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Department of Counseling
Master of Education in School Counseling Mission & Goals
I. Program Mission
It is the Mission of the School Counseling program to prepare highly skilled, knowledgeable, and competent professional school counselors who are equipped to carry out the roles and responsibilities of professional school counselors who are endorsed by the American School Counseling Association, the Maryland State Department of Education, and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. Graduates of the School Counseling program will be skilled in understanding the needs of and working with diverse populations with a myriad of learning styles and abilities. The faculty shall possess the training and experience to prepare students to address the needs of the entire school community as an advocate, leader, consultant, and coordinator. The curriculum will provide a range of academic experiences that focus on the changing needs of a diverse population of Pre-K – 12 students.
II. Program Descriptions, Goals, and Objectives
The Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree program in School Counseling is a 60-credit hour program. This program is designed to prepare counselors to work with children and youth across all levels in schools from kindergarten to high school (P-12) and ensure graduates have all the required coursework to be eligible to apply for Maryland state licensure as a professional school counselor.
The Master of Education (M. Ed.) program in School Counseling provides a basic understanding of individuals as cultural, economic, physical, psychological, and social beings:
- by incorporating multicultural and global perspectives of people in the school, community and the world,
- by assisting candidates in developing knowledge of counseling theory and practice through classroom and field experiences that are meaningful for their professional growth and development of skills as reflective practitioners,
- by demonstrating an understanding of a personal and interpersonal perspective through supporting and upholding the ethical and legal standards of the counseling profession, standards and values of the educational community; further by showing respect for the diversity of all persons, serving the needs of all candidates in helping them to achieve their maximal potential, and
- by becoming effective practitioners through using technological applications and research to enhance candidates’ awareness of educational, career, emotional, social, cultural, psychological/cognitive and physical development.
The program integrates the theoretical with the practical by combining academic preparation in the area of behavioral sciences, as well as related areas of counseling and research, with practical experiences relevant to a diverse and multicultural school- age population.
The program in School Counseling, in accordance with the Department of Counseling and Psychological Studies’ mission, advocates equality of opportunity for all Candidates. It is designed to educate counselors in understanding and applying various counseling methods and techniques to aid a multicultural and diverse population with educational, vocational, and personal concerns. This broad approach will permit the counselor to develop a repertoire of methods and select the most appropriate for the particular problem and the specific student. The counselor will accomplish this repertoire of methods in keeping with the Department of Counseling and Psychological Studies’ mission and themes by becoming an academic scholar and effective practitioner using technological applications; demonstrating an understanding of multicultural and global perspectives, special populations, and personal and interpersonal perspectives. Through this program, the counselor-in-training obtains a variety of conceptual approaches to counseling and the understanding of social and psychological factors in influencing human development and behavior and addressing the need for social equity and the closing of the achievement gap.
The program strives to prepare highly effective and ethical counseling professionals who will positively impact their students, families, clients, the counseling profession, and the diverse populations they serve in the community. Candidates are expected to demonstrate knowledge, skills and professional dispositions as articulated in the CACREP standards.
- Candidates are expected to demonstrate in their course work, practicum and internship experiences the knowledge, skills and professional dispositions as articulated in the CACREP eight Common Core Standards.
- Professional orientation and ethical practice
- Social and cultural diversity
- Human growth and development
- Career development
- Helping relationships
- Group work
- Assessment
- Research and program evaluation
- Candidates are expected to demonstrate in their course work, practicum and internship experiences the knowledge, skills and professional dispositions as articulated in the CACREP School Counseling Program Area Standards.
- Foundation - Knowledge, skills and practices of the history, roles, functions, professional identity, current models (such as ASCA), effects of diverse contexts and needs, and processes and operational management of the counseling practices.
- Counseling, Prevention, and Intervention - Knowledge, skills and practices of theories, processes, design, development and implementation of counseling programs, and strategies to manage program effectiveness and impact.
- Diversity and Advocacy - Knowledge, skills and practices of addressing educational policies, programs, and practices and needs in multicultural settings, able to identify opportunities and maximize impact.
- Assessment - Knowledge, skills and practices on factors that affect personal, social, and academic functioning, including various forms of needs assessments for academic, career, and personal/social development.
- Research and Evaluation - Knowledge and skills of current research and promising practices, models and strategies of evaluation, and methods of using data for improvement.
- Academic Development - Knowledge, skills and practices of concepts, principles, strategies to promote academic success and close achievement gap; utilize curriculum design, instructional and management strategies for teaching counseling and guidance related material. Collaboration and Consultation. Knowledge, skills and practices of theories, models, and processes of consultation in school system settings; strategies to build effective working teams, and methods for collaboration with the communities.
- Leadership - Knowledge, skills and practices regarding roles of and strategies for effective leadership in design, implementation and evaluation of comprehensive school counseling program and related activities.
Candidates are expected to demonstrate in their course work, practicum and internship experiences the knowledge, skills and professional dispositions as articulated in the COE Institutional Standards. Centered on the theme of Preparing Effective, Caring, and Collaborative Educators, Counselors and Clinicians for a Global Society, the College strives to develop candidates who become academic scholars, reflective practitioners, and collaborative leaders with a strong commitment to professional dispositions and innovative use of technology in the schools and communities in which they work.