289.
23

Peggy Lippitt and John Lohman, "Cross-age
Relationships— An Educational Resource," Children 12
(May-June 1965): 115.
24

Ronald Lippitt and Peggy Lippitt, "Cross Age
Helpers," Today's Education;
NEA Journal 57 (March 1968):
25.
25

Robert D. Strom and Guillermina Engelbrecht,
"Creative Peer Teaching," Journal of Creative Behavior 8
(Second Quarter 1974): 96.

25

10
Peer models are more effective than either
nurturing or prohibitive adults.

Modeling can be used

to induce inhibition and control of behavior.

Distinction

is made between acquisition and performance of behavior.
1.

2.

3.

4.
5.

6

.

7.

26

The potency of the model increases with the
extent to which the model is perceived as
possessing a high degree of competence, status,
and control over resources.
The inductive power of the model increases with
the degree of prior nurturance or reward
exhibited by the model.
The most potent models
are the persons he perceives as major sources
of support and control.
The most "contagious" models for the child are
likely to be those who are the major sources
of support and control in his environment . . .
in everyday life.
The inductive power of the model increases with
the degree to which the person perceives the
model as similar to himself.
Several models, exhibiting similar behavior, are
more powerful inducers of change than a single
model.
The potency of the model is enhanced when the
behavior exhibited is a salient feature in the
actions of a group of which the child already
is or aspires to be a member.
The power of the model to induce actual per­
formance [as distinguished from acquisition]
is strongly influenced by the observed conse-7
quences for the model of the exhibited behavior.
The model must be enough like the client so he

or she feels this new behavior pattern can be adopted

26

Urie Bronfenbrenner, Two Worlds of Childhood:
U.S. and U.S.S.R. (New York:
Russell Sage Foundation,
1970), pp. 127-29.
2 7 Ibid.,

pp. 132-34.

11
into his or her own life style.

If the presented model

is not relevant, the identification process is unlikely.

28

The need for peer counselors is great in today's
schools.

We need to counteract the large bureaucratic

institutions which leave many students nameless and face­
less.

The impact of mobility on children is not pre­

dictable, but often is difficult for them.

The degree

of mobility of the military, affluent, and migrant tends
to produce an alienation.

Teen years are normally a

difficult time when children are forced to leave their
hometown and hometown friends.

Since they are mobile,

they increase their exposure to varying ideas.

They

live in temporary homes so may be less influenced by
stable family mores.

Loneliness may be a problem also

because teenagers seem to take longer to make friends,
and by junior and senior high school cliques have come
into being.

Often new students are not accepted and

feel isolated.

Since teenagers have little frame of

reference on what is appropriate behavior and make their
own decisions, they often turn to their peer group for
guidance and may take an adversary position regarding
adults and adult values.

29

28

James C. Hansen and Ronald E. Pound, "Use of
Modeling Procedures," Personnel and Guidance Journal 54
(January 1976): 243.
29

Vance Packard, "Nobody Knows My Name— The Effect
of Rootlessness on Young People," T o d a y 1s Education 62
(September-October 1973): 22-28.

12
Emotional growth is valued more today as is the
need to educate for psychological maturity.

We need a

sense of belonging and effective communication.

Students

need to be aware that the school administration and staff
are trying to help them and to provide significant exper­
iences and analysis of them in a natural setting— the
u
i 30
school.

Purpose of the Present Study
The purpose of this study is to determine the
perceived training needs of peer counselors in Student
Service Centers in Michigan schools.

The students' needs

are assessed by means of an anonymous questionnaire.
The length of service and the activity level of the
peer counselors are viewed with their needs for further
training.
Rationale for This Study
In order to meet the training needs of peer
counselors in Student Service Centers, different agencies,
programs, and institutions are attempting to provide some
training programs for them.

To date no gtudy has ascer­

tained what the perceived needs of the SSC peer coun­
selors might be, in order to better plan for these
training programs.

30

Sprinthall, Learning Psychology, pp. 1-4.

13
A need may be termed a discrepancy between what
is and what is not required.

In this study we intend

to look at the helpers' perceived needs.

The learners

must think the need is important, so they will learn more
actively.

Needs perceptions of those directly concerned

with the program objectives are crucial.

"It is the

student needs that should be the center of our concern
at the outset— that is, if we accept the premise that
the raison d'etre of a school system is the learning
that the students do there."

31

In order to plan for

these needs, this study is the first step to be taken.
Recommendations from this study may be used by
the state agencies working with SSCs, primarily the
Michigan State Department of Education.

The impetus

for initiation of new SSCs and the planning for the
training of personnel is housed primarily in this Depart­
ment.

In addition, the Legislature has provided funding

for the SSCs in the past and they may be interested in
viewing the recommendations.

Regional substance abuse

programs that serve SSCs locally may use the recommen­
dations to plan for their direct services.
A short-range and a long-range plan for SSCs
may prove helpful and desirable.

This study may aid

in this planning and also begin the gathering of baseline

31

Ray L. Sweiger, Jr., "Assessing Educational
Needs to Achieve Relevancy," Education 91 (April-May
1971): 317.

14
data.

These data could form the bases for further studies

which may be important to the continuation of the SSC
programs.
Definition of Terms
Peer counselor.— Also called peer listener or
peer helper.

A student who has been chosen to listen

to or discuss with his fellow students problem areas or
concerns brought to him or her, by a fellow student.
Student Service Center.— A specific place in the
school, generally set apart from the administrative
offices and counseling center, where students can go,
on an informal basis, to get information and discuss
concerns which they choose to bring.
Helpee.— The student who comes to the SSC and
desires information or someone to talk with.
Training program.— Pre-service and in-service
activities planned to meet the needs of peer counselors
in order to help them perform in their role more effec­
tively.
Support services.— Activities provided for peer
counselors on an on-going basis in areas as pre-service
and in-service training, case studies of their indi­
vidual helpees, and staff meetings to discuss general
and specific SSC concerns.

15
Perceived needs.— Those needs defined by the
peer counselors themselves as those in which they feel
they would like additional training.
Activity level or role.— The amount of actual
peer counseling that takes place in the SSC, as deter­
mined by the center director.

This varies from 80 to

100 percent for a high level of activity, to 30 to 79 per­
cent for a moderate level of activity, to 0 to 29 percent
for a less active role.
Assumptions
For the purposes of this study, the following
assumptions are made:
1.

Students' responses are valid and reliable
indicators of their perceived needs.

2.

The students surveyed are representative of
peer counselors over time.

3.

The peer counselors deal with a wide variety of
problems and need skills to work more effectively
with these problems.
Limitations
This study is a survey of the perceived training

needs of peer counselors working in Michigan SSCs in
January 1976.

The study does not set up training

16
program designs.

Rather it provides recommendations

for the content of the training programs.
Research Questions .
The following research questions are explored
in this study:
Research Question 1 :
Is there a difference on the degree of need as
expressed by the total score on the questionnaire
among peer counselors working one year, one to
two years, and over two years?
Research Question 2 :
Is there a difference on the degree of need as
expressed by the total score on the questionnaire
among perceived activity levels of the peer
counselor, as determined by each center director?
Research Question 3 :
Is there a significant interaction between length
of service and level of activity?
Research Question 4 :
Is there agreement in the rank ordering of needs
among peer counselors working under one year, one
to two years, and over two years?
Research Question 5 :
Is there agreement in the rank ordering of needs
among peer counselors in regard to the activity
levels of the counselors?

17
Overview
Chapter II, the review of pertinent, related
literature, includes five sections:
(1) History and Background of Student Service Centers
in Michigan Schools
(2) High School Programs
(3) Junior High School Programs
(4) Elementary School Programs, and
(5) Other Related Material
In Chapter III, the design of the study is dis­
cussed.

This includes the design and dissemination of

questionnaires to all peer counselors in SSCs in oper­
ation in Michigan schools in January 1976.

This chapter

also contains the amendments to the initial design and
their rationale.
In Chapter IV, the hypotheses and research
questions are reported, analyzed, and discussed; and
the needs areas generated by the peer counselors, in
addition to those on the questionnaire, are reported.
In Chapter V, a summary of the study, some
conclusions and recommendations for training programs,
the implications for further research, and personal
reflections of the writer are presented.

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This study focuses on peer counselors who are
found most often interacting with adolescents in school
settings.

The theoretical base for use of peer coun­

selors was outlined in the introductory chapter.

Back­

ground literature related to this study has been grouped
under the headings of:

History and Background of Student

Service Centers in Michigan Schools, High School Programs,
Junior High School Programs, Elementary School Programs,
and Other Related Material.

Research using peer coun­

selors is sparse, but where found is identified with the
program review.
History and Background of Student Service
~
Centers in Michigan Schools
The first Michigan student service center
opened in a high school in the Flint area in 1972.

(SSC)
As

a "student awareness center" it was created to respond
to the needs of the student population, especially in
crisis situations.

The following is a description of a

SSC as prepared by one of the originators of the first
center.

18

19
THE STUDENT SERVICES CENTER - A Description
One of the most significant steps that we must
take toward better mental health in our schools is
to provide students with free and immediate access
to a helping person with whom they can relate and
trust in time of need or crisis.
While provisions
for mental health services, counselors, school
nurses and social workers are built into many
school systems, in most instances these services
do not provide immediate and free access for a
variety of reasons.
The student service center
is a functional way to create a place that is
approachable, and a group of people that are
trained in helping others meet their needs and
provide a support base for students to own and
resolve their problems.
The operation of a center, the underlying
theoretical base and the many surrounding issues
are all related and interrelated in a very complex
way.
This paper is a description of a center and
its services.
No attempt will be made here to
explain the process of how to make a center func­
tional or why certain techniques are used— this
material is covered thoroughly during center per­
sonnel training.
Let it be enough here to say
that twenty-two student services centers have been
opened in the state since the original model,
developed at Flint Southwestern High School, was
piloted and clearly demonstrates the validity of
the center approach as well as the reality of making
the center concept workable and acceptable.
Physical Facilities
The center is made up of two rooms, a rap room
and an attached office.
In the ideal situation,
the wall between the office and the rap room con­
tains a window.
This permits the director of the
center to observe the rap room— and yet not be an
intrusion figure and also gives those in the rap
room a way of knowing when the director is busy.
The connecting door that locks allows for conver­
sational privacy and provides for security of certain
materials when staff members are not present.
Semi­
transparent curtains that can be drawn across the
window provide sufficient privacy and yet still
allow some visual contact between rooms.
The decor of the center must suggest a relaxed
and non-instructional atmosphere.
In the rap room
the floor is carpeted, furniture is of the lounge
variety and the lighting level is low except in
certain areas that are suggestive to reading.
The
furniture is arranged to facilitate small conversation
groupings of three or four. An area where pamphlets

20
and other written information can be displayed as
well as a writing table are also provided.
A
Bulletin Board for announcements, a staff picture
board and appropriate art objects are placed on the
walls.
The rap room should be large enough to
accommodate 12 or 14 people in a relaxed manner.
The office should accommodate four people comfortably.
A conventional desk, desk chair and file with good
lighting are required.
Two or more lounge-height
chairs must be included and are arranged so that
people may face each other without the barrier of
other furniture between them.
A telephone is also
necessary.
Center Personnel
The directorship is a full-time position.
The
director must be a person who is comfortable with
young people and who is not threatened by those
whose value systems may be vastly different; the
ability to remain calm and procedure-oriented during
emergencies is also essential.
The director is responsible for much of the stu­
dent staff training, personal counseling and all
relationships between the center, community organi­
zations, parents, and school staff.
The student staff is a group of approximately
15 young people that are representative of the total
school population.
Student staff members are
scheduled for certain hours of the day and are
responsible for peer counseling and referral, pre­
senting certain original programs, and providing
input for the direction of all center activities
and functions.
The director's assistant can be any other school
staff member who may be called upon at a moment's
notice, is able to remain calm and procedure-oriented
in the face of an emergency.
The key role of the
director's assistant is to provide additional backup
and support for the director during crisis situations
or when additional input is needed for situational
decision-making.
Services Provided
Behavior Examination
Students need a place to examine their own
behavior.
Sometimes students need support in looking
at themselves; their behavior, motivation and conse­
quences of their activities.
Some student staff me m ­
bers are trained to be helpers in such a situation.
They listen, support, encourage and provide an
atmosphere where behavior examination can flourish.

21
Spontaneous Counseling and Personal Contact
Some student staff members are trained to recog­
nize flagging behavior, i.e., cues that say "I need
help." Through training and practice theory, they
learn to establish relationships that help other
students meet their needs.
The center provides the
alienated student a place to go, the upset student
a place to ventilate, and for those who are strug­
gling with problems, a place where they can begin to
approach those problems.
Parents also use the
center as an informal way of approaching the school
for assistance with concern about their children.
The director and student staff members share in
these activities, frequently making referrals to
one another.
Outreach
Those students not directly involved in helping
relationships are involved in an outreach program.
They are trained to work with groups of students in
growth techniques.
Trained as discussion leaders and
group facilitators, they work with techniques in
value-clarification, decision-making concepts, com­
munication skills and peer pressure concepts.
Center as a Place for Student Information
Young people need a place where factual information about drugs, legal proceeding, venereal
disease and other such matters can be found.
Printed
materials dealing with such questions are displayed
in such a manner that even the timid or shy can
use this material comfortably.
Information on com­
munity activities, school events and even job oppor­
tunities is also readily available.
The center
staff may decide to put together an information
team that will visit classrooms or even other schools
with information about drugs, venereal disease, or
whatever topic for which there is an apparent or an
expressed need.
The Center as a Channel of Referral for Existing
Community Agencies
There are usually many community agencies that
are providing needed services.
Student staff members
and the center director become familiar with these
local services as part of their training and sub­
sequently provide students and their families with
the awareness, the information and the support
needed to take advantage of these services.
The
center becomes a direct extension of community
services right into the school.
The extensive use
of referral insures that the most experienced and
appropriate people available are used for each case,
and a wasteful attempt of duplicating services is

22
also avoided.
The center allows a community to
receive more benefit from services they are already
supporting.
Center as a Crisis Intervention Provision
Drug reactions, runaways, pregnancies o r f e a r e d
pregnancies, severe emotional outbreaks, all of
these things occur in schools.
The center is a
responsible way for the school to respond to these
crisis situations.
The center staff is thoroughly
trained in how to deal with crisis situations at o
all levels, the person directly involved, the
parents, the school and/or any other social agency
(such as a hospital or the police department) that
may need to be involved.
Mode of Operation
Students may use the center before and after
school (depending on hours), during free hours,
during class at the teacher's discretion. The center
is open during all school hours to receive students
on a walk-in basis and to respond to any crisis
situations.
Center staff members are trained in
techniques to keep the atmosphere of the center
relaxed, but clearly define the center as a place
of purpose rather than a "student lounge."
In
time of crisis (severe drug reaction for example)
center staff members are trained to maintain the
other functions of the center, deal with would-be
onlookers, as well as deal with the crisis itself.
At times the director's assistant may be called in
to help the director in certain contacts (such as
notify parents, calling a hospital) when even though
the student staff would be capable, in many instances
an adult would be expected to do the job.
Who Benefits From the Center?
Students benefit because real needs that could
not be met in the school before can now be met.
Situations that used to be negative and rejecting
experiences may now be growth experiences.
Teachers now have another way to deal with stu­
dent needs.
The center offers a teacher a channel
of situation resolution that does not carry the
stigma of authority or discipline.
The student services center is a counselor's
ally.
The center is a place "to get students
involved." The director of the center and school
counselors confer and refer back and forth.
The
center becomes a place for counselors to obtain
support and help in the establishment of helping
relationships with students.-

23
Administrators do not have to become pinchhitters at crisis intervention.
The center gives
school administrators a responsible way to deal with
such things as substance abuse or runaways.
The center is a place where parents and the
school may work together on an informal basis.
Too
often parents see the school as an authority manipu­
lating their children— the center does not carry
this stigma.
Parents appreciate a school that is
prepared to meet the needs of their children in a
responsible and positive manner.
We know that when people are in an environment
where they know they are cared for— they grow.
A
student service center is a powerful way for a
school to demonstrate that kind of environment.
The conditions identified in the above description
are the ideal for those schools wishing to open SSCs.
Most centers cannot meet all the criteria as set forth.
Often such spacious quarters are unavailable, furnishings
are meager, staffs are difficult to acquire and train,
school support is less than adequate, and training is
less than satisfactory for the SSC staff.
In January 1973 an evaluation report of the
original Michigan SSC was prepared by a task force
especially created for evaluation purposes.

