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Training and Education in Professional Psychology

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Journal scope statement

Training and Education in Professional Psychology ® is dedicated to enhancing supervision and training provided to trainees in doctoral, internship, and post-doctoral programs in health service psychology. The journal publishes articles that contribute to and advance health service professional psychology education. Training and Education in Professional Psychology is copublished by the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers and APA.

Equity, diversity, and inclusion

Training and Education in Professional Psychology supports equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in its practices. More information on these initiatives is available under EDI Efforts .

Editor's Choice

One article from each issue of the  Training and Education in Professional Psychology  will be highlighted as an “ Editor’s Choice ” article. Selection is based on the recommendations of the associate editors, the paper’s potential impact to the field, the distinction of expanding the contributors to, or the focus of, the science, or its discussion of an important future direction for science. Editor's Choice articles are featured alongside articles from other APA published journals in a bi-weekly newsletter and are temporarily made freely available to newsletter subscribers.

Author and editor spotlights

Explore journal highlights : free article summaries, editor interviews and editorials, journal awards, mentorship opportunities, and more.

Prior to submission, please carefully read and follow the submission guidelines detailed below. Manuscripts that do not conform to the submission guidelines may be returned without review.

To submit to the editorial office of Jennifer L. Callahan, PhD, please submit manuscripts electronically through the Manuscript Submission Portal in Microsoft Word (.docx) or LaTex (.tex) as a zip file with an accompanied Portable Document Format (.pdf) of the manuscript file.

Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association using the 7 th edition. Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free language (see Chapter 5 of the Publication Manual ). APA Style and Grammar Guidelines for the 7 th edition are available.

Submit Manuscript

Jennifer L. Callahan, PhD Professor and Codirector of Center Psychosocial Health Disparities Research Department of Psychology University of North Texas 1155 Union Circle #311280 Denton, TX 76203-5017 (940) 565-2671 Email

Your title page must include the following information:

• each author's name and affiliation
• the address of the corresponding author
• mail and email addresses
• phone and fax numbers
• a brief biography for each author, listing accreditation, current affiliation(s), and current research interests (see example below): Debora J. Bell, PhD, is professor and chair of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri. She received her doctorate from West Virginia University and completed a clinical internship at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. She has served as director of the University of Missouri doctoral program in clinical psychology and of the MU Psychological Services Clinic. Her research and professional interests include social-cognitive and emotion regulation aspects of youth internalizing adjustment, and professional issues in health service psychology education and training.

Do not identify the authors in the manuscript text or footnotes.

If you would like to discuss a possible idea for submission to the journal, please contact Jennifer L. Callahan. .

Call for manuscripts

The editorial board of Training and Education in Professional Psychology ® ( TEPP ) encourages the APPIC membership, the membership of academic training councils, and all members of the health service psychology education community to examine issues relevant to the process and procedures of health service psychology education and training and to contribute manuscripts on these topics to TEPP .

TEPP is specifically for psychologists and other mental health professionals who educate, supervise, and train individuals in health service psychology during their academic programs as well as during their participation at practicum, internship, and postdoctoral settings.

Manuscripts for TEPP can be research- or theory-based and should contribute to the knowledge base in health service psychology education and training by advancing theoretical understanding, identifying best practices, or extending the evidence base supporting education and training. All manuscripts must address the practical implications on education and training of the theory proposed or research presented. Any topic in the general areas of supervision, training, or the process and impacts of education leading to licensure, or the experience and outcomes of trainees in health service psychology is appropriate for examination and discussion in TEPP .

TEPP manuscripts examine such topics as:

• training and evaluation of professional competencies
• justice, inclusion, diversity, and equity in education and training
• supervision theory process and procedures
• training in research and scholarly activity
• supervisory and mentorship relationships
• ethical and legal aspects of training, education, supervision, and mentoring
• supporting trainees’ professional development and wellness
• trainee and supervisee problems and due process issues
• the process of training leading to licensure

Special thematic issues of the journal will provide in-depth examination of a particular training and education topic.

Manuscripts

Manuscripts should be approximately 25 pages in length in total including tables and references (more pages must be strongly justified).

Manuscripts should be written with the goal of enhancing the practice of education, training, and supervision in health service psychology.

Each manuscript should conclude with a specific section on the implications of the research or theory presented.

Review policy

Once TEPP receives a manuscript, the editor reviews the manuscript for appropriateness for publication and competitiveness for publication in TEPP . If appropriate, the Editor assigns the manuscript to an associate editor who seeks masked review by at least two consulting editors or ad hoc reviewers.

The editorial review process takes approximately 60 to 90 days for the author to receive editorial comment about the manuscript

Manuscript preparation

Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association using the 7th edition. Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free language (see Chapter 5 of the Publication Manual ).

Review APA's Journal Manuscript Preparation Guidelines before submitting your article.

Double-space all copy. Other formatting instructions, as well as instructions on preparing tables, figures, references, metrics, and abstracts, appear in the Manual . Additional guidance on APA Style is available on the APA Style website .

If your manuscript was mask reviewed, please ensure that the final version for production includes a byline and full author note for typesetting.

Inclusive Research and Reporting Standards

The journal encourages submissions which extend beyond Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) samples ( Henrich, et al., 2010 ). The journal welcomes submissions which feature Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and other historically marginalized sample populations. The journal particularly welcomes submissions which feature collaborative research models (e.g., community-based participatory research [CBPR]; see Collins, et al., 2018 ) and study designs that address heterogeneity within diverse samples. Studies focused exclusively on BIPOC and other historically excluded populations are also welcome.

To promote a more equitable research and publication process, Training and Education in Professional Psychology has adopted the following standards for inclusive research reporting.

Author contribution statements using CRediT

The APA Publication Manual ( 7th ed. ) stipulates that “authorship encompasses…not only persons who do the writing but also those who have made substantial scientific contributions to a study.” In the spirit of transparency and openness, Training and Education in Professional Psychology has adopted the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) to describe each author's individual contributions to the work. CRediT offers authors the opportunity to share an accurate and detailed description of their diverse contributions to a manuscript.

Submitting authors will be asked to identify the contributions of all authors at initial submission according to the CRediT taxonomy. If the manuscript is accepted for publication, the CRediT designations will be published as an author contributions statement in the author note of the final article. All authors should have reviewed and agreed to their individual contribution(s) before submission.

CRediT includes 14 contributor roles, as described below:

• Conceptualization : Ideas; formulation or evolution of overarching research goals and aims.
• Data curation : Management activities to annotate (produce metadata), scrub data and maintain research data (including software code, where it is necessary for interpreting the data itself) for initial use and later re-use.
• Formal analysis : Application of statistical, mathematical, computational, or other formal techniques to analyze or synthesize study data.
• Funding acquisition : Acquisition of the financial support for the project leading to this publication.
• Investigation : Conducting a research and investigation process, specifically performing the experiments, or data/evidence collection.
• Methodology : Development or design of methodology; creation of models.
• Project administration : Management and coordination responsibility for the research activity planning and execution.
• Resources : Provision of study materials, reagents, materials, patients, laboratory samples, animals, instrumentation, computing resources, or other analysis tools.
• Software : Programming, software development; designing computer programs; implementation of the computer code and supporting algorithms; testing of existing code components.
• Supervision : Oversight and leadership responsibility for the research activity planning and execution, including mentorship external to the core team.
• Validation : Verification, whether as a part of the activity or separate, of the overall replication/reproducibility of results/experiments and other research outputs.
• Visualization : Preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work, specifically visualization/data presentation.
• Writing—original draft : Preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work, specifically writing the initial draft (including substantive translation).
• Writing—review & editing : Preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work by those from the original research group, specifically critical review, commentary or revision—including pre- or post-publication stages.

Authors can claim credit for more than one contributor role, and the same role can be attributed to more than one author. Not all roles will be applicable to a particular scholarly work.

Participant description, sample justification, and informed consent

Authors are encouraged to include a detailed description of the study participants in the Method section of each empirical report, including (but not limited to) the following:

• Racial identity
• Nativity or immigration history
• Socioeconomic status
• Clinical diagnoses and comorbidities (as appropriate)
• Any other relevant demographics (e.g., disability status; sexual orientation)

In both the abstract and in the discussion section of the manuscript, authors are encouraged to discuss the diversity of their study samples and the generalizability of their findings (see also the constraints on generality section below).

Authors are also encouraged to justify their sample demographics in the Discussion section. If Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) or all-White samples are used, authors should justify their samples and describe their sample inclusion efforts (see Roberts, et al., 2020 for more information on justifying sample demographics).

The Method section also must include a statement describing how informed consent was obtained from the participants (or their parents/guardians), including for secondary use of data if applicable, and indicate that the study was conducted in compliance with an appropriate Internal Review Board.

Reporting year(s) of data collection

Authors are encouraged to disclose the year(s) of data collection in both the Abstract and in the Method section in order to appropriately contextualize the study.

Positionality statements

Authors are encouraged to include a positionality statement in the author note. Positionality statements are intended to address potential author bias by transparently reporting how the identities of the authors relate to the research/article topic and to the identity of the participants, as well as the extent to which those identities are represented in the scientific record. The statement should be included in the author note and expanded upon in the Discussion section. See this example from Jovanova, et al. (2022) :

• Sample positionality statement: “Mindful that our identities can influence our approach to science ( Roberts, et al. 2020) , the authors wish to provide the reader with information about our backgrounds. With respect to gender, when the manuscript was drafted, four authors self-identified as women and four authors as men. With respect to race, six authors self-identified as white, one as South Asian and one as East Asian.”

For more guidance on writing positionality statements, see Roberts, et al. (2020) and Hamby (2018) .

Reflexivity

The journal welcomes submissions that proactively challenge racism and other forms of oppression. In line with the APA Guidelines on Race and Ethnicity in Psychology (2019) , authors are encouraged to include reflexive statements in the Discussion section, addressing the following questions.

• What are the policy implications of these findings?
• Could this research be misinterpreted or misused to negatively affect underrepresented groups? Does the research have the potential to cause harm to vulnerable groups? If so, how can this be addressed and mitigated?
• Does the design or framing of this research reinforce negative stereotypes about marginalized populations?
• What roles do the researcher(s)’ values and worldview play in the selection of this topic or design of the study?

Inclusive reference lists

Research has shown that there is often a racial/ethnic and gender imbalance in article reference lists, and that Black women’s work is disproportionately not credited or cited as often as White authors’ work ( Kwon, 2022 ). Authors are encouraged to ensure their citations are fully representative by both gender and racial identity before submitting and during the manuscript revision process. Authors are encouraged to evaluate the race and gender of the authors in their reference lists (see this open-source code by Zhou, et al., 2020 , that authors can use to predict the gender and race of the authors in their reference lists) and to report the results in a citation diversity statement in the author note or Discussion section of the manuscript.

See Dworkin, et al. (2020) ’s sample citation diversity statement:

“ Citation Diversity Statement . Recent work in neuroscience and other fields has identified a bias in citation practices such that papers from women and other minorities are under-cited relative to the number of such papers in the field (Caplar et al., 2017, Chakravartty et al., 2018, Dion et al., 2018, Dworkin et al., 2020, Maliniak et al., 2013, Thiem et al., 2018). Here, we sought to proactively consider choosing references that reflect the diversity of the field in thought, gender, race, geography, seniority, and other factors. We used automatic classification of gender based on the first names of the first and last authors (Dworkin et al., 2020, Zhou et al., 2020), with possible combinations including man/man, man/woman, woman/man, and woman/woman. Code for this classification is open source and available online (Zhou et al., 2020). We regret that our current methodology is limited to consideration of gender as a binary variable. Excluding self-citations to the first and last authors of our current paper, the references contain 12.5% man/man, 25% man/woman, 25% woman/man, 37.5% woman/woman, and 0% unknown categorization. We look forward to future work that could help us to better understand how to support equitable practices in science.”

Authors are encouraged to disclose the year(s) of data collection in both the abstract and in the Method section in order to appropriately contextualize the study.

Data, materials, and code

Authors must state whether data and study materials are available and, if so, where to access them. Recommended repositories include APA’s repository on the Open Science Framework (OSF), or authors can access a full list of other recommended repositories .

In both the author note and at the end of the method section, specify whether and where the data and material will be available or note the legal or ethical reasons for not doing so. For submissions with quantitative or simulation analytic methods, state whether the study analysis code is available, and, if so, where to access it (or the legal or ethical reason why it is not available).

For example:

• All data have been made publicly available at the [repository name] and can be accessed at [persistent URL or DOI].
• Materials and analysis code for this study are not available.
• The code behind this analysis/simulation has been made publicly available at the [repository name] and can be accessed at [persistent URL or DOI].

Constraints on generality

In a subsection of the discussion titled “Constraints on generality,” authors should include a detailed discussion of the limits on generality (see Simons, Shoda, & Lindsay , 2017). In this section, authors should detail grounds for concluding why the results are may or may not be specific to the characteristics of the participants. They should address limits on generality not only for participants but for materials, procedures, and context. Authors should also specify which methods they think could be varied without affecting the result and which should remain constant.

Public significance statements

Authors submitting manuscripts to Training and Education in Professional Psychology are required to provide 2–3 brief sentences regarding the public significance of the study, meta-analysis, or issues described in their paper. This description should be included within the manuscript on the abstract/keywords page. It should be written in language that is easily understood by both professionals and members of the lay public.

