Action Research as Graduate Project

Action Research in Counseling 1

RUNNING HEAD: ACTION RESEARCH IN COUNSELING

ACTION RESEARCH AS A GRADUATE PROJECT IN COUNSELING

John Addy S. GarciaDe La Salle University, Philippines

Author’s Notes: Initial version of this paper was presented during the National Convention Workshop of the Philippine Guidance and Counseling, Inc., held on May 21, 2009 at the University of Sto. Tomas, Manila. Correspondence can be addressed to: John Addy S. Garcia, Counseling and Educational Psychology Department, De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, Manila, Philippines 1004; email – [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


Abstract

The study investigated how action research was integrated in a graduate course on management

and development of counseling programs. Specifically, the study surveyed the nature and scope

of the action researches, described the processes and products related to the action research

projects, identified the learning difficulties and outcomes experienced by the graduate students as

they engage in action research. Nine action research projects by 16 counseling graduate students

from a private university in Manila focused on different counseling concerns, which include:

academic procrastination, bullying, career indecision, sense of belongingness, and study skills.

During the research process, participants reported encountering difficulties related to: action

research task and time management; inadequate research knowledge and skills; coordinating

research activities; and negative attitudes towards research. On the other hand, after they have

finished the action research projects, participants learned how to: connect counseling research

and practice; value research more positively; conduct an action research; motivate oneself to

learn new knowledge and skills; strategize and solve problems related to the implementation of

the research project.

Keywords: action research, counseling programs, school counseling, Philippines


Research is something school counselors value, but they do not want to be directly

involved in. The general observation seems to be that school counselors have minimal interest

in research, do not typically see the value of research to practice, but more than willing to accept

and utilize research done by others (Deck, Cecil, & Cobia, 1990). School counselors minimally

engaged in research because it is not considered a major competency, function, and work priority

(Allen, 1992; Allen, Gallagher, & Radd, 1992; Whiston, 1996). Similarly, in the Philippines, the

low levels of research engagement among school counselors had been consistently noted and

observed (e.g., Garcia, 2003a; Pabiton, 2003). Even a cursory review of job descriptions of

local counselors shows little emphasis on research tasks. Ironically, a good number of Filipino

school counselors consider research as necessary for effective practice, but very few actually

engage in research as an essential professional activity. Among Filipino school counselors

across levels, very few reported that engaging in research actually contributed to improved

counseling interventions (Pabiton, 2004). Likewise, a review of credentials of published authors

in local and regional scientific journals indicate that majority of the researchers in counseling are

counselor educators rather than frontline school counselors. If ever school counselors engage in

research, they do to comply with the requirements for graduate degrees or promotion. Majority

of these scholarly outputs, in turn, unfortunately do not get published due to various reasons,

including lack of motivation from the authors, an aversion towards research writing, low writing

self-efficacy, or lack of technical support from institutions.

The international trends in counseling underscore applied research, although researchers

continue to pursue basic research (Hadley & Mitchell, 1995; Mertens, 1998; Mertler & Charles,

2005). Applied research need to be pursued by school counselors, in order to build the

knowledge based for scientific practice in the field. There is so much need for evidence for


effective and optimal interventions directed toward academic, personal-social, and career

development outcomes (McGannon, Carey, & Dimmitt, 2005; Whiston & Sexton, 1998). The

lack of a strong empirically-based knowledge on school counseling may undermine the very

identity of practitioners. Without empirically based research, school counseling would

continue to have a difficult time gaining recognition and respect among profession (Loesch,

1988). In the Philippines, much of the energy and initiative related to professional identity

development had been directed towards implementing the legislated licensure examination

(Garcia, 2003b; Villar, 2000) rather than advocating for developing competencies, including

research.

In an effort to advocate for improving research competency among school counselors, the

study attempted to integrate research in implementing and evaluating counseling interventions in

local schools. Authors had proposed that school counselors should engage in action research in

order to bridge the gap between research and practice, and as well as to develop research

competencies (e.g., Abrenica, 1987; Abrenica, 2000; Rowell, 2005; Salazar-Clemeña, 2000;

Salazar-Clemeña, 2008; Whiston, 1996). Engaging in action research were found to contribute

empowerment of school counselors, while making them more accountable (McGannon, Carey, &

Dimmitt, 2005; Rowell, 2005) and their school counseling programs more evidence-based.