The follow­

ing (Selected) recommendations were received:
1.

Information programs should expand to insure
that the whole student population is aware of
the Center and its services.

2.

A training program should be written in manual
form.

Mark Amy, "The Student Services Center— A
Description," Project TRIAD, Genesee Intermediate School
District, Flint, Michigan, 1974.
(Mimeographed.)

3.

Regular weekly staff meetings should be combined
with on-going training for student staff.

4.

Clarify that the SSC is not a student lounge.

5.

Referral processes should be uniform.

6

.

7.

Define crisis policies more clearly.
Stronger communication lines must be developed
between the SSC and the school faculty.

8

.

9.

A referral agency booklet should be written.
Parents should be included in the communication
flow and sessions planned for them.

10.

On-going evaluation should be built into the
2
program.

These were some of the major points raised by the evalu­
ation task force that seem to highlight potential problem
areas in most centers.
In September 1974 another evaluation report

3

was presented to the local board of education in which
many of the same issues were raised.

In spite of the

concern expressed in some operational areas, it was
2

"Evaluation Report by the Planning, Research and
Evaluation Committee of the Genessee County Regional Drug
Abuse Commission.
A Study of the Student Services
Center," Flint, Michigan, January 1973.
(Mimeographed.)
3

"Evaluation Report of the Student Awareness
Centers— by the Task Force on Crisis Centers," Flint,
Michigan, September 1974.
(Mimeographed.)

25
recommended that SSCs be expanded to all area high
schools.

It was obvious that the local support for the

concept of SSCs was very strong.

There are several

centers functioning in the area at the present time,
more than in any other part of the state.
Most of the centers that have opened since the
original center have followed the model and have received
some degree of training and support services from the
regional substance abuse prevention education program
(SAPE program).

The staff of this regional program

included the two founders of the first SSC.

Both time

and regional responsibilities have not permitted this
regional program to service other SSCs throughout the
state.
In fiscal year 1973-1974 the Michigan legislature
provided funds to the Department of Education for support
of a cadre of trainers to help initiate several new
centers and provide on-going support and training to
them for one year.

Unfortunately this funding has been

terminated.
In 1975-1976 a new group was organized, the
Michigan Association of Student Service Centers.

They

hoped to draw together both adult directors and student
staffs for mutual benefit.

Since this group has been

newly formed, its role is as yet unformulated.

The

State Department of Education provided limited funding

for the training of SSC staffs where regional programs
do not exist and provided these funds directly to the
new Association.
In November 1975 a SAPE program evaluation
report ,4 in part relating to SSCs, was presented to the
Michigan Department of Education.

It provided the

following information:
Training
During 1974-1975, 704 students and 105 school
faculty underwent some degree of training effort by the
five regional SAPE programs.

This ranged from 25 hours

to 80 hours of staff effort.

Follow-up support was

given by these regional programs.

Training for the

student staff in the SSCs included communication skills,
empathy training, drug reaction management, drug atti­
tudes, values clarification, runaway counseling, problem­
solving processes, self-disclosure, listening skills,
self-defeating behavior training, and crisis intervention
techniques.

At the end of the training most helpers

were judged to be better able to assume their roles.
There were four facets of student training:
ness of the nature of the guidance,

(1) aware­

(2 ) the personal

4"1974-1975 Evaluation Report."

responsibility required,

(3) the need for protecting a

student's identity, and (4) the limitations of the
helper's role.
Center Usage
Data compiled from 18 of the 27 centers in oper­
ation during 1974-1975 reported at least 19,750 visi­
tations.

Not all visitations were by different students;

a total of 4,393 different individuals were recorded,
which suggested that the typical user returned four to
five times for assistance from the peer or adult staff.
Users of the centers came for two different kinds
of reasons:

information and specific problem guidance.

The following delineates the problem areas and percentages
in total center counseling time:
(1) Problem information-seeking

(drugs, alcohol,

jobs, etc.):— (2 0 %);
(2) Problem-guidance:

boyfriend-girlfriend— (19%),

drug use— (15%), family problems— (15%), schoolrelated issues— (14%), legal issues— (4%),
pregnancy— (4%), runaway— (3%), self-image,
concept— (2 %), medical— (2 %), alcohol use— (1%),
miscellany— (1 %).
Two centers collected data from students who had
used the centers and found almost unanimous feeling that
the centers were helpful and they would seek center help

again if they needed it; and that their friends,
parents, and teachers had favorable attitudes toward
the centers.

Data from students who had not visited

the centers were less favorable overall.
SSCs were a functional aspect of the Department
of Education's SAPE program.
High School Programs
Project Pride
A comprehension view of the components of a peer
counseling program was the focus of The Complete Handbook
5

of Peer Counseling.

Project Pride, Dade County, Florida,

a drug education and prevention program, gleaned much of
its learnings from the Michigan SSC programs and staffs.
The authors define peer group counseling as "a process
in which trained and supervised students offer listening,
support and alternatives, and other verbal and nonverbal
interaction, but little or no advice, to students who
refer themselves."

They felt that students know how

to talk to other students and this is more important
than being learned in various approaches to counseling:
they do it all day long in school, home, and in the
neighborhood.

"Peer counseling takes advantage of this

C

Don Samuels and Mimi Samuels, The Complete
Handbook of Peer Counseling (Miami, Florida:
Fiesta
Publishing Corp., Educational Books Division, 1975).
6 Ibid.,

p. 41.

'built-in' reciprocity of youngsters, and provides train
ing in active listening, understanding of group dynamics
decision-making processes, clarification of values,
referral procedures and availability of community
7

resources."

Though the evaluation section lacks suf­

ficient depth, the handbook discusses the organization
and implementation of a peer counseling program which
could provide help to any person or organization pur­
suing the concept.
Teen Involvement Program
In 1969 the Maricopa Mental Health Association,
Arizona, started a Teen Involvement Program.

They felt

the best way to prevent drug abuse was to have high
school students, called Teen Counselors, become an
influence on the younger students.

The Teen Counselor

Training Manual would be helpful to any school student
entering this type of program:

it is well written, easy

to follow, has tear-out pages, visuals, and even poetry.
g

No objective evaluation data were noted.

^Ibid., pp. 25-43.
O

Gladys Conroy, Teen Involvement: A Teen
Counselor Training Manual (New York:
Holt, Rinehart
and Winston, Inc., 1972).

30
Peer Sex Information and
Referral Program
As a supplement to the health education classroom
curricula the "Peer Sex Information and Referral Program"
opened new avenues in the area of adolescent sexuality.
The basis of the program was an idea that students could
contribute significantly to the prevention of venereal
disease and unwanted pregnancy, by dispensing information,
directing students to concerned faculty for referral to
appropriate health agencies, and clarifying issues related
to decision making, values, and goals.

After the first
9

year of operation, responses from all were favorable.
Socio-Psychological Approach
to Education
In Bladensburg High School, Bladensburg, Maryland,
Alwine integrated into the health education course, the
"Socio-Psychological Approach to Education," which probes
into human emotional needs:

affection, acceptance,

approval, and how they affect behavior.

As a culminating

activity the students worked on a field work project, an
activity involved in the helping role:

working indi­

vidually with an elementary child, in a junior high
school, geriatric facility, or mental health clinic.
In the discussions of those activities they decided

Q

Phil Heit, "A High School Peer Sex Information
and Referral Program," Journal of School Health 44
(December 1974).

31
that they should establish a facility in their school
where students who had concerns and wanted to talk with
someone could come.

They founded their Center, US,

Understanding Students, and received calls from parents
and other schools requesting students' assistance with
problems, i.e. talk sessions with elementary boys having
trouble on school buses.

Peer counselors come from the

Socio-Psychological Approach to Education course.

They

feel that they all have a perception of their own short­
comings and heightened sensitivity to other people .'1'0
Denver Program
Twenty-five Denver, Colorado high school students
were used as adjuncts to the elementary counseling program
because of the needs of the elementary children and the
inherent value to the older students.

The program helped

meet the children's needs for attention, encouragement,
personal acceptance, and recognition.

Fourth, fifth,

and sixth grade teachers selected fourteen boy and
eleven girl marginal youngsters with a marked variation
in talent and the kinds of problems presented, but all,
according to the study, needed the concentrated effort
of an older person with whom they could talk.

The

matched students had weekly meetings, during school

■^Gail Alwine, "If You Need Love, Come To Us
. . . An Over-view of a Peer-counseling Program in a
Senior High School," Journal of School Health 44 (October
1974).

time, of forty-five minutes:
assistance, or in play.

talking, getting academic

Group discussions with the

older students were held bi-monthly.
On a subjective level increased growth, warmth,
companionship, and enthusiasm were noted, along with
increased overt affection.

The school deportment of

some boys improved noticeably.
to parents and teachers:

Rating scales were given

77 percent of the total

responses showed "improved" or "greatly improved" on
a five-point scale asking "has there been a change in
your child's attitude toward school?"

All the parents

indicated they wanted their children to continue in the
program.

Teachers did not observe as many areas of

improvement in proportion to the parents:

43 percent

of the teacher responses were in the top two categories.
Essays from the high school students showed agreement
as to the worthwhileness of the program; the elementary
students' meeting response was that all felt it helpful.
The hypothesis that ego growth resulting from a trust­
worthy, meaningful relationship to a child's peer would
improve was substantiated.

The observed movement toward

more personal self-acceptance shown by selected ele­
mentary children as a result of the effort and the

understanding and support of the high school students
established that such a plan was helpful.

11

Schaumburg/ Illinois Program
A Schaumburg, Illinois high school conducted a
peer counseling program with the aim of improving selfconcept and facilitating better interpersonal relation­
ships for both the peer counselors and counselees within
a group setting.

Three professional staff worked with

six eleventh graders who underwent extensive training to
run their own groups within the school setting.

The

project directors found a sociometric device for selection
to be only a popularity contest and so relied on volun­
teers along with rigorous interviewing.

They assessed

attitude toward peers, school, and authority figures;
personal characteristics of empathy, genuine caring,
humor, flexibility, and a sense of personal identity
and maturity to accept and use supervision; along with
a firm commitment to the program.
Training was held twice a week for nine weeks,
combining theory and experience.

The first session each

week was didactic and the second was for spontaneous
group interaction.

Discussions were the focus in the last

third of the training, though not originally planned.
11

Wilbur A. Winters and Ruth Arent, "The Use of
High School Students To Enrich an Elementary Guidance and
Counseling Program," Elementary School Guidance and Coun­
seling 3 (1969) .

The peer counselors volunteered to work in groups,
mostly with transfer students, but also with special edu­
cation and mainstream students.

The key to this program

was built-in structure, support, and supervision.

There

were two hours of supervision for each group hour.
session was taped.

Every

Every three weeks all peer counselors

and supervisors met to share problems and successes, get
ideas from peers, and to sustain group identity for
support.
The pre- and post-testing devices did not provide
statistical data but were used to identify and assess
trends in attitudes and behavior as a result of the pro­
gram.

General positive affective changes occurred in

areas of self-image, family relationships, peer relation­
ships, and school attitudes.
being in the group.

All the counselees enjoyed

The counselors did not show the

same degree of positive growth as did the helpees, pre­
sumably due to their responsibilities in the project:
having to plan, prepare, conduct, review, and be account­
able for meetings and to be available to their coun­
selees.

12

•

Marjorie Frank, Bernie Ferdinand, and William
Bailey, "Peer Group Counseling:
A Challenge to Grow,"
The School Counselor 22 (March 1975).

35
Help and Information Program
"Help and Information" was a student service
organization in a high school in California, formed by
students interested in psychology, counseling, and
related helping areas.

One goal of the group was to

establish an information table on the school campus,
during lunch, including course offerings, notes on
teachers, local recreation and entertainment, and
referral agencies for drug abuse, pregnancy, and
venereal disease.
In a simple survey of impact they found during
one average week 153 incidental questions were addressed
to the adult counseling staff.

Three weeks after the

tables had started another count showed 62 incidental
questions had been addressed to the five counselors,
even though it was pre-registration week when a rise
was expected.
Club members also provided "psychological first
aid," that is, they listened and referred.
students to the counselors.

They referred

Club members established a

crisis center, oriented new students with a big brother/
sister cadre, provided tutoring service, and worked in
the counseling department as receptionists; they
operated college selector machines, assisted students

36
in using career information files, prepared and sent out
survey materials, and helped students make program
changes.1"*
Maryland Program
Another Maryland high school trained adolescents
to respond to the individual and whatever problem he/she
might introduce.

The purpose of the project was to pro­

vide counseling services to a greater number of students
and for a liaison-referral function between counselors
and students who were seen by peer counselors.

Twelve

high school students were trained in two basic counseling
skills:

effective listening and responding, and decision-

making, using the Carkhuff model.

14

Nine weekly sessions of two and one-half hours
each were held during the regular school day.

Carkhuff's

Empathic Understanding Scale— 1969 was used as a train­
ing aid.

Positive reinforcement of new behaviors was

explored and rehearsed.

Learning took place primarily

by role playing of real-life situations.
The critique of recorded peer counseling sessions
during practicum supervision gave strong support to the
contention that adolescents can provide an effective

1 ^Koch,

14

"Counselor Power," pp. 288-92.

Robert R. Carkhuff, Helping and Human Relation­
ships, Vol. II: Practice and Research (New York:
Holt,
Rinehart and Winston, 1969).

37
helping relationship to their peers.

The practicum

supervisor and three graduate students were unanimous
in their acclaim.

With regard to the skill of effective

listening and responding, it was found that students
could learn to differentiate high levels of understanding
of various client statements after short-term training.
Following training it was found that students could dif­
ferentiate between Levels 3 and 4 on the Empathic Under­
standing Scale:

they measure a facilitative level of

empathic understanding.

Level 3 counselor responses

appear to be those that capture the expressions of the
client, while Level 4 counselor responses seem to add
noticeably to the expressed feelings of the client.
Statistical analysis of variance found significant
results at the .05 level to support the hypothesis.

15

The Palo Alto Program
In 1969 the Palo Alto Peer Counseling program was
started.

This program has become one of the most viable

in the country, in the opinion of this writer:
details bear exploration.

its

Over nine hundred junior and

senior high students have been trained, as more and
stronger support came from the professional and lay com­
munity.

Counselors saw these students as an extension

15

Zandy Leibowitz and David J. Rhoads, "Adolescent
Peer Counseling," The School Counselor 21 (March 1974).

38
of the adult professional.

The peer counselors reached

out to less troubled students with preventive approaches,
as this latter student was rarely seen by the busy coun­
selor.

"Peer counselors were not conceived of merely as

academic tutors, but viewed as assistants in solving
personal problems; teaching social skills; giving infor­
mation about jobs, volunteer opportunities, and mental
health resources in the community; acting as models;
developing friendships; acting as a bridge to the adult
world for disaffected students; and finally, over a period
of time, serving as agents of change where the school
atmosphere is characterized by coldness and indifference."

16

"Students who are experiencing similar problems

can also provide unique understanding to a person near
their own age.

A corps of trained students working with

counselors and other guidance personnel can help some
groups of students who seldom respond to the counsel of
adult professions."

17

"Problems that are not resolved

in the elementary school become the concern of secondary
school teachers and guidance personnel.

If elementary

students can be helped with learning and social problems
16

Beatrix A. M. C. Hamburg and Barbara B. Varenhorst, "Peer Counseling in Secondary Schools:
A Com­
munity Mental Health Project for Youth," American Journal
of Orthopsychiatry 42 (July 1972): 567.
17

Barbara B. Varenhorst, "Peer Counseling Program,"
Elementary School Guidance and Counseling 74 (October
1973) : 55.

39
by being exposed to positive models and by being helped
to feel good about themselves, then perhaps more severe
problems will not emerge."

18

All secondary students were invited to join the
program and were accepted without screening.

They were

informed that any student who knew what it was like to
have problems, and who was willing to spend eighteen
hours of time to be trained, was welcome.

Some youth

enrolled to get help for themselves; other students
enrolled to help others.

Training was done in groups

of ten to twelve, mixing junior and senior high students.
It was conducted by two adults specially trained to teach
this program.

