STEM graduate students have high rates of stress, burn-out, and depression fueled by the competitive nature of these programs, financial and job insecurities, and the isolation that often comes alongside graduate school. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of a brief counseling support group provided to STEM graduate students across two university campuses. Using a phenomenological framework, analysis of focus group and individual interviews revealed the unique challenges of STEM graduate school education, the therapeutic benefits of counseling groups, and the potential difficulties of providing mental health support to this population.
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Re-conceptualizing the Achieving Success Everyday Group Counseling Model to Focus on the Strengths of Black Male Middle School Youth
Scholarship focused on Black male students in school counseling has been intermittent despite being well documented in the larger field of education and other disciplines. In this article, we conducted a systematic review of the school counseling literature that focused on Black male students. We used critical race theory (CRT) to examine the programs and interventions that have been published with Black male participants in school settings within the school counseling literature and examined the role that school counselors took when supporting Black male students’ academic, social emotional, college and career identity development. We re-conceptualize the Achieving Success Everyday (ASE) group model (Steen et al., 2014) and call for others to use the ASE group model to combat racism and foster Black excellence.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2126056
- PAR ID:
- 10439082
- Editor(s):
- Mullen, P.R.; Sink, C.
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of schoolbased counseling policy and evaluation
- Volume:
- 5
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2688-6189
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 4-20
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract In this study, we utilized a case study approach to examine the perspectives of 20 school stakeholders regarding equitable ways they promote and broaden the participation of Black male students in a high school academy of engineering (AOE). Madison River Academy (pseudonym) is a comprehensive high school with an AOE embedded in it. The ethnic and racial backgrounds of students at Madison River Academy are 68.8% Black, 14.4% Latinx, 8.7% White, 4.3% Asian, and 3.4% Multiracial. Three themes emerged from our data analyses of the school stakeholder interviews, including the following: (a) a cultural mismatch: denoting the cultural disconnect between teachers and Black male students; (b) math as a gatekeeper: symbolizing mathematics as a barrier Black male participation in the AOE; and (c) promoting equitable access: representing strategies the school stakeholders discussed that could address the equity issues within the AOE. More specifically, within the promoting equitable access theme, two subthemes emerged: building vertical pathways from middle to high school and applying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pathways. We provide recommendations for addressing the equity issues within our case study and promoting higher levels of participation of Black male students in the AOE.
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In this study we followed a qualitative case study design to examine the perspectives of 20 school stakeholders (e.g., district and school administrators, school board members, teachers, school counselors, parents, staff, and advisory board members) regarding (in)equitable ways they promote and broaden the participation of Black male students in a high school academy of engineering. Using the concept of cultural matching and the formation of STEM identities, we understood that Black students at Madison River Academy did not participate in rigorous academic programs (e.g., the academy of engineering), partially due to a lack of the school stakeholders' abilities to provide culturally congruent, compatible, responsive, or synchronized learning environments that connected them with their home cultures and lived experiences. Findings from our case study demonstrate how the change in the historical mission of career academies has limited access to rigorous STEM opportunities and engagement of ethnically and racially diverse (particularly Black) students. In this academy, the lack of Black male student and teacher representation as well as mathematics were two barriers limiting the engagement of Black male students. Thus, we contend that it is critical that STEM academy school stakeholders, particularly school leaders, prioritize equity as a strategic goal for their STEM programs and recruit Black teachers who are willing to create culturally responsive curricular experiences to elicit interest in STEM for Black students.more » « less
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This work in progress paper outlines the initial evaluation results for a professional development program that is focused on strengthening self-advocacy among historically minoritized graduate students in science, engineering, technology and math (STEM). The program’s framework for self-advocacy is adapted from existing frameworks developed by the American Counseling Association and the Learning Disabilities communities to educate students on skills that support academic success. The American Counseling Association (ACA) published the Advocacy Competencies between the three areas of client/student, school/community, and public arena advocacy as part of their guidelines for effective counseling of minoritized students (Lewis, Arnold et al. 2002, Toporek and Daniels 2018) and is based on a social justice framework (Ratts and Hutchins 2009). The three skills with self-advocacy are: empowerment or a sense of agency (having control over decisions and life events), strong self-awareness (knowing what is right for oneself and setting goals based on this criteria), and social justice (knowing how to identify and challenge negative social climates and systems of oppression) (Test, Fowler et al. 2010). Within the different forms of practicing and teaching advocacy, working with students by teaching them the skills within a counselor and student or mentor and student group structure was found to help minoritized students reach academic success (Dowden 2009, Ratts and Hutchins 2009, Roberts, Ju et al. 2016).more » « less
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Abstract Despite the escalation of alcohol use through high school, the majority of research on school‐based alcohol interventions has been conducted with junior high students or first and second‐year high school students. Preliminary research indicates a brief, web‐based personalized feedback intervention developed for college students (eCHECKUP TO GO) may be a promising program for high school seniors. Although these studies demonstrate positive intervention effects, there is some evidence for greater program efficacy for females in this age group. The current study investigates sex differences in program acceptability of the eCHECKUP TO GO and its relationship to short‐term alcohol outcomes among high school seniors (
N = 135). Overall, the majority of students reported they found the program to be acceptable (i.e., user‐friendly and useful). However, contrary to our hypothesis, results indicated that male students reported significantly higher perceptions of program acceptability than females. Although we did not find sex differences in alcohol outcomes, program user‐friendliness was related to reductions in alcohol use for males. The results of this study add to the literature supporting the eCHECKUP TO GO for high school seniors and highlight the importance of program user‐friendliness for males. Implications for implementing the program as a school‐based intervention are discussed.
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- The DOI is not currently available.
