Research Pre-Proposal
The ratio of counselors to students has been so low in schools. Counselors are fewer in the community, hence resulting in burnout. Due to the high population of students, counselors have allocated specific time for counseling at the school. Providing guidance and counseling to students can be quite draining and, at the same time, exhausting. This is facilitated by stress and the load of work that counselors encounter. Through the research, I came up with an outcome that counselors are very helpful to most students and, in fact, to society at large. They help students to make transitions, academic programming, education support and discipline. My research at the school of TY assisted me in finding out the hard task faced by counselors in helping the students. The school has a capacity of 570 counselors and a population of 2500 students. Comparing the two, the ratio of students was high compared with that of counselors.
I had the privilege to have a discussion with the two counselors. They say they do a lot of work, but they have a way of dealing with burnout. Being in high school, students undergo a lot of things, and as such, they need counseling in every situation of their lives. But their roles kept changing each day. Their role in the school was that they were supposed to be accountable and analyze data that would be effective and maximize the value of students. More so, they are supposed to know the problem of a student and advise accordingly. Another one was to deal with problems like cyberbullying among younger students in the school. You are supposed to engage your students and tell them the consequences of cyberbullying in school. By doing that, it enables students to have equitable access to educational opportunities and broadens their knowledge in thinking.
The present investigation is set to identify the work of counselors in school and the burnout they go through because of work. They say that to become a counselor, you must sacrifice yourself because of the many things that you have to handle. The research discusses school counseling and some of the struggles they undergo in their work.
Research Problem
Currently, the student-to-counselor ratio is at an all-time high. Today, we know professional counselors find themselves suffering from burnout. What we don’t know is if providing more professional counselors in each institution will be effective enough to address school counselors’ inadequate practices due to the onset of burnout.
The Significance Of The Problem
Today, school counselors are confronted with issues of complexity while remaining responsible for meeting the needs of all mandated students in their school environment. Studies suggest the onset of burnout ultimately results in inadequate servicing. Evidence-based practices of counseling programs help provide implementation of necessary support (Wardle, & Mayorga, 2016). However, a limited amount of service time puts a strain on counseling professionals, resulting in the onset of burnout.
Benefits Of The Research Project
Addressing and identifying the current student-to-counselor ratio for the prevention of inadequate practices is vital to providing liable development of instructive, emotional, and social-personal operational attainment for all students. Lowering the student-to-counselor ratio will benefit school counselors’ practice habits and their students’ success over their lifespan.
Literature Review
Predictive measures were considered in determining burnout indicators (Wardle & Mayorga, 2016). For instance, recent survey research was designed to determine if Master’s-level counseling students revealed conceivable indicators of burnout.
Recent studies suggest a positive correlation between student success relating to the allotted time for more counseling sessions (Kovač & Krečič, 2014).
Wood’s research study was able to provide clarity for the essential further methodologies to support gifted students. However, she was only able to discuss the basis for this particular area. Perhaps this is due to the small amount of literature and outcome research that documents gifted and talented students’ experiences with counselors.
Sumerlin and Literell’s research bridged a gap between social science, psychology, and education in its connection to the impact of passion over the span of a counselor’s career. The terms passion and burnout presented in the literature were clarified and defined. The phenomenon of passion is clarified as internal fuel and can be measured by presented behaviors of emotional attributes of love and care. In comparison, the phenomenon of burnout is the personification of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. The organization of the literature is clear and provides an understanding of the importance of maintaining a sense of passion in the event of avoiding burnout. However, a large portion of this research suggests spirituality and religion are heavily influential avenues in maintaining passion and enthusiasm throughout the career span. Therefore, potential biases within this study are presented.
A large number of reviewed studies indicate that professional counselors experience stress and burnout, leaving counselors in a state that is not equipped to provide high levels of quality services to their students. In a non-experimental quantitative approach, a single survey was distributed via electronic mail. The survey was broken into a two-part instrument. Part one consisted of a demographical inquiry such as age, gender, race and employment. Part two consisted of burnout assessment questions. On the other hand, a recent quasi-experimental study compared the Partners in Prevention (PIP) program with the school counseling model for at-risk elementary school students. The sampling was selected from a rural school district in central New York City. The PIP selection was larger (2,500) than the school counseling participants (570). The data was collected and analyzed through a Likert-type scale and academic overall averages. Though both studies utilized a form of Likert-based research, the quasi-experiment did not use a randomized selection and implemented a comparison between two groups.
Research Design
This is a qualitative phenomenological research design supported by the Grounded Theory implementation to build a theory grounded in the outcomes.
Research Purpose Statement And Questions
The purpose of this study is to know why there is burnout among counselors. It has been discovered that it is because of the ratio of students to that of counselors. During my interview with them, they said that they have got used to their work and they are working so as to help their students.