The curriculum was specific, but also

flexible enough to permit the group members to use their
own problems and experiences as the content.

The training

included:
(1) Communication skills, 4 weeks;
(2) Decision-making applied to working on common
problems, 4 weeks;
(3) Ethics and strategies of counseling, 4 weeks.
The training focused on skill development of talking
comfortably to a friend and secondly to help students
use a decision-making model to deal with problems, along

1 8 Ibid.,

p. 57.

40
with helping students understand the difference between
advice giving and counseling.

It stressed the peer

counseling role as that of bridge between the troubled
student and the professional adult.

Primarily they were

helping peers with normal developmental problems as
opposed to severely disturbed youth.

19

In their training the consultants wished to expose
the students to a range of points of view deriving
from their different school experiences, from their
different developmental ages and stages, and from
their different ethnic and racial backgrounds.
2o
This proved to be a valuable aspect of the program.
All training was done after school, with students
responsible for their own transportation.
Recruitment of students was most effectively
done by other students interested in the program.

In

1972, 162 youth entered the program and 155 completed
the training.
During the first year of the program, the pilot
phase, the groundwork was laid with school administrators,
individuals, and groups.

The original trainers were

handpicked from the Stanford Medical School faculty

19

Barbara B. Varenhorst, "Training Adolescents
as Peer Counselors," Personnel and Guidance Journal 23
(December 1974).
20

Hamburg and Varenhorst, "Peer Counseling,"

p. 568.
21Ibid., p. 578.

41
and the Palo Alto School District.
components were added:

In the second year

practicum groups, initiation of

first assignments, securing liaison personnel in each
school building, and teaching of a first training course
for adults to become supervisors.

In the third year,

called the experimental year, the program was funded
for three years by the National Institute for Mental
Health.

That was July, 1972.

There was a need for

careful evaluation and to build a model for dissemination,
particularly for those schools with minority groups.
Assignments from the previous year included:

twenty-

three peer counselors dealing with social problems, four
with physically handicapped, nineteen with tutoring, four
with new students, four with foreign students, four
dealing with groups, three with structured interviews,
four assisted with training of a second group of peer
counselors, four with educationally and mentally retarded,
and two with physical skill problems.

22

They reached

more students than normally would have been reached by
counselors and touched the lives of more students through
training than those directly helped through prescribed
assignments.

22

One school was involved in a project to

Barbara B. Varenhorst,
Trained Teenagers Reaching Peers
(paper presented to the American
Association Meeting, 11 February
fornia, ERIC Ed 080 916), 6 pp.

"Peer Counseling:
in Human Relations"
Personnel and Guidance
1973, San Diego, Cali­

42
help build the self-esteem of its students.

Also stu­

dents were matched with an appropriate peer counselor
to work with each teacher.
The goal was to reduce formal assignments and
yet bring about changes in relationships as trained
students observed needs and reached out to others in
a natural way.

Students were encouraged but never

forced to take assignments, which came from teachers
and counselors in a written request.

The youth worked

with secondary and elementary individual problems of
students.

23

The project directors also discussed some of
the problems encountered:
1.

There were not enough peer counselors with spe­
cific skills to fill specific requests:

for

example, black students, boys.
2.

There was not enough flexibility in schedules,
especially for elementary students with the
junior high students, so that sometimes the
teachers became disillusioned.

3.

The mechanics of getting counselors to assign­
ments, by car, became involved.

23

Varenhorst,

"Training Adolescents."

43
4.

No clearly delineated target population was
available to serve as an on-going p o o l , for
assignments.

If particular problems would be

identified, for example:

dropout clients,

then ways could be developed to use peer
counselors more effectively and efficiently.2^
The Elementary-Secondary Education Act and the
National Institute of Mental Health required specific
types of evaluation, basically in the numbers and
behavior of those helped by the program.

Data were

very difficult to collect systematically.
"It is evident that peer counselors are serving
as helping agents of professionals, but what is most
remarkable is what the program is doing for those in
it, both students and adults,"

25

especially parents

In the summer of 1974 training was introduced as a
school course for credit in the hopes of integrating
it rather than keeping this a special school program.
The project directors offered suggestions on
"how to make or break a peer counseling program":
1.

Have a strong commitment; one person in charge
and give her or him enough time

25Ibid., p. 275

Don't incorporate training into the school day.
Don't make it easy.

There is a job, and the

reward is contributing to someone's life.
Stick to the training schedule.

Don't cancel

a session.
Let students with behavior problems train as
peer counselors.

They are sometimes the most

effective.
Keep training groups intact.
Anticipate requests for elementary assignments,
at first, for the peer counselors are uncertain.
Have a list of elementary students available.
Don't force all peer counselors to take assign­
ments.

Make plans to let them co-lead training

sessions and still take part in the practicum
group sessions.
Keep the program informal:

no special room or

place; don't publicize names or pictures of
peer counselors.
naturally.

Let contact take place

The goal is for students to contact

peer counselors on their own.

45
9.

Don't be surprised if girls outnumber boys,
and boy clients outnumber girls.

Try to con-

vince boys that a girl can help them.

26

The Everett Program
Everett, Massachusetts Public Schools had two
programs.

One was a student run hotline which was in

operation in the high school five days a week during
school hours, with fifty volunteer students from all
grade levels.

The five-week training period in hotline

techniques included systematic human relations training,
which was not explained in the article, and referral
skills.

They got about eighteen calls per week, most

of them referred to outside agencies.

Hotline volunteers

participated in the training of new volunteers in the
following year.
Another program was for high school youth to
familiarize elementary children with properties and
possible effects of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.

Volun­

teers from all grade levels, forty-five students of whom
half were on the hotline team, trained in one of the
three content areas over a six-week period.

They also

received training in human relations skills and some of
the basic principles of group dynamics in working with

^ B a r b a r a B. Varenhorst, "With a Little Help
from Your Friends," Nation's Schools 92.

46
younger students.

Following training they were sent to

all fifth, sixth, and seventh grade elementary classes
in Everett for one period per week, for seven weeks, in
the same class.

Only a small percentage of class time

was the formal presentation of material:

participation

was encouraged through informal rap sessions and semi­
structured experiences such as role playing.
Neither program was evaluated formally, but there
was a high degree of student enthusiasm.

Participants

felt they were significantly helping others and welcomed
the responsibility.

Elementary teachers and students

supported the peer program.

It appeared that the two

programs demonstrated the feasibility of large-scale
student participation in the mental health kinds of
activities of this school system.

27

Patrick Henry High School
A peer counseling program was instituted in a Cali­
fornia high school to (1) expand the guidance ser­
vices of the school by utilizing trained students;
(2) make school more meaningful for the peer
counselors through personal growth and involvement;
and (3) determine the feasibility of implementing
peer counseling projects in other high schools in
the district.
Five professional counselors and
speakers in related fields assisted in the teaching
and training of a peer counseling class of 48 stu­
dents. The course was offered first semester,
followed in the second semester by the Field Training
Phase of the program.
Evaluation methods included:
(1) subjective measurement; (2) consultation;
27

R. Arthur Winters and Anthony Alione, "High
School Students as Mental Health Workers:
The Everett
Experience," The School Counselor 23 (September 1975).

47
(3) feedback; (4) participant observation; (5) written
instruments; and (6) staff observations.
[Though the
evaluation was subjective] data indicated that more
students were reached and helped with peer counselors;
and more assistance was provided than would otherwise
have been possible.
The majority of the peer coun­
selors found that school became more meaningful and
that they experienced personal growth in attitudes
toward themselves and others.
The peer counseling
approach allows counselors to become guidance leaders
for staff and students, and allows students to become
co-partners in their own development.
The program
may serve as a model for other high s c h o o l s . 28
Little Brothers and Sisters
One program based on the Big Brother concept
utilizes Riessman’s helper therapy principle.

Elementary

teachers submitted lists of prospective Little Brothers
or Sisters, students who were having difficulty developing
adequate interpersonal relationships, experiencing home
problems, academic difficulties, or any other type of
problem for an educational environment.
acted as companion and friend.

Twelfth graders

Many eighth, ninth, and

tenth graders continue as members of the group.
Meetings of the twelfth and seventh graders took
place during the school day:

during lunch, study hall,

or early or late in the school day, due to schedule
differences.

Students were given freedom of school

and grounds:

a great deal of trust and confidence were

placed in the Big Brother/Sister.
28

Group counseling

Virginia E. Dunlap, "The Development and Analy­
sis of a Peer Counseling Program at Patrick Henry High
School" (Ph.D. dissertation, Walden University, ERIC
808 910, July 1973), p. 1.

48
sessions were conducted by the counselors with Big
Brothers/Sisters to assist these older students in
establishing working relationships with the youngsters.
Individual counseling was also provided when complex
problems arose.

Individual counseling for Little

Brothers/Sisters was requested, when necessary.

It

was not uncommon to find that both Big Sister and Little
Sister experienced emotional and social growth.
Teachers were pleased with the progress of the
program and eager to cooperate.

There were learnings

for both peer counselors and the youngsters.

29

Positive Peer Culture in a
High School
A technique used successfully in residential
treatment centers for delinquent boys was tested in a
public secondary school.

Positive Peer Culture groups

. . . believe that delinquent behavior can be con­
tained and modified by giving the student a positive
role in a group process and within a sub-culture
specifically designed to help young people help
themselves.
The goal is simply to present students
with the opportunity to meet as a group in a posi­
tive relationship where they can learn to better
solve problems and to develop a sense of responsi­
bility for their own b e h a v i o r . 30
When students started to help others they began to realize
that constructive activities could be satisfying.
29
30

Vassos,

"Peer Influence," pp. 209-14.

Giles, "Positive Peer Culture," p. 23.

The

49
program was better for the senior high student, because
of his maturity level.

Ten members were in a group,

which focused on socio-dynamics rather than psycho­
dynamics.

The groups were all emotionally troubled

youth who needed help in making adequate adjustment.
They were voluntary, but the student remained until
dismissed by the group.
Friday after school.
ter.

Each group met Monday through

New groups were formed each semes­

They were co-ed, so the adult leaders were both

male and female.
Evaluation material was compiled from group
leaders, students, school personnel, and family members.
Personal development or change varied a great deal.
School administrators did not experience much observable
change in specific behavior patterns.
other hand, did.

Teachers, on the

Yet administrators valued the program

for its stress on the person's adjustment level.

They

were more concerned that students and family have a
resource for working through emotional and personal
problems than that the program emphasized student con­
formity to the school system.

This means Positive Peer

Culture functioned independently from the school system,
though members were responsible for adhering to school
rules.

31Ibid., pp. 27-28.

50
PEER— Positive Educational Exper­
iences in Relationships
PEER— Positive Educational Experiences in
Relationships

32

was a structured series of educational

experiences, with an adult leader, that focused on the
strength and potential of youth, rather than an encounter
or sensitivity group.

The goal of the program was to

develop interpersonal skills, self-esteem, openness,
and interpersonal trust.

Building a strong support

group started with a week-end retreat and continued
through ten evening sessions.

The authors felt it was

adaptable for high school or community agency use.

The

stress was on achievement motivation and positive rein­
forcement using the Dr. Thomas Gordon-Parent Effectiveness
Training-training model.

All details of activities that

went into the training sessions were presented in the
book.
ExTend
A youth program similar to PEER is ExTend, which
examined the barriers of our prejudices against people
unlike ourselves and the problems of dealing with
extending ourselves in friendship to others.

ExTend:

Youth Reaching Youth, was a program to help young people

32

Ardyth Norem-Hebeisen, Peer Program for Youth
(Minneapolis, Minn.:
Augsburg Publishing House, 1973),
p. 5.

51
learn skills and attitudes related to making new contacts
with others.
counseling.
discussed.

The intent was not to provide instant
Concepts were experienced, considered, and
The support group of ten to twelve high

school students, with an adult leader, met for one long
session at the beginning and at the end of the training
program.

This program was detailed for home base groups

in this book."^
Manual for Trainers
Golin provided a training manual for curriculum,
course design, and methodology for a unit on peer coun­
seling to aid students in:
(1) Increased awareness of themselves and others;
(2) Developing facilitative communication skills;
(3) Developing problem-solving and decision-making
skills;
(4) Clarifying students' value systems; and
(5) Developing small group guidance skills and
techniques.
The fifteen-session program was designed so that
learning took place primarily through the affective
33

Kenneth R. Fletcher, Ardyth Norem-Hebeiseh,
David W. Johnson, and Ralph C. Underwater, Extend:
Youth
Reaching Youth (Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg Publishing
House, 1974).

experiences of group interaction.

Students trained in

peer counseling in one quinmester in the Dade County,
Florida, High School had the opportunity to engage in
peer counseling the following term or for an extracurricular peer group counseling program.
Michigan Program for Dis­
advantaged Youth

34

i

Thelma J. Vriend, a well-known Michigan educator,
felt that the adolescent social system and group pro­
cedures could combine into strategies for improving
school performance of the disadvantaged, in a supervised
program of peer leadership in both counseling and study
groups.

She developed a training program and evaluated

the academic performance of selected students.

The

program, in a Detroit high school, gave junior students
an example of achieving peers and the support and rein­
forcement of a group with similar goals, so that they
could develop better classroom skills, higher grades,
and higher levels of vocational and educational aspir­
ation and expectations.

"When a shift in behavior is sup­

ported by a group standard, the new behavior of students in
the group will be reinforced by the group members."
34
35

35

Golin and Safferstone, Peer Group Counseling.

Thelma J. Vriend, "High-Performing Inner-City
Adolescents Assist Low-Performing Peers in Counseling
Groups," Personnel and Guidance Journal 47 (May 1969):
898.

53
Four groups of twelve students each, three peer
leaders and nine students, met each week with the coun­
selor for forty minutes of group counseling, with a
focus on utilization of peer leaders to support the
desired behavior of becoming more achievement oriented
and improving achievement.

Each counseling group was

divided into three study groups, with one peer leader
and three students, which met to implement activities
planned during the group counseling sessions.

The

function of the group was flexible and based on dif­
ferences in the members' problems and needs.

Each was

directed by a peer leader and met for three forty-minute
periods weekly.

Group guidance activities that involved

the entire group of twenty-four students supplemented the
counseling and study groups and were conducted one day
per week, in order to provide information about the world
of work, educational and vocational planning, selfevaluation, and self-improvement.

Demonstration groups

were conducted for two semesters of twenty weeks each.
The findings of this study indicate that peer
leaders can be trained to assist their fellow
students to improve school performance.
This
practice seems to hold promise for the disadvan­
taged student who generally needs more attention
and more direction, and whose margin for error
is small.36

36Ibid., p. 903.

The criteria used to evaluate academic achievement
were grade point average, sub-scores on the Sequential
Tests of Educational Progress, and the School and College
Ability Tests.

Items from the Planning Questionnaire

were analyzed to determine vocational and educational
aspiration and expectations, and a teacher Evaluation of
Personal Characteristics form was used to rate the stu­
dents' classroom skills.

Attendance and punctuality data

and anecdotal material were used to supplement the objective data.

37

Psychology of Counseling
Curriculum
In social studies classes in one Minnesota school
classes were developed to increase the level of psycho­
logical maturation in pupils, while teaching particular
psychological skills.

It was designed as a practicum

and seminar experience in which listening skills and
empathy responses were developed through actual peer
counseling experience.

The practicum sessions consisted

of training in role playing, listening to counseling
tapes, and counseling high school peers.

Seminar sessions

included readings on communication and discussions of
films and tapes.
37

Statistical results from the evaluation

Thelma J. Vriend, "Utilizing Peer Leaders in
Counseling and Study Groups to Modify Academic Achieve­
ment: A Demonstration Study in an Inner-city High School"
(Ed.D. dissertation, New York University, 1968, Uni­
versity Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich.).

55
of skill development confirmed counselors' and teachers'
impressions of growth and maturity in participants in
"Learning Psychology by Doing Psychology:

a high school

curriculum in the psychology of counseling."
The rationale for the course was to provide sig­
nificant experience in counseling peers, cross-age
teaching, and early childhood work, and a systematic
analysis of this in the school setting.
Evaluation instruments used were the Kohlberg
Test of Moral Maturity, Loevinger Test of Ego Development,
Kagan's Affective Sensitivity Scale; other evaluation
techniques were interviews, clinical assessments of
writing assignments and student journals.