When an accepted paper is published, these sentences will be boxed beneath the abstract for easy accessibility. All such descriptions will also be published as part of the table of contents, as well as on the journal's web page. This new policy is in keeping with efforts to increase dissemination and usage by larger and diverse audiences.

Examples of these 2–3 sentences include the following:

• “This study highlights how certain therapist practices relate to the experiences of clients who are in consensually nonmonogamous (CNM) relationships. The results identify practices that are perceived as generally helpful or unhelpful, and point to the need for additional research, training, and guidelines to bridge therapists' knowledge gap regarding CNM.”
• “This study suggests that nonsuicidal self-injury (NSS) among transmasculine people may be related to a combination of known risk factors for NSSI and experiences of stress from stigma due to their transgender identity. Findings highlight the need for health care providers to anticipate stressors related to transgender identity development in the context of societal stigma attached to gender minority identities and NSSI, take steps to intervene at the individual and family levels, and advocate for changes in policy to reduce stigma and facilitate gender affirmation.”
• “As the Latinx population in the U.S. continues to grow, it is important to examine the consequences associated with multiple identities and interlocking systems of inequality. This intersectionality framework has the potential to advance our understanding of Latinx mental health but several theoretical, methodological, and statistical issues must be considered.”
• “Inhibitory processes, particularly related to temporal attention, may play a critical role in response to exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The main finding that individuals with PTSD who made more clinical improvement showed faster improvement in inhibition over the course of exposure therapy supports the utility of novel therapeutic interventions that specifically target attentional inhibition and better patient-treatment matching.”
• “When children participated in the enriched preschool program Head Start REDI, they were more likely to follow optimal developmental trajectories of social-emotional functioning through third grade. Ensuring that all children living in poverty have access to high-quality preschool may be one of the more effective means of reducing disparities in school readiness and increasing the likelihood of lifelong success.”

To be maximally useful, these statements of public health significance should not simply be sentences lifted directly from the manuscript.

They are meant to be informative and useful to any reader. They should provide a bottom-line, take-home message that is accurate and easily understood. In addition, they should be able to be translated into media-appropriate statements for use in press releases and on social media.

Please refer to the Guidance for Translational Abstracts and Public Significance Statements page to help you write this text.

Additional manuscript preparation instructions

Display equations.

We strongly encourage you to use MathType (third-party software) or Equation Editor 3.0 (built into pre-2007 versions of Word) to construct your equations, rather than the equation support that is built into Word 2007 and Word 2010. Equations composed with the built-in Word 2007/Word 2010 equation support are converted to low-resolution graphics when they enter the production process and must be rekeyed by the typesetter, which may introduce errors.

To construct your equations with MathType or Equation Editor 3.0:

• Go to the Text section of the Insert tab and select Object.
• Select MathType or Equation Editor 3.0 in the drop-down menu.

If you have an equation that has already been produced using Microsoft Word 2007 or 2010 and you have access to the full version of MathType 6.5 or later, you can convert this equation to MathType by clicking on MathType Insert Equation. Copy the equation from Microsoft Word and paste it into the MathType box. Verify that your equation is correct, click File, and then click Update. Your equation has now been inserted into your Word file as a MathType Equation.

Use Equation Editor 3.0 or MathType only for equations or for formulas that cannot be produced as Word text using the Times or Symbol font.

Computer code

Because altering computer code in any way (e.g., indents, line spacing, line breaks, page breaks) during the typesetting process could alter its meaning, we treat computer code differently from the rest of your article in our production process. To that end, we request separate files for computer code.

In online supplemental material

We request that runnable source code be included as supplemental material to the article. For more information, visit Supplementing Your Article With Online Material .

In the text of the article

If you would like to include code in the text of your published manuscript, please submit a separate file with your code exactly as you want it to appear, using Courier New font with a type size of 8 points. We will make an image of each segment of code in your article that exceeds 40 characters in length. (Shorter snippets of code that appear in text will be typeset in Courier New and run in with the rest of the text.) If an appendix contains a mix of code and explanatory text, please submit a file that contains the entire appendix, with the code keyed in 8-point Courier New.

Use Word's Insert Table function when you create tables. Using spaces or tabs in your table will create problems when the table is typeset and may result in errors.

Academic writing and English language editing services

Authors who feel that their manuscript may benefit from additional academic writing or language editing support prior to submission are encouraged to seek out such services at their host institutions, engage with colleagues and subject matter experts, and/or consider several vendors that offer discounts to APA authors .

Please note that APA does not endorse or take responsibility for the service providers listed. It is strictly a referral service.

Use of such service is not mandatory for publication in an APA journal. Use of one or more of these services does not guarantee selection for peer review, manuscript acceptance, or preference for publication in any APA journal.

Supplemental materials

APA can place supplemental materials online, available via the published article in the PsycArticles ® database. Please see Supplementing Your Article With Online Material for more details.

List references in alphabetical order. Each listed reference should be cited in text, and each text citation should be listed in the references section.

Examples of basic reference formats:

Journal article

McCauley, S. M., & Christiansen, M. H. (2019). Language learning as language use: A cross-linguistic model of child language development. Psychological Review , 126 (1), 1–51. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000126

Authored book

Brown, L. S. (2018). Feminist therapy (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000092-000

Chapter in an edited book

Balsam, K. F., Martell, C. R., Jones. K. P., & Safren, S. A. (2019). Affirmative cognitive behavior therapy with sexual and gender minority people. In G. Y. Iwamasa & P. A. Hays (Eds.), Culturally responsive cognitive behavior therapy: Practice and supervision (2nd ed., pp. 287–314). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000119-012

Preferred formats for graphics files are TIFF and JPG, and preferred format for vector-based files is EPS. Graphics downloaded or saved from web pages are not acceptable for publication. Multipanel figures (i.e., figures with parts labeled a, b, c, d, etc.) should be assembled into one file. When possible, please place symbol legends below the figure instead of to the side.

• All color line art and halftones: 300 DPI
• Black and white line tone and gray halftone images: 600 DPI

Line weights

• Color (RGB, CMYK) images: 2 pixels
• Grayscale images: 4 pixels
• Stroke weight: 0.5 points

APA offers authors the option to publish their figures online in color without the costs associated with print publication of color figures.

The same caption will appear on both the online (color) and print (black and white) versions. To ensure that the figure can be understood in both formats, authors should add alternative wording (e.g., “the red (dark gray) bars represent”) as needed.

For authors who prefer their figures to be published in color both in print and online, original color figures can be printed in color at the editor's and publisher's discretion provided the author agrees to pay:

• $900 for one figure
• An additional $600 for the second figure
• An additional $450 for each subsequent figure

Permissions

Authors of accepted papers must obtain and provide to the editor on final acceptance all necessary permissions to reproduce in print and electronic form any copyrighted work, including test materials (or portions thereof), photographs, and other graphic images (including those used as stimuli in experiments).

On advice of counsel, APA may decline to publish any image whose copyright status is unknown.

• Download Permissions Alert Form (PDF, 13KB)

Publication policies

For full details on publication policies, including use of Artificial Intelligence tools, please see APA Publishing Policies .

APA policy prohibits an author from submitting the same manuscript for concurrent consideration by two or more publications.

See also APA Journals ® Internet Posting Guidelines .

APA requires authors to reveal any possible conflict of interest in the conduct and reporting of research (e.g., financial interests in a test or procedure, funding by pharmaceutical companies for drug research).

• Download Full Disclosure of Interests Form (PDF, 41KB)

Ethical Principles

It is a violation of APA Ethical Principles to publish “as original data, data that have been previously published” (Standard 8.13).

In addition, APA Ethical Principles specify that “after research results are published, psychologists do not withhold the data on which their conclusions are based from other competent professionals who seek to verify the substantive claims through reanalysis and who intend to use such data only for that purpose, provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be protected and unless legal rights concerning proprietary data preclude their release” (Standard 8.14).

APA expects authors to adhere to these standards. Specifically, APA expects authors to have their data available throughout the editorial review process and for at least 5 years after the date of publication.

Authors are required to state in writing that they have complied with APA ethical standards in the treatment of their sample, human or animal, or to describe the details of treatment.

• Download Certification of Compliance With APA Ethical Principles Form (PDF, 26KB)

The APA Ethics Office provides the full Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct electronically on its website in HTML, PDF, and Word format. You may also request a copy by emailing or calling the APA Ethics Office (202-336-5930). You may also read “Ethical Principles,” December 1992, American Psychologist , Vol. 47, pp. 1597–1611.

Other information

See APA’s Publishing Policies page for more information on publication policies, including information on author contributorship and responsibilities of authors, author name changes after publication, the use of generative artificial intelligence, funder information and conflict-of-interest disclosures, duplicate publication, data publication and reuse, and preprints.

Visit the Journals Publishing Resource Center for more resources for writing, reviewing, and editing articles for publishing in APA journals.

Incoming (2025) editor

(handling all new submissions in 2024)

Jennifer L. Callahan, PhD University of North Texas, United States

Incoming (2025) associate editors

Emily M. Lund, PhD University of Alabama, United States

Thomas Olino, PhD Temple University, United States

Margaret R. Rogers, PhD University of Rhode Island, United States

Melanie M. Wilcox, PhD Augusta University, United States

Jason J. Washburn, PhD Northwestern University, United States

Incoming (2025) consulting editors

To be announced

Outgoing editor

(handling invited revisions only in 2024)

Debora J. Bell, PhD University of Missouri, United States

Outgoing associate editors

Theodore R. Burnes, PhD University of Southern California, United States

Jennifer L. Callahan, PhD, ABPP University of North Texas, United States

Susan L. Crowley, PhD Utah State University, United States

Laurie “Lali” McCubbin, PhD, LP University of Louisville, United States

Outgoing consulting editors

Erin Andrews, PsyD, ABPP Central Texas Veterans Health Care System and University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, United States

Jeff Baker, PhD University of Texas Medical Branch, United States

Jeffrey E. Barnett, PsyD, ABPP Loyola University Maryland, United States

Cassandra Boness, PhD University of New Mexico, United States

Kathi A. Borden, PhD Antioch University New England, United States

Tony Cellucci, PhD, ABPP East Carolina University, United States

Ayşe Çiftçi, PhD Purdue University, United States

Eugene J. D'Angelo, PhD Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, United States

Claytie Davis III, PhD, ABPP University of California, Berkeley, United States

Changming Duan, PhD University of Kansas, United States

Carol A. Falender, PhD Pepperdine University, Los Angeles, United States

Nadya A. Fouad, PhD University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, United States

Connie Fournier, PhD Texas A&M University, United States

Rodney Goodyear, PhD University of Redlands, United States

Catherine L. Grus, PhD American Psychological Association, United States

Robert L. Hatcher, PhD Graduate Center, City University of New York, United States

Heidi Hutman, PhD Temple University, United States

Joyce K. Illfelder-Kaye, PhD Pennsylvania State University, United States

Danielle Keenan-Miller, PhD University of California, Los Angeles, United States

Linda K. Knauss, PhD Widener University, United States

Kevin T. Larkin, PhD West Virginia University, United States

Celeste M. Malone, PhD Howard University, United States

Elizabeth L. McQuaid, PhD, ABPP Alpert Medical School, Brown University, United States

Ian R. Nicholson, PhD London Health Sciences Centre, Canada

Michael Parent, PhD, MBA University of Texas, Austin, United States

Anne E. Pidano, PhD University of Hartford, United States

Maria T. Riva, PhD University of Denver, United States

Michael C. Roberts, PhD, ABPP University of Kansas, United States

Emil R. Rodolfa, PhD University of California, Davis, United States

Wayne Gregg Siegel, PhD, ABPP University of Minnesota, United States

Joshua K. Swift, PhD, ABPP Idaho State University, United States

Elizabeth M. Vera, PhD Loyola University Chicago, United States

Jennifer Celene Veilloux, PhD University of Arkansas, United States

Harrison Voigt, PhD Kaiser-Permanente Medical Center, San   Francisco, United States

C. Edward Watkins, Jr., PhD University of North Texas, United States

Melanie M. Wilcox, PhD Oklahoma State University, United States

Bryman Eric Williams, PhD Jackson State University, United States

Erica H. Wise, PhD University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States

Heidi A. Zetzer, PhD University of California, Santa Barbara, United States

Peer review coordinator

Davia Tanelus American Psychological Association, United States

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Special issue of APA's journal Training and Education in Professional Psychology, Vol. 18, No. 3, August 2024. This article introduces a special issue that is focused on efforts to train psychologists to be antiracists.

Special issue of APA’s Training and Education in Professional Psychology, Vol. 16, No. 2, May 2022. This special issue addresses important issues in our field’s effort to realize a culture of competence, offering creative, thought-provoking, and useful considerations for training programs and researchers concerned with education and training in professional psychology.

Special issue of Training and Education in Professional Psychology on the needs and future directions of social justice training of health service educators, researchers, and practitioners.

Special issue of the APA journal Training and Education in Professional Psychology, Vol. 14, No. 1, February 2020. The issue presents examples of how health service psychology training programs can increase trainees’ knowledge and competency in evidence-based services for addictions and substance use disorders.

Special issue of the APA journal Training and Education in Professional Psychology, Vol. 13, No. 3, August 2019. Articles describe supervisee perceptions of the alliance with their supervisor and the impact on supervision outcomes and how multicultural variables impact the experience of supervision.

