Student Attitudes toward an Online Graduate Career Counseling Course

Abstract

Generally, graduate students in counselor education programs do not aspire to become career counselors (Lara, Kline, & Paulson, 2011). Students often complete coursework in career counseling exclusively due to graduation requirements, despite the overlap between personal and career concerns. In a replication case study, graduate students counseling (N = 24) were asked about their attitudes toward a required online career counseling course in order to investigate student perceptions about the course and the impact of an interactive and constructivist course design on initial perceptions. Students responded in writing to prompts provided at two points during the course, replicating interview questions from Lara et al. (2011). Qualitative data were analyzed using NVivo 11 software. Students did not feel competent in practicing formalized career counseling, but developed an appreciation for integrating a work lens into their practice. Implications are offered for educators to enhance student interest in work-related issues, and for boosting student engagement in online graduate coursework.