All students

in the class demonstrated substantial improvement in
the skills and their writing assignments demonstrated
good ability to reflect on the specific issues.

The

program was used in a school housing grades seven through
twelve, with a 17 percent minority population.

38

Junior High School Programs
Communication Training Study
One midwest school's research model had two
goals:
. . . to train junior high school students in help­
ing relations using the Carkhuff (1969) model and
to use those students as peer counselors (called

38
Sprinthall, Learning Psychology.

56
"rap leaders") in several group leadership roles
within the school.
The major purpose was to
have the trainees function as rap leaders of
small student groups that would discuss adolescent
concerns.39
The hypothesis was that students could be trained to
learn effective listening and communication skills.
The research design included six groups:

four

experimental and two control over a two-year period.
Ct

During the first year all ninth graders in the junior
high were invited to participate.

Communication and

discrimination tests were given and students were divided
into three major groupings, with high scorers in all
groups:

treatment, group counseling or one of the con­

trol sections.

One experimental group was trained

in Carkhuff's model of empathy, respect and genuineness,
and confrontation.

The second experimental group had

group counseling with no structured training model, but
the groups discussed student interpersonal concerns.
The control group was not seen for the period of twenty
weeks.

Results showed the experimental groups were

more able to discriminate and communicate effective
responses when compared with control and group counsel­
ing groups and maintained this ability for both years.
There was no significant difference between experimental

H.
Dean Gray and Judith Tindall, "Communication
Training Study: A Model for Training Jr. High School
Peer Counselors," The School Counselor 22 (November 1974)
109.

57
and advanced experimental groups for either year.
were compared on paper and in groups.

Data

A training schedule

of once as opposed to twice a week was of no consequence
relative to training outcomes.
Peer counselors were used in elementary tutoring
programs, for junior high scheduling, in a crisis inter­
vention center, to influence students to go back to
school after a student strike, and used in a career
awareness unit.

In 1972-1973 they worked with 140

students in small groups.

Their hypothesis was sup­

ported by data to show the concept of effective training
of peers can have positive and far-reaching impact on
trainees and others with whom they relate.
Counseling and Tutoring
In another junior high school study, Joe Wittmer
combined professional individual counseling with studentto-student tutoring.

He found this to be successful in

reducing underachieving and also found a significant
increase in attitude rating for fifteen of the eighteen
individuals involved.

Areas looked at were attitude

toward school, self, authority, and general outlook.
In this program ninth graders were guided as tutors with
methods to employ when confronted with guidance situations while tutoring the seventh graders.
40

40

Joe Wittmer, "The Effects of Counseling and
Tutoring on the Attitudes and Achievement of Seventh Grade
Underachievers," The School Counselor 16 (1969).

58
Training Design
Gray and Tindall devised a twenty-two step train­
ing design for peer counselors in a variety of settings.
It established training procedures on a highly structured
basis using the general model developed by R. Carkhuff
for training in the process of human relations communi­
cation.

It developed communication skills with an

emphasis on both accurate listening and responses to
the affect and meaning of what was said.

The third skill

developed was discrimination of the components of
effective-affective human relations skills.
met twice a week at the one-hour sessions.

Students
They found

once a week was ineffective because of the lack of suf­
ficient retention of skills.

After twenty-two training

sessions, peer rap sessions consisted of three to five
students meeting regularly once a week for an hour with
the rap leaders.
skill development.

Rap leaders continued training in
The leaders were completely in

charge of their group and functioned without any super­
vision.

The purpose of the groups was not only to

develop leaders that communicate well, but to offer a
place for young people to rap about everyday concerns
and provide a sounding board for youth.

The question­

naires used for evaluation of the program showed

59
positive results.
being revised.

41

This manual is in the process of

[Personal conversation between this

writer and Dean Gray.]
A California Junior High
A junior high school in California drew upon
students who were manifesting minor to severe school
maladjustment, performing academically below their
potential, rebellious, hostile and truant, and complained
about boredom and irrelevancy.

" . . .

[the] aim of

[the] program [is] to develop students' dependability,
initiative, cooperation and regular attendance within a
framework of a structured work experience through which
more mature work habits and interpersonal skills are to
be developed and maintained."

42

The program was open

to ninth graders who were willing to work for one semes­
ter for fifteen credits for one full morning or afternoon
each day, five days a week, in two nearby elementary
schools.

In the two years of program operation, fifty

students participated.

These junior high aides assisted

elementary teachers in correcting papers, tutoring,
playground activities, and special class projects.

41

Judy Tindall and Dean Gray, "Procedures for
Training Peer Counselors," Southern Illinois University,
Edwardsville, 111., 1973.
(Mimeographed.)
^Durlak,

"Ninth Graders as Student Aides," p. 335.

60
Almost 75 percent of their time was spent in direct ser­
vice or contact work with pupils.

Most aides were self­

selected; some were recommended by teachers and coun­
selors.

Few were screened out.
Questionnaires were sent to twenty-eight cur­

rently involved students and their supervising teachers
and parents, for a post hoc estimate of the program's
impact on the aides.

Twenty-four pairs of questionnaires

were returned by aides and teachers who believed positive
changes occurred on each item.
agreement in their ratings.

There was 65 percent

They were viewed as having

consistent, positive and personal impact.

From 29 to

83 percent of the aides reflected positive changes on
each of the thirteen items.

Only six aides manifested

negative changes on any item and five showed positive
changes on all thirteen items.

In general parents'

reactions were overwhelmingly positive.

Other positive

data came from supplementary information from school
records, especially report cards and the comments on
them.

Interpretation of the data must be qualified

because information was collected post hoc and at times
statistical analyses were achieved with a limited subject
sample and without a well-defined control group.

43Ibid., p. 339.

43

61
Elementary School Programs

Drop-in Center
One New York elementary school worked with three
sixth grade classrooms.

44

The counselor chose trainees,

using a sociogram, and gave them eight one-hour training
sessions.

Objectives of the training were to

(1) be able to listen to another person and be aware
of nonverbal cues,
(2) talk with another person about personal problems
and feelings,
(3) be able to use reflective listening and develop
alternatives in a problem situation, and
(4) be able to communicate caring to another person.
The students were to work in the school drop-in
center for one hour every other week, always under the
direct supervision of the counselor.

The center was open

to fifth and sixth graders two days a week during recess
and lunch.

It was staffed by the school counselor and/or

peer counselor.

Usually the helpee talked with the peer

counselor and the school counselor at the same time.
This program was considered positive in its
effects by its subjective evaluation.

44
McCann, "Peer Counseling."

62
Bi-lingual Program
Strom and Englebrecht were concerned with main­
taining the creative ability of children.

They worked

with sixteen boys and girls, bilingual Mexican-Americans,
who were making satisfactory progress in the fourth
grade.

Eight students were selected to be child teachers

and received two weeks of training including:

under­

standing the pre-schooler, importance of play in crea­
tivity, how children learn, the teaching process, toys
and education, and planning for instruction and evalu­
ation.

After the training, six weeks of play instruction

began with kindergarteners.

The study expected to

determine whether fourth graders trained to teach
kindergarteners would sustain their own level of creative
ability and improve in self-concept as teachers and to
determine if kindergarteners would improve their selfconcept as learners and increase vocabulary comprehension
as a result of instruction by the fourth grade teachers.
Using a two-way analysis of variance, in evaluation
of this project, they found no significant differences
in creativity in the experimental group.

It appeared

that the kindergarteners gained in confidence while
their teachers' confidence declined.

The valuing of

creative behavior seems to be a pre-condition to the
recovery of one's own creative abilities.

45

Strom and Engelbrecht,

45

It

"Peer Teaching."

appears that this project was too ambitious in its goals,
especially in working with elementary students.
Peer Helpers
In working with twelve classes of fifth and sixth
graders to explore the effects of a group counseling pro­
cedure employing peers as helpers, and to compare the
peer helper group with the more commonly used counselororiented group, Kern and Kirby found peer influence was
helpful as a resource.

The peer helpers influenced

behavior toward more positive adjustment of the elemen­
tary child.

The training of twelve helpers in three

one-hour sessions consisted of three phases:

understanding

behavior, techniques of changing behavior, and learning
the role of helpers.

Once a week the helpers met for the

purpose of discussing previous sessions and planning for
future sessions.
The counseling groups of five to eight students
met for a fifty-minute period once a week for nine weeks.
The counselor was always present.

The conclusions of

this experimental study indicate that peers can assist
the counselor to work more effectively with children
who have adjustment problems.

46

Roy Kern and Jonell H. Kirby, "Utilizing Peer
Helper Influence in Group Counseling," Elementary School
Guidance and Counseling 6 (December 197TH

64
Peer-Facilitated Groups
Another elementary school program using ten- and
eleven-year-olds in Alachua County, Florida, worked in
the area of racial conflict reduction.

47

"Peer facili­

tators" worked in the classroom group discussions:

to

begin the discussion and to use facilitating responses
of clarifying, reflecting, and giving "feedback.
Students were selected, using a sociogram and
teacher recommendations, along with other criteria.
They were taught facilitating responses.

Human relations

and social adjustment topics were introduced to the
selected group for practice and discussion.

Adults

then presented the same topics in the classroom, using
the peer facilitators as assistants in role-playing
and demonstrations.

Then small classroom discussion

groups were organized and led by the peer facilitators.
There were eight students, equally divided by
sex and race.

They met for twelve training sessions

in the counselor's office for one-half hour each day
for three weeks.

The first half of the sessions was a

presentation related to group leadership, such as how to
be a good listener; then the group practiced the skills
and discussed them.

^ J i m Gumaer, "Peer-Facilitated Groups," Elemen­
tary School Guidance and Counseling 8 (October 197377

65
The data from a pre- and post-Likert-type scale
suggested the children became more attentive, more active
in class discussions, and more thoughtful and sensitive
to others.

The peer facilitator training and classroom

programs encouraged identification among group members
and development of positive self-concepts.

The facili­

tators assisted the counselor and teacher to confront
important social and academic issues.
Cross-Age Program
Five assumptions formed the basis for Lippitt's
cross age program:
1.

48

Older children communicate more effectively than
adults at the younger child's level and are less
likely to be regarded as authority figures.

2.

Involvement of older children in collaborative
programs to help "youngers" will have significant
socialization impact on the older children.

3.

Assisting in the teaching function helps teaching
students test and develop their own knowledge
and discover the significance of that knowledge.

4.

Younger learners and adult teachers will be sig­
nificantly helped in academic learning activities
through utilizing the trained older children.

48

Lippitt, "Cross-age Relationships."

66
5.

A child will develop a more realistic image of
his own ability and present state of development
and gain greater appreciation of his own abilities
and skills if he has an opportunity to help
younger children to acquire skills he already
possesses and develop positive relationships
with children older than himself.
Sixth graders were involved as academic assistants

in grades one through four, helping children with reading,
writing, arithmetic, spelling, and physical education;
as laboratory assistants in the social science lab period;
and working as group discussion leaders.
The planned steps in the development of collabor­
ative cross-age interaction included;
(1) providing opportunities for this cross-age
interaction through collaboration among the
project coordinator and teachers;
(2) teacher-student collaboration:

teachers explained

the purpose of the project to the sixth grade
classrooms;
(3) a peer group attitude which supported the value
of helping "youngers" and being helped by
"olders" was built;
(4) sixth graders were trained in how to relate to
younger children and briefed in their jobs

67
through seminars:

discussions and role playing;

training in academic procedures; and feedback
sessions.

Older children worked with the same

child two to three times a week for two consecu­
tive weeks from twenty to thirty minutes;

feed­

back sessions between weeks were held with the
teacher of his/her child; and
(5) students received "at-the-elbow" help from the
teachers, who were always nearby.

Relationships

with adults improved and motivation to learn
increased.
The project coordinator divided the process of
education into two interrelated parts:

a process of

socialization, internalizing of values and attitudes;
and the process of subject matter learning:

acquiring

and learning to use information and problem-solving skills
to achieve some degree of mastery over the domains of
knowledge.
Other Related Material
Positive Peer Culture
Harry Vorrath has initiated Positive Peer Culture
programs in institutions and some schools in the Michigan
area and throughout the country.

Some of the concepts

of his program are extant in peer counseling programs.

68
Positive Peer Culture does not seek to impose spe­
cific rules but to teach basic values.
If there
were one rule, it would be that people must care
for one another.
Caring means wanting what is
best for a person.
Unfortunately, positive caring
behavior is not always popular among youth.
In
fact, negative, harmful behavior frequently is
more acceptable.
Therefore, Positive Peer Culture
uses specific procedures to foster caring behavior.
Once caring becomes fashionable, hurting goes out
of style.^9
Adults are in charge of these highly structured
groups.

Demands are put on youth to have responsibility

for helping one another.

This approach is one of the

most highly structured that this writer experienced.
Sex Differences in Response
to Emotion
The reader may question sex differences in
response to emotion as related to peer counseling.

In

two separate studies subjects indicated reactions to
scripts in booklets or on tapes, as if the comments were
presented by a friend.

Females tended to be more recep­

tive and nurturing than males.

Females were more other-

oriented than males; males did not appear to be more
rejecting overtly though they seemed less actively
helpful.

The stimulus person's emotions had a major

impact on the therapeutic responses.

Sadness elicited

more nurturing responses and more positive evaluations

49

Harry H. Vorrath and Larry K. Brendtro, Posi­
tive Peer Culture (Chicago, 111.;
Aldine Publishing
Company, 1974), p. 3.

69
than anger.

There was weak support for the view that

specific emotions would be responded to differentially,
depending on the sex target.

50

Students1 Perceived Problems
In the spring of 1973, 1,800 high school students
from five schools in northwest Florida volunteered, 31
counselors were randomly selected from eight regional
high schools, and 31 counselor educators from universities
in the United States responded to a questionnaire.

The

instrument was developed by having a random sample of
21 high school males and females identify problem areas
and concerns of themselves and their peers.
concerns suggested, 15 were selected.
Likert-type scale was used.

Of the 31

A seven-point

The instruments were the

same for each group except that the counselors and edu­
cators were instructed to rate each of the fifteen items
as they felt it applied to high school students.

The

following were some of the conclusions of the study:
neither counselors nor counselor educators accurately
perceived the relative importance of several concerns
of high school students.

50

Problems of young people today

Dorothy Haccoun, Jon C. Allen, and Stuart Facer,
"Sex Differences in Response to Emotion: A Study of Peer
Counseling" (available from Dorothy Haccoun, Department of
Psychology, Concordia University, Sir George Williams
Faculty of Arts, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd., West, Montreal,
Quebec, Canada, ERIC 101 229, 1974),

70
are fluctuating from what they were ten years ago.
Counselors and counselor educators agreed on all but
one item.

Of the eight differences between students

and counselors/ seven were marked.

Listed in order of

importance items included in the questionnaire were:
my future, boy-girl relationship, personal appearance,
money-job, health, social adjustment and responsibility,
home life and family relationships, war, world problemphysical safety, self-concept, religion, social injustices,
school, drugs, and military service.

The students rated

these from 1.82, my future, as the greatest concern; to
4.66, for military.

51

Summary
Scott and Warner in their overview of high and
junior high school programs cite many discrepancies in
the results obtained from peer counseling programs.

52

The review of programs contained in this chapter of the
study certainly do not show this variation.
On the whole peer counseling programs have been
shown to be very beneficial both to the peer counselors

51

David L. Redfering and Jacquelyn Anderson,
"Students' Problems as Perceived by Students, Counselors,
and Counselor Educators," The School Counselor 22 (Jan­
uary 1975).
52

Stephan A. Scott and Richard W. Warner Jr.,
"Peer Counseling," Personnel and Guidance Journal 53
(November 1974).

71
and their counselees.

Programs are extant in the ele­

mentary, junior high, and high schools, though primarily
in the latter, where the maturity level of the students
is the highest.
Improvement in personal commitment; self-concept
improvement in attitude toward school, family, achieve­
ment, and peers; attitude toward younger children; aware
ness of the needs of others; and improved relationships
with adults and authority figures are but a few of the
gains shown by those students who have participated in
peer counseling programs.
Few programs have objective evaluation data to
report.
measure.

This area of affective growth is difficult to
The concept of peer counseling and its imple­

mentation are in its primary stages.