Special issue of the APA journal Training and Education in Professional Psychology, Vol. 8, No. 3, August 2014. Includes articles about outcome assessment, competence in supervision, and methodologies for assessment.

Special issue of the APA journal Training and Education in Professional Psychology, Vol. 4, No. 1, February 2010. Narrative, theoretical, and research articles discuss issues faced by ethnic minority supervisors.

Special issue of the APA journal Training and Education in Professional Psychology, Vol. 3, No. 4, Suppl, November 2009. Includes articles about competency benchmarks; the competency assessment toolkit; identification and measurement of core competencies; implications for internship training; operationalizing and evaluating professional competencies; adopting a competency model; advancing the culture of competence; and competency assessment in psychology.

Special issue of the APA journal Training and Education in Professional Psychology, Vol. 1, No. 4, November 2007. Articles discuss various issues in the psychology internship supply-demand imbalance.

Journal equity, diversity, and inclusion statement

Training and Education in Professional Psychology is strongly committed to advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in the journal’s scope and practices. The journal demonstrates this commitment through:

Supporting:

• Publication of manuscripts that address EDI issues through special issues and an ongoing special section devoted to advancing diversity and inclusion in education and training.
• Author and reviewer development through informal consultation and co-reviewing opportunities.

Encouraging:

• Submissions that address equitable content and utilize inclusive study designs and reporting standards.
• Participation in the journal by individuals from historically underrepresented and excluded groups and others new to publishing or reviewing.

Pledging to evaluate and strengthen:

• inclusive representation among the journal’s authors, reviewers, and editorial team through collection and evaluation of demographic data, and targeted recruiting, development, and flexible participation opportunities.
• Inclusive reviewing through reviewer and Editorial Board education resources and review practices.

Inclusive study designs

• Collaborative research models
• Diverse samples

Definitions and further details on inclusive study designs are available on the Journals EDI homepage .

Inclusive reporting standards

• Bias-free language and community-driven language guidelines (required)
• Author contribution roles using CRediT (required)
• Reflexivity (recommended)
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A Selective List of Journals on Teaching & Learning

The purpose of this list is two-fold:

• To provide sources of current awareness in general and disciplinary teaching and learning scholarship
• To provide suggested venues for publication outside of the literature of library and information science

For instruction librarians in an academic setting, there is value in keeping current with teaching and learning scholarship reported in the literature of library and information science but also higher education and other academic disciplines. In addition, librarians who plan to publish pedagogical articles may find it helpful to identify other journals outside the library field with this focus, in order to speak to teaching faculty. For these reasons, the ACRL Instruction Section Research & Scholarship Committee provides here a selective list of teaching and learning journals that focus on instructional strategies in higher education. Journals included in the list are:

• English language
• focused on higher education
• focused on teaching and learning

This list is updated every three years. The following categories were selected and annotated in 2024. For a listing of journals by discipline, see the list maintained by the Center for Teaching and Learning at UNC Charlotte. 

Categories:

First-year experience

Reading / reading strategies, project-based learning (pbl) and active learning , service learning and community engagement , inclusive teaching.

Note: [OA]   = Open Access Publications [POA] = Partial Open Access or Hybrid Publications

• College Teaching [POA]: An interdisciplinary forum on issues in teaching and learning at the undergraduate or graduate level, this journal publishes three kinds of articles, full length articles, quick fix articles, and commentaries. 
• Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence  [OA]: A bi-annual publication by Utah State University that provides practical and experience-based insights from higher education professionals. Topics include student engagement, teaching and learning evaluation, and instructional design. 
•  Journal on Excellence in College Teaching : Published at Miami University by and for faculty who are interested in sharing innovative pedagogies and in increasing student learning through effective teaching.
• Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning [OA]: Founded by Indiana University’s Faculty Academy on Excellence in Teaching, this journal highlights empirical research, case studies, essays, critiques, and articles of a theoretical/conceptual nature.
• New Directions for Teaching and Learning : Offers a comprehensive range of ideas and techniques for improving college teaching based on the experience of seasoned instructors and the latest findings of educational and psychological researchers.
• College Student Affairs Journal [OA]: Publishes 5500–7000 word original qualitative and quantitative research articles on topics of interest to student affairs practitioners, graduate students and faculty.
• Journal of College Orientation, Transition, and Retention [OA]: Publishes theoretical and empirical articles, how-to articles, and reviews related to the matriculation, orientation, transition, and retention of college students of up to 30 pages. The target audience is higher education professionals working in orientation, transition, retention and student affairs.
• Journal of College Student Development [POA]: Publishes 5-30 page scholarly articles and reviews about college students from student affairs, higher education, sociology, psychology, social work, nursing, business administration, and health sciences.
• Journal of Postsecondary Student Success [OA]:Publishes interdisciplinary peer-reviewed theory, research, policy, and practice related to student success in higher education. The target audience is researchers, practitioners, and policy makers, and articles may be up to 10,000 words depending on type.
• Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition : Publishes empirical studies of up to 30 pages on student transitions within post-secondary education. The target audience is college educators from all disciplines/backgrounds.
• Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy [POA]: Publishes original research, literature and media reviews, commentaries, and discussions on theory and practice of teaching literacy. Content covers learners from age 12 and up. 
• Journal of College Reading and Learning : Publishes original research articles up to 6,000 words that focus on college students’ experiences with “reading, writing, thinking, and studying,” as well as strategies to teach sub-populations, and program evaluations.
• Journal of Research in Reading [POA]: Publishes empirical research and review articles that focus on the psychological and educational approaches of reading, spoken language and writing. Subjects may be children or adults. 
• Reader: Essays in Reader-Oriented Theory, Criticism, and Pedagogy [POA]: Hosted by Lafayette College, Pennsylvania, this journal publishes research essays and articles from a variety of disciplines, including reading research. 
• Reading Psychology : Publishes original research, experiential or philosophical explorations, theoretical pieces, practitioner accounts, and literary or humorous pieces encompassing the fields of reading, literacy, and associated psychology disciplines. Double-anonymous peer-reviewed.
• Reading Research Quarterly [POA]: Publishes original research articles and commentaries, reviews, and theoretical and methodological essays on reading and literacy. 
• Active Learning in Higher Education [POA]: This international journal, published by Sage, provides a platform for publishing research about effective teaching, learning and assessment across higher education disciplines. It publishes articles, registered reports and replication studies.
• American Society for Engineering Education [OA]: ASEE hosts a variety of conferences focused on engineering education in K-12 and higher education settings, providing a platform for publication on PBL and active learning as related to engineering or scientific educational settings. All papers are published in their PEER repository .
• Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem Based Learning [OA]: Hosted by Indiana University, this journal provides an outlet for research on all aspects of problem based learning in both K-12 and higher education settings. The journal accepts original research from across disciplines that will enhance the understanding of both scholars and practitioners.
• International Journal of Educational Research [POA]: IJER provides a platform for research across the field of Education for practitioners, researchers and policy makers with an emphasis on papers that are of international significance.
• Journal of Problem-Based Learning [OA]: This interdisciplinary journal contains articles on both PBL and related approaches to learning, including research on theory, curriculum design and implementation. It features original research, reviews, analysis, accounts from the field, and guidelines for practitioners and commentaries.
• International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement [OA]: Published annually by the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement. Publishes research articles, theoretical or conceptual articles, and research reviews that focus on an area of scholarship in one of the five sections of the journal.
• Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship [OA]: Published by the University of Alabama Division of Community Affairs. Editors welcome a wide variety of academic approaches, writing styles, and methodologies in three peer-reviewed sections (regular manuscript, research from the field, book reviews) and two additional sections (community perspectives, student voices).
• Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement [OA]: Quarterly publication from the University of Georgia. Publishes research articles, reflective essays, descriptions of early-stage university-community projects, book reviews, and dissertation overviews. 
• Journal of Service Learning in Higher Education [OA]: Published by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, this journal publishes original research about methodologies and pedagogical approaches of institutional-community partnerships.
• Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning [OA]: One of the most well-respected journals in service-learning and community engagement, it focuses on research, theory, and pedagogy in academic service-learning, campus-community partnerships, civic engagement, and engaged or public scholarship in higher education.
• Equity and Excellence in Education [POA]: peer reviewed research articles and analytical essays that advance and/or complicate existing conceptualizations and understandings of equity, excellence, and justice across the field of education in the US or global contexts.
• International Journal of Inclusive Education [POA]: original, multi-disciplinary research on inclusive education, pedagogies, curricula, organizational structures, policy-making, administration and cultures.
• Journal of Diversity in Higher Education : empirical research with a special focus on issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as issues related to teaching and learning  in post-secondary environments.
• Journal of First-Generation Student Success : focuses on the experiences and outcomes of first-generation college students.
• Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering  [POA]: explores feminist teaching methods, black student/white teacher interactions, and cultural phenomena through the lenses of accessibility and interdisciplinarity.

This document is maintained by the  Research and Scholarship Committee   and was researched and compiled by the 2023-2024 members of the ACRL IS Research & Scholarship Committee. Updated: March 2024

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Lifelong learning and nurses’ continuing professional development, a metasynthesis of the literature

Mandlenkosi mlambo.

1 Jersey General Hospital, St Helier, Jersey

2 Department of LIME, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Charlotte Silén

Cormac mcgrath.

3 Department of Education, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

Associated Data

The data in the study is comprised of previous research articles. A full list of articles is included in the Table ​ Table3 3 .

Continuing professional development (CPD) is central to nurses’ lifelong learning and constitutes a vital aspect for keeping nurses’ knowledge and skills up-to-date. While we know about the need for nurses’ continuing professional development, less is known about how nurses experience and perceive continuing professional development. A metasynthesis of how nurses experience and view continuing professional development may provide a basis for planning future continuing professional development interventions more effectively and take advantage of examples from different contexts. The aim of this paper is to conduct such a metasynthesis, investigating the qualitative research on nurses’ experiences of continuing professional development.

A metasynthesis of the qualitative literature was conducted. A total of 25 articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were reviewed.

We determined five overarching themes, Organisational culture shapes the conditions, Supportive environment as a prerequisite, Attitudes and motivation reflect nurse’s professional values, Nurses’ perceptions of barriers and Perceived impact on practice as a core value. This metasynthesis highlights that nurses value continuing professional development and believe that it is fundamental to professionalism and lifelong learning. Moreover CPD is identified as important in improving patient care standards.

Conclusions

Based on the metasynthesis, we argue that access to continuing professional development could be made more attainable, realistic and relevant. Expediently, organizations should adequately fund and make continuing professional development accessible. In turn, nurses should continue to actively engage in continuing professional development to maintain high standards of nursing care through competent practice. This paper highlights the perceived benefits and challenges of continuing professional development that nurses face and offers advice and understanding in relation to continuing professional development. We believe that this metasynthesis contributes with insights and suggestions that would be valuable for nurses and policy makers and others who are involved in nurse education and continuing professional development.

Introduction

Health care professionals need to update their skills regularly and continuing education, or continued professional development (CPD) enables the renewal and updating of skills in health care settings. While we know about the need for CPD, less is known about how nurses experience and perceive CPD, and currently, there is no comprehensive global picture of how nurses view and experience CPD. A metasynthesis of the qualitative literature on nurses’ experiences of CPD may provide a basis for planning future CPD interventions more effectively and take advantage of examples from different contexts. This paper is organised in the following way; first we present the notion of CPD, we then use the United Kingdom, (UK) as a setting to offer an overview of the different mechanisms that exist in one specific health care setting, which may impact engagement with CPD. We acknowledge that similar mechanisms may exist in other health care settings and countries too, and identify the UK context, merely as a way to frame the paper. Subsequently, we conduct a metasynthesis of the qualitative literature addressing the topic of how CPD is experienced by nurses.

Continued professional development

This section aims to unpack the notion of CPD, which exists in different forms and is driven, in part, by top-down requirements, but also, bottom-up, from the needs of practitioners. Continuing professional development (CPD) programmes are central to nurses’ lifelong learning and are a vital aspect for keeping nurses’ knowledge and skills up-to-date. The requirement for nurses to participate in CPD differs between European countries and elsewhere in the world and can be mandatory or voluntary [ 1 , 2 ]. For example, CPD is mandatory in the U. K, Belgium, Spain, Australia and in some states in the United States of America, [ 2 – 4 ]. In these countries, nurses engage in CPD because it is a mandatory condition by nurse regulators for remaining registered to practice. However, in Sweden, Netherlands and Ireland nurses participate in CPD of their own volition [ 1 , 3 – 5 ]. Table  1 provides an overview of some of the European countries which provide mandatory and non-mandatory CPD.

