Setting Up a Research Study:

A Pilot Project to Improve CCR for Middle

School Students

Carolyn Berger, Ph.D.

About Me…

MEd, EdS, & PhD: UF

BA: Northwestern

Counselor educator since 2009

School Counselor at middle and high school levels

Professional membership and active engagement in

counseling associations

State leadership in school counseling

Now tell me about you!

Your name

Where you’re from

Your program and career interest (what do you want to

be when you “grow up”?)

Research Interests

Past:

Counseling underachieving students

Survey research & small group intervention

Improving the support systems for students with chronic

illness

Survey research & advisory board

Present:

Meeting the college & career readiness needs of PK-12

students

Collaborative research project- middle school curriculum

development and implementation

Research Interests

Themes:

Ultimately, I want to help students achieve as a

result of successful counseling

interventions/curriculum

I am focused on outcome research and evidence-

based interventions

I believe in the importance of consultation and

coordination when implementing research

What is outcome research?

“Evidence-based practice requires application of practices

for which the evidence was the product of rigorous

scientific empirical studies — that is, outcome research.” (Counseling Today, 2012: http://ct.counseling.org/2012/12/a-new-view-of-

evidence-based-practice/)

Counseling Outcome Research & Evaluation journal:

http://cor.sagepub.com/

Center for School Counseling Outcome Research:

http://www.umass.edu/schoolcounseling/

Area of Need

When conducting research, it’s important to establish an

area of need

What does that mean?

Why is that an important key step?

CCR as an Area of Need

National call to action to better prepare PK-12 students for

college/postsecondary education (White House, 2014)

At our current rate of educational attainment, the U.S. will be

short 5 million workers for jobs that require postsecondary

credentials by 2020 (Carnevale, Smith, & Stroh, 2010)

Correlation between college completion and quality of life (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014; Ross & Willigen, 1997; Smith & Holcombe, 2011; Telfair & Shelton, 2012)

Shifts in thinking that occur during adolescence make the

middle school years a particularly important time (Gibbons & Borders,

2010; NACAC, 2009)

Local Need for CCR Programs

Broward Middle School Counselors surveyed:

Approx. 30% participation rate

Overall, Florida DOE career standards are being met

However, NOSCA components are not being met

50% reported that students are not being taught about

financial aid

40% reported that parents/guardians are not involved in

the CCR process.

Survey illustrated gaps in CCR components

Current Research Project

Pilot Study to Improve the College and Career Readiness

Program in a Broward County Middle School

Project resulted from ongoing collaboration with

Broward County

Collaboration resulted in a $10,000 “Quality of Life”

grant

How should counselors decide what to

include in an intervention?

Look at standards/guidelines (when possible)

ASCA standards

State standards

Multicultural Competency Standards

Career Development Standards (e.g., NCDA policies)

Suicide Prevention Standards (NSSP)

Look at past research studies

National Guideline Clearinghouse: http://www.guideline.gov/

Standards of Care for specific mental disorders

What Works Clearinghouse: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/

For this project, I focused on:

FL DOE Career & Ed Standards

National Office for School Counselor Advocacy- CCR

Components (College Board)

FL DOE Standards

FL required Career and Education Planning course

This course covers eight standards including:

1. societal changes in relation to employment

2. career information

3. goal setting

4. employability skills

5. relationship between education and career options

6. interest assessments

7. career and education plan

8. knowledge of technology as it relates to careers

NOSCA Standards

College Board’s National Office of School Counselor

Advocacy (NOSCA) identified six components of

CCR that need to be covered in the middle school:

1. College aspirations

2. Academic planning

3. Extracurricular engagement

4. College and career exploration and selection processes

5. College and career assessments

6. College affordability planning

Collaboration

Broward school counseling leaders in support of

revamping the CCR curriculum

Timing was pivotal

District leaders invested in improving CCR

Adoption of Naviance

Recognition that FL DOE standards and NOSCA

components both need to be covered

Collaboration

Connected with the principal of a middle school who

recognized need for stronger CCR curriculum

This middle school is Title I and was purposefully chosen

due to high need

School Demographics

86.2% African American/Black, 9.7% Hispanic, 1.4% White,

and 2.7% other ethnic backgrounds

90% Free/Reduced Lunch

Curriculum implemented with 7th graders (approx. 315

students)

Faculty involved include:

3 school counselors

62 teachers (including three 7th grade social studies teachers)

4 administrators

(Data from FL DOE, last updated 12/21/15)

Now What??

So we know that CCR is an area of need for MS students

(both nationally and in the county)

We know the standards

We have connected with a principal of a middle school

who is passionate about topic

Now what could you do?