The future for

peer counseling programs shows promise for initiation
in all grade levels, kindergarten through grade twelve.

CHAPTER III
DESIGN OP THE STUDY

In this chapter the design of the study and the
amended design procedures are presented.

The original

hypotheses and research questions are stated, the sample
and population are reviewed, the general procedures used
in the study are stated, a sequential report of the
instrument development is given, the process of question­
naire delivery and return is presented, and the process
used for the data analysis is stated.

Following this

section on the original design process is the section on
amendments to the initial design:

the sample amendments,

the statistical analysis procedure amendments, and the
rationale for the new analysis.
The purpose of this study was to determine the
perceived training needs of peer counselors in Student
Service Centers in Michigan schools.
Hypotheses
The null hypotheses explored in this survey were:

72

73
Hypothesis 1 ;
There is no significant difference on the degree of
need, as expressed by the total score, among peer
counselors working under one year, one to two years,
and over two years.
Hypothesis 2 ;
There is no significant difference on the degree of
need, as expressed by the total score, among peer
counselors with high, moderate, ar^d low levels
of activity.
Hypothesis 3 ;
There is no significant interaction between length
of service and level of activity.
Research Questions
The following research questions were also
explored:
Research Question 1 ;
Is there agreement in the rank ordering of needs
among peer counselors working under one year, one
to two years, and over two years?
Research Question 2 :
Is there agreement in the rank ordering of needs
among peer counselors with a high, moderate, or
low level of activity?
Sample and Population
All peer counselors working in Michigan SSCs in
January, 1976, were sent the questionnaire.

This

included twenty-three centers, with an originally

74
estimated total number of 443 helpers.

Twenty-two

centers were located in senior high schools and one
in a junior high school.
This sample was assumed representative of the
population over the next three years in SSCs.

The

qualifications for the choosing of peer counselors were
assumed to vary among the centers:

some centers allowed

all who volunteered to participate; some centers had
stringent training programs in which volunteers must
participate and complete to a specified level of exper­
tise.

Since the qualifications for peer counselors

varied considerably among the centers, the one common
element was that all peer counselors were students in
the school.

Changes in qualifications for admittance

to peer counselor staff were not foreseeable over the
next three years.
Procedures
The following general procedures were used in
this study.
1.

Details follow in subsequent sections.

Center directors were contacted by mail, requested
to cooperate in the study, and asked the number
of peer counselors in their center, to be noted
on a return card.
after two weeks.

Follow-up calls were made

75
a

'

1

2.

The instrument was developed.

Two panels of

experts validated the questionnaire.

A pilot

administration was used.
3.

Questionnaires were mailed to each center director
for distribution to all peer counselor staff.
Those not responding or incompletely responding
in two-three weeks were telephoned and two weeks
later another telephone reminder.
were asked of each director:

Three questions

(1 ) the perceived

activity role of the peer counselors in that SSC,
(2) when the SSC opened, and (3) how peer coun­
selors were chosen.
4.

The data were tabulated and analyzed.

5.

Suggestions and recommendations for training
were made.

6

.

Summary data of particular schools requesting
them were sent.
Instrument Development
In November, 1975, four SSC directors and one

training director were contacted and interviewed, four
personally, one by telephone, to help in the generation
of questions to be used in the questionnaire.

The inter­

views were informal, with each person being asked what
he/she thought were the areas of training need that
his/her staff would list.

No attempt was made to carry

76
over one list to the next director.
generated separately.

Rather, each was

Three of the directors had been

working in that capacity for three or more years, all
in the Flint area, where the concept of SSC was first
generated and centers initiated.

The training director

had formerly been on the SSC student staff of the
school, also with three years of experience in SSC
operation.

The fourth director had worked in the SSC

for one year as back-up person and had served as a
director for one year.

This center was located in the

northwestern section of the lower peninsula.

Because

of the directors' experience and expertise they were
viewed as a panel of experts in the generation of the
items for the questionnaire.

It was assumed that the

directors were most familiar with the work and needs of
the peer counselors in SSCs.
Forty-nine items were generated by this panel.
From this list of forty-nine, twenty-six items were
culled for use in the questionnaire.

Skill areas were

combined; where repetition occurred items were definitely
included.

Those areas which seemed esoteric or indigenous

to the particular center were deleted.
The draft instrument was developed and presented
to a second panel of specialists; three Michigan State
University professors:

two expert in guidance and coun­

seling and one in child development:

Doctors William

77
Farquhar, Raymond Hatch, and Louise Sause.

They were

asked to review the questionnaire, item by item, with
a view to appropriateness, ease of administration,
vocabulary, and item evaluation; to validate the instru­
ment .
Changes were made in the questionnaire after
review by the panel.

The following suggestions were made:

change the two-point to a three- or four-point scale;
combine the two items empathy and advanced empathy
training into one item; questions were raised as to use
of terms:

behavior examination, substance abuse, self-

concept development, using professional terms in the new
approaches to counseling question; to stress when to
refer the problem to another person;

simplify instruction

sheet clarifying how to mark items; add perceived activity
role to the questions sent to SSC directors; ask students
if they deal with the problem along with if they feel a
need for training; add threatened runaways to that
question; add influence of the elements of the urban
society to the variables for comparison.

Suggestions

made by all three experts were incorporated into the
revised questionnaire.

If two experts concurred in their

responses, the changes were made.

If the suggestion

came from one person, the discretion of the writer was
used.

78
In January, 1976, a pilot presentation of this
questionnaire was made to eight members of a SSC staff,
in order to ascertain ease and understandability for
administration; clarity of directions and vocabulary,
and length of time needed for administration.

The

students were asked to respond with any difficulties
they had in responding to the written questionnaire.
This took place in a personal interview.
After the pilot test of the questionnaire minor
modifications were made on the instruction sheet to
clarify the directions in filling out the questionnaire.
Since the pilot administration proved satisfactory, with
minor changes, it was assumed satisfactory for use with
other SSCs.

The pilot school was included in the total

sample.
Instrument Sent to Peer Counselors
Following this pilot test, in January, 1976,
questionnaires were mailed to the directors of each SSC
for distribution to each of the peer counselors in that
center.

A letter to the directors with three questions

to be responded to was also included

(see Appendix A ) .

The directors collected the questionnaires in individu­
ally sealed envelopes and returned them directly.

Two

to three weeks following the initial distribution of
these questionnaires to the directors, telephone calls
were made requesting them to follow up with the staffs

79
so that the total number of questionnaires for that
school would be turned in.

Two weeks following this

call another telephone call was made to each school
still incomplete in return of questionnaires or
director's response sheets.
The completed questionnaires were anonymous,
providing privacy for the individual respondents.

Only

the school was named.
As shown by the pilot test, the questionnaires
took from five to fifteen minutes to complete.

The total

number of questionnaires received were to be used as the
basis for the data analysis.
Along with the questionnaires by letter each
director was asked to respond to three questions:
1.

The perceived activity role of the peer coun­
selor staff in the center:
(a) almost total communication in the center
takes place between the peer counselor and
the student, under the direction of the
center director (80%-100%);
(b) some communication in the center takes place
between the peer counselor and the student,
under the direction of the center director
(30%-79%) ;

80
(c) very little communication in the center takes
place between the peer counselor and the
student, under the direction of the center
director (0 %— 29%).
2.

When the center was opened

3.

How peer counselors are chosen in your SSC
i;

On the questionnaire, length of service was
defined as (a) under one year of service in the SSC,
(b)

one-two years of service,

(c) over two years, for

the individual peer counselor respondent.
A three-point scale was used on the questionnaire
in asking for perceived need:
training;
(3)

(1 ) no need for further

(2 ) yes, a little need for further training;

yes, a lot of need for further training.

(See

Appendix A — The Center Director's Letter, Appendix B-—
The Peer Listener Questionnaire, Appendix C— Question­
naire Instruction Sheet.)
Data Analysis
Data from the questionnaires returned were key­
punched through the Michigan State University Evaluation
Services Center.
Total need scores were obtained by adding the
score for each item on the questionnaire for each group.
Rank orders were obtained for each group in each need
area.

81
The following two-way analysis of variance was
originally planned for use for Hypotheses 1, 2, and 3:
Length of
Service

Activity
Level

„ ,.

Under
One
Year

High
Moderate
Low

S1

One to
Two
Years

High
Moderate
Low

Over
Two
Years

High
Moderate
Low

,

Total Need
Score

Sn

This mode of analysis was chosen since the depen­
dent measure is on a continuum.

The questions concerned

looking at differences between groups and also the inter­
action of one variable by another variable:
service and activity level.

length of

In order to analyze this

kind of situation, the appropriate analysis is the ANOVA.
The aforementioned design was contingent upon
adequate representation per cell.

As this was not the

case, it was decided that the research design would have
to be modified.

The amendments to this original design

are discussed in the next major subdivision of this
chapter.
To respond to Research Questions 1 and 2 a
general descriptive analysis was made.

Since the basic

questions did not call for an inferential analysis, it

82
was decided to look at some form of commonality between
the groups.

The intent of the research questions was

to identify the five most often stated perceived needs.
This was based on the assumption that these patterns can
form the foundation for educational training programs.
Tables indicating the results of these analyses are
presented both in raw frequency and in percentages.
The hypotheses were tested using a rejection
level of .05.

Where significant differences were found,

appropriate post hoc analyses were performed.
Amendments to the Initial Design
The Sample Amendments
Preliminary responses from the student service
center

(SSC) directors indicated there were 443 students

serving as peer counselors in the twenty-three centers.
Please refer to Appendix D for this listing.

When

questionnaires were not returned, the telephone followup call responses indicated that the number of peer
counselors often fluctuate within each center.

This

fluctuation in number of peer counselors may be due to
attrition, staff changes, students moving, and vacations.
For example, one SSC director who originally, in November,
1975, estimated twenty peer counselors, reported only
fourteen students serving in that capacity at the time
of the distribution and receipt of the questionnaires
in January, 1976.

Thus, of the 443 questionnaires sent

83
out for this study, 283 questionnaires were returned.
One center, with seven peer counselors, did not respond
to this survey request.

Therefore, the results of this

study should not be generalized to this particular
center.

All remaining twenty-two centers reported a

minimum of two peer counselor questionnaire responses.
The rate of return from the original estimate of 443
students was 64 percent.

The actual rate of return

from peer counselors working in centers in January, 1976,
was a much higher rate, but was not calculable.
Sixty-two subjects did not complete the demographic
section of the questionnaire.

It was impossible to go

back to the original subjects in order to get the length
of service data that they had not responded to on the
questionnaire.

The sixty-two subjects were deleted from

all analyses involving the length of service measure.
In one of the independent factors of the design,
length of service, only eleven subjects reported service
over two years.

On the other factor, activity level,

two subjects reported a low activity level.
extreme sample size differences.

This caused

These data were not

usable under the new design modification.

Therefore,

the analysis was performed based on 208 subjects.
rationale follows in a subsequent section.

The

84
Statistical Analysis Procedures
Amendments
Initially in this study a two-way analysis of
variance

(ANOVA) was proposed, with each of the two

independent measures containing three levels.

Upon

completion of the return of the survey, it was found
that only an extremely small or fractional percentage
of the group responded to one of the levels in each of
the independent variables.

Because of extreme differ­

ences in cell sizes, these extreme cases
discarded.

This produced a two-way ANOVA with two levels

in each of the independent variables.
and

2

(4 1/2%) were

(Refer to Tables 1

.)
TABLE 1
THE ORIGINAL DESIGN OF THE TWO-WAY ANOVA WITH
NINE CELLS
(Number of subjects per cell)
Activity Level

Length of
Service
High

Moderate

Low

Under one
year

98

55

2

One-two
years

28

27

0

6

5

0

Over two
years

85
TABLE 2
AMENDED DESIGN OF TWO-WAY ANOVA WITH FOUR CELLS
(Number of subjects per cell)
Activity Level

Length of
Service
High

Moderate

Total

Under one
year

98

55

153

One-two
years

28

26

55

126

82

208

Total
Note:

N = 208

Rationale for the New
Analysis
Since the number of subjects in the low activity
cell and the over two years length of service cell was
small, relative to the other cells in the table, they
were deleted from the sample.

In an unbalanced design,

that is, not all cell sizes equal, the ANOVA model is
not robust with regard to the assumption of equality of
variance.

To the extent that the cell sizes differ,

this assumption becomes more tenuous.

Consequently, to

avoid an all but obvious violation of this assumption,
subjects who responded to extreme categories were deleted
from the analyses.

(Refer to Tables 1 and 2.)

In addition to the two-way ANOVA, a one-way ANOVA
was performed on the activity level measure.

This sample

86
of 270 subjects included the sixty-two students who had
not reported their length of service.

This sample had

increased power in substantiating the results of the twoway ANOVA.

Thus it was possible that the results of the

one-way ANOVA could have been different, though this was
not the case.
The three hypotheses and two research questions
were restated to reflect the changes in the design of
this study.

The three hypotheses were all tested using

an alpha level of .05.
Summary
A questionnaire was developed to determine the
perceived needs of peer counselors in student service
centers in Michigan schools.

Two panels of experts

validated the questionnaire.

A pilot administration was

used prior to the questionnaires being mailed to each
center director, for distribution to all peer counselor
staff.

Follow-up calls were made as necessary.
Amendments to the initial design:

sample amend­

ments, statistical procedures amendments and a rationale
for the new analysis, were found to be necessary.
Sixty-two subjects were deleted from the analyses
involving length of service.

When the data were tabu­

lated, it was found the original design of a two-way
analysis of variance with three levels in each variable
was inappropriate, due to the extreme differences in

87
cell sizes.

Because of this, a two-way ANOVA with two

levels in each of the independent variables was used.
The three hypotheses were tested using an alpha level of
.05.

To respond to Research Questions 1 and 2, a general

descriptive analysis was planned.
In the following chapter the results of the
analyses are submitted.

The three hypotheses and two

research questions are restated to reflect the changes
in the design of this study.

The hypotheses are analyzed.

The research questions are discussed in detail.
tional need areas generated by the peer counselor
respondents are also presented.

Addi­

CHAPTER IV
THE ANALYSIS OF DATA

In this chapter the three hypotheses are reported
and analyzed.
and discussed.

The two research questions are stated
Both nonweighted and weighted scores

are used to compare rank orders in both length of
service and activity level variables.
Analyses of Hypotheses
Hypothesis 1 ;
There is no significant difference on the degree
of need as expressed by the total score between
peer counselors working under one year and those
working one to two years.
Analysis of Hypothesis 1
A two-way analysis of variance
formed.

(ANOVA) was per­

Two hundred and eight subjects were processed,

using the total need score per peer counselor, over the
twenty-six needs questions.

The results of the two-way

ANOVA indicated a significant difference on the total
need score between those peer counselors working under
one year and those working one to two years.

88

The F ratio

89
was 2.7222.
.02.

The level of significance or p value was

The hypothesis was rejected and it was concluded

there was a significant difference between peer coun­
selors working under one year and those working one to
two years.

(Refer to Table 3.)
TABLE 3

ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE:
Source of
Variation

Sum of
Squares

Mean
Square

DF

F

P

481.944

1

481.944

5.433

.020

12.850

1

12.850

.145

.999

209.171

1

209.171

2.358

.122

18096.140
18788.231

204
207

88.707
90.764

Length
Activity
Length— Activity
Error
Total

NEED BY LENGTH AND ACTIVITY

Post Hoc Analysis of
Hypothesis 1
Those peer counselors serving under one year had
a mean score of 28 .53.

Those peer counselors serving

from one to two years had a mean score of 25.12.
difference in these mean scores was 3.41.
ference was significant.

The

This dif­

Those peer counselors working

under one year had a significantly higher degree of need
than those working from one to two years.

90
Supplemental Findings Relative
to the Data Collected for
Hypothesis 1
"
The need scores could have varied from zero— no
need for further training, to 52— the highest degree of
need for further training.
a middle level need.
sample was 27.63.

A score of 26 would indicate

The grand mean score for the total

The mean scores of those students

working under one year and those students working one
to two years were very close to the middle level of need.
This could be attributed to two reasons:
1.

There was a middle range of need for all sub­
jects.

No group varied to a large degree from

this middle range.
2.

On a three-point scale, as was used in this
study, the subjects were fearful of appearing
over-confident by saying they had no need, a
score of zero; or appearing to be too needy,
a score of three, on each item.