Examples of mandatory and non-mandatory CPD in nursing in Europe (EFN, 2012)

In jurisdictions where CPD is mandatory, nurses engage in continuing education by participating in professional development that is relevant to their areas of practice. Mandatory CPD, refers to “… the process of ongoing education and development of healthcare professionals, from initial qualifying education and for the duration of professional life, in order to maintain competence to practice and increase professional proficiency and expertise” ([ 6 ], p.1). CPD can sometimes refer to a learning framework and activities of professional development which contribute to the continual professional effectiveness and competence [ 7 ]. Broadly, CPD is related to continuing education, and continual learning, both formal and informal, which results in the acquisition of knowledge and skills transfer by the practising nurse with the aim of maintaining licensure and competent practice [ 8 ]. Learners can utilise a mixed style approach to learning depending on the circumstances and context of the learning environment [ 9 – 11 ]. To succeed in providing comprehensive care for their patients, nurses need to utilise the best evidence available to them [ 12 – 14 ]. This requires different modes of learning and ways of knowledge acquisition and construction. To achieve this, nurses can engage in different approaches of acquiring knowledge through CPD, through formal learning, courses or workshops as well as workplace informal learning, through self-reflection, appraising literature for best evidence through journal clubs and giving feedback to each other [ 5 , 7 , 15 ]. Informal learning is often volitional and is largely initiated and controlled by individual nurses with the intention to develop their knowledge and skills [ 16 – 18 ]. Due to its unstructured and, at times, unintentional manner, such learning is often acquired during interactions with colleagues and patients [ 19 ]. One of the advantages of on-site learning, both formal and informal is that learners can utilise expertise which are already available on the ward [ 5 , 15 ]. On-site learning occurs often at the discretion and the willingness of managers to facilitate by providing time and space for learning to occur within the clinical areas. Even so, the fact remains that informal on-site learning is not an event but a continuous process, which draws from daily professional experiences. Lack of CPD trained nurses and ward needs, coupled with poor staffing levels, are cited as main barriers to informal workplace learning [ 5 , 15 ]. Evidence from CPD literature indicates that many nurses prefer informal work-based methods of learning, noting that most meaningful learning occurs through interactions with their colleagues [ 20 ]. From a study by Clarke [ 21 ], it was noted that nurses found informal learning methods such as supervision, attending team meetings/briefings, mentoring and observations to be important. Ultimately, whichever delivery method is used for CPD, continuous professional development extends the practitioner’s professional ability beyond pre-registration training, qualification and induction, thereby potentially enhancing the practitioner’s practice.

Continued professional development: the UK example

This next section aims to illustrate the different mechanisms that arise in one specific health care setting when implementing CPD on a national scale. We recognise that other mechanisms will exist in other contexts, and in places where CPD is not a formal requirement.

Today, nurses in the U.K. are required to engage in continuous learning in order to maintain competence as a means of keeping their licensure with their professional body, the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) [ 22 ]. Since the 1980s, UK nurses and other allied health care professionals such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists have been required to engage in continuous professional development [ 23 ]. A justification for CPD has been the need to maintain professional registration to practice. For registered nurses in the UK, the requirement to engage in CPD came to the fore of continuing education in 1995. It was introduced by the then licensing body, the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC) as post registration education and practice (PREP) [ 24 ]. Further to that, the Agenda for Change Reforms in 2003 introduced a system for linking pay and career progression to competency called the National Health Service Knowledge and Skills Framework [ 25 ]. The framework is linked to the individual nurse’s ability to demonstrate that they possess the necessary knowledge and skills to get promoted and be remunerated accordingly [ 25 ]. In the UK, further reforms to CPD were introduced in 2012 through the introduction of the Health Education England (HEE) in England [ 27 ]. Its mandate was to equip the NHS (National Health Service) workforce, including nurses with appropriate knowledge and skills to deliver high standard care to patients. The HEE’s role was to support workforce development by providing funding largely for nurses’ CPD. In 2016, PREP was replaced with revalidation, which still requires nurses to attend 35 h of CPD every 3 years [ 24 , 26 ]. Revalidation is the process through with nurses and midwives continue as registrants with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) [ 25 ]. However, comprehensive HEE budget cuts have had a negative effect on nurse CPD initiatives [ 27 ]. CPD funding in UK was cut from 205 million pounds in 2015–16 to 83 million in 2017–18 [ 28 , 29 ]. Consequently, nurses have struggled to fulfil revalidation requirements due to some authorities freezing access and refusing to give nurses time to attend CPD activities [ 27 ].

This previous section offers an insight into different push-pull mechanisms, in the UK alone. Statutory requirements are underpinned by the need for nurses to maintain and develop the knowledge and skills to meet the expected competence standards of practice in response to expanding nursing roles and global trends. Our experience suggests that local governing bodies may enforce similar measures in contexts where CPD measure are not formalised. Nurses may find themselves caught between a patchwork of statutory requirements and a need to develop their skills and knowledge. Consequently, while we know about the need for nurses’ continuing professional development, less is known about how nurses experience and perceive continuing professional development. Therefore we propose that a metasynthesis of the qualitative literature could be a part of forming such a comprehensive view and use the following three questions to examine the literature What is the reported value of CPD for nurses’ lifelong learning and its impact on nursing knowledge?, What are the conditions necessary for CPD?, and, What are the challenges faced by nurses when engaging in CPD?

In this study, a metasynthesis was used to investigate the qualitative literature [ 30 , 31 ]. Metasynthesis is a form of systematic review method used to review qualitative studies in order to develop theory, to explore and understand phenomena or generate new knowledge, thereby creating meaning from that knowledge [ 32 – 36 ]. In this review, we present a metasynthesis based on the interpretation of qualitative results from topically related qualitative reports. In doing so we strive towards theoretical development, which according to Zimmer refers to the synthesis of findings into a product that is ‘thickly descriptive, and comprehensive’ and thus more complete than any of the constituent studies alone ( [ 30 ] p.313).

The results from metasynthesis studies may be used to underpin and inform healthcare policy, nursing practice and patient care. Furthermore, such information can be utilised by health care professionals involved in nursing education to inform planning and designing of training and educational programs. A number of steps are taken when conducting a metasynthesis [ 36 ] and involve;

a) bringing together a multidisciplinary team, in our case the team of three people includes two skilled medical education professional researchers with extensive experience in qualitative studies, including systematic reviews, moreover these two authors have more than 40 years of comprehensive experience of CPD in health care settings, two of the team are registered nurses and afford the team key insights into the context of nursing CPD, the team is spread across three institutions in two countries, finally, the team consisted of a search engine expert,

b) defining inclusive but manageable research questions, see the questions above;

c) conducting the systematic search, in our case this was conducted by the search engine expert, see Table  2 for the search criteria,

Inclusion and exclusion criteria for the review

d) quality assessment of the studies, this was done using the CASP (Critical Appraisal Skills Programme) criteria, weighting three levels (not met, partially met, totally met) where assessment was done by all three authors see Table  4 , e) extracting data from the studies, see Table  3 ,

Summary of articles with location cohort data collection method

Quality assessment according to modified CASP criteria

e) data analysis, which is explained in more detail below, and.

f) expressing the details of the synthesis which is done in the findings sections below.

Search strategy

A comprehensive systematic search of literature was subsequently conducted on Medline (OVID), PubMed and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Web of Science (Clarivate) and ERIC (ProQuest). The literature search was conducted by a librarian. The literature search was conducted in December 2019 and was limited to articles published in English from 2010 to 2019. Inclusion and exclusion criteria for the literature search were established and are presented below in Table ​ Table2. 2 . The inclusion criteria comprise of articles from empirical studies (using qualitative methods), discussing nurse continuing learning and education, professional development, lifelong learning, CPD, motivation and barriers.

Data analysis

A total of 1675 records were identified, and following de-duplication, 1395 articles remained. All 1395 articles were screened. Articles had to address nurses’ CPD and continuing education, using qualitative oriented methods. After the first screening 72 articles remained. These articles were divided into three batches and were divided among the researchers. Each author read one batch to further identify if the articles were to be included. For each batch, a second author read the articles, meaning all articles were read by at least two authors. Any remaining ambiguities were discussed and resolved among the team. Figure  1 is a summary of the literature search and screening and Table ​ Table3 3 presents an overview of each study with its citation, location, cohort size and data collection method. 25 articles were identified for the final metasynthesis. All authors read the final 25 articles. Quality assessment using CASP criteria as outlined by Lachal et al., [ 36 ] is reported in Table ​ Table4. 4 . In the quality assessment we assess the following components; Was there a clear statement of the aims of the research?, Is a qualitative methodology appropriate?, Was the research design appropriate to address the aims of the research?, Was the recruitment strategy appropriate to the aims of the research?, Were the data collected in a way that addressed the research issue?, Has the relationship between researcher and participants been adequately considered and reported?, Have ethical issues been taken into consideration?, Is there a clear statement of findings? We also introduce the question of whether the texts are available in Open Access form or not. We introduce this question, as we believe the outcomes on research on nurses’ perceptions and experiences of CPD is potentially important for their practice, and access via Open Access channels could act as a quality dimension. However, without access to the data and the process of interpretation we choose not to assess; How valuable is the research?, Was the data analysis sufficiently rigorous?

Overview of the steps in the literature screening

For the final analysis enabling the synthesis of the studies in this metasynthesis the articles were read carefully, findings related to the research questions; What is the reported value of CPD for nurses’ lifelong learning and its impact on nursing knowledge?, what are the conditions necessary for CPD? And what are the challenges faced by nurses when engaging in CPD?, were identified. In the next step of the analysis, study findings were examined using constant comparative analysis. The findings and conceptual categories were coded, compared, and sorted, focusing on conditions, strategies, and consequences. Finally, the synthesis, the interpretation of the findings, were described as themes, and these were revised several times until a coherent whole was formed [ 30 , 36 – 38 ] Before the final description of the synthesized themes, all the three authors discussed the content of the themes until consensus concerning credibility was reached.

From the metasynthesis we present five overarching themes, Organisational culture shapes the conditions, Supportive environment as a prerequisite, Attitudes and motivation reflect nurse’s professional values, Nurses’ perceptions of barriers and Perceived impact on practice as a core value. Each theme is further explained below with references to the relevant literature.

Organisational culture shapes the conditions

Organisational culture played an important role towards the professional development of staff. Organisational commitment and support to personal and professional development of its staff was seen as an indication that staff were valued [ 5 , 15 ] Moreover, CPD initiatives contributed to attracting and retaining staff [ 39 ]. Additionally, a culture that was flexible and adaptable to change was perceived by some participants to be favourable towards CPD [ 40 – 42 ]. Flexibility extends to matters such as CPD availability, and also location, but related also to creating opportunities in the work schedule for the nurses to participate [ 43 ]. Other organisational factors such as funding for CPD programs, staff access of CPD learning, role of management in staff CPD, manageable nursing workloads, the design & delivery of CPD activities, communication and collaboration between CPD providers and management are specifically organisational factors seen as crucial to effective staff development [ 44 , 45 ]. Developing a strategy for CPD was also acknowledged as a key element of organisational culture as a way of enabling participation [ 46 ]. In a similar fashion, it was argued that the organisation needs to be focussed on incremental, but constant development of practices, and here CPD was seen to play a key role [ 47 ]. This sentiment was expressed elsewhere too, but from a re-skilling, or keeping up-to-date perspective, where the organisation is seen to have great importance [ 48 , 49 ]. The value of partnerships and shared understanding between managers and nurses as key enabling factors was identified in several studies [ 46 , 50 ]. In a related fashion, Jantzen argues that organisations should actively avoid fragmentation of CPD initiatives [ 51 ]. As more CPD training is digitised IT/ICT (information communication technology) skills were seen as key to successful CPD implementation [ 46 , 52 ]. It was acknowledged that the transformation to online learning does not only affect nurses, it involves change for the whole department [ 52 ].

Supportive environment as a prerequisite

An environment that supports learning was seen as a necessary prerequisite for CPD. Conditions had to include, flexible off-duty patterns to allow time for staff to study, availability of workplace learning, workloads were not excessive and CPD was fully funded or a shared responsibility between employer and staff [ 46 , 52 ]. Other indicators of a supportive environment included staff access to different CPD activities relevant to their career goals, while at the same time meeting organisational goals and where staff felt free to study openly and not secretively [ 15 , 41 ]. Moreover, the development of local and contextual CPD was seen as something that supported and made participation possible [ 43 , 53 , 54 ]. Participants indicated that nurses required financial support and practical support in the form of adequate time to participate in CPD activities and suitable staff cover when colleagues were away attending CPD activities [ 47 ]. Jantzen et al. [ 51 ] suggest there are three catalysts in a supportive environment; mentors, workplace camaraderie and a highly functional workplace team. Moral support or encouragement was identified in more than one study, where it was articulated that learners want to know there is an appreciation for the time and dedication needed to engage in CPD [ 44 , 46 , 50 ]. The value of learning from other health professionals other than nurses, in the day-to-day work was highlighted for professional development [ 54 ]. Similarly, the sense of a supportive environment with a strong team spirit is communicated elsewhere [ 39 ]. Explicit support is noted in several studies; support for novice nurses [ 39 ] but also the importance of explicit managerial support [ 55 ]. Conversely, in one study, respondents noted that there was less support for experienced or late career nurses [ 56 ].

Attitudes and motivation reflect nurse’s professional values

The value and importance of CPD was discussed in many of the studies. In some, CPD was perceived to be key in defining nurse professionalism [ 6 , 15 , 40 , 47 , 49 ]. Engaging in CPD was also viewed by new nurse graduates as an important element of their individual professionalisation in nursing [ 6 , 15 , 40 ]. In addition, CPD was perceived to be important for enhancing and up or re-skilling, keeping knowledge and skills up-to-date, considering that nursing practice has become more evidence based [ 6 , 43 , 46 , 51 , 54 , 56 ]. Furthermore, nurses stated that CPD was important for maintaining licensure, and felt that the responsibility for enrolling and participating in CPD activities was with the individual nurse, not with the employing organisations [ 53 ]. On the other hand, participants felt more motivated to learn if they could easily access CPD programs, if they felt supported and if there were a variety of CPD activities on offer. Here, bedside and informal learning was emphasized as important [ 57 ]. Similarly, contextualising learning and placing it in close proximity to practice was seen to enhance motivation and engagement [ 42 ]. CPD was also viewed as a way to start networking with other peers [ 44 ]. In one study, a competency framework was introduced, here participants felt that such a framework could help them reflect on their own practice and, as it provides a systematic approach to assessing a patient, look at their own strengths and weaknesses [ 58 ]. Such competency frameworks help to harness scarce training more effectively and encourage individuals to take more responsibility for their own development [ 58 ].

