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The heart of the school counselor: understanding passion over the span of a career

dc.contributor.authorSumerlin, Timothy Leroy, author
dc.contributor.authorLittrell, John M., 1944-, advisor
dc.contributor.authorTimpson, William M., advisor
dc.contributor.authorMatheson, Jennifer Lynne, committee member
dc.contributor.authorCarlson, Laurie A., committee member
dc.date.accessioned2007-01-03T07:08:39Z
dc.date.available2007-01-03T07:08:39Z
dc.date.issued2009
dc.descriptionDepartment Head: Timothy Gray Davies.
dc.description.abstractSchool counseling is a constantly evolving profession and in view of the growing demands and expectations of students, faculty, parents, the employment sector, and society in the twenty-first century, one that is in need of revision. In recent years the direction of counseling has turned to more accountability and technology, and trending away from some of the vital attributes of the heart, including passion (Palmer, 1998). Many lead counselors, staff development professionals, and administrators find themselves inadequately equipped to engage in and facilitate successful counselor professional development in these areas; school counselors’ work with students, staff, and parents suffer. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the many ways exemplary school counselors have developed and maintained passion over the span of their professional careers. Using a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews, this study elucidated the key elements in exemplary counselors’ development of passion. Each of nine public school counselors from across Colorado schools participated in a 60 to 90 minute interview in their office and a follow-up email interview. Data analysis included constant comparative analysis with open and axial coding, which produced four emergent themes. Spirituality, humbleness, being out of the office, and a counselor’s family, each with supportive sub-themes, emerged from the interviews and are discussed. Passionate counselors exhibited deep and textured features of an ongoing spiritual life that resulted in the development of useful attributes and strategies, which in turn resulted in a variety of rewards and recognitions. These attributes, strategies, and rewards created a synergetic relationship. Personal reflections, recommendations, limitations of the study, and implications for possible future research are included.
dc.format.mediumdoctoral dissertations
dc.identifier2009_summer_Sumerlin_EDUC.pdf
dc.identifierETDF2009100003EDUC
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10217/23886
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relationCatalog record number (MMS ID): 991012181199703361
dc.relationLB1027.5.S856 2009
dc.relation.ispartof2000-2019
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.titleThe heart of the school counselor: understanding passion over the span of a career
dc.typeText
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplineEducation
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

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