Thus, most

subjects stayed within the middle range and
did not approach the extremes.
Hypothesis 2 :
There is no significant difference on the degree of
need as expressed by the total score between peer
counselors with high and moderate levels of
activity.

91
Analysis of Hypothesis 2
The results of the two-way ANOVA indicated no
significant difference between peer counselors with high
and moderate levels of activity.

The P ratio was .145.

The level of significance or p value was .999.

(Refer

to Table 3.)
Since all subjects had a reported activity level,
a one-way ANOVA was also performed to determine if the
larger number of peer counselors might influence the out­
come.

This ANOVA corroborated that there was no sig­

nificant difference between high and moderate levels of
activity.

(Refer to Table 4.)

The P ratio was .090.

The p value was .764.

TABLE 4
ONE-WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE:
Source

D.F.

Sum of
Squares

VARIABLE NEED BY ACTIVITY
Mean
Squares

Between
groups

1

8.1389

8.1389

Within
groups

268

24143.8611

90.0890

Total

269

24152.0000

F Ratio

.090

P

.764

The mean score for degree of need for highly
active peer counselors was 27.57.

The mean score for

those students who were reported as moderately active

92
was 27.71.

The difference of .14 between these two

groups was not significant.

The mean scores here also

cluster around the middle range of possible scores.
Hypothesis 3 ;
There is no significant interaction between length
of service and level of activity.
Analysis of Hypothesis 3
The results of the two-way analysis of variance
showed no significant two-way interaction between length
of service and level of activity.
2.358 and the p value was .122.

The F ratio was
(Refer to Table 3.)

Research Questions
The primary emphasis was to look at the overlap
in needs in the top priority ranks.

For the sake of

this analysis, the top priority ranks consisted of the
approximately ten need areas obtaining the highest needs
score.

The score for each item obtained was nonweighted;

where the concern was whether or not the peer counselor
indicated the existence of a need.
Research Question 1 :
Is there agreement in the rank ordering of needs
between peer counselors working under one year and
those working one to two years?
The following list will be used in the following
tables:

5,

6

, 7,

8

; Appendices E-l, E-2, F-l, F-2; and

in the discussions of Research Questions 1 and 2.

93
The following needs areas were listed on the
questionnaire to which peer counselors responded with
their level of need for further training:

no further

training; yes, a little further training; yes, a lot of
further training.

Next to each need area is the term

used in this text to refer to the particular need area.
1.

Boyfriend-girlfriend concerns— boyfriend-girlfriend
concerns

2.

Use of referral services;
outside resources-------------- use of referral ser­
vices

3.

Nonverbal communication— body
language------------------------ nonverbal communication

4.

Empathy and listening skills--empathy skills

5.

Awareness of cultural/racial
differences and similarities-- awareness of racial
differences

.

Problem pregnancies----------- problem pregnancies

6

7.

8

.

Family communication, family
problems------------------------ family communication
Working with small groups of
students------------------------ working with groups

9.

Substance use and abuse
concerns------------------------ substance abuse con­
cerns

10.

Building my individual credi­
bility so students will come
to me--------------------------- building credibility

11.

Problem solving, risk-taking,
decision-making processes------problem solving

12.

Knowing my limitations— when
to turn problems over to
others-------------------------- knowing limitations

94
13.
14.

15.

Finding alternatives to drug
use--------------------------Improving my counseling
skills-----------------Talking with and working with
adults (teachers, parents,
etc.)--------------------------

finding alternatives
improving counseling
skills

working with adults

16.

Behavior examination techniques
including values clarifi­
b ehavior examination
cation---------------------------:

17.

Drug reaction management;
overdose aid-------------------- drug reaction manage­
ment

18.

Runaways— real and
threatened--------

runaways

19.

Getting an interview started—
who says what------------------ getting interview
started

20.

Career choice— job placement—
part-time work----------------- career choice

21.

Venereal diseases— V.D.-------- venereal disease

22.

My own self-awareness and
understanding of my needs
and feelings--------------------self-awareness

23.

School problems (grades,
teachers, etc.)-------------- -— school problems

24.

Self-concept development------ -self-concept

25.

Person development (maturity
levels, moral development,
etc.)------- ---------------------person development

26.

Getting feedback— how my
behavior affects others-------- getting feedback

95
Discussion— Research Question 1
In analyzing the data from the questionnaires#
it was noted that there was some agreement in the rank
ordering of needs between those peer counselors working
under one year and those working one to two years.
(Refer to Appendix Table E-l.)
The highest rank orders of need for the length
of service groups were as follows:
TABLE 5
HIGHEST RANK ORDERS OP NEED FOR THE LENGTH OF
SERVICE: GROUPS
Less than One
Year <Df Service
Rank

1
2

3
4
5.5
7
8.5
10

Need
Number
14
18
17
6

7, 9
26
13, 11
24

Onei to TWO
Years of Service
Rank

Need
Number

Total Group
Rank

1
2

15
18

1
2

3
4
5.5
7.5
9.5

22

3
4
5
6.5

12

7
, 11
25, 10
24, 17
9, 14, 26
2

8

9
10

Need
Number
18
14
17
7
15
9, 11
26
24
13

Only needs 18 and 7, runaways and family communication, appeared in the top five ranking needs of
the two groups:

need 18 ranked as the number two need

for both groups, need 7 as 5.5 rank for the first-year
peer counselors, and need rank 4 for the one to two

96
years counselors.

The other needs that were duplicated

in the top ranks in both length of service groups were:
need 14, improving counseling skills, ranking first with
first-year peer counselors and ranking twelfth with oneto two-year peer counselors; need 17, drug reaction
management, ranking third with first-year peer coun­
selors and 9.5 with one- to two-year peer counselors;
need 9, substance abuse concerns, ranking 5.5 with
first-year peer counselors and twelfth with one- to twoyear students; need 26, getting feedback, ranking seventh
with first-year peer counselors and twelfth with one- to
two-year students; need 11, problem solving, ranking 8.5
with first-year students and 5.5 with one- to two-year
students; and need 24, self-concept development, ranking
tenth with first-year students and 9.5 with one- to twoyear peer counselors.

While some similarity and agreement

was shown within the two groups, agreement was not found
throughout.
By reviewing the rank order of the total group
of those peer counselors serving under one year and those
serving one to two years, the following rank order was
obtained:

needs 18, 14, 17, 7, 15, 9/11, 26, 24, 13.

Need 8, runaways, became the number one ranking need,
while it appeared as the second need in both groups.
Need 14, improving counseling skills, was the number one
need in the under one-year group and twelfth need in the

97
one-to-two-year group.

Because the numbers of the two

groups varied, so that there were 153 first-year peer
counselors and 55 one- to two-year peer counselors, the
need 14, improving counseling skills, appeared as the
second ranking total need for the entire group.
In reviewing the various levels of need, if an
agency would want to service as many students as possible,
the recommendation for needs 18 and 14, runaways and
improving counseling skills, could be developed into
training programs.
Need 17, drug reaction management, the third
highest need for the total group, appeared as the third
need for the first-year peer counselors and the 9.5 need
for the one- to two-year students.

Need 7, family com­

munication, appeared as the fourth ranking need for the
total group, as it did for the one- to two-year peer
counselor group, while it appeared as rank 5.5 for the
first-year group.

Need 15, working with adults, was the

fifth ranking need for the total group, but does not
appear in the first-year group.

It was the top need

for the one- to two-year group.
The fourth ranking need, need

6

, problem preg­

nancies, for the first-year peer counselors does not
appear at all on the other two lists.

Needs 22, self-

awareness; 2, use of referral services; and 25, person

development, appear in the one- to two-year list and
not on either of the two other lists.
Research Question 2 ;
Is there agreement in the rank ordering of needs
between peer counselors with a high level of
activity and those with a moderate level of
activity?
Discussion— Research Question 2
There was less agreement in the rank ordering
of needs between the high level activity and moderate
level activity groups than was found in the level of
service groups.

(Refer to Appendix Table E-2.)

The highest rank orders of need for the activity
level groups were as follows:
TABLE

6

HIGHEST RANK ORDERS OF NEED FOR THE ACTIVITY LEVEL GROUPS
Highly Active
Rank

nk

1
2

3
4
5.5
7
8

N eed

Moderately Active
_

,

Number

an

14
18
3
9
2,
13

1
2

6

11

3
4
5
6.5
9

Need
Number
18
7
14
15
22

24, 17
9, 11, 25

Total Group
Rank

Rank
1
2

3
4
5.5
7
8

N eed

Number
18
14
17
7
15
11
6

99
Need 14, improving counseling skills, appeared
as rank one for the highly active group, need rank 3 for
the moderately active group, and rank
group.

2

for the total

Need 18, runaways, appeared as the second ranking

need for the highly active group, and the top need for
the moderately active and the total groups.

These were

the only two needs that appeared in common in the first
five top needs of both groups:
active.

highly and moderately

The third ranking need of the highly active

group, empathy skills, appeared in no other group.
Need 9, substance abuse concerns, for the highly active
group the fourth ranking need, appeared as rank 9 for
the moderately active group and rank 5.5 for the total
group.

Need 2, use of referral services, appeared only

in the highly active group, as rank order 5.5; not at
all in the moderately active group, and as need 9.5
for the total group.

Need 11, problem solving, appeared

as the 5.5 ranking need for the highly active group,
rank 9 for the moderately active group, and rank 7
for the total group.
Need 13, finding alternatives, appeared only on
the highly active group rank, as rank 7, and on the
total group as rank 9.5.

Need

6

, problem pregnancies,

followed a similar pattern by bypassing the moderately
active group and appearing again as rank
highly active and the total groups.

8

for the

Need 15, working

with adults, appeared as the 9.5 rank for the highly
active group, rank 4 for the moderately active group,
and as rank 5.5 for the total group.

Highly active

group rank 9.5, need 7, family communication, appeared
as rank 2 for the moderately active group and rank 4
for the total group.

Little commonality appeared evi­

dent between the two groups in regard to the rank order­
ing of needs.
The number of peer counselors reporting needs
in the highly active group was 161.

There were 109

moderately active peer counselors reporting, for a
total of 270 peer counselors reporting their perceived
need of training.
Rank Orders with Weighted
Frequencies
Though not in the original design plan, the rank
orders were developed for both length of service and
activity level, with weighted frequencies.
Appendix Tables F-l and F-2.)

(Refer to

The rationale for this

procedure was:
(1) to obtain a wider range of scores to obtain
differences;
(2) to take cognizance of the three-point scale
used on the questionnaire asking for "yes, a
little further training" and "yes, a lot of

101
further training.”

The third point, "no

further training" was not used for this
procedure.
Scores were obtained for the weighted frequencies
in Appendix Table F-l, the rank order of needs according
to length of service, with weighted frequencies, by
multiplying the score of "yes, a lot of further training"
by two and adding this to the one value for the response
of "yes, a little further training."

Data cannot demon­

strate whether a rating of "yes, a lot of further
training" has twice as much valence to the person as
a rating of "yes, a little further training."

It may

be that the valence of "yes, a lot of training" is three
times or only one and one-half times as important to
the respondent as "yes, a little training."

However,

the multiplier of two was assumed to be a reasonable
figure.

The same procedure was followed for the activity

level weighted frequencies, Appendix Table F-2.
The following weighted highest priority rank
orders were obtained for the length of service variable
(Table 7).
As can be noted in Table 7, there was a simi­
larity in the needs areas for the top rankings of the
two groups: under one year of service and one to two
years of service.

All needs areas appeared in both rank

orders except for need 6, problem pregnancies, which

102
appeared only bn the under one year of service list; and
need 22, self-awareness; need 2, use of referral services;
and need 25, person development, which appeared only on
the one to two years of service list.
Needs 14, improving counseling skills; 18, runa­
ways; 7, family communication; 11, problem solving; and
9, substance abuse concerns, appeared in similar positions
of rank on both groups' rank orders.

Needs 14, 18, and

7 appeared in the top six needs of both groups.
TABLE 7
WEIGHTED HIGHEST PRIORITY RANK ORDERS FOR THE
LENGTH OF SERVICE
Under One Year
of Service
Rank
1
2
3
4
5.5
7
8
9
10

Need Number
17
14
18
7
1 1 , 26
6
9
15
10

One tc• Two Years
of Service
Rank

Need Number

1.5
3
4.5
6
7
8
9
11

14, 15
18
1 0 , 22
7
11
9
17
2, 25, 26

From the review of the weighted frequency rank
orders for length of service, there appeared to be a
high agreement in the rank ordering of needs between
those peer counselors working in centers for under one
year and those working one to two years.

103
The following weighted highest priority rank
orders were obtained for the activity level variable:
TABLE 8
WEIGHTED HIGHEST PRIORITY RANK ORDERS FOR THE
ACTIVITY LEVEL
Highly Active
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8.5
10.5

Need Number
17
18
14
11
7
15
9
2 , 10
6 , 22

Moderately Active
Rank

Need Number
18
7
14
15
10
17
22
26
6
9

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

For complete rank orders of needs by activity
level, with weighted frequencies, refer to Appendix
Table F-2.
A review of the highest rank orders for activity
levels showed agreement in the need areas mentioned,
between the two groups, highly active and moderately
active, except for three need areas.

Only the highly

active group mentioned need 2, use of referral services,
and need 11, problem solving, as top priority needs,
Only the moderately active group mentioned need 26,
getting feedback, as a top priority need.

104
Needs 18, runaways; 14, improving counseling
skills; 7, family communication; and 15, working with
adults, appeared in similar positions of rank on both
groups' rank orders of needs.

Needs 17, drug reaction

management; 18, runaways; 14, improving counseling
skills; 7, family communication; and 15, working with
adults, appeared in the top six needs of both groups.
Prom the review of the weighted frequency rank
orders for activity level, there appeared to be a high
agreement in the rank ordering of needs between those
peer counselors working in centers with high and moderate
levels of activity.

These results were not consistent

with prior results, using nonweighted frequencies.
Need Areas Generated by the
Peer Counselors
The questionnaire sent to the peer counselors
working in student service centers provided an opportunity
for the students to add additional needs they would want
further training in.

On the back of each questionnaire

responses could be written.
were recorded, verbatim.

The forty-four responses

They are listed in Appendix G.

There appeared to be a wide range of perceived
training needs the students requested.
of needs were noted:

Several groupings

training on suicide— three requests;

self-awareness training— three requests; help with
building relationships with others— two requests;

105
dealing with rape— three requests, all from the same
school; dealing with death— two requests; and training
on sexual issues— three requests.
Summary
In this chapter the hypotheses were reported and
analyzed.

Hypothesis 1 was rejected:

there was a sig­

nificant difference between the groups of .02.

Those

peer counselors working under one year had a mean score
of 28.53, demonstrating a greater need for training, than
those peer counselors working one to two years, who had
a mean score of 25.12.
Hypothesis 2, on the degree of need as expressed
by the total score between peer counselors with high and
moderate levels of activity, failed to be rejected.
There was no significant difference.

The mean score

for degree of need for highly active peer counselors
was 27.57.

The mean score for those peer counselors

who were reported as moderately active was 27.71.
difference of the means was not significant.

The

The mean

scores for all peer counselors responding to the
questionnaire clustered around the grand mean of 27.63.
Hypothesis 3, there is no significant interaction
between length of service and level of activity, failed
to be rejected.

There was no significant interaction

between length of service and level of activity.

106
Investigation of Research Question 1 indicated
that there was some agreement in the rank ordering of
needs between peer counselors working under one year
and those working one to two years.

However, only two

need areas, family communication and runaways, appeared
in the top five ranking needs of the two groups dif­
ferentiated by length of service.
Study of Research Question 2 revealed very
little agreement in the rank ordering of needs between
peer counselors with a high level of activity and those
with a moderate level of activity.

There was less

agreement between these groups in the rank ordering of
needs as compared with the length of service variable.
Two needs appeared in common among the first five top
needs of both high and moderate activity groups:

the

needs for improving counseling skills and for the
handling of runaway problems.
More agreement in the rank ordering of needs were
obtained for both length of service and level of activity
when weighted frequencies were employed.

