Attitudes of counseling students' use of Web-based instruction for online and supplemental instruction in a master's degree program of study

Abstract

As counselor education programs increase the amount of hours for graduation to remain competitive in the job market, they must find additional means for delivering course content. Budget constraints are also a factor in delivering graduate programs at off-campus sites. The use of web-based instruction (WBI) is becoming a new medium for course delivery replacing or supplementing traditional face-to-face instruction in counselor education programs. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that affect the attitudes of masters-level counseling students using web-based instruction for taking online courses as well as face-to-face courses using online supplemental instruction. The variables include student learning style, age, gender, ethnicity, major, and year in program. The sample used for this study consisted of 158 counselor education students enrolled in a small, rural, Southwestern state college. The students were enrolled in the counselor education program at four different sites and in ten different cohorts. Using the Web-Based Instruction Attitude Scale, students' general attitudes toward WBI were assessed. Additionally, the Gregorc Style Delineator was administered to participants to assess learning style preference. Using Chi Square Goodness of Fit, the researcher determined whether there was a dominant learning style among counseling students. Results showed a significant difference between Abstract Sequential, which was the lowest frequency, and all other learning styles. All other variables were tested to determine whether there was a significant effect on student attitudes. Year in program was the only variable that showed significant difference. First-year students' attitudes were lower than second- or third-year students. Finally, two-way ANOVAs were computed to determine any interactions among variables on student attitudes. Three interactions were discovered: gender and hours worked; gender and ethnicity; and gender and year in program. Extreme caution was exercised with the gender and hours worked interaction due to small cell numbers. As a result of this study, it appears that program faculty is meeting the needs of counseling students in all areas except year in program. This suggests that WBI training and easing students into the use of these technologies in the first semester would be useful.