Participants’ attitudes towards CPD funding were mixed, with some stating that funding for CPD was the employer’s responsibility, while others felt that the individual practitioner was responsible or that the burden ought to be shared between the organisation and the nurse [ 5 , 15 , 40 ].

Nurses’ perceptions of barriers

Poor staffing levels, heavy workloads, lack of funding, lack of study time and anti-intellectualism were some of the perceived barriers to CPD brought out by this review. Participants in the studies reviewed felt that a lack of organisational support, especially from their managers, was an indication that the organisation did not take professional development of its staff seriously [ 46 ]. Some respondents reasoned that an anti-academic culture and lack of relevant CPD programs was further indication of this [ 5 , 15 , 40 ]. Seeing a connection to patient care was identified as a strong driver and nurses identified that CPD initiatives would be filtered out unless there was such a clear connection to patient care [ 43 , 51 ].

Additionally, some studies indicated that as role models, managers had to show interest in their own CPD, in order to motivate other nurses. In other words, the manager’s knowledge of CPD activities was reflected by their attitude towards work-based study, acceptance of staff who studied openly, the way the manager prioritised funding support and managed staff shift schedules to allow study release time [ 5 , 39 , 54 , 56 ]. Fatigue was identified as a major barrier. For example in Jho et al. [ 53 ], in a context of mandated CPD, respondents felt tired due to the heavy nursing workload in conjunction with CPD. Lack of strategy, and financial initiatives in terms of money, or time off to study was also acknowledged as a barrier [ 5 , 39 , 54 , 56 ]. Lack of transparent career trajectories were also acknowledged as an area of concern [ 44 ].

Other barriers, or de-motivating factors were identified; difficulties in attending CPD and keeping a life-work balance [ 48 ]. Barriers included: formal CPD courses away from the clinical areas were perceived to lack in authenticity [ 47 , 49 ] and a mis-match in expectations and outputs, where nurses viewed themselves as agents of change, but where the organisation was unable to offer means to capitalise on this perception and desire to bring about change [ 50 , 59 ]. As much as competency frameworks were viewed positively in offering a sense of direction, a divergent view was that they were limiting or created set boundaries that participants experienced as limited, for example, if used as prescriptive, hindering nurses to define their own learning needs [ 58 ]. Lack of IT competence was also perceived as a barrier [ 52 ] with more CPD being conducted online.

Perceived impact on practice as a core value

The impact of CPD on nursing practice was perceived as important and valuable in different ways. The impact could be both direct and indirect depending on the organisational culture [ 41 , 45 ]. This mixed perception could be due to the complex nature of health care organisations which can make knowledge sharing difficult [ 45 ] and that some CPD learning was done secretly, results of which were difficult to evaluate [ 41 ]. In the case where a competency framework was studied, participants felt that using the competency framework helped them organise their work and their thought processes [ 58 ]. A common sentiment was that CPD would benefit health care organisation through the provision and enhancement of practitioners’ knowledge and skills [ 46 ]. Sentiments articulating expectations of an impact of CPD could also be seen elsewhere too [ 52 , 55 , 56 , 60 ]. Moreover, CPD is expected to rely on better communication between managers and nurses as a way of informing each other about needs and means of fulfilling those needs [ 48 ]. Direct impact was realised through improved interprofessional collaboration and the idea that new methods could be directly translated into practice [ 47 ]. Others however, raised concerns that CPD programmes or courses may not translate into new practices [ 50 ]. This sentiment was echoed elsewhere too, where a need to situate CPD in close proximity of patients was seen as important for CPD to impact practice [ 49 ] While indirect impact happened through dissemination of knowledge and skills from CPD learning to other nurses at ward level, arguments were put forward that there will be no difference to practice unless organisational processes support and evaluate its effect on practice [ 46 ]. Participants reported that their professional confidence was enhanced, they felt they could challenge medical decisions and the status quo [ 41 ]. Furthermore, participants felt that CPD enhanced their professional knowledge and skills for better patient care through improved care standards, how they communicated and collaborated with other professionals. Participants also believed that learning increased their chances for career progression and reduced work-related anxiety because of enhanced knowledge [ 40 , 41 ].

The aim of this paper is to conduct a metasynthesis investigating the qualitative research on nurses’ experiences of continued professional development. As a result, this metasynthesis revealed a number of overarching themes, which synthesize the findings of previous qualitative oriented research during the period 2010–2019. 2010 was chosen to include the last 10 years of CPD research. The themes are; Organisational culture shapes the conditions, Supportive environment as a prerequisite, Attitudes and motivation reflect nurse’s professional values, Nurses’ perceptions of barriers and Perceived impact on practice as a core value. The themes put focus on important issues that were recurrently put forward by the nurses in the studies reviewed. However, the themes are not isolated from each other, rather, the content of the themes is interrelated. Some of the themes mainly mirror an overarching perspective at the organisational level of health care, while other themes describe the nurses’ experiences and needs on a personal level. The following discussion explores the above themes in relation to the three questions posed earlier; what is the reported value of CPD for nurses’ lifelong learning and its impact on nursing knowledge? What are the conditions necessary for CPD? What are the challenges faced by nurses when engaging in CPD? While we acknowledge that the questions and themes overlap, we have endeavoured to frame the discussion around the three research questions individually.

What is the reported value of CPD for nurses’ lifelong learning and its impact on nursing knowledge?

Nurses reported that CPD raises professional standards through competencies gained, thereby increasing professional performance with positive benefits for patients, organisations and individual nurses [ 40 ]. These outcomes were seen most prominently in the themes Attitudes and motivation reflect nurse’s professional values, and Perceived impact on practice as a core value. Closely aligned to CPD are the nurses’ clinical effectiveness and competence. Maintaining both requires nurses to keep their practice up-to-date highlighting the importance of CPD for nurses. The knowledge and skills gained by nurses through CPD advances the professional status of nursing, which was an idea that was prevalent in some of the studies in this review [ 15 , 40 , 47 , 50 ], but is also illustrated elsewhere in the literature [ 8 , 21 ]. Nurses acknowledged that expectations of professional accountability meant that standards of practice ought to be kept high in order to pass public scrutiny [ 15 , 40 ]. Furthermore, skills acquired through CPD, such as the ability to conduct systematic peer-reviews [ 45 ] and appraise literature for best evidence, provide nurses with essential professional competencies, embeds values such as caring behaviours, influences beliefs and attitudes which in turn shape nurses’ professional conduct [ 61 ]. As such CPD is seen as a tool for nurses to update their skills, and in doing so deliver safe and high-quality health care. As revealed in this review, nurses were willing to fully fund or part-fund their CPD as long as CPD programs were captivating, easily accessible, there was fair allocation of study time and their efforts towards CPD were recognised. The latter implies that nurses want time and space to transfer their CPD learning into practice and for their CPD to be recorded [ 5 , 45 ]. The belief is that, consequently, patient care will improve with positive impact from organisational change [ 15 , 45 ]. However, it is clear that the organisation is key in making CPD work for nurses. The issues brought up in the theme organisational culture shapes the conditions is thus very important in stimulating nurses to engage in CPD. The nurses’ attitudes and motivation to engage in CPD also depends on a supportive environment and engagement may in turn influence the organisational culture.

What are the conditions necessary for CPD?

A disconnect could be seen in relation to the conditions for CPD, where access to CPD training came to the fore as problematic in some of the studies. Nurses had to travel long distances to attend courses [ 15 , 62 , 63 ]. To avoid these challenges, nurses settle for CPD as long as it fulfils mandatory requirements for registration [ 53 ]. If intentions of CPD are to provide a basis for the continual updating of skills, then authentic learning as an expected outcome is seen as a prerequisite for nurses to engage in CPD, whether it occurs at the bedside, at a training facility or through an IT mediated interaction. This calls for accessible CPD, improved design and delivery methods for all nurses [ 52 ]. Nurses’ experiences described in the themes Organisational culture shapes the conditions, Supportive environment as a prerequisite, show that structural and moral support are both important. Structural support in the form of availability, time to engage in CPD, as well as clear expected outcomes [ 46 , 49 ], but also moral support in the form of an understanding management and environment, and also peers and leaders who themselves also prioritise CPD [ 58 ]. Organisational support and commitment towards CPD should mean allocation of study time, support of nurses who study privately, by creating space for knowledge and skills integration and managing poor cultural practices that hinder open study. Funding is seen as a key factor across many of the studies, both in terms of enabling nurses to participate, but also as a way of acknowledging nurses who engage in CPD. Further studies may need to look more closely at how nurses perceive different aspects of funding. For nurses’ lifelong learning to endure, CPD programs need to be more accessible and kept interesting by making them more relevant to nurses’ practice contexts. Here the importance of the organisation for creating a CPD conducive environment is emphasized [ 46 , 51 , 52 ]. As role models, managers need to lead by example and engage in CPD themselves, but also demonstrate explicit support. They also need to influence policy to create environments conducive to CPD. If funding situations do not improve, work-based CPD learning could be one of the alternative ways of CPD delivery for nurses. To promote CPD engagement and cost reduction, eLearning approaches could be utilised for education and training. However, poor IT skills among nurses, but also within organisations continues to be a potential weakness [ 52 ]. A challenge remains here in enabling nurses to get recognition from informal on-site learning [ 16 – 18 ], where elements of meta-cognitive reflection can be used to acknowledge nurses’ continued professional development.

What are the challenges faced by nurses when engaging in CPD?

In some of the literature reviewed, participants lamented their current conditions for CPD, and identified clear barriers and challenges in the form of concerns related to lack of funding for CPD, staffing levels, time allocation for study, lack of organisational support because of negative cultural practices, CPD design & delivery and limited choice of CPD activities. This is articulated within the themes: Organisational culture shapes the conditions, Supportive environment as a prerequisite, Nurses’ perceptions of barriers [ 2 , 11 , 34 , 41 ] . However, studies did not explore the views of nurses on recruitment and retention and its impact on accessing a variety of CPD activities. Evidence from this review indicates that modernising healthcare and simultaneously cutting CPD funding for nurses could lead to a limited number of nurses attaining the skills and competences needed for the modernisation process. In view of the understaffing that is reported elsewhere [ 5 , 15 ], we identify a cause for concern. These perceived barriers may undermine nurses’ professional development [ 23 , 59 ]. Moreover, the findings presented here revealed that nurses face a number of challenges in relation to their CPD participation. The challenges include limited CPD activities to choose from, poor CPD delivery methods, negative organisational culture practices such as anti-intellectualism and lack of support. As a result, nurses were less motivated to participate in CPD training [ 57 ].

It is clear from the review, that IT concerns are becoming more and more prominent, given that more CPD programmes are being offered through digital platforms [ 47 ]. This is a concern for both the individual nurses, but also their organisations. On concerns regarding CPD delivery methods, nurses indicated that they preferred different styles. With these concerns comes the view that learners learn in different ways depending on the context and subject of study [ 61 , 62 ]. This supports the notion that individuals have different learning preferences [ 61 ], where some adult learners learn better in a structured and teacher guided context, while others prefer self-direction.

Limitations

The search was conducted by an experienced search engine expert. Even so, we may still have been unsuccessful in finding all the relevant articles. The study was focussed on qualitative studies, which means that studies using predominantly quantitative or mixed methods were not included, but could hold important insights. In the introduction to the study we used the UK as an example for how CPD might be regulated. However, we have conducted a comprehensive search of the literature and our analysis was not conducted with a UK-centric perspective. While each study needs to be understood in terms of local rules and regulations, the similarities in the findings are striking.

The metasynthesis indicates that differences exist between the nurses’ CPD needs and expectations and organisations’ approaches to nurses’ professional development. The review lays bare a disconnect between the rhetoric of identifying CPD as a way to enhance nurses’ skills, and the reality of CPD interventions, where nurses do not feel support within their organisations or from their immediate supervisors. The review also revealed that CPD is an important element of nursing practice and nurses’ lifelong learning. Furthermore, it suggests that nurses are motivated to take part in CPD to enhance their knowledge, improve skills and keep up- to -date with recent evidence. While evidence from this review indicates that nurses believe that CPD has a positive impact on patient care, there is lack of contemporary research to qualify this claim and there is limited evidence from this review to support this assumption. However, evidence from the review suggests and confirms, that the greatest barriers for CPD in nursing are a lack of funding and time to participate in CPD activities, which are clearly related to organisation structure. It is difficult to envisage how such conditions could be conducive for nurse CPD to flourish. Such perceived barriers undermine nurses’ efforts to keep knowledge and skills up-to-date and provide better patient care while meeting the ever-changing needs and expectations of their patients. This is further exacerbated by negative organisational cultural practices and lack of knowledge on how to facilitate, design and deliver CPD for their staff. We conclude that policy makers and relevant stakeholders need to put in place strategies to support nurse CPD in long term and in doing so tear down the barriers of CPD.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Gun Brit Knutssön, at Karolinska Institutet’s University Library, Stockholm, Sweden for the systematic search.

