Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Counselor Education and Supervision

Advisor

Melinda Haley

Abstract

Despite the increased need for counselor educators, less than half of graduates of counselor education and supervision (CES) programs enter into faculty positions after graduation. There is also a significant lack of diversity among counselor educators. Some researchers found that the quality of a mentoring relationship influences the mentee’s self-efficacy and career choice. The purpose of this quantitative survey research study was to explore the perceived quality of the participant’s mentoring relationship as measured by the Mentorship in Clinical Training Scale (MiCTS) and whether that score predicted the participant’s career choice or a change in career choice, investigate whether students’ demographic variables of race, age, or gender were related to their perceived quality of the mentoring relationship and describe qualities identified as essential qualities of an ideal mentor across the CES students’ age, gender, and race. The conceptual underpinnings of this study were Bandura’s social cognitive theory, Kram’s theory of mentorship, and Gottfredson’s theory of circumscription. The researcher used binomial logistic regressions, analysis of variances (ANOVA), and descriptive statistics to analyze participant’s responses on the MiCTS and career related questions. Key findings from this study are that the MiCTS total scores cannot predict whether the participants obtained a full-time faculty position but can predict if a participant experienced a career goal change. Participants scored the research domain as the most essential quality of an ideal mentor. A key recommendation from this study is to start mentoring programs earlier than in a CES program. Social change implications relate to how mentorship can increase the diversity and success of the CES field and faculty.

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