Action research can also be utilized to evaluate and enhance the effectiveness and responsiveness

of teaching (Cunningham, 2008), like just in case of counselor education courses. Based on the

idea that research and practice are intertwined (Lasky & Hayes, 2001; Whiston, 1996), the

purpose of the study was to describe the experiences of counselors-in-training as they conducted

action researches, in order to determine ways on how research can be effectively incorporated in

graduate courses in counseling.


Specifically, the study answered the following research questions:

1. What is the nature of the action research projects?

a. What are the school counseling problems addressed by the action researches?

b. What are the areas of development emphasized in the action research?

c. What are the specific characteristics of target participants?

d. What are the school counseling program interventions?

e. What are the school counseling outcomes?

2. What difficulties did graduate students encountered while doing their action research

projects?

3. What are the important experiences graduate students learned from their action research

projects?

Method

The study employed a practical action research design to investigate how action research

was integrated as a requirement for a graduate course on management and development of

counseling programs in a private university in Manila. In lieu of the traditional practice of

requiring graduate students to create sample programs for a fictitious client, graduate students

conducted action research projects for existing local school counseling programs. Sixteen

graduate students planned, implemented, and evaluated nine action research projects in

collaboration with local school counselors. The graduate students either worked on the action

research projects individually or in pairs. Ten out of the 16 participants were Filipinos, while the

rest came from different countries, namely, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea. In

terms of counseling work experience, nine of 16 reported having none, while seven stated that

they were either working as counselors or had worked as one before.


Prior to the field work, the graduate students attended a nine-hour workshop (equivalent

to three class sessions) on action research facilitated by the author. During their field work and

report writing, the author held regular consultation hours with the graduate students to coach and

provide feedback regarding the conduct the research and the preparation of the research

manuscript. Feedback was also given through emails. Moreover, online resources on APA

publication style and technical writing were also made available to guide the graduate students in

data analysis and report writing. Students were also expected to apply the school counseling

program models and program development skills, learned through class discussion and

workshops, in the design and evaluation of school counseling programs.

After the training, the graduate students identified local school counselors who were

willing to work with them. Half of the group initially encountered difficulty in finding

collaborators. Referrals were made by the author and the practicing counselors from the class

to locate willing collaborators. After local school counselors expressed willingness to

collaborate, graduate students were then properly endorsed and the necessary permits secured.

Meetings with local school counselors included rapport building, needs assessment, and

program activity planning. The graduate students contributed significantly to the design and

planning of the psychoeducational interventions and the preparation of the research manuscripts,

while school counselor-collaborators served as content experts and intervention co-facilitators.

Due to time constraints, graduate students had to design psychoeducational interventions that can

address relevant student outcomes within a short term (4-5 weeks).

Data Collection and Analysis

In order to describe the nature and scope of, and as well as, the processes and products

related to the action research projects, document analysis (program plans and manuals) and


interviews were employed. The categories of the school counseling interventions, areas of

development, and outcomes were based on the comprehensive school counseling program model

(ASCA, 1997; Borders, Drury, & Gerler, 1992). To identify the learning difficulties and

outcomes experienced by the graduate students as they engage in action research, open-ended

questionnaires and brief interviews were done. Data from the document analysis and interviews

were content analyzed.

Results

The results of study focus on two three areas, namely, the descriptions of: the nature and

conduct of the action research projects, difficulties in doing action research, and the learning

experiences of the graduate students. As mentioned earlier, the purpose of the study was to

determine how action research can be effectively integrated in a graduate course in counseling.

The study also aimed to explore how whether engaging in action research could enhance the

learning experiences of the graduate students.

The Nature of the Action Research Projects

Table 1 shows that personal-social development received the most attention –with

bullying as the most commonly reported counseling concern. Three out of nine action researches

were done in the academic development area – focusing on two related academic problems,

procrastination and ineffective study habits. The only action research on career development

addressed career indecision among adolescents.

