Volume_6_Issue_2_Digest

1 TPC Digest 1 TPC Digest M ale counselor educators comprise approximately one fourth of the total number of counselor educators today. Despite their limited representation among faculty members, male counselor educators face unique challenges in professional relationships and in their work with students, including the emergent number of female counseling students in conjunction with the decreasing number of male faculty. Regardless of such challenges, counselor educators are called to build relationships with students that lead to improved self-awareness, personal development and interpersonal learning, which may inform their work as counselors. In order to facilitate such student experiences, counselor educators must often be willing to form and maintain strong student relationships, be open to vulnerability and be willing to have honest conversations with students. In the current environment of legality and ambiguous ethical guidelines with respects to such issues, male counselor educators may feel isolated, misunderstood and even fearful in their roles as faculty members. The changing context of counselor education may present unique challenges for male faculty to navigate with little guidance. The purpose of this study was to discover attitudes and practices of male counselor educators regarding faculty-student relationships. Our research questions included: (a) what are the practices and attitudes of male counselor educators related to relationships with students and colleagues? and (b) what specific practices do male counselor educators employ to maintain boundaries with students? The present study supports the premise that although encouraged, providing such conditions for students may be difficult for male counselor educators as many experience ongoing barriers related to being male with respect to faculty-student relationships. Results of this mixed methods study support the premise that many counselor educators believe being male both presents unique challenges as well as alters their relational behaviors with students. Qualitative analyses indicated that participants expressed a diversity of attitudes and practices regarding the impact of being male upon professional relationships. Specifically, some male counselor educator respondents reported behavioral modifications in efforts of avoiding the appearance of impropriety. Such strategies included consultation, engagement in group activities and avoidance of being alone with students to ensure appropriate teacher-student boundaries. Conversely, other male counselor educators indicated experiencing no difference at all in their interactions with students or colleagues related to being male. A lack of consensus among surveyed male counselor educators reflects the need for increased exploration into this relatively understudied phenomenon. Implications of the present research study include a better understanding of the experiences of counselor educators that may lead to enhanced job satisfaction for males, best practices to improve faculty student relationships and possible areas for further investigation. If male counselor educators experience greater job satisfaction, more males may choose to enter into the counseling field, as they observe possible role models with whom they identify. Ultimately, providing male counselor educators with environments of safety, support and understanding of their unique experiences may enhance their propensities towards providing these same conditions to students. Dee C. Ray, NCC, is a Professor at the University of North Texas. David D. Huffman is an Adjunct Professor at the University of North Texas. David. D. Christian is an Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas. Brittany J. Wilson, NCC, is Assistant Director, Child and Family Resource Clinic, University of North Texas. Correspondence can be addressed to Dee C. Ray, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle, Box 310829, Denton, TX 76203, dee.ray@unt.edu .