Present your research purpose statement. Present your research question(s). If you are proposing a quantitative study, you may present your research questions in the form of one or more hypotheses.
Data Collection Plan
If you are proposing a qualitative study, use the following subheadings to present your data collection plan and erase the subheadings for the quantitative study.
Sampling Approach
In the current investigation, the random sampling method has been used. The approach is very useful in the present research because of the equal opportunity provided for each sample to get selected, leading to a reduction in the chances of error and personal bias.
Gaining Permission
Before any research, you have to seek permission to access the premises. I visited the school and, luckily, I was given permission to access it.
Data To Be Collected
Data collection is the key value of research. You have to collect what you want from your investigation. The collection of data involves the use of interviews and questionnaires so as to get good results.
Procedures For Recording Data
Research allows a researcher to use various methods to record their data. In the current study, an inductive approach has been applied, which will help in the investigation from specific to general. The main focus of the study is to understand the important attributes of project managers in the success of the manufacturing industry in Cambodia. It is the development of a new theory. As a result, an inductive approach has been used. So, it is the best approach for achieving the objective of the study.
Data Analysis And Interpretation Plan
If you are proposing a qualitative study, use the following subheadings to present your data analysis and interpretation plan and erase the subheadings for the quantitative study.
Preparing And Organizing Data For Analysis
- Exploring and Coding the Data
- Building Description and Themes
- Reporting Findings
- Interpreting Findings
- Validating the Accuracy of the Findings
Ethical And Culturally Relevant Considerations
Research ethics focuses on the application of ethical norms and principles in the research. The research concept becomes very important when human participants are involved in the research since ethical issues are a focus in this study as people are included as respondents. There are three main objectives in ethics. Firstly, ethics is meant to protect the human participants. Secondly, the research should be conducted in such a manner that protects the interests of people and the entire society. The last objective is concerned with the promotion of confidentiality, management of risk and obtaining consent of the participants. Researchers should follow the guidelines and ethical norms during their research. They should take care of the safety and security of the respondents (Madiba). Confidentiality should be maintained.
In the present research, the author has taken all the appropriate steps to ensure the safety and security of the data. Some of the information has been collected from secondary sources which have been referenced. Plagiarism and manipulation of data have been taken care of in the entire report. Moreover, the present study has followed all the necessary rules and guidelines related to ethics in research.
Conclusion
In conclusion, research work is one of the best things to do but also the hardest. Counselors in most schools suffer burnout because of the work they do. This is because of the ratio of students to that of counselors. My research work was successful, but I encountered so many problems during my investigation. The first problem was that the counselors had no time because there were students who came for counseling classes, and by that, the counselors had to stop and serve the students. I would try managing that by interviewing the counselors during their free time. The second problem was that of managing my data. It was hell because my notes were scattered because I would interview them differently. Coming out with the actual information and data was very hard. To deal with such a problem in my next research, I would take advantage of technology and stay focused during the research period. Another problem was that I had no research team, which made my work have challenges and problems during my research. I learned that counselors play a significant role in our schools. They build a study line for students and build their careers.
References
Kovač, J., & Krečič, M. J. (2014). Professional burnout among school counselors in basic school. Revija Za Element Arno Izobraževanje, 7(3), 89-104.
Wardle, E. A., & Mayorga, M. G. (2016). Burnout among the counseling profession: A survey of future professional counselors. Journal on Educational Psychology, 10(1), 9.
Sumerlin, T., & Littrell, J. (2011). The heart of the school counselor: Understanding passion over the span of a career. Professional School Counseling, 14(4), 278-285. 10.5330/PSC.n.2011-14.278
Wood, S. (2010). Best practices in counseling the gifted in schools: What’s really happening? Gifted Child Quarterly, 54(1), 42.
Colvin, J., Lee, M., Magnano, J., & Smith, V. (2008). The partners in prevention program: Further development of the task-centered case management model. Research on Social Work Practice, 18(6), 586-595. 10.1177/1049731507310195
Madiba, S., & Mokgatle, M. (2015). “Students want HIV testing in schools” a formative evaluation of the acceptability of HIV testing and counselling at schools in Gauteng and North West provinces in South Africa. BMC Public Health, 15(1), 388.
Glasheen, K., McMahon, M., Campbell, M., Rickwood, D., & Shochet, I. (2018). Implementing Online Counselling in Australian Secondary Schools: What Principals Think. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 40(1), 14-25.
Bolu-Steve, F., & Oredugba, O. O. (2017). Influence of Counselling Services on Perceived Academic Performance of Secondary School Students in Lagos State. International Journal of Instruction, 10(2), 211-228.
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