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Table 2 describes the profile of the participants in the graduate students’ action research

projects, in terms of age, year level and type of school. Although majority of the participants

were adolescents, the action researches also targeted children and young adults (specifically out-

of-school youth). Most of the participants came from private coeducational schools. Majority

were from sectarian (largely Catholic and Christian) schools. Sample sizes varied depending on

the target participants and identified needs. They ranged from as little as 9 (identified bullies)

to 120 students (for schoolwide awareness intervention).

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Table 3 indicates the specific interventions and client outcomes included in the different

research projects. It is interesting to note that although same action research projects focused on

the same counseling problems, they relatively differed in terms of the outcomes targeted and the

specific strategies utilized in the interventions. The nature and dimensions of the identified

needs accounted for the differences in emphasis and outcome focus. For instance, the first

action research on academic procrastination higlighted social anxiety, whereas the second one

emphasize goal setting aside from directly addressing procrastination. In the case of the

bullying projects, the first and fourth action researches focused on training bullies, while the

second and third action research projects concentrated on informing the general student

population on how to handle bullies and bullying incidents.

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Difficulties Encountered

When asked about the difficulties they encountered while doing action research, the

participants reported problems related to: task and time management, inadequate research

knowledge and skills, planning and conducting the research, and having negative notions about

research (see Table 4). Most of the participants noted that they had difficulty balancing the

demands of doing action research and fulfilling the requirements of their other graduate courses.

Conducting the action research required the participants to spend considerable time in the field

(establishing contacts, securing permits, planning entry into the research site, orienting

collaborators, conducting needs assessment, implementing and evaluating the intervention), in

the university (researching and planning the interventions, analyzing data, meeting with partners,

consulting with the author), and at home (analyzing data, and writing up the manuscript). Most

failed to strategically determine the magnitude of the tasks and challenges related to their

research projects. Thus, they failed to strategize effectively and efficiently their research

projects within the 14-week trimestral term. For other students, having a project partner proved

to be more burdensome rather than helpful, since negotiating and dividing the research tasks took

more effort than what was anticipated.

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Another area of difficulty refers to the participants’ perceived inadequacy in research

knowledge and skills. The data show the apparent lack of research competency among the

participants, which was further complicated by the relative difficulty in finding a collaborator

and a research site. About half of the participants encountered difficulty in identifying a research


site. The author had to directly intervene by referring the graduate students to the partner

schools of the university, and to encourage the practitioners in the group to refer their classmates

to their schools or colleagues from other schools. Unfortunately, the problems did not end with

the placement of the students in specific research sites. Although the schools willingly

accommodated the graduate students, most were not willing to compromise their existing school

calendars. Majority of the graduate students still had to work around the schedule of school

activities, although they should had been working on existing school counseling programs, with

predetermined set of activities for the entire schoolyear.

Lastly, about a quarter of the participants reported having negative notions of research.

They consider research to be frustratingly difficult or overwhelming challenging.

Learnings from Doing Action Research

Table 5 notes that participants reported learning how to: connect counseling research and

practice, value research more positively, conduct research, increase motivation to learn, and

solve learning issues as graduate students. The first three major findings refer to knowledge,

attitudes, and skills related to doing research, while the last two findings refer to the participants’

learning insights.

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The participants pointed out that in doing action research they learned how research is

relevant to and intertwined with program development and evaluation. They also realize that

research is valuable, doable, and practical. Some participants noted that facing all the

challenges were worth their time and effort, considering what and how much they have learned


from their research experience. The practical experience also proved to be “enriching, inspiring,

and motivating” for a few participants. It also built up their confidence and skills in doing

research – particularly how to conceptualize an action research and write a research manuscript.

In relation to their learning insights, participants indicated that in doing action research

they became aware of their own strengths and weaknesses. They learned how to face academic

challenges and difficulties by motivating themselves, managing tasks, and maximizing

collaboration.

Discussion

Results shows that the action research projects focused on the efficacy of

psychoeducational interventions in facilitating competency-based outcomes, including: goal

setting, prosocial behaviors, cooperation, empathy, career choice, study habits, and other related

outcomes. The counseling interventions also addressed client needs related to the three areas of

development: academic, personal-social, and career. The focus and characteristics of the

interventions reveal their consistency with the principles of comprehensive school counseling

programs (ASCA, 1997; Borders, Drury, & Gerler, 1992). Since the comprehensive school

counseling programs are competency-based and results-oriented (Borders, Drury, & Gerler,

1992), they are appropriate and rational venues for integrating research and counseling practice.

