TPC-Journal-V4-Issue5

The Professional Counselor \Volume 4, Issue 5 450 or extremely important. When asked about wanting training to be able to assist supervisees in developing a respectful outlook on individual differences, 71% ( n = 84) of the participants noted this type of training as either important, very important or extremely important. Regarding developing supervisees’ clinical skill set for counseling others of a different age, ethnicity, race, religion or sexual orientation, 75% ( n = 89) of the participants ranked this type of training as either important, very important or extremely important. Seventy- seven percent ( n = 91) of the participants ranked the development of supervision skills to assist supervisees in developing independence and self-directedness as important, very important or extremely important. Comparing 2012 and 2003 Findings In 2003 the first author completed a study of 267 RCSCs who took the 2003 School Counselor Survey (Duncan, 2003). Nearly 67% of the 2003 participants rated individual clinical supervision as important, very or extremely important; however, 91% stated that they were not receiving individual clinical supervision, and 92% stated they were not receiving group clinical supervision. In the current study, conducted 9 years later, we note an increase in the importance that school counselors place on receiving clinical supervision, but similar low rates of actually receiving clinical supervision. Specifically, in the current study, 79% of participants rated receiving clinical supervision as important, very important or extremely important; however, 94% stated that they were not receiving individual clinical supervision, and 91% stated they were not receiving group clinical supervision. Those receiving group supervision appear to work in settings where they are not the only counselor in their school. Limitations This study has three main limitations. First, the sample was obtained from an e-mail list of certified school counselors in one Midwestern state. The ability to generalize the findings to other states may be limited— especially to states that do not have a similar rural nature. Future research that examines all RCSCs would be beneficial. The second limitation of this study is that those who chose to participate may have answered the survey questions differently than members of the population who did not agree to participate might have answered them. The third limitation is due to the survey being a self-report measure, as the participants may have given answers that they believed to be socially desirable. In spite of being informed in advance that their responses would remain anonymous, the participants still may have answered in a way that did not portray their true feelings or knowledge. Discussion The results of this study indicate that the large majority of school counselors surveyed (79%) perceive clinical supervision as important. This number is in stark contrast to the actual number of school counselors receiving supervision, with the overwhelming majority of the participants stating that they are not receiving any individual or group supervision (94% and 91%, respectively). Although these findings confirm the results of previous studies conducted with school counselors that point to a clinical supervision deficit (Borders & Usher, 1992; Page et al., 2001; Roberts & Borders, 1994; Shanks-Pruett, 1991), the extremely low clinical supervision rates from the current study also may be tapping into challenges specific to rural school counselors. It is possible that many practicing rural school counselors have not engaged in supervision since their university training program and feel unequipped to answer questions about its nature or importance, which could potentially have larger implications regarding these counselors’ clinical skill application. Similarly, Spence, Wilson, Kavanagh, Strong, and Worrall (2001) noted that lack of skill application contributed to counselors’ difficulty in obtaining supervision. Compared to results obtained from a 2003 study with this population, although school counselors