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Practica and Fieldwork Details:
Field practice is essential for candidates in the School Counseling Program at S DSU to build on and integrate the professional preparation undertaken in the university setting. Candidates begin to develop knowledge and skill in working with pre-K through adult pupils in their first field experience in a small group practica course completed at a school site (CSP 740 Practicum: Schools). Following the practica experience, candidates work at field sites at elementary, middle and high school grade levels (CSP 730 Fieldwork in School Counseling). Field experiences provide candidates with opportunities to demonstrate knowledge and skills necessary to support their training and preparation for their future role as school counselors.
Practica Experiences (Minimum 100 clock hours)
Practica consists of a series of supervised experiences that occur in field settings, and provide for the application of knowledge and the development of skills. Practica experiences are to be completed prior to the beginning of field experience in CSP 730 classes. Candidates complete a minimum of one hundred (100) clock hours in the CSP 740 Practicum: Schools (Fall) course to meet Practica requirements. In this course, students shadow school personnel, conduct case studies involving record reviews, interviews and observations; complete ecosystemic assessments and implemented ecosystemic interventions with pupils including the tutoring of individual exceptional learners. In the CSP 740 (Spring) course, students complete an additional 100 hours in field work and conduct an ecosystemic school study including the mapping of school-based community resources, conduct group counseling sessions, participated in student study teams, examine school-wide testing data, and observe school governance meetings (e.g., site council, school board, faculty).
Candidates concurrently enrolled in the School Counseling Program and other professional training programs in the Department of Counseling and School Psychology will have been deemed to have met the 100 hour practica requirements for the school counseling PPS credential if they have participated in the following experiences that total 100 clock hours:
• Peer counseling related to a university or college program practicum course
• Personal and Career Assessments
• Personal Counseling experiences in either an individual or group context
• School-based programs serving parents and family members
• Community service programs serving children and adolescents
Field experiences (Minimum 600 clock hours)
Candidates must complete the following fieldwork hours to obtain the PPS Credential:
1. A minimum of six hundred (600) clock hours must be completed at field sites.
2. Two hundred (200) clock hours may be completed in community, mental health, educational (including community college) or social work settings. Candidates must supply an activity log outlining their experiences in these settings and must have documentation from the senior supervisor, director, manager, and administrator testifying that the hours recorded by the candidate at the site are correct.
3. At least four hundred (400) clock hours must be completed and supervised in public school settings with K-12 pupils in the CSP 730 courses. Candidates and complete placements at two of three school levels such as elementary, middle, high school with a minimum of two hundred (200) clock hours at each level.
CSP 730 Field Experience Sequence
The CSP 730 field experience builds upon the CSP 740 200 hour field experience completed in the first phase of training to address the CTC requirements for accreditation. Students usually complete a total of 500 hours in CSP 730 courses (unless they are completing field experiences in other professional programs such as the Community–Based Block, Marriage and Family Therapy Program or the School Psychology Program in which case they normally complete a total of 400 hours in the CSP 730 courses).
There are two CSP 730 courses offered each year. Generally students complete 200 hours in the fall and 300 hours in the spring (the final phase of training). However, the program allows for some variation of hours completed in each CSP 730 class. (However, the minimum number of fieldwork hours completed per CSP 730 class is 100 with a maximum of 300 hours per CSP 730 class).
These courses offer appropriate field practice providing candidates with professional preparation qualifying them to work in K-12 schools with students who are culturally and ethnically diverse. Candidates normally complete the fall and spring CSP 730 courses in the same field setting. Candidates typically share a field site with a peer from the same level in the program. This configuration helps enhance their professional preparation and integrate their course work with field experiences.
Each field placement should be designed in such a manner so that each student attains a range of professional growth experiences during each CSP 730 course. Students are expected to demonstrate professional development in the following seven domains:
1. Professional identity and ethical and legal mandates
2. Socio-cultural competence
3. Ecological and eco-behavioral assessment and intervention
4. Systemic Counseling Interventions
5. Personal growth and development
6. Educational growth and development
7. Research and program development and evaluation
Students are expected to develop mastery in each of the above three domains with increasing levels of knowledge, skill and expertise demonstrated in the CSP 730 field experience sequence. Because field experiences vary at each school site (particularly between elementary and secondary sites), course syllabi cannot be tightly prescriptive. However, after completing the two compulsory CSP 730 courses, candidates must have attained, at an established or integrated level, the tasks, skills and knowledge that meet the standards at the field sites. Candidates are evaluated on the standards identified in the Evaluation Of Competency Development Form on a four point rating scale. The ratings are as follows:
0 Competency = no opportunity or not yet demonstrated/observed in this setting
1 Emerging = beginning to show this knowledge/skill
2 Established= basic knowledge/skills attained and demonstrated routinely
3 Integrated= uses knowledge/skills flexibly as part of an overall repertoire
This scale assists instructors and field supervisors to determine the level of knowledge, practice and skill that candidates possess in order to meet CTC standards. The scale must be completed at the end of every CSP 730 field experience by candidates and their field -site supervisors. Completion of this rating scale on at least three or more occasions provide opportunities for candidates and their field experience instructors to gather data on candidate performance and learning achievements. A meeting is held between the candidate, the field-site supervisor, and the university instructor overseeing the field experience to identify the learning experiences and outcomes targeted in future field experiences. The cumulative data gained from regular and systematic reviews provides information on a systematic basis about a candidate’s knowledge and skill repertoire that needs further development. Candidates are required to formulate an individualized plan that outlines their specific learning goals that must be achieved in future placements.
Note:
When there is a discrepancy between the candidate and the field-site supervisor, a discussion must be held between these two parties to identify how the supervisor and candidate came to their respective evaluations. The field-site supervisor makes a recommendation to the university instructor on candidate performance based upon the evaluation rating. In some instances, candidates can request a second evaluation from the university instructor overseeing field site placements. The university instructor’s recommendation and/or the Director of the School Counseling Program’s recommendation is final.
Formulation of the Individualized Plan
A planning document for field experience is prepared and agreed upon by the field supervisor(s) and program faculty serving as field course instructors. The plan includes the competencies candidates are expected to develop, the experiences used to attain competencies, and a plan for determining competency attainment. The plan also delineates the responsibilities of both program faculty and school counseling supervisors. The plan is completed early in the field experience and is periodically reviewed and revised.
Ultimately they must, on completion of training, have achieved mastery of all 16 areas outlined in the specific standards of the California Teaching Commission, and established a more balanced and more even pattern of professional competencies and abilities.
Supervision
An average of one (1) hour of individual supervision per day should be provided by the field supervisor field experience. This is documented in the activity log by candidates and includes signatures on supervision dates provided by field supervisor.
An average of one-and-one-half (1.5) hours per week of group supervision will be provided by a program faculty member throughout the field experience. Generally CSP 730 group supervision classes are held once every two weeks for three hours on campus.
Working with ethnically diverse pupils
Fifty (50) clock hours shall be with at least ten (10) pupils (individually or in a group) of a racial and ethnic background different from that of the candidate. These hours must be documented by the candidate in the Activity Log verified by the field supervisor.
Note: A further 100 clock hours is explicitly devoted to diversity issues in CSP 600/600L.