Comprehensive school counseling models (e.g., ASCA National Model) can serve as

frameworks for conceptualizing practical action research. The program-based interventions

(operationalized in terms of responsive services, guidance curriculum, individual planning,

coordination, consultation, see Borders, Drury, & Gerler, 1992) can serve as the independent

variables, and the students outcomes (operationalized in terms of competencies related to

academic, personal-social, and career development) as the dependent variables. With its


emphasis on developing student competency, comprehensive school counseling programs are

basically outcomes oriented – which is similar to the nature of action research as a form of

outcome research. Furthermore, school counseling interventions formulated as programs, as

opposed to an arbitrary array of services, directly address the call for evidence-based practice.

And with the emerging responsibility of making school counseling more accountable, the best

option for school counselors is to adapt the comprehensive models, so that research can be

consistently integrated in the design, implementation, and evaluation of counseling programs and

services. The results of the study did provide some evidence for the feasibility for the

aforementioned recommendation.

Beyond describing the nature of the action research projects, the results also gave details

about the learning issues and experiences of the graduate students as researchers. The results

gave substantial information about both difficulties encountered and learning insights gained by

the participants. They provided some explanation to the minimal research engagement and

activity among school counselors, as pointed out by critics (Deck, Cecil, & Cobia, 1990; Garcia,

2003a; Loesch, 1988; Pabiton, 2003; Rowell, 2005). In the study, the participants reported being

overwhelmed by the nature of the research tasks, their perceived lack of research self-efficacy,

and negative notions about research. Similarly, school counselors’ apparent minimal research

engagement may be aggravated by unfamiliarity with research tasks, lack of training in research

(see Pabiton 2003, 2004), and lack of understanding of how research and practice are integrated

(see Rowell, 2005). The experiences of the participants further provided ideas of how counselor

education and counseling work settings can be transformed in order to promote research

engagement. Reforms in counselor education programs can focus on instilling an understanding

of the value of research in counseling practice, highlighting the importance of evidence-based


practice to professional identity, and providing the necessary research competency training for

both pre- and in-service school counselors. In relation to workplace reforms, school counselors

and administrators need to take deliberate steps to inculcate a culture of research in the

workplace. They can start by adapting comprehensive school counseling models to redefine and

transform how they design and deliver services to their clients. Thus, eliminating the perceived

disconnection between research and practice, because, as mentioned earlier, research is

inherently integrated in comprehensive school counseling programs (Boarders, Drury, & Gerler,

1992). Research is an integral professional activity of school counselor implementing

comprehensive models.

More specifically, the results also provided information useful for improving how the

integration of action research was done. I would like to underscore that critical self-reflection

and cyclical actions characterize action research (Cunningham, 2008). Thus, I also utilized the

results in order to assess how the course was designed and delivered. The results indicated that

the participants had several unanticipated difficulties. For one, most of the participants found it

difficult to initiate the research process. They took so much time identifying willing

collaborators. They also had to deal with their lack of knowledge and skills in doing research,

while grappling with work and stress associated with graduate studies. In short, participants

faced challenges, which were not anticipated in planning how action research was integrated in

the graduate course. Future replications of the current study can include a more thorough needs

assessment, so that inadequacies in terms of competencies can be addressed in the action

research training prior to the actual field work. Future studies can also consider predetermining

collaborators so more time can be spent on planning, conducting, and evaluating the counseling

interventions. Furthermore as an action researcher, I also realized the need for more thorough


self-reflection on how I designed the learning tasks and created the learning environment. Self-

reflection, as a process, opened up more ideas about the course itself. I realized that requiring

student to do an outcome-based field research bridge the gaps not only between research and

practice, but between pre-service training and in-service experiences. Through self-reflection, I

also realized that I need to engage more in critical reflection in every phase of the action research

cycle, and likewise, learn how to document the thinking as well.

