CHAPTER 4 The Enrollees 'N PURSUING FURTHER the analysis of the 1959 Counseling and Guidance Training Institutes, let us look first at the information about the 2,210 enrollees, much of which has been summarized in table 3. From this table, it is seen that the institutes served primarily persons from public rather than private schools. Only about a third of the enrollees were women.1 All of the adult-age groups were represented, but persons under 25 constituted a small minority. The majority of the enrollees were half-time or full-time counselors with varying amounts of experience. The others (item 8 in table 3) were mainly teachers preparing to move into counseling positions. The fact that about a third of the enrollees had already been certified as counselors in the States from which they came might give rise to some question about their need for further training. A partial answer to such a question can be obtained if one looks at the certification requirements of the various States for counselors as summarized in Bulletin 1957, No. 22, of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. It is clear that these are minimum requirements that in no way guarantee counselor competence. While the State typically requires a master's degree or 30 semester hours of graduate work, it allows the applicant so much latitude in meeting the requirements that he may obtain a certificate even though he lacks some particular training most authorities see as desirable or essential. In the last chapter it was mentioned that deficiencies in statistical background for test interpretation and in supervised practicum are relatively common. Many other gaps in the preparation of individual counselors could be cited. If there had been any doubt about it at the outset, ex 1 The difference becomes even more striking when one examines the reports school by school. In only nine of the fifty institutes did women outnumber men. One of these was in New York City. The rest were in Southern States. 2 Brewster, Royce E. Guidance Workers Certification Requirements. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Bulletin 1957, No. 22. U.S. Department perience with the 1959 summer institutes has shown that it would be unwise to disqualify applicants for enrollment because they are certified counselors and thus presumably already "trained." Many of them still urgently need the kind of experiences an institute can provide. The judgment as to who does and who does not need the training must be made on an individual basis. In general, the enrollee figures in table 3 indicate that the 1959 summer institutes did reach the groups for whom training had been authorized by the law-persons engaged in high school counseling, and teachers preparing to counsel high school youth. Table 3.—A Statistical Summary of Data Concerning 1959 Summer Institute Enrollees 5. Average number of dependents per enrollee receiving stipends (to 1 decimal place) _-. 2. 1 6. Enrollees grouped according to years of experience in counseling and guidance activities: a. Not more than 1 year__. b. 1 year but not more than 2 years. c. 2 years but not more than 3 years_ 7. Number of enrollees admitted to institute on the basis of being 600 350 295 227 188 377 173 a. Half time only. b. More than half time.. 485 324 c. Full time____ 777 8. Number of enrollees admitted to institute other than on the basis of the criterion in No. 7 above_--- 624 9. Number of enrollees certified as counselors at time of enrollment____ 10. Number of enrollees who earned graduate credit upon completion of the work of the institute__. 741 2, 041 Another question deserving of some special consideration is, How successfully did the institute program serve all areas in the country? As indicated above, no attempt was made to apportion institutes to States according to population, but it was intended that all States would share in the benefits. Table 4 shows the geographical distribution of the institutes. Table 4.-Geographical Distribution of Enrollees in Counseling and Guidance Training Institutes—Summer 1959 Table 4.—Geographical Distribution of Enrollees in Counseling and Guidance Training Institutes—Summer Continued 1959 Based on figures for secondary school populations, grades 9-12. From Statistics of State School Systems 1956-57, Circular No. 572, p. 5. Tables 4 and 5 show plainly that while institutes were unequally distributed, a few States having as many as three and others none, the enrollees were drawn from all parts of the country. While there had not been time to publicize the program very widely in the noncontiguous States and territories, there were 2 enrollees from Hawaii, 1 from the Virgin Islands, and 40 from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, where 1 of the institutes was held. In the last column of tables 4 and 5, ratio has been computed of the number of enrollees actually registered to the number who would have been selected had total public high school enrollment in grades 9 through 12 been used as an index of the amount of counseling work to be done. It can be seen that the number of enrollees from New England meets exactly the national average. The States in the southeastern group were also represented almost precisely in proportion to their share of the secondary school population. The Plains States, the Rocky Mountain States, and the Southwestern States were overrepresented. The Mideastern, Great Lakes, and Far Western States were under 'Similar data for private secondary schools would be highly relevant, but this information was not available. 551713 060 represented. Table 5 shows that the extent to which residents of the different States participated in the institute program was not related to the number of institutes held in the State. The group of 14 States in which institutes were not held had proportionally more enrollees than did the States with two or three institutes. One of the purposes of this training program is to encourage college attendance for able students. In considering whether the distribution of institute services was equitable, the figures that show what proportion of the 18-21 age group of each State goes to college might well be used as the base rate instead of the number of secondary school students. Table 5.-Numbers of Enrollees From States Having Different Numbers of Institutes 4 States with 3 institutes each. New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Texas. 4 States with 2 institutes each. Michigan, Ohio, Kansas, California. 28 States and District of Columbia, with 1 institute each. Connecticut, Massachusetts, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Arizona, Oklahoma, Colorado, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington. 14 States with no institute. Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Nebraska, 1 Computed as in table 4. Table 6 makes it possible to compare institute participation ratios with figures on college attendance. It might be desirable for high participation ratios to be linked with low college percentages, since this would suggest that counselors were being trained for areas in which this particular counseling need is greatest. The figures in table 6 show no ascertainable relationship. It would indeed be difficult to build this relationship into the institute program in any systematic way. Perhaps the most that can be done is to encourage the establishment of institutes in the States and areas where the proportion of college-going is low, and to publicize the program widely in these places, so that all actual and potential guidance workers will know of its availability. A third criterion useful in deciding where institutes should be held is some measure of the need for counselors in different States and regions. We have already mentioned in chapter 1 that there is a good deal of geographic variation. Some States seem to be better supplied with trained guidance workers than others. It is not possible to use |