Pair up with someone and come up with at

least three ideas of next steps

Determining Priorities

Standards were analyzed and priority areas

were developed

Special attention was paid to local needs of

low SES schools

Research was also consulted

Collaboration

Priorities:

Raise Students’ Career Knowledge and

College Aspirations through CCR

Curriculum (FL DOE & NOSCA)

Increase Parent/Family Involvement in CCR (Dettmer et al., 2009; Trusty, Niles, & Carney, 2005)

Build College-Going Culture (Bruce & Bridgeland, 2012;

Perusse, Poynton, Parzych, & Goodnough, 2015)

Objective #1

Raise Student Career Knowledge and College

Aspirations through CCR Curriculum

Consult with district leaders as well as school staff to

develop curriculum

Naviance district-adopted CCR platform

Integrate curriculum with FL DOE Standards and NOSCA

Standards

Integrate evidence-based practices such as lesson topics

covered in ACT’s DISCOVER curriculum (Brake, 2001; Luzzo

& Pierce, 1996) and Career Targets (Legum & Hoare, 2004)

Curriculum Outline

1) Self-assessment- Interests (2 sessions)

2) Career exploration (2 sessions)

3) College Aspirations (include college affordability)

4) Postsecondary Options & College Exploration

5) Extracurricular engagement

6) Goal setting

7) Academic planning

Objective #2

Increase Parent/Family Involvement in CCR

Research shows it is essential for schools to involve

parents/families in CCR interventions (Dettmer et al., 2009;

Trusty, Niles, & Carney, 2005)

Regular communication will go home to parents regarding

CCR curriculum/activities

Invite parents and families to CCR event at the end of

curriculum

Make “Family College Night” accessible by offering at a

time feasible for parents to attend; food and incentives

will be offered for attending

Objective #3

Build a College-Going Culture

Reported gap in BCPS CCR program for middle school

Professional development trainings for teachers that focus

on increasing students’ college aspirations and linking core

curriculum with CCR counseling standards

Trainings will be tied to teacher initiatives (e.g., college door

contest)

CCR center being created in the school

College club will begin to meet after school

Focus is to help students become more exposed to college

information

Data Analysis & Study Design

Study Design

Primary Research Question

What is the impact of a classroom counseling unit on CCR on 7th grade students’ Career Maturity, College-Going Self-Efficacy, GPA, attendance, discipline, and extracurricular participation as compared to 7th grade students who do notreceive the intervention?

Study Design

Secondary research question(s)

What are teachers’, parents’/guardians’, and

students’ perception of the effectiveness of the

CCR curriculum?

Study Design

Data Collection

Intervention and waitlist comparison groups

complete pre-tests and post-tests

Tests to be administered online via survey monkey

15-20 minutes to complete

Students will be given numeric codes to use instead

of identification information

Data will be stored properly in locked cabinet and

computer data will be password protected

Study Design: Instrumentation

College-Going Self-Efficacy Scale (Gibbons, 2005)

30 items

Not at all sure, Somewhat Sure, Sure, Very sure

Categories of persistence (“I could get A’s and B’s in college”) and attendance (“I can find a way to pay for college)

Career Maturity Inventory- Form C (Crites & Savickas, 1995).

24 statements (agree or disagree)

4 scales: concern, curiosity, confidence, and consultation.

Surveys to assess students’, teachers’, and parents’ perceived effectiveness of the CCR curriculum

Study Design: Other Data

Attendance

Discipline referrals

GPA

Participation in extracurricular activities

Study Design: Ideal

Pretest/Posttest control group design

Students will be randomly assigned to a social studies class,

stratifying based on reading achievement levels on the FL

Standards Assessment

Half of the classes will receive the CCR curriculum in the

beginning of the semester (Experimental Group- EG)

The other half will receive the curriculum during the second

half of the semester (Control Group- CG)

The 3 social studies teachers to share the experimental and

control groups equally

GROUP PRE-TEST TREATMENT POST-TEST TREATMENT

Exp Group O X O

Control Group O O X

Study Design: Alternate

Pretest/Posttest control group design

Alternate plan: Quasi-experimental Design

Assign experimental and control groups based on similar

criteria (e.g. honors vs. regular courses)

Statistically analyze treatment and control groups for

differences

Control group would receive delayed treatment

Study Design

Secondary research question

Descriptive statistics will be used

Post-test only used to measure perception of

helpfulness of intervention

Study Design

Independent Variable:?

intervention or comparison group

Dependent Variables?