Abbreviations

Authors’ contributions

MM, CS and CMG designed the study. MM, CS and CMG defined the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the search. MM, CS and CMG conducted an equal share of the analysis work. Versions of the manuscripts were shared, revised and written by all three authors. All authors have read and approved the submitted manuscript.

Open Access funding provided by Stockholm University.

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Ethical vetting in Sweden is conducted by a central and national committee, the Swedish Ethical Review Authority. Review articles where research is not conducted on humans, or animals does not require ethical vetting as per Swedish Ethical Review Act (SFS 2003:460).

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Centering Social Justice in Counselor Education: How Student Perspectives Can Help

Volume 14 - Issue 2

Sapna B. Chopra, Rebekah Smart, Yuying Tsong, Olga L. Mejía, Eric W. Price

This mixed methods program evaluation study was designed to assist faculty in better understanding students’ multicultural and social justice training experiences, with the goal of improving program curriculum and instruction. It also offers a model for counselor educators to assess student experiences and to make changes that center social justice. A total of 139 first-semester students and advanced practicum students responded to an online survey. The Consensual Qualitative Research-Modified (CQR-M) method was used to analyze brief written narratives. The Multicultural Counseling Competence and Training Survey (MCCTS) and the Advocacy Competencies Self-Assessment Survey (ACSA) were used to triangulate the qualitative data. Qualitative findings revealed student growth in awareness, knowledge, skills, and action, particularly for advanced students, with many students reporting a desire for more social justice instruction. Some students of color reported microaggressions and concerns that training centers White students. Quantitative analyses generally supported the qualitative findings and showed advanced students reporting higher multicultural and advocacy competencies compared to beginning students. Implications for counselor education are discussed.

Keywords : social justice, program evaluation, training, multicultural counseling, counselor education

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the long-standing inequities it brought to light, many universities began examining the ways that injustice unfolds within their institutions (Mull, 2020). Arredondo et al. (2020) noted that counseling and counselor education continue to uphold white supremacy and center the experiences of White people within theories, training, and research. White supremacy culture promotes Whiteness as the norm and standard, intersects with and reinforces other forms of oppression, and shows up in institutions in both overt and covert ways, such as emphasis on individualism, avoidance of conflict, and prioritizing White comfort (Okun, 2021). Arredondo et al. (2020) called for counselor educators to engage in social justice advocacy and to unpack covert White supremacy in training programs. The present study investigated the multicultural and social justice training experiences of students in a Western United States counseling program so that counseling faculty can be empowered to uncover biases and better integrate social justice in the curriculum.

Counselor education programs are products of the larger sociopolitical environment and dominant patriarchal, cis-heteronormative, Eurocentric culture that often fails to “challenge the hegemonic views that marginalize groups of people” which “perpetuate deficit-based ideologies” (Goodman et al., 2015, p. 148). For example, the focus on the individual in traditional counseling theories can reinforce oppression by failing to address the role of systemic oppression in a client’s distress (Singh et al., 2020). Counseling theory textbooks usually provide an ancillary section at the end of each chapter focusing on multicultural issues (Cross & Reinhardt, 2017). White supremacy culture is so ubiquitous that it is typically invisible to those immersed within it (DiAngelo, 2018). It is not surprising then that counseling is often viewed as a White, middle-class endeavor, and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) clients frequently perceive that they should leave their cultural identities and experiences outside the counseling session (Turner, 2018). Counselor educators have been encouraged to reflect on how Eurocentric curricula and pedagogy may marginalize students and seek liberatory teaching practices that promote critical consciousness (Sharma & Hipolito-Delgado, 2021).

Students’ Perceptions of Their Growth, Learning Process, and Critiques of Their Training      Studies of mostly White graduate students show gains in expanding awareness of their own biases and privilege, knowledge about other cultures and experiences of oppression, as well as the importance of empowering and advocating for clients (Beer et al., 2012; Collins et al., 2015; Sanabria & DeLorenzi, 2019; Singh et al., 2010). Others indicated the benefits of integrating feminist principles in treatment (Hoover & Morrow, 2016; Singh et al., 2010). Consciousness-raising and self-reflection were key parts of multicultural and social justice learning (Collins et al., 2015; Hoover & Morrow, 2016), and could be emotionally challenging. Indeed, Goodman et al. (2018) identified a theme of internal grappling reflecting students’ experiences of intellectual and emotional struggle; others noted students’ experiences of overwhelm and isolation (Singh et al., 2010), as well as resistance, such as withdrawing or dismissing information that challenged their existing belief system (Seward, 2019). Researchers have also documented student complaints about their social justice training; for example, that social justice is not well integrated or that there was inadequate coverage of skills and action (Collins et al., 2015). Kozan and Blustein (2018) found that even among programs that espouse social justice, there was a lack of training in macro level advocacy skills. Barriers to engaging in advocacy included: lack of time (Field et al., 2019; Singh et al., 2010), emotional exhaustion stemming from observations of the harms caused by systemic inequities (Sanabria & DeLorenzi, 2019), and ill-informed supervisors (Sanabria & DeLorenzi, 2019).

The studies reviewed thus relied on samples of mainly White, cisgender, heterosexual women. Some noted that education on social justice is often centered on helping White students expand their awareness (Haskins & Singh, 2015). In one study focused on challenges faced by students of color, participants expressed frustration with the lack of diversity among their professors, classmates, and curriculum (Seward, 2019). Participants also experienced marginalization and disconnection when professors and students made offensive or culturally uninformed comments and when course content focused on teaching students with privileged identities. Students from marginalized communities also face isolation in academic settings and sometimes question the multicultural competence of their professors (Haskins & Singh, 2015), which in turn contributes to the underrepresentation of students of color in counseling and psychology (Arney et al., 2019).

The Present Study

Counselor educators must critically examine their curriculum, course materials, and overall learning climate for students (Haskins & Singh, 2015). Listening to students’ experiences and perceptions of their training offers faculty an opportunity to model cultural humility, gain useful feedback, and make necessary changes. Given the increased recognition of racial trauma and societal inequities, it is critical that counseling programs engage with students of diverse backgrounds as they seek to shift their pedagogy. Historically, academic institutions have responded to student demands with performative action rather than meaningful change (Zetzer, 2021). This mixed methods study is part of a larger process of counseling faculty working to invite student feedback and question internalized assumptions and biases in order to implement real change. The goal of program evaluation is to investigate strengths and weaknesses in order to improve the program (Royse et al., 2010). According to the 2024 Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) standards, program evaluation is essential to assess and improve the program (CACREP, 2023). Thus, the purpose of this program evaluation study was to understand students’ self-assessment and experiences with the counseling program’s curriculum in the area of multicultural and social justice advocacy, with the overarching goal of program curriculum and instruction improvement. This article offers counselor educators a model of how to assess program effectiveness in multicultural and social justice teaching and practical suggestions based on the findings. The research questions were: What are beginning and advanced students’ self-perceptions regarding their multicultural and social justice advocacy competencies? What are beginning and advanced students’ perceptions of the multicultural and social justice advocacy competencies training they are receiving in their program?

We employed a mixed method, embedded design in which the quantitative data offered a supportive and secondary role to the qualitative results (Creswell et al., 2003). Qualitative and mixed methods research designs are particularly useful in program evaluation (Royse et al., 2010). Mixed method approaches also offer value in research that centers social justice advocacy, as the integration of diverse methodological techniques within a single study fosters the understanding of multiple perspectives and facilitates a deeper comprehension of intricate issues (Ponterotto et al., 2013). We used an online survey to collect written narratives (qualitative) and survey data (quantitative) from two counseling courses: a beginning counseling course in the first semester (beginning students), and an advanced practicum course, taken by those who had completed at least part of their year-long practicum (advanced students).

Participants      Participants were counseling students enrolled in a CACREP-accredited program at a large West Coast public university in the United States that is both a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander–serving institution. Responses were collected from two courses, which included 94 beginning students (84% response rate) and 62 advanced students (71% response rate). Twelve percent of the advanced practicum students also completed the survey when they were first-semester (beginning) students. The mean age of the 139 participants was 27.7 ( SD = 7.11), ranging from 20 to 58 years. Racial identifications were 40.3% White, 33.1% Latinx, 14.4% Asian, 7.2% Biracial or Multiracial, 2.9% Black, 0.7% Middle Eastern, 0.7% American Indian/Alaska Native, and 0.7% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. The majority identified as women (82.0%), followed by 14.4% as men, and 2.9% as nonbinary/queer. Students self-identified as heterosexual (71.2%), bisexual (11.5%), lesbian/gay (6.5%), queer (4.3%), pansexual (1.4%), and about 1% each as asexual, heteroflexible, and unsure. About 19.4% of students were enrolled in a bilingual/bicultural (Spanish/Latinx) emphasis within the program.

Procedure      After receiving university IRB approval, graduate students enrolled in the first-semester beginning counseling course (fall 2018 and 2019) or the advanced practicum course (summer 2019 and 2020) were asked to complete an online survey through Qualtrics with both quantitative measures and open-ended questions as part of their preparation for class discussion. Students were informed that this homework would not be graded and was not intended to “test” their knowledge but rather would serve as an opportunity to reflect on their experience of the program’s multicultural and social justice training. Students were also given the option to participate in the current study by giving permission for their answers to be used. Those who consented were asked to continue to complete the demographic questionnaire. In accordance with the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics (2014), students were informed that there would be no repercussions for not participating. A faculty member outside the counseling program managed the collection of and access to the raw data in order to protect the identities of the students and ensure that their participation or lack of participation in the study could not affect their grade for the course or standing in the program. All students, regardless of participation status, were given the option to enter an opportunity drawing for a small cash prize ($20 for data collection in 2018 and 2019, $25 for 2020) through a separate link not connected to their survey responses.

Data Collection      We collected brief written qualitative data and responses to two quantitative measures from both beginning and advanced students.

Qualitative Data      The faculty developed open-ended questions that would elicit student feedback on their multicultural and social justice training. Prior to beginning the counseling program, first-semester students were asked two questions about their experiences and impressions: How would you describe your knowledge about and interest in multiculturalism/diversity and social justice from a personal and/or academic perspective? and How would you describe your initial impressions or experience of the focus on multicultural and social justice in the program so far? They were also asked, if it was relevant, to include their experience in the Latinx counseling emphasis program component. Advanced students, who were seeing clients, were asked the same questions and also asked to: Consider/describe how this experience of multiculturalism and social justice in the program may impact you personally and professionally (particularly in work with clients) in the future.

Quantitative Data      Two instruments were selected to quantitatively assess students’ perceptions of their own multicultural and advocacy competencies. The Multicultural Counseling Competence and Training Survey (MCCTS; Holcomb-McCoy & Myers, 1999) is designed to assess counselors’ perceptions of their multicultural competence and the effectiveness of their training. The survey contains 32 statements for which participants answer on a 4-point Likert scale ( not competent , somewhat competent , competent , extremely competent ). Sample items include: “I can discuss family therapy from a cultural/ethnic perspective” and “I am able to discuss how my culture has influenced the way I think.” The reliability coefficients for each of the five components of the MCCTS ranged from .66 to .92: Multicultural Knowledge (.92), Multicultural Awareness (.92), Definitions of Terms (.79), Knowledge of Racial Identity Development Theories (.66), and Multicultural Skills (.91; Holcomb-McCoy & Myers, 1999). In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranged from .75 to .96.

The Advocacy Competencies Self-Assessment Survey (ACSA; Ratts & Ford, 2010) assesses for competency and effectiveness across six domains: (a) client/student empowerment, (b) community collaboration, (c) public information, (d) client/student advocacy, (e) systems advocacy, and (f) social/political advocacy. It contains 30 statements that ask participants to respond with “almost always,” “sometimes,” or “almost never.” Sample questions include “I help clients identify external barriers that affect their development” and “I lobby legislators and policy makers to create social change.” Although Ratts and Ford (2010) did not provide psychometrics of the original ACSA, it was validated with mental health counselors (Bvunzawabaya, 2012), suggesting an adequate internal consistency for the overall measure, but not the specific domains. In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranged from .69 to.79 for the six domains, and .94 for the overall scale. For the purposes of this study, we were not interested in specific domains and used the overall scale to assess students’ overall social justice/advocacy competencies.

Data Analysis Qualitative Data Analysis      To analyze the qualitative data, we used Consensual Qualitative Research-Modified (CQR-M; Spangler et al., 2012), which was based on Hill et al.’s (2005) CQR but modified for larger numbers of participants with briefer responses. In contrast to the in-depth analysis of a small number of interviews, CQR-M was ideal for our data, which consisted of brief written responses from 139 participants. CQR-M involves a consensus process rather than interrater reliability among judges, who discuss and code the narratives, and relies on a bottom-up approach, in which categories (i.e., themes) are derived directly from the data rather than using a pre-existing thematic structure. Frequencies (i.e., how many participants were represented in each category) are then calculated. We analyzed the beginning and advanced students’ responses separately, as the questions were adjusted for their time spent in the program.

