TPC-Journal-V5-Issue3

The Professional Counselor /Volume 5, Issue 3 336 and conducting research, involving students in faculty research projects, and continuing to foster an evolution of conceptualization of research and professional identity. Table 1 The Stages of RI Development in Master’s-Level Counseling Students Lower Level of RI Stagnation Stage Moderate Level of RI Negotiation Stage Higher Level of RI Stabilization Stage Avoids research activities; mostly consumer-oriented (if anything); does not talk about research; skips the results section when reading articles Starts to become active with research; consumes research (reads articles) more regularly; copresents at conferences; shows willingness to take some risk around research Consumer and producer of research; conducts scholarly studies; pursues more rigorous research tasks such as scholarly publication; mentors others in their RI process; models research behaviors for others; demonstrates high levels of critical thinking, dedication, time management and persistence Focuses more on using intuition to develop professionally; believes research is for researchers and practice is for counselors; believes research can take away from practice; has low research self- efficacy; does not believe research is a priority Believes research may be important for some counselors, but does not have to be for all; research can produce positive outcomes and can enhance practice; makes gains in research self- efficacy Believes research is core to the counseling practice; believes effective counseling practice does not come without research; believes research should be a priority; has high research self- efficacy Mostly negative attitude toward research; says research is “stupid,” “waste of time” and “not fun;” irritated by others with moderate-to-high levels of RI; low motivation (both internal and external) to research Shows more internal motivation, but mainly motivated externally for research; ambivalent attitude toward research; says things like “it’s a necessary evil” Positive attitude toward research; says research is “exciting” and “crucial;” is frustrated by others’ negative attitudes toward research; is predominantly internally motivated to research Definition of research is narrow and science/math-oriented; supports the idea of not seeing self as researcher Sees research in broader terms; starts to define research in a way they can connect with Views research as broad and all encompassing; sees self within conceptualization of research Sees self solely as practitioner; does not see self as researcher RI is being negotiated; starts to consider seeing self as researcher; practitioner identity remains most salient Views self as both a researcher and counselor; has negotiated and integrated the two identities Participants with the highest levels of RI were in the stabilization stage. These participants expressed knowing themselves as both a counseling student and a researcher. Internal and external factors contributed to participants’ ability to persist past elements in stages one and two to progress into stage three. In addition to all of the previously mentioned factors, some important elements that