Scores on CMI, CGSES + GPA, attendance, discipline referrals, extracurricular participation

Primary Research Question (differences between groups) Statistical analyses will be chosen based on ultimate

experimental design

Secondary Research Question Basic descriptive statistics will be used

Data Analysis

Quantitative analysis of student attendance, discipline

referrals, the CMI, the CGSES, and surveys filled out by

the students, teachers, and parents

Descriptive statistics will be used to compare students’

attendance, discipline referrals, GPA, and participation in

extracurricular activities

Grant Funding

Monies will be used to train teachers on CCR

curriculum- printing of manuals and payment for teachers’

time

Supplies for curriculum and College-Going Culture

materials

Food for teacher trainings and Family College Night

Incentives for parents to attend Family College Night

Research assistant funding

Research team travel

Future Grant Funding

Institute for Education Science- funding for educational

research, including the recently added topic area of career

education

Department of Education grant programs

Local funding (e.g., Broward’s Community Foundations’

Ignite! Innovations Grant)

Obstacles

School district research approval

“Buy-in” from teachers

Integrity of curriculum

Testing pressure

Student engagement/interest in CCR

Bringing families into the process

Resources

Connections with school district

Building foundation for teacher “buy in” – early establishment of relevancy, grant $ helps!

Manualize curriculum and teacher training

Work around testing schedule, integrate in classes that are less pressured to perform on state tests

Student engagement/interest- importance of making curriculum interesting and link to topics they are interested in

Consult school staff and families

What are the best times/ways to implement the CCR training?

What resources do we need to provide families to attend the training?

What are ways to encourage families to read communications and come to events?

Summary

CCR is a timely, relevant research interest

Integration of CCR in middle school has been largely

ignored

Current project will pilot program and measure data to

examine its effectiveness

Future grant funding available for CCR studies

Consultation and collaboration with the community,

schools, families, teachers, and students is a crucial part of

CCR research

Thank you for listening!

Dr. Carolyn Berger

cs453@nova.edu

ReferencesBureau of Labor Statistics (2014). Employment projections: Earning and unemployment rates by educational

attainment. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm

Brake, R. G. (2001). The effects of DISCOVER career guidance software on career decision-making self-efficacy

of adolescents in foster care. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio,

TX.

Bruce, M., & Bridgeland, J. (2012). 2012 National Survey of School Counselors: True North--Charting the Course

to College and Career Readiness. College Board Advocacy & Policy Center.

The College Board (2010). The College Board National Office for School Counselor Advocacy: Eight

components of college and career readiness counseling. Retrieved from https://secure-

media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/nosca/11b_4416_8_Components_WEB_111107.pdf

Crites, J. O., & Savickas, M. L. (1995). Revision of the Career Maturity Inventory. Journal of Career Assessment, 4,

131–138.

Dettmer, P., Thurston, L.P., Knackendoffel, A., & Dyck, N. J. (2009). Collaboration, consultation, and teamwork for

students with special needs. Columbus, OH: Pearson.

Florida Department of Education (n.d.). College and career planning: Educator’s toolkit. Retrieved from

http://www.fldoe.org/academics/college-career-planning/educators-toolkit

Gibbons, M. M. (2005). College-going beliefs of prospective first-generation college students: Perceived barriers,

social supports, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations. Dissertation Abstracts International, 66(08A), 2841.

Gibbons, M. M., & Borders, L. D. (2010). Prospective first-generation college students: A social-cognitive

perspective. Career Development Quarterly, 58(3), 194-208.

ReferencesLegum, H. L., & Hoare, C. H. (2004). Impact of a career intervention on at-risk middle school students' career

maturity levels, academic achievement, and self-esteem. Professional School Counseling, 8, 148-155.

Luzzo, D. A. & Pierce, G. (1996, December). Effects of DISCOVER on the career maturity of middle school

students. The Career Developmental Quarterly, 45(2), 170-172.

National Association for College Admissions Counseling (2009). Adolescent development and the transition to

college: Psychological and social considerations. Research to Practice Brief, 5. Retrieved from

http://www.nacacnet.org/research/PublicationsResources/Marketplace/research/Pages/RTPBriefAdolescentDevel

opment.aspx

Perusse, R., Poynton, T. A., Parzych, J. L., & Goodnough, G. E. (2015). The importance and implementation of eight

components of college and career readiness counseling in school counselor education programs. Journal of

College Access, 1(1), 29-41.

Ross, C.E., & Van Willigen, M. (1997). Education and the subjective quality of life. Journal of Health and Social

Behavior, 38, 275–297

Smith, E., & Holcombe, W. (2011, March). Benefits of educational attainment in Florida. The Florida College System.

Retrieved March 4, 2015 from http://www.hccfl.edu/media/415692/zoom%202011-

02%20benefits%20of%20education.pdf

Telfair, J., & Shelton, T. L. (2012) Educational attainment as a social determinant of health. North Carolina Medical

Journal, 73(5), 358-365.

Trusty, J., Niles, S., & Carney, J. (2005). Education-Career Planning and Middle School Counselors. Professional

School Counseling, 9(2), 136-143

White House (2014). Fact sheet: The President and First Lady’s call to action on college opportunity [Press

release]. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/01/16/fact-sheet-president-and-first-

lady-s-call-action-college-opportunity