After immersing themselves in the data, the first two authors, Sapna B. Chopra and Rebekah Smart, met to outline a preliminary coding structure, then met repeatedly to revise the coding into more abstract categories and subcategories. The computer program NVivo was used to organize the coding process and determine frequencies. After all data were coded, the fifth author, Eric W. Price, served as auditor and provided feedback on the overall coding structure. Both the consensus process and use of an auditor are helpful in countering biases and preconceptions. Brief quantitative data, as used in this study, can be used effectively as a means of triangulation (Spangler et al., 2012).

Quantitative Data Analysis      To examine for significant differences in the self-perceptions of multicultural competencies and advocacy competencies between White and BIPOC students as well as between beginning and advanced students, a two-way (2×2) ANOVA was conducted with the overall MCCT as the criterion variable and student levels (beginning, advanced) and race (White, BIPOC) as the two independent variables. In addition, two (5×2) multivariate analyses of variances (MANOVAs) were conducted with the five factors of multicultural competencies (knowledge, awareness, definition of terms, racial identity, and skills) as criterion variables and with student levels (beginning, advanced) and student races (White, BIPOC) as independent variables in each analysis. Data for beginning and advanced students were analyzed separately to assess whether time in the counseling program helped to expand their interest and commitment to social justice.

Research Team      We were intentional in examining our own social identities and potential biases throughout the research process. Chopra is a second-generation South Asian American, heterosexual, cisgender woman. Smart is a White European American, heterosexual, cisgender woman. Yuying Tsong identifies as a genderqueer first-generation Taiwanese and Chinese American immigrant. Olga L. Mejía is an Indigenous-identified Mexican immigrant, bisexual, cisgender woman. Price is a White, gay, cisgender male. All have experience as counselor educators and in qualitative research methods, and all have been actively engaged in decolonizing their syllabi and incorporating multicultural and social justice into their pedagogy.

The research process was guided by the overarching question: What are beginning and advanced counseling students’ perceptions of their multicultural and social justice competencies and training and how can their feedback be used to improve their counselor education program? We explore the qualitative findings first, as the primary data for the study, followed by the quantitative data.

Qualitative Findings for Beginning Counseling Students      Two higher-order categories emerged from the beginning students’ narratives: developing competencies and learning process so far.

Developing Competencies      Students’ descriptions of the competencies they were developing included themes of awareness, knowledge, and skills and action. Some students entered the program with an already heightened awareness, while others were making new discoveries. Awareness included subthemes of humility (24.5%), awareness of own privilege (6.4%), and awareness of bias (3.2%). “There’s a lot to learn” was a typical sentiment, particularly from White students. One White female student wrote: “I definitely need more and I believe that open discussions, even hard ones would be some of the best ways to go about this.” A large group expressed knowledge of oppression and systemic inequities (33%); a smaller group referenced intersectionality ( 3.2%). Within skills and action, some students expressed specific intentions in allyship (11.7%); a number of students expressed commitment to social action but felt unsure how to engage in social justice (11.7%).

Learning Process So Far      Central themes in this category were support for growth, concerns in training, and internal challenges. Some students felt excited and supported, while some were cautiously optimistic or concerned. Support for growth was a strong theme that reflected excited and enthusiastic to learn (22.3%); appreciation for the Latinx emphasis (18.1%); and receiving support from professors and program (17.0%). For example, one Mexican student in the Latinx emphasis who noted that mental health was rarely discussed in her family shared: “For me to see that there is a program that teaches students how to communicate to individuals who are unsure of what counseling is about, gave me a sense of happiness and relief.”

A few students were adopting a wait-and-see attitude and expressed some concerns about their training. Although the percentage for these subthemes is low, they provide an important experience that we want to amplify. This theme had multiple subthemes. The subtheme concerns from students of color included centering White students (3.2%), microaggressions (3.2%), and lack of representation (1.1%). A student who identified as a Mexican immigrant shared experiences of microaggressions, including classmates using a hurtful derogatory phrase referring to immigrants with no comment from the professor until the student raised the issue. Concerns in training also included the subtheme concerns with how material is presented in classes (7.0%). For some, the concern related to the potential for harm in classes in which White and BIPOC students were encouraged to process issues of privilege and oppression. For example, one Asian Pacific Islander student wrote that although they appreciated the emphasis on social justice, “Time always runs out and I believe it’s careless and dangerous to cut off these types of conversations in a rushed manner.” A small minority seemed to suggest a backlash to the emphasis on social justice, stating that the content was presented in ways that were too “politically correct,” “biased,” or “repetitive.”

      Multiple subthemes emerged from the theme of internal challenges . Both BIPOC and White students shared feeling afraid to speak up (5.3%). BIPOC students expressed struggling with confidence or wanting to avoid conflict, while White students’ fear of speaking up was also connected to discomfort and uncertainty as a White person (2.1%). A small minority of White students did not express explicit discomfort but seemed to engage in a color-blind strategy, as indicated in the theme of people are people (2.1%): “I find people are people, regardless of any differences, and love hearing the good and bad about everybody’s experiences.” Some students of color expressed limited knowledge about cultures other than one’s own (4.3%). For example, an Asian American student stated that they had gravitated to “those who were most similar to me” growing up. Lastly, a few students shared feeling overwhelmed and exhausted (3.2%).

Qualitative Findings for Advanced Counseling Students      Four higher-order themes emerged: competencies in process, multiculturalism and diversity in the program, social justice in the program, and the learning process.

Competencies in Process      Similar to beginning students, advanced students described growing self-awareness, knowledge and awareness of others, skills, and action. Their disclosures often related to clinical work, now that they had been seeing clients. Self-awareness included strong subthemes of: humility and desire to keep learning (25.8%); increased open-mindedness, acceptance of others, and compassion (22.6%); awareness of personal privilege and oppression (17.7%); awareness of personal bias and value systems (17.7%); and awareness of personal cultural identity (14.5%). One Mexican American student wrote: “I have also gained an increased awareness of how my prejudices can impact my work with clients and learned about how to check-in with myself.”

     Knowledge and awareness of others had subthemes of privilege and oppression (19.4%) and increased knowledge of culture (14.5%), with awareness of the potential impact on clients. The advanced students also had more to say about skills, which included subthemes of diversity considerations in conceptualization (29%), and in treatment (12.9%), and cultural conversations in the therapy room (21%). One White student wrote: “I have been able to have difficult conversations that once were unheard of. I have also been able to bring culture, ethnicity, and oppression into the room so that my clients can feel understood and safe.” Within the theme of action , 52% wrote about their commitment to social justice and intention to advocate . Although this strongest subtheme suggested action was still more aspirational than currently enacted, a smaller group also wrote about the experiences that they have already had with client advocacy (12.9%), community and/or political action (12.9%), and unspecified action (11.3%).

Multiculturalism and Diversity in the Program      Many students (44%) indicated that they appreciated that multicultural issues were integrated or addressed well within the program. However, with more time spent in the program, 26% felt that there was more nuance, depth, or scope needed. Some wanted more attention to specific issues, such as disability, gender identity, and religion/spirituality. One Asian American student wrote that the focus had been “basic and surface-level,” adding “I feel like it has also generally catered to the protection of White feelings and voices, which is inherently complicit in the system of White supremacy, especially in higher ed.” Others (9.7%) said more training in clinical application was needed.

Social Justice in the Program      Students expressed a variety of opinions. The largest number (29%) were satisfied that social justice issues were well integrated into the program. Although more students were satisfied than not, many (24%) noted that social justice is addressed but not demonstrated . Similarly, 24% noted minimal attention, specifically that social justice was not addressed much beyond the one course focused on culture, and 24% noted a desire for more opportunities within the program to engage in advocacy. Some suggested requiring social justice work rather than leaving it as an optional activity. Others (13%), mostly from 2020, noted the relevance of current events and sociopolitical climate. One White student shared about a presentation on Black Lives Matter: “This project opened my eyes to my limited knowledge of systemic oppression in the U.S. and impacted me in ways that I will NEVER be the same.” A small number of students (3%) reported that there was no need or room for more training in social justice. One White student wrote that they felt “frustrated” and that the social justice “agenda is so in my face all the time,” adding “sometimes I feel like I am being trained to be an advocate and an activist, which is/are a different job.”

The Learning Process      Three central themes emerged : enrichment experienced, challenges, and suggestions for change . Many students were appreciative of their experience. A strong subtheme within enrichment experienced was professors’ encouragement and modeling (24%). Others commented on how much came from learning from peers (21%). Some shared feeling personally empowered (14.5%). For example, a student who identified as coming from an Asian culture wrote about the hesitancy to be an activist, stating, “There is an underlying belief that our voices will not really ever be heard which is strongly tied to systemic oppression and racism throughout history. Consequently, I appreciate this challenge to grow more in social justice issues.” Others shared ways that the program prompted them to engage in social justice outside the classroom (11.3%). For example, one student wrote: “This program gave me the knowledge and education I needed to make sure that when I did speak out I wasn’t just talking to talk. I would actually have facts, stats, evidence-based research to back up my argument.” A number of students noted the unique benefits of the Latinx program (9.7%). One Mexican American student reflected that they had learned about diversity within Latinx cultures, and that, “As a result, I feel more confident in being able to serve clients from various Latinx cultures or at least know where to obtain relevant information when needed.” Many students expressed a sense of belonging (8.1%).

     Challenges. Nearly 10% wrote about struggling to make time [for social justice] and 6.5% noted the emotional impact. For example, one White student wrote: “It was a rude and brutal awakening, to say the least. It was riddled with emotion and heartache but was worth the process.” A few had conflicted or mixed feelings (8.1%) — they felt appreciative but wanted more . A few noted possible harm to marginalized students (6.5%). One Asian American student wrote that faculty should be “calling out microaggressions . . . otherwise, their stance on social justice feels more performative and about protecting their own liability rather than caring for their students of color.” A smaller number (4.8%) struggled with peers and colleagues who seemed uninformed.

     Suggestions for Change. Students offered suggestions for improvement, with a strong theme to develop more diverse representation (16.1%), including more representation in faculty, students, case examples, and class discussions. Some comments were specifically about needed attention to Black experiences; one concerned teaching about resiliencies and strengths in the face of oppression. Almost 15% suggested making changes to courses or curriculum . One White student wrote: “If it were me running the program (lol) I would . . . remove the culture class and have all those topics embedded into the fabric of each class because culture and diversity are in all those topics.” A few suggested that faculty require social justice assignments (8.1%), adding that many students will not act unless required. A few also suggested that the program provide more education of White students (8.1%).

Quantitative Findings Quantitative analyses were conducted to provide triangulation for the qualitative findings and a different view of the data, including possible differences between BIPOC and White students and beginning and advanced students. Table 1 includes descriptive statistics providing an overview of beginning and advanced students’ self-perception of their multicultural and social justice competencies.

Table 1 Descriptive Statistics of Competencies

To examine if there were discernable differences between the beginning and advanced students’ perceptions of their competencies, and if there were differences between White and BIPOC students, a two-way (2×2) ANOVA was conducted with the overall MCCT as the criterion variable and student levels (beginning, advanced) and race (White, BIPOC) as the two independent variables. Results indicated that although there were no interaction effects between race and student levels, there were significant differences in overall multicultural competencies between beginning and advanced students, F (1, 152) = 30.54, p < .001, indicating that advanced practicum students reported significantly higher overall multicultural competencies than beginning students. There were no statistically significant differences between White and BIPOC students in their overall multicultural competencies. Two (5×2) MANOVAs were conducted with the five factors of multicultural competencies as criterion variables (knowledge, awareness, definition of terms, racial identity, and skills). Student levels (beginning, advanced) and student race (White, BIPOC) were independent variables. Results indicated that there were significant differences between beginning and advanced students in at least one of the multicultural competencies components, Wilks’ Lambda = .72, F (5, 150) = 11.97, p < .001. More specifically, follow-up univariate ANOVAs indicated that advanced students reported significantly higher multicultural competencies in their knowledge, F (1, 154) = 43.74, p < .001, µ 2 = .22; awareness, F (1, 154) = 6.20, p = .014, µ 2 = .04; and racial identity, F (1, 154) = 43.17, p < .001, µ 2 = .21. However, there were no significant differences in definitions of terms or skills. Even though there were no significant differences between White and BIPOC students in their overall multicultural competencies, the results of the 5×2 MANOVA indicated that there were significant differences in at least one of the components, Wilks’ Lambda = .87, F (5, 150) = 4.49, p = .001. Follow-up univariate ANOVAs indicated that White students reported higher multicultural competencies in racial identity than BIPOC students in this study, F (1, 154) = 4.51, p = .035, µ 2 = .03. There were no differences in the other areas.

A two-way (2×2) ANOVA was conducted with the overall ACSA as the criterion variable and student levels (beginning, advanced) and race (White, BIPOC) as the two independent variables. Results indicated that while there were no interaction effects between race and student levels, there were significant differences in overall advocacy competencies between beginning and advanced students, F (1, 152) = 10.78, p = .001, indicating that advanced students reported significantly higher overall advocacy competencies ( M = 76.68) than beginning students ( M = 63.02). There were no statistically significant differences between White and BIPOC students in their overall advocacy competencies.

