Exploring Variation in College Counselor Effectiveness

Several recent studies have investigated the impact of college advising on whether students enter and succeed in postsecondary education. These papers generally find positive impacts from advising, yet few explore the extent of heterogeneity in impacts between program counselors. We take advantage of quasi-random counselor assignment to explore variation and correlates of college counselor effectiveness using rich administrative data on adviser-advisee interactions from a multisite randomized control trial of a college advising program. Large overall effects on college enrollment from the advising intervention are consistent across counselors; there is little relationship between counselor characteristics or behaviors and student outcomes.

Individualism, Collectivism, Client Expression, and Counselor Effectiveness Among South Korean International Students

The present study examined how individualism, collectivism, and counselor emphasis of client expression (cognition vs. emotion) are related to perceived counselor effectiveness among South Korean international students. Data were collected through mail surveys from 127 South Korean international students attending a Midwestern university. As hypothesized, results from a hierarchical multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the participants perceived the counselor who emphasized the expression of client emotion as more effective than the counselor emphasizing the expression of client cognition. Contrary to expectations, however, the interactions between cultural variables and counselor emphasis of client expression were not significantly predictive of perceived counselor effectiveness. Implications for counseling practice and future research are discussed.

Client Rating of Counselor Effectiveness: A Call for Caution

This study examined the relationship between client presession level of distress and client rating of the effectiveness of individual counseling sessions. Results of this investigation suggest a need for caution when interpreting client ratings of the effectiveness of counseling services. Preexisting client conditions may significantly influence the client ratings, independent of the effectiveness of the counselor.