Needs areas

of improving counseling skills, runaways, and family
communication appeared in the top six needs of both
length of service groups.
For highly active and moderately active levels,
the needs of drug reaction management, runaways,

107
improving counseling skills, family communication, and
working with adults appeared in the top six needs of
both groups.
When peer counselors were given the opportunity
to list their perceived training needs if they had not
appeared on the questionnaire, the following groups of
needs received multiple responses:

suicide— three

responses; self-awareness— three responses; building
relationships— two responses; rape— three responses,
all from the same school; death— two responses; and
sexual issues— three responses.
In the following chapter, along with a summary
of this study, will be found some conclusions and recom­
mendations for training programs, and implications for
future research.

The personal reflections of this

writer are also included.

CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

This final chapter contains the summary of this
study and some conclusions and some recommendations for
training programs.

Implications for future research

are indicated and the personal observations of the writer
are included.
Summary
Student service centers

(SSCs) have been in oper­

ation in several Michigan schools since 1972.
January, 1976, there were twenty-three centers:

In
twenty-

two in senior high schools and one in a junior high
school.

SSCs are designed to provide students a place

where their school peers and adult staff are ready to
listen to, talk with, and inform them about a variety
of problem areas and concerns.

The SSC staff includes

peer counselors who serve as helpers or listeners with
their fellow students, and one or more adult directors.

108

109
The peer counselors receive varying degrees of
training and supportive services from either their
director, school, regional substance abuse prevention
education program, Michigan State Department of Education,
or other sources.

They need a variety of educational

training experiences in many areas to perform their tasks
more effectively.

At this time, no formal on-going

statewide training and supportive services are provided.
The purpose of this study was to determine the
perceived training needs of peer counselors in SSCs in
Michigan schools.
Related literature was reviewed with a focus on
peer counselors, who are most often found interacting
with adolescents in school settings.

Background litera­

ture was grouped under the headings of History and Back­
ground of SSCs in Michigan Schools, High School Programs,
Junior High School Programs, Elementary School Programs,
and Other Related Material.

Research using peer coun­

selors was sparse, but where found was identified with
the program review.
Peer counseling programs were shown to be very
beneficial both to peer counselors and their counselees.
Programs are extant in the elementary, junior high, and
high schools, though primarily in the latter, where the
maturity level of the students is the highest.

110
Improvement in personal commitment; self-concept;
improvement in attitude toward school, family, achievement,
and peers; attitude toward younger children; awareness
of the needs of others; and improved relationships with
adults and authority figures are but a few of the gains
shown by those students who have participated in peer
counseling programs.
Few programs have objective evaluation data to
report.
measure.

This area of affective growth is difficult to
The concept of peer counseling and its imple­

mentation in programming are in their primary stages.
The future for peer counseling programs shows promise
for initiation at all grade levels, kindergarten through
grade twelve.
For this study a questionnaire was sent to all
peer counselors in Michigan student service centers
working in January, 1976, to ascertain their perceived
training needs.

The questionnaire was validated by two

panels of experts.

A pilot test was administered.

data were tabulated and analyzed.

The

The following null

hypotheses were tested:
Hypothesis 1 :
There is no significant difference on the degree of
need as expressed by the total score between peer
counselors working under one year and those working
one to two years.

Ill
This hypothesis was rejected at the .05 significance
level.

The measure of p value was .02.

Those peer

counselors working under one year had a significantly
higher need for training than those working one to two
years.
Hypothesis 2 ;
There is no significant difference on the degree of
need as expressed by the total score between peer
counselors with high and moderate levels of activity.
This hypothesis failed to be rejected.
Hypothesis 3 :
There is no significant interaction between length
of service and level of activity.
This hypothesis failed to be rejected.
Two research questions were discussed:
Research Question 1 :
Is there agreement in the rank ordering of needs
between peer counselors working under one year and
those working one to two years?
Research Question 2 :
Is there agreement in the rank ordering of needs
between peer counselors with a high level of
activity and those with a moderate level of
activity?
There was some agreement in the rank ordering of needs
between the two groups differentiated by length:

under

one year of service and one to two years of service.

112
Two need areas, family communication and runaways,
appeared in the top five ranking needs of both groups.
In comparing the rank ordering of needs between
highly active and moderately active peer counselors,
two needs appeared in common among the top five needs
of both groups:

the need for improving counseling skills

and the need for the handling of runaway problems.
More agreement in the rank ordering of needs
was obtained for both the length of service and activity
level variables when weighted frequencies were used.
Need areas of improving counseling skills, runaways,
and family communication appeared in the top six needs
of both length of service groups.
When weighted frequencies were used for the
highly active and moderately active levels, the needs
of drug reaction management, runaways, improving counsel­
ing skills, family communication, and working with adults
appeared in the top six needs of both groups.
Conclusions
1.

The mean of the total need scores for all the

responding peer counselors indicates a moderately high
perceived need for further training.
2.

There is a significant difference in the degree

of need for further training between peer counselors
working under one year and those working one to two

113
years.

Those working under one year had a significantly

higher degree of need for further training.
3.

There is no significant difference in the degree

of need between moderately active and highly active peer
counselors.
4.

Both have a comparable degree of need.

There is no significant interaction between

length of service and level of activity.
5.

There is some agreement in the rank ordering of

needs among peer counselors working under one year and
those working one to two years.

Two need areas, family

communication and runaways, appeared in the top five
ranking needs of both groups.

More agreement in the

rank ordering of needs was obtained for the two length
of service groups when weighted frequencies were used.
Need areas of improving counseling skills, runaways,
and family communication appeared in the top six needs
of both peer counselors working under one year and those
working one to two years.
The first-year peer counselors' highest priori­
ties for training, as derived from their rank ordering
of needs are:

improving counseling skills, runaways,

drug reaction management, problem pregnancies, family
communication, substance abuse concerns, getting feed­
back, finding alternatives to drug use, problem solving,
and self-concept development.

114
The need area highest priorities set by the peer
counselors who have been working one to two years include
working with adults, runaways, self-awareness, family
communication, use of referral services, problem solving,
person development, building individual credibility,
self-concept development, and drug reaction management.
6.

There is some agreement in the rank ordering of

needs among peer counselors who are perceived as moder­
ately active and those who are perceived as highly active
Two needs appeared in common among the five top needs of
both groups:

the need for improving counseling skills

and the need for the handling of runaway problems.

When

weighted frequencies were used for the highly active and
moderately active levels, the needs of drug reaction
management, runaways, improving counseling skills, family
communication, and working with adults appeared in the
top six needs of both groups.
7.

When peer counselors were given the opportunity

to list their training needs in addition to the listing
provided for them, the following need areas received
multiple mention:

suicide, self-awareness, building

relationships, rape, death, and sexual issues.

Students,

when given the opportunity, may list other needs not
conceived of as pertinent by adults.

115
Recommendations
1.

Respond to the strong need for training— the

need for training for peer counselors working in student
service centers has been documented.

At the present

time no specific institution, agency, or program has
the responsibility for this training.
State Department of Education

The Michigan

(MDE) has assumed a partial

leadership stance in the initiation of SSCs and :for pro­
viding some statewide training.

It is recommended that

the Michigan State Department of Education provide a
strong leadership role in the planning, designing,
and implementation of training for new and present SSC
peer counselors.
The appropriation of funds from the State Legis­
lature for this purpose should be requested by the MDE.
Funds for this training of SSC staffs should be
made available for the planning of training programs,
production of written guidelines, a statewide, ongoing
resource cadre of SSC experienced individuals, and for
the subcontracting of services of trainers.
It is further recommended that the MDE plan a
statewide conference of all SSC directors and at least
two student representatives from each SSC to provide
input for the planning of training guidelines for SSC
staff training.

Also invited to this conference, but

primarily as listeners, question-raisers, and clarifiers,

116
should be those individuals who have been involved in
the planning and implementation of SSC training programs
statewide.

This may include substance abuse prevention

education (SAPE) regional program staff and all other
training-involved agencies, programs, or individuals.
Prom this conference the MDE should provide a
leadership role in the convening of a smaller group
of individuals for the purpose of the production of
written training guidelines.
used by all existing centers.

These guidelines may be
This material would also

be available for those schools interested in initiating
new centers.
Should the MDE provide this strong leadership
position, there are many groups and individuals, both
within state programs and in the voluntary sector, to
lend support, encouragement, expertise, time, and possibly
contribute funds for support of the concept of peer
counseling and SSC training programs.

Also, should

state funds be made available, local support may be
easier to obtain.
MDE should be responsible for providing a train­
ing of trainers workshop.

Trainers, provided a common

base by statewide training, could then return to their
local districts to train others in becoming trainers.
The resource cadre would be available to all local groups

117
to provide on-going support services and additional
training as requested.
In the SAPE funded regions, the training of SSC
staff could be handled best by the local regional staff.
In nonfunded regions, training could then be coordinated
by the MDE, following statewide guidelines and using
individuals from the resource cadre and other trainers.
On-going support on the state level could also
prove helpful for all SSCs.

The subcontracting to a

resource cadre along with statewide and/or regional
get-togethers could provide support and training for
SSC peer counselors.
2.

Meet the needs of both new and more experienced

peer counselors— the difference between total need scores
of those peer counselors working under one year and those
working one to two years points to the recommendation
for more intensive training and supportive services for
those peer counselors who are performing their roles for
the first time.

Holding separate and more frequent

sessions for these peer counselors could be helpful in
providing the kinds of training they perceive they need.
Should a limit of need areas to be included in
first-year peer counselor training programs appear man­
datory, the following need areas are recommended:
reaction management, improving counseling skills,

drug

118
runaways, family communication, problem solving, and
problem pregnancies.
Time permitting, all need areas in the highest
priorities of both groups should be included for training
programs.
The recommendation for additional support and
training for first-year counselors does not preclude
the importance of simultaneous all-staff training, both
for the skill building and for staff unification and
group support.

Including first-year peer counselors

and their more experienced peers in common training
sessions for family communication and runaways could
help them share their common needs.

Four additional

areas of perceived needs could be included in the common
sessions also:

improving counseling skills, drug

reaction management, problem solving, and substance
abuse concerns.
Some reasons that might have accounted for the
difference in need level between those students serving
under one year and those serving one to two years were,
first-year peer counselors:
(1) have less skill in coping with problems
presented to them;
(2) anticipate a great variety of problems;
(3) are anxious because of their new position;

119
(4) feel inexperienced in the peer counseling role;
(5) want over-training in anticipation of feeling
unprepared.
Separate training sessions and sessions combining
both groups may prove the most helpful method in meeting
the perceived needs for training of the peer counselors.
More intensive and frequent work with new peer counselors
appears mandatory.
3.

There is no need to separate peer counselors for

their training programs with regard to their activity
level— the need for further training as shown by dif­
ferences in the total need score does not substantiate
any need for separation.

The two areas in common among

the top needs of both groups are:
skills and runaway problems.

improving counseling

When weighted frequencies

are used, the additional areas of need include:

drug

reaction management, family communication, and working
with adults.

These are similar to the top needs for the

length of service groups, with the addition of the working
with adults need.

Both length of service groups and

activity level groups can be combined for training.
4.

Solicit the training needs of peer counselors

prior to planning training sessions— though adult staff
and experienced trainers may feel they know what is best
for the peer counselors in regard to the kinds of skills

120
peer counselors need to have to function most effectively
in their roles, it is important to solicit information
from the training session participants.

Students may

perceive needs different from those of adults.

Their

experiences may prompt them to wish new skills or enriched
skills not conceived of by the adults.

They may also

have a better pulse on the concerns of their fellow stu­
dents than do the adults.

There may be a difference,

also, in what is perceived as pertinent between youth
and adults.

By giving youth the opportunity to voice

their perceptions and by using their input, greater
participation and enrichment may be a significant gain.
5.

Clarify the Peer Counselor Role— empathy and

listening skill training are generally included in most
training programs to prepare students to become peer
counselors.

Apparently, the students do not perceive

this as a counseling skill, for the need area of empathy
and listening skills ranked very low on their priorities
for further training.

Perhaps the clarification of the

definition of the peer counseling role is important to
be made.

Their role is to listen and provide guidance,

rather than to provide professional counseling or give
advice *
The referral of students to appropriate school
services, or individuals; and the use of outside agencies

121
as referral resources is a very important aspect of the
peer counselor role.

This should be a repetitive point

of emphasis in peer counselor training.
6.

Use available resources— though the SSC concept

is new, many programs throughout the country have imple­
mented similar concepts in the schools.

The learning

theories, training theories, functions of the program,
and kinds of personnel involved vary greatly.

By reading

and visiting with others who share the view of students
helping students as a viable means of helping young
people, much can be gleaned.

Some programs may be

adopted, some adapted, and some have small new ideas
which may prove useful in the planning of programs in
schools.

Some people have been kind enough to share

their mistakes and failures in trying to implement
programs.

Much can be learned from this.

Training manuals and books are available for use
in the planning and implementation of training programs.
It is not necessary to prepare materials thinking that
all must be new, inventive, and creative.

Here again,

adoption or adaption may prove the best mode of operation.
7.

Use an Experiential Process in the Training

Program and On-going Support Services— a combination of
didactic and experiential work seems the best mode to
follow.

Where appropriate, content may be provided in

a lecture format.

Whenever possible, students should

122
have the opportunity to learn by experiencing, to practice
any new skills learned, and to reinforce and enrich their
older skills.

Bringing their own experiences to the

training sessions to be used as the vehicle for any
process training could prove helpful.
On-going support services are crucial to the
operation of all centers.

Some options available include

weekly staff meetings, where students may share their
successes and their not-too-successful experiences with
the staff group.

Counselee privacy should be stressed

at this sharing time.

At this meeting, general SSC

concerns have an opportunity for discussion; personal
concerns can be aired; and future plans can be discussed.
Another option is individual interview between the
director and the peer counselor.

This provides an

opportunity for direct supervision of the work of the
counselor by the director; help is available early in
a situation.
Implications for Future Research
To date no study has ascertained what the per­
ceived training needs of student service center peer
counselors might be.

In order to plan for these needs,

this study was the first step to be taken.

The recom­

mendations drawn from the data generated may prove helpful
to those groups responsible for the initiation and imple­
mentation of SSCs in Michigan.

123
Both short-range planning and long-range planning
may be of benefit to the continued success of the SSC
programs.
In reviewing the kinds of baseline information
necessary to satisfactorily perform in the planning and
implementation roles necessary to maintain and increase
the effectiveness and viability of SSCs and peer coun­
selors, the following areas are viewed as in need of
further exploration:
(1) A description of the peer counseling role per­
formance extant in SSCs throughout Michigan;
(2) A description of the types of students volun­
teering to perform the peer counseling role;
(3) The attitudes and perceptions of the students—
both center users and nonusers, administrators,
teachers, parents, SSC peer counselors, and the
community regarding SSCs and peer counselors;
(4) The quantity and description of the kinds of
concerns and requests for information brought
to the SSCs;
(5) Baseline data and monitored change data on the
beliefs, attitudes, values, perceptions,
behavior, and skills of peer counselors;

124
(6) Baseline data and monitored change data on the
beliefs, attitudes, values, perceptions, behavior,
and skills of the counselees;
(7) Changes in school climate as a result of SSCs;
(8) The kinds of students who use the SSC;
(9) Changes in the relationship of peer counselors to
other students in the school as a result of the
peer counselor role;
(10) Why students use the SSC rather than another
individual or agency;
(11) How the information regarding the SSC is dissemi­
nated;
(12) The quantity, quality, content, and process of
pre-service training for peer counselors;
(13) The quantity, quality, content, and process of
in-service training for peer counselors;
(14) The role of the director in the SSC;
(15) A review and description of individuals and
agencies involved in promulgating and serving
as a resource to SSCs;
(16) A review of commonalities and differences among
SSCs with an eye to possible standardization of
programming;

125
(17) The outreach programs the SSCs plan and imple­
ment:

other schools or groups;

(18) Other in-school activities planned as part of
the SSC program;
(19) How has local support been generated;
(20) The kinds of local support available and used by
the SSC, including funding.
Personal Reflections
The whole concept of peer counseling is one of
the most exciting and viable in the schools today, in
the view of this writer.

Use of the peer counselor in

a structured SSC setting has important ramifications for
the total school population.

But more than just the imple­

mentation of the SSC concept, this writer would like to
see the use of peer counselors in a wide variety of
school-based settings, in elementary and secondary
schools.

If committed individuals, already on the staffs

of the schools, are prepared to give the time and effort
necessary to design and implement a peer counseling
program, the rewards should prove great.