This study was designed to examine students’ experiences of their multicultural and social justice training as an aspect of program evaluation, specifically to assist faculty in improving curriculum and instruction with regard to multicultural and advocacy competencies; the study also offers a unique contribution to existing literature by including a more racially diverse (60% BIPOC) sample. Students reported growth in the core areas of multicultural and social justice competency as outlined by Ratts et al. (2016): awareness, knowledge, skills, and action. Consistent with Field et al.’s (2019) findings, students reported more growth in awareness and knowledge than in social justice action, with some differences as students moved through the program. Although beginning students identified personal biases, the theme of self-awareness was more complex for them later in the program. This suggests that a longer time spent in the program contributed to personal growth; although this seems expected, these outcomes have not necessarily been examined before and confirm that the programs’ increasing effort on multiculturalism and social justice are showing gains. The advanced students wrote about clinical application as well and made overt statements of their commitment to social justice. The quantitative results supported these qualitative findings, with advanced students reporting higher multicultural competencies in knowledge, awareness, and racial identity and higher overall advocacy competencies compared to beginning students. With one exception, there were no significant differences between White and BIPOC students in their self-assessment of multicultural or advocacy competencies. Across racial groups, students expressed humility and desire to learn more.

Although students expressed mixed opinions about their experience of the multicultural and social justice training, a greater number of advanced students reported that they thought multicultural (44%) and social justice issues (30%) were well integrated into the program compared to the number of students with critiques. Students reported that support from faculty and peers facilitated their growth and learning, consistent with previous research (e.g., Beer et al., 2012; Keum & Miller, 2020). Some students noted a sense of belonging, particularly those in the Latinx emphasis.

Similar to other researchers, we found that many students wanted social justice issues to be integrated across the curriculum rather than into one course (Beer et al., 2012; Collins et al., 2015); they also wanted more focus on skills and action (Collins et al., 2015; Kozan & Blustein, 2018). Students’ scores on the ACSA advocacy competencies scale reflect this gap in training as well. Though fewer students offered critiques of their training, these responses are important to amplify because some of these concerns are rarely solicited or acknowledged. For example, BIPOC students echoed the challenges faced by students in Seward’s (2019) study, including lack of representation in their faculty, classmates, and curriculum as well as feelings of marginalization when microaggressions in the classroom went unchecked and when instruction centered the needs of White students. Additionally, a few advanced students from 2020, during a time of significant racial-sociopolitical uprising in the United States, expressed concern that class discussions potentially caused harm to students from marginalized communities. Though more students expressed a desire for greater in-depth training, a small minority of mostly White students indicated that they did not want more social justice training and would rather focus solely on traditional counseling skills. These different student perspectives point to the challenges of teaching social justice amidst diverse political and ideological backgrounds and the need to increase community and collaboration.

Listening to Student Feedback and Implications for Decolonizing Program Curriculum      This study’s findings support the benefits of listening to students’ voices related to multicultural and social justice to inform counselor educators on program strengths and areas for growth. Although student feedback was not the sole impetus for making program changes, accessing this more detailed response was helpful in refining our purpose and direction, as well as highlighting weaknesses. Perhaps more important was the faculty’s willingness to engage in this self-reflective process and to take necessary actions. Rather than waiting for exit interview feedback from graduating students, counselor educators can conduct ongoing program evaluations through anonymous online surveys as well as town hall meetings that invite students to share their process of learning, perceptions of the cultural climate, and experiences of microaggressions. We have a growing understanding that during such evaluations great care needs to be taken for building safety, so as not to retraumatize students from marginalized communities. Based on the results and a series of Zoom town hall meetings, we have implemented changes, such as more consistent integration of social justice across the curriculum; training and day-long retreats focused on increasing faculty competence; faculty participation in Academics for Black Survival and Wellness, an intensive training led by Dr. Della Mosely and Pearis Bellamy; accountability support groups in social justice work; and decolonizing syllabi and class content (e.g., including BIPOC voices and non–APA-style writing assignments). Faculty have also made significant modifications to course materials. For example, beginning students complete weekly modules that include readings and exercises from The Racial Healing Handbook (Singh, 2019), and students study Liberation Psychology during the first week of theories class so they can consider ways to decolonize more traditional models throughout the semester. These strategies have been helpful in preparing students for more difficult conversations surrounding anti-racism in more advanced courses throughout the program. Forming faculty accountability partners or small groups is helpful so that faculty can support each other as a part of their ongoing development in addressing internalized White supremacy and avoiding harm to students.

Student feedback also called attention to the need for self-care, which our program continues to explore. Consistent with previous research (Collins et al., 2015; L. A. Goodman et al., 2018; Hoover & Morrow, 2016; Singh et al., 2010), students reported that their multicultural and social justice learning was often accompanied by moments of overwhelm, hopelessness, and despair. Without tools to manage these emotions, some students may retreat into defensiveness and withdrawal (Seward, 2019), and some may experience activist burnout (Gorski, 2019). Sustainability is necessary for effective social change efforts (Toporek & Ahluwalia, 2021). Counseling programs can offer resources and guidance for students to practice self-care with counselor educators modeling self-care behavior. For example, the Psychology of Radical Healing Collective (Chen et al., 2019) offered strategies to practice radical self-care, including making space for one’s own healing, finding joy and a sense of belonging, and engaging in advocacy at the local community level. Mindfulness practices can be integrated into social justice education to help students and counselor educators manage difficult emotions, increase their ability to be present, and strengthen compassion and curiosity (Berila, 2016). In addition to individual self-care practices, counselor educators can advocate for community care by tending to the community’s needs and drawing on collective experience and wisdom (Gorski, 2019).

The findings point to the need for counselor educators to better address Whiteness and White supremacy, as well as to center the experiences of students from marginalized communities. Counselor educators may be able to mobilize and direct White students’ feelings of guilt into racial consciousness and action by helping them explore Whiteness, White privilege, and what it means to them while allowing and confronting feelings that arise (Grzanka et al., 2019). It may be helpful for educators to read and assign books on White fragility and ways to address it (DiAngelo, 2018; Helms, 2020; Saad, 2020), so that they can assist White students in managing these emotions. It is important that educators explicitly name and recognize White supremacy as it shows up in counseling theory and practice, and to include a shift from the primary focus on the individual to understanding and dismantling oppressive systems. Counselor educators must also attend to the ways in which they center the comfort of White students over the needs of BIPOC students, so that they do not perpetuate harm and trauma (Galán et al., 2021). Although students with privileged identities may learn powerful lessons about oppression from their classmates, it is important that such learning does not occur at the expense of students with marginalized identities. Offering spaces for White students, especially those who are new to conversations about race and racism, to process their feelings may be helpful to avoid harm to BIPOC students who have experienced racial trauma. Similarly, BIPOC students may benefit from spaces in which they can talk freely and support each other as they unpack their own experiences of microaggressions and trauma (Galán et al., 2021).

Based on the finding that support from faculty was important in facilitating student growth and learning, counselor educators may benefit from implementing strategies informed by relational pedagogy and relational–cultural theory (Dorn-Medeiros et al., 2020). Relational pedagogy centers the relationship between teachers and students and posits that all learning takes place in relationships. Relational–cultural theory emphasizes mutual empathy and empowerment and is rooted in feminist multicultural principles. Practices grounded in these approaches include professors’ use of self-disclosure to model openness, vulnerability, and self-reflection; and their work to reduce power imbalances and invite student feedback at multiple points in time through anonymous surveys and one-on-one meetings. Counselor educators can uplift students as the experts of their experience (Sharma & Hipolito-Delgado, 2021).

Limitations and Future Research      The results of this study must be considered in light of a number of limitations. The use of the online survey meant that we were not able to follow up with students for further discussion or clarification of their responses. Adding focus groups or interviews to this methodology would likely provide a more thorough picture. In spite of assurances to the contrary, some students may have been hesitant to be honest out of concern that their own professors would be reading their feedback. It is possible that different themes would have emerged if all students had participated. In addition, 12% of the advanced students had participated as beginning students and therefore were previously exposed to the survey materials. Although this could have impacted their later responses, we suspect that given the nearly 2-year time lapse this may not have been meaningful. Nevertheless, future research and program evaluation would be strengthened with longitudinal analyses. Lastly, the reliability for the ACSA was relatively low, so conclusions are tentative; however, the results support the qualitative data. Despite these limitations, this study offers a model for assessing students’ learning and experiences with the goal of program improvement. The process of counselor educators humbling themselves and inviting and integrating student feedback is an important step in decolonizing counselor education and better serving students and the clients and communities that they will serve.

Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure The authors reported no conflict of interest or funding contributions for the development of this manuscript.

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Zetzer, H. A. (2021). Decolonizing the curriculum in health service psychology. Association of Psychology Training Clinics Bulletin: Practicum Education & Training , 20–22. https://aptc.org/images/File/newsletter/APTC_Bulletin_PET_2021_Spring%20FINAL.pdf

Sapna B. Chopra , PhD, is an associate professor at California State University, Fullerton. Rebekah Smart, PhD, is a professor at California State University, Fullerton. Yuying Tsong , PhD, is a professor and Associate Vice President for Student Academic Support at California State University, Fullerton. Olga L. Mejía, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and an associate professor at California State University, Fullerton. Eric W. Price, PhD, is an associate professor at California State University, Fullerton. Correspondence may be addressed to Sapna B. Chopra, Department of Human Services, California State University, Fullerton, P.O. Box 6868, Fullerton, CA 92834-6868, [email protected].

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Longtime AD and 2-time national champion baseball coach Tanner to switch roles at South Carolina

FILE - South Carolina athletics director Ray Tanner speaks to the crowd at Colonial Life Arena, April 8, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. (Joshua Boucher/The State via AP, File)

President Joe Biden walks with Dawn Staley, Coach of the University of South Carolina Women’s basketball team, for an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, to welcome the University of South Carolina Gamecocks Women’s basketball team and celebrate their 2023-2024 NCAA championship season. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer waves to fans during the Gamecock Walk before an NCAA college football game against Old Dominion Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Artie Walker Jr.)

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina baseball coach Ray Tanner knew it was time for change more than a decade ago with his program at its most successful. Tanner could not escape that same feeling as athletic director these past few months even with Gamecock athletics trending upward.

Tanner, 66, said Friday he was stepping down after the fall semester, ending more than 12 years as one of the longest-tenured ADs in the Southeastern Conference.

“There was going to be a time” to change, Tanner said. “When I coached baseball, I didn’t leave the baseball program because I didn’t think it was good anymore to become the athletic director, it was time. And I knew it was getting close to time in this role as well.”

Tanner had come off national championships in 2010 and 2011 and a near three-peat before losing to Arizona in 2012 when he was chosen to head the department.

He’s leaving when it appears South Carolina sports’ fortunes are trending upward.

The women’s basketball team visited the White House this week after its third national title and, under coach Dawn Staley, will start the season as a favorite for another NCAA Tournament trophy.

He had hired ex-LSU national championship baseball coach Paul Manieri this summer to restore CWS success to the Gamecocks.

Tanner retained men’s basketball coach Lamont Paris with a long-term contract after he led the Gamecocks to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years.

And the football team is off to a good start as well, hosting No. 16 LSU in a sold-out game Saturday with ESPN’s “College GameDay” in town.

“I was somewhat hesitant about today myself, because we do have a lot going on,” Tanner said. “But, again, there never is a perfect time. But it is, it’s not a sad day, it’s a happy day.”

Tanner had discussions with university president Michael Amiridis the past few months about his future. The longer talks went on, Tanner said, the more chance of the news coming out before both sides wanted it.

“I’ve already had some people, I won’t give you any names, but a couple people reach out to me, ‘Hey, what do you know about that? I’d like to have that job,” ESPN’s Rece Davis, host of “College GameDay” said Friday from Columbia.

A national search for a new athletic director will begin at the end of November, Amiridis said.

Tanner will be paid his current salary of $1.175 million through June 30, 2025. He will earn $987,500 in the next year and $800,000 in the final year of the deal, which ends June 30, 2028, “unless extended by mutual written agreement,” according to the letter from Armiridis in accepting his decision to leave as AD and transition to the new role.

Tanner’s tenure has had its highs and lows.

Women’s basketball has won three national titles under Staley in 2017, 2022 and, most recently, 2024. And while Tanner was still baseball coach when Staley came on board before the 2008-09 season, he helped keep her with the Gamecocks despite other outside opportunities.

Tanner has hired two full-time football coaches over his 12 years as the program has tried to make strides in the difficult SEC.

Will Muschamp served from 2017 until his dismissal before the end of the 2020 season, going 28-30 overall and 17-22 in the SEC.

Current coach Shane Beamer was hired in December 2020 and has had two winning seasons in his first three years.

Tanner said he was honored to be at South Carolina for nearly three decades and the chance to continue in a different role. When his successor arrives, Tanner will be athletic director emeritus and presidential advisor, focusing on fundraising and community engagement.

“I am glad to see he’s continuing on in a role with the university and his willingness to do that,” said Board of Trustees chairman Thad Westbrook. “Ray, he doesn’t have a degree from South Carolina, but there’s no one who loves our university more.”

Tanner came to South Carolina in 1996 as baseball coach and went on to make six trips to the College World Series.

Tanner said his successor would need to be “nimble” in navigating the new, rapidly changing world of college athletics.

Amiridis said he would look for an athletic director with experience who had a similar respect for athletics as Tanner.

Tanner said he will not be closely involved in picking the next athletic director.

“I’m gratefully for the time that I’ve been able to spend in South Carolina and the opportunity moving forward,” he said. “We have a great place, we have wonderful people and I’m excited to remain in a capacity that’s going to be new to me, but certainly will energize me in a way that I haven’t experienced in a number of years.”

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