Conclusions

The study provided practical experiences for the participants to engage in research, as they learn

how to develop interventions based on the comprehensive school counseling models. It also

evaluated how the integration of action research as a graduate project in a course in program

development facilitated positive attitudes towards research, and developed relevant research

competencies. Results indicated that action research is: doable and meaningful for in-service

counselors; strategically tied with school counseling practice; and, a practical tool for increasing

research engagement among school counselors. For research to be successfully integrated into

school counseling practice, it requires professional development initiatives and workplace

policies that support and promote school counseling services that are programmatic, empirically-

driven, and evidence-based. The study demonstrated a small-scale attempt to contribute to the

large-scale challenge of integrated counseling research and practice. It also showed how

teaching a graduate course on program development can be improved through action research.


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Table 1.Summary of action research focus

Counseling Problems Areas of Development f Rank

Bullying Personal-Social 4 1st Academic procrastination Academic 2 2nd Ineffective study habits Academic 1 4th Career indecision Career 1 4th Need for social support and school

belongingness Personal-Social 1 4th


Table 2.Summary of the characteristics of the action research participants

Problems AgeRange HS/ELEM Level Private/Public Coed/Exclusive Sectarian/NS n

Academic procrastination 1 14-18 High school Mixed Private Coed Non-sectarian 116Academic procrastination 2 14-17 High school 4th Year Public Coed Non-sectarian 45Bullying 1 11-13 Elementary Grade 7 Private Coed Non-sectarian 43Bullying 2 13-15 High school 1st Year Private Coed Sectarian 29Bullying 3 7-8 Elementary Grade 2 Private Coed Sectarian 120Bullying 4 12-13 Elementary Grade 6 Private Coed Sectarian 9Career indecision 14-17 High school 4th Year Private Coed Sectarian 35Ineffective Study Habits 13-15 High school 1st Year Private Coed Sectarian 30Need for social support and school belongingness above 18 High school Mixed Private Exclusive (female) Sectarian 24

Description of ParticipantsSchool Level Type of Schools


Table 3.Description of counseling interventions and outcomes

Problems Specific OutcomesInterventions

Academic procrastination 1

self-awareness exercises; time management; reducing social anxiety; identifying behaviors related to procrastination Procrastination; social anxiety

Academic procrastination 2 goal setting, behavioral training Academic procrastination, goal setting

Bullying 1self-awareness exercises, information on effects of bullying Prosocial behaviors, propensity to bully

Bullying 2information drive; bullying awareness; discussion of effects of bullying Bullying awareness

Bullying 3 information drive Bullying attitudes

Bullying 4

self-awareness; perspective taking; personal accountability; teamwork and camaderie; interpersonal skills training Levels of cooperation, empathy, respect

Career indecision career decision tool Career choice

Ineffective Study Habits

developing positive attitudes towards learning, time management, effective learning strategies Study habits and attitudes

Need for social support and school belongingness

interpersonal and conflict management skills training; building social support Sense of school belongingness


Table 4.Summary of difficulties encountered by authors during the conduct of action research

Categories Characteristic Responses f

Task and time management

Managing time for the project vis-à-vis other course requirements

Dividing the tasks equally with my research partner Planning tasks in order to fulfill the project requirements

within the semester and submit output on time

15

Inadequate research knowledge and skills

Finding it difficult to conceptualize research problems Being unfamiliar with action research Having limited knowledge about research process and

technical writing

12

Finding a research venue and coordinating research activities

Finding a school which is willing to accommodate the research

Unplanned changes in school calendar Being given limited time to conduct the program and

research activities

8

Having negative notions of research

Finding research as difficult and frustrating

4


Table 5.Summary of important competencies learned by engaging in action research

Categories Characteristic Responses f

How to connect research and practice

I understood how research is important in developing, implementing, and evaluating school counseling programs

Appreciating research as an important function of school counselors

It is important to evaluate how school counseling programs facilitate changes in our students

16

How to value research more positively

I realized how valuable research is for counselors I realized that action research is doable and practical Doing the project inspired me to do more action research

8

How to conduct research

I learned how to identify and formulate research problems

I learned more about research I learned a lot about writing a research manuscript

6

How to motivate oneself to learn

The difficulties I encountered made me to work harder Doing the project built up my confidence in my work I learned to be more determined to finish all the course

requirements

5

How to strategize and solve problems

Doing a project with a partner was very helpful Considering our limitations, we look for people in the

school who could help us with the action research Working with a person whom you are familiar with

makes your work easier

4

Action Research as Graduate Project

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