There are a

few models extant in schools in Michigan today.

Many

more pilot models can be initiated, evaluated, and dis­
seminated statewide.

It appears that a competent con­

sultant, for planning, design, and on-going support,

126
is the important variable here, along with the dedicated
local staff person.
It would be this writer's hope that peer coun­
seling programs would be carefully planned; school,
central office, and community support would be sought;
and small tasks be accomplished slowly, so that a
quality program may be designed.

By documenting

activities, keeping accurate records, and building in
an evaluation component, the successes of a peer coun­
seling program can be seen by the general population
and decision-makers in particular.

The objective data

so necessary if often lacking for programs.

Peeling

good about what has happened does not provide the
objective evaluation necessary to receive legislative
and administrative support, as a general rule.
Unless greater short- and long-range planning
and more quality control on the specific aspects of
SSCs are forthcoming, as funding becomes in shorter
supply and requests become more competitive, this writer
fears for the future of SSCs.

Michigan is now the

nation's leader in student service center implementation.
Much planning, time, enthusiasm, and support have gone
into this effort.

The same ingredients are necessary

to maintain the program.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A
LETTER TO CENTER DIRECTORS

APPENDIX A
LETTER TO CENTER DIRECTORS
January 29, 1976
Dear Student Service Center Director in
Thanks so much for agreeing to cooperate in this survey.
I have enclosed a questionnaire, cover letter and envelope
for each of the peer helpers working in your center in
January 1976. Please give each of the helpers one packet
and ask him or her to fill it out, individually, within a
few days and return it to you in its sealed envelope.
After the questionnaires have been returned to you, please
forward them— with this sheet— to me in the enclosed
addressed large brown envelope.
One week should be ample
time to return the questionnaires.
They will probably
only take about 10 minutes to fill out.
I would like your answer to three questions, please:
1.

What is the month and year your SSC opened?

2.

As you see it what is the activity role of the peer
listeners in your center? Please circle the most
fitting response for your center: A ) , B) or C)
A) Almost total communication in the center takes
place between the peer listener and the student,
under the direction of the center director.
(80%-100%)
B) Some communication in the center takes place
between the peer listener and the student, under
the direction of the center director.
(30%-79%)
C) Very little communication in the center takes
place between the peer helper and the student,
under direction of the center director. (0%-29%)

127

128
3.

How are the peer listeners chosen for your staff?
Do you have certain criteria? Can anyone volunteer
and then automatically become part of the staff?
Please respond with your Student Service Centers'
plan for choosing, on the back of this sheet.

I really appreciate your help in this survey.
Student
Service Centers are an important aspect of Michigan
schools.
Supportive pre-service and in-service training
programs for the centers' staffs should prove most helpful.
Let's see what we can do to ascertain what the perceived
needs of the staffs are and then try to meet them. With
your assistance now, we're on our way.
Thanks again,

APPENDIX B
PEER LISTENER QUESTIONNAIRE

APPENDIX B
PEER LISTENER QUESTIONNAIRE
How long have you been working in your center?
(X) your
answer.
Under one year ( )? one to two years ( )? Over two years

( )?
1 = no further training
2 = yes, a little further training
3 = yes, a lot! further training
I would like further training in:
1.

Boyfriend-girlfriend concerns

2.

Use of referral services; outside resources*

3.

Nonverbal communication— body language

4.

Empathy and listening skills

5.

Awareness of cultural/racial differences
and s i m i l a r i t i e s ............................... 1 2 3

6.

Problem p r e g n a n c i e s ............................ 1 2 3

7.

.

.

1 2

3

. 1 2

3

. 1 2

3

1 2

3

Family communication, family problems.

.

.

. 1 2

3

8 . Working with small groups of students.

.

.

. 1 2

3

1 2

3

9.
10.
11.
12.

Substance use and abuse c o n c e r n s

Building my individual credibility so
students will come to m e ......................... 1 2

3

Problem solving, risk-taking, decision­
making p r o c e s s e s ................................ 1 2

3

Knowing my limitations— when to turn
problems over to o t h e r s

3

13.

Finding alternatives to drug use

14.

Improving my counseling skills

.

1 2
.

.

.

.

1
1 2

2

3
3

130
15.
16.

Talking with and working with adults
(teachers, parents, etc.)

1 2

Behavior examination techniques
including values clarification
.

.

3

1 2

3

. 1 2

3

17.

Drug reaction management; overdose aid

18.

Runaways— real and t h r e a t e n e d ................... 1 2

19.

Getting an interview started— who
says w h a t ..........................

3

1 2 3

20.

Career choice— job placement—
........................ 1 2 3
part-time work

21.

Venereal diseases— V.D.

22.

My own self-awareness and understanding
of my needs and f e e l i n g s ......................... 1 2

1 2

3
3

23.

School problems (grades, teachers,
e t c . ) ............................................ 1 2 3

24.

Self-concept development

1 2

3

25.

Person development (maturity levels,
moral development, etc.) .......................

1 2

3

26.

Getting feedback— how my behavior
affects others
............................. . 1 2 3

27.

Write in any other needs you have that are
not listed here on the back of this sheet.

APPENDIX C
INSTRUCTION SHEET

APPENDIX C
INSTRUCTION SHEET
January 29, 1976
Hi,
I know you have spent a lot of time and energy working as
a peer listener/helper in your student service center.
Your work is really appreciated.
One way to show this
appreciation is to give you the kinds of training you want
to help you do your job even better.
That's why I am
writing to you now.
I'd like you to fill out the enclosed questionnaire.
The
information I get from this will be used to recommend
training programs for peer helpers in student service
centers all over Michigan.
In order to do this, YOUR
needs must be known.
Please help in this by filling out
the questionnaire, putting it in the enclosed envelope
and returning it to your center director, who will forward
it directly to me.
Thanks for helping.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE
You may feel you have most of the skills and information
necessary to fill your role as a peer listener.
You may
feel you would like additional training and information
in some of the areas or most of the areas mentioned.
There are no correct answers.
Please use a soft lead pencil.
If you erase, please do
so completely.
The questions ask if you would like
further training in the area mentioned.
If you say no, you do not want further training,
fill in the 1 block.
If you say yes, a little further training, fill in
the 2 block.
If you say yes, a lot of further training, fill in
the 3 block.

131

132
For example:
Working with large groups . . . (yes, a lot, you'd
like t r a i n i n g ) .................................... 1 2 $
Nutrition . . . (yes, a little, you'd like
training)....................................... 1 A 3
Values clarification . . . (no, you do not
want t r a i n i n g ) .................................... $ 2 3
Please answer all the questions

in the manner shown

above.

Please do NOT put your name on the questionnaire. NO
INDIVIDUAL will be identified in the summary of the
results statewide.
Your school may request a school
summary of the responses of your total staff.
Thanks for your help in filling out this questionnaire.

APPENDIX D
LISTING OF STUDENT SERVICE CENTERS
OPERATIVE IN JANUARY, 1976

APPENDIX D
LISTING OF STUDENT SERVICE CENTERS
OPERATIVE IN JANUARY, 1976
TABLE D-l
LISTING OF STUDENT SERVICE CENTERS OPERATIVE IN
JANUARY, 1976

School
Number

Senior
or
Junior
High
School

01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23

Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Jr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.
Sr.

When SSC
Opened

Activity
Level of
Peer
Counselors

Original
Estimate
of Number
of Peer
Counselors

Number of
Questionnaires
Returned

12/73
10/73
12/75
11/72
3/74
9/74
3/75
11/75
3/74
1/76
9/73
11/73
11/73
1973
2/75
9/75
2/72
12/73
1975
4/75
1/76
2/71
2/75

Moderate
Moderate
High
High
High
High
High
Moderate
Moderate
High
Low
High
High
Unknown
Moderate
High
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
High
High
Moderate
High

25
5
24
17
30
20
15
28
16
20
10
15
22
7
22
25
12
27
5
23
19
20
36

16
4
12
11
27
3
10
15
9
13
2
9
17
0
20
13
12
16
5
17
18
15
17

443

283

133

APPENDIX E
CROSS TABULATION ANALYSIS

APPENDIX E
CROSS TABULATION ANALYSIS
TABLE E-l
CROSS TABULATION ANALYSIS OF TRAINING NEEDS BY LENGTH OF SERVICE
Under One Year

Total Group
Number

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

149
164
142
145
138
164
173
148
169
156
169
127
165
183
170
147
176
185
144
135

Percentage

Rank

71.7
78.8
68.2
70.1
66.7
78.8
83.2
71.5
81.2
75.0
82.1
61.0
79.3
88.0
81.7
60.7
84.6
89.0
69.2
64.9

17
12
22
20
23
12
4
18
6.5
16
6.5
25
10
2
5
19
3
1
21
24

Number
112
122
107
112
107
131
130
111
130
115
127
92
127
144
122
115
136
138
113
105

One to Two Years

Percentage

Rank

Number

Percentage

73.2
79.7
69.9
73.6
69.9
85.6
84.9
72.5
85.0
75.1
83.5
60.2
83.0
94.2
79.8
75.2
88.9
90.2
73.8
68.6

19.5
12.5
22.5
19.5
22.5
4
5.5
21
5.5
16.5
8.5
25
8.5
1
12.5
16.5
3
2
18
24

37
42
35
33
31
33
43
37
39
41
42
35
38
39
48
32
40
47
31
30

67.3
76.3
63.6
60.0
57.4
60.0
78.2
68.5
70.9
74.6
77.7
64.7
69.1
70.9
87.2
58.2
72.7
85.4
56.3
54.6

Rank
16
5.5
18.5
21.5
24.5
21.5
4
16
12
7.5
5.5
18.5
14
12
1
23
9.5
2
24.5
26

TABLE E-l

(Continued)

Under One Year

Total Group

One to Two Years

Need
Number
21
22
23
24
25
26

158
162
122
166
164
168

Rank

76.3
48.7
58.7
79.8
78.8
81.5

15
14
26
9
12
8

Number
121
118
88
126
123
129

Percentage

Rank

Number

Percentage

Rank

79.6
78.2
57.5
82.3
80.4
85.4

14
15
26
10
11
7

37
44
34
40
41
39

67.3
80.0
61.8
72.7
74.6
70.9

16
3
20
9.5
7.5
12
135

N = 208

Percentage

SSE55SSS3!S

TABLE E-2
CROSS TABULATION ANALYSIS OP TRAINING NEEDS BY ACTIVITY LEVEL
Highly Active

Total Group

Moderately Active

Need
Number
195
216
188
192
178
217
227
192
222
208
221
166
216
237
222
190
230
243
193
177
203
208
165
209
216
214

N = 270

72.2
80.0
69.9
71.4
66.1
80.4
84.0
71.4
82.2
77.0
82.5
61.5
81.3
87.8
82.3
70.4
85.2
90.0
71.5
65.6
75.5
77.6
61.1
77.4
78.8
80.4

Rank
17
9.5
22
19.5
23
8
4
19.5
5.5
14.5
7
25
9.5
2
5.5
21
3
1
18
24
16
14.5
26
13
12
11

Number
113
134
115
112
107
132
131
107
135
124
134
97
133
144
131
116
142
143
108
108
125
118
101
121
125
128

Percentage
70.2
83.3
71.9
69.9
66.9
82.0
81.4
66.9
83.9
77.1
83.7
60.2
82.6
89.4
81.4
69.5
88.2
88.8
67.1
67.0
78.1
74.2
62,7
95.1
78.1
80.5

Rank
19
5.5
18
20
23
8
9.5
24
4
14
5.5
26
7
1
9.5
17
3
2
21.5
21.5
12.5
16
25
15
12.5
11

Number

Percentage

82
82
73
80
71
85
96
85
87
84
87
69
83
93
91
78
88
100
85
69
78
90
64
88
87
86

75.2
75.3
67.0
73.4
65.1
88.0
88.1
77.9
79.9
77.0
80.5
63.3
76.8
85.3
83.5
71.5
80.7
91.7
77.9
63.3
71.6
82.6
58.7
80.8
79.9
80.4

Rank
17.5
17.5
22
19
23
13
2
13
9
15
9
24.5
16
3
4
20.5
6.5
1
13
24.5
20.5
5
26
6.5 •
9
11

136

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26

Percentage

APPENDIX F
RANK ORDERS OF NEEDS

APPENDIX F
RANK ORDERS OF NEEDS
TABLE F-l
RANK ORDERS OF NEEDS BY LENGTH OF SERVICE, WITH WEIGHTED
FREQUENCIES
Need
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11 .
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26

Length— Under
One Year

Rank

Length— One to
Two Years

Rank

140
171
147
161
146
183
194
154
182
177
186
123
171
216
179
159
223
204
153
141
163
174
108
166
161
186

24.4
12.5
21
16.5
22
7
4
19
8
10
5.5
25
12.5
2
9
18
1
3
20
23
15
11
26
14
16.5
5.5

48
55
51
46
41
47
63
48
58
66
60
44
49
72
72
44
57
70
38
45
48
66
45
52
55
55

17
11
14
20
25
19
6
17
8
4.5
7
23.5
15
1.5
1.5
23.5
9
3
26
21.5
17
4.5
21.5
13
11
11

137

138

TABLE F-2
RANK ORDERS OP NEEDS BY ACTIVITY LEVEL, WITH WEIGHTED
FREQUENCIES
Need

High Activity

Rank

Moderate Activity

Rank

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26

143
184
167
166
144
181
201
136
187
184
203
132
177
212
195
147
227
215
139
148
166
181
130
160
165
175

22
8.5
14
15.5
21
10.5
5
24
7
8.5
4
25
12
3
6
20
1
2
23
19
15.5
10.5
26
18
17
13

112
108
102
105
96
125
143
116
124
138
123
87
115
141
140
108
136
150
116
98
106
135
84
121
119
128

17
18.5
22
21
24
9
2
14.5
10
5
11
25
16
3
4
18.5
6
1
14.5
23
20
7
26
12
13
8

APPENDIX G
LIST OF NEEDS GENERATED BY PEER COUNSELORS

APPENDIX G
LIST OF NEEDS GENERATED BY PEER COUNSELORS
(Verbatim)
suicide threats, how to cope with them
abortion, what is it, how it is done
how to deal with the death of a loved one
the working out of problem of society
understanding the problems of your children
I'd like just to help people learn how to find inner peace
within themselves.
I am an helpful person here at
____________. I have dealed with a lot of problems
and want to do more, and keep on with the keep on.
suicide
death and dying
realizing more about myself and other
psychology
learning to be a trainer such as Charles Nelson (Gateway)
personal awareness
initial contacts— how to tell the difference between the
people who have a problem and the people who just want
to sit.
trust building
contraceptive ed training for whole staff
training well a couple nights together so then I can get
to know the rest of the staff,
understanding human behavior
thinking before speaking and how we will effect others
creative criticisms
How to handle people who are self-destructive, i.e.,
depression, suicide, making trouble for attention.
I always want to learn more things.
I think I will always
want to learn more on how people feel and why they feel
the way they do.
I also feel that I can never stop
wanting to learn about the way I feel.
I'm very curious
and love to take the training.
I don't think I will
ever stop learning,
trust building
self-defeating behavior
working with threatened suicides
Trying to get people to own their feelings
how to get along with parents, helping others to do t h i s !
values clarification
crisis intervention

139

140
sexual concerns (not necessarily boyfriend-girlfriend)
getting people comfortable with me and being open
dealing with highly emotional people (raging mad, raging
happy, etc. . . .)
dealing with depressed, suicide, crisis intervention
dealing with closed-minded peoples,
rape (how to handle the persons concerned)
consulting rape victims
need training on how to handle rape cases
laws about moving out when you're 17
laws about at what age you can get married
nutrition
Many people are looking for truth and meaning in their
life.
Only Jesus can fill the gap in everyone's life.
Most people overlook the serious churches when they
say, "Religion is full of hypocrites, and doesn't make
sense."
Students should be aware of what Jesus can do
for their lives,
self-awareness— getting in touch with my own feelings
we could always use more training on anything and every­
thing.
There is never too much training in helping
others!
Building a good relationship with the counselee.
Make
them relaxed and able to talk, make myself relaxed,
not as uptight.
Mostly after the problem has been presented how to handle
things.
I've had a lot of training on effective
listening now what to do after that.

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I