Setting Up a Research Study:

A Pilot Project to Improve CCR for Middle

School Students
Carolyn Berger, Ph.D.

About Me

MEd, EdS, & PhD: UF

BA: Northwestern
Counselor educator since 2009
School Counselor at middle and high school levels
Professional membership and active engagement in
counseling associations
State leadership in school counseling

Now tell me about you!

Your name
Where youre from
Your program and career interest (what do you want to
be when you grow up?)

Research Interests
Past:

Counseling underachieving students

Survey research & small group intervention
Improving the support systems for students with chronic
illness
Survey research & advisory board

Present:

Meeting the college & career readiness needs of PK-12

students
Collaborative research project- middle school curriculum
development and implementation

Research Interests
Themes:
Ultimately, I want to help students achieve as a
result of successful counseling
interventions/curriculum
I am focused on outcome research and evidencebased interventions
I believe in the importance of consultation and
coordination when implementing research

What is outcome research?

Evidence-based practice requires application of practices

for which the evidence was the product of rigorous
scientific empirical studies that is, outcome research.
(Counseling Today, 2012: http://ct.counseling.org/2012/12/a-new-view-ofevidence-based-practice/)

Counseling Outcome Research & Evaluation journal:

http://cor.sagepub.com/
Center for School Counseling Outcome Research:
http://www.umass.edu/schoolcounseling/

Area of Need

When conducting research, its important to establish an

area of need

What does that mean?

Why is that an important key step?

CCR as an Area of Need

National call to action to better prepare PK-12 students for

college/postsecondary education (White House, 2014)

At our current rate of educational attainment, the U.S. will be

short 5 million workers for jobs that require postsecondary
credentials by 2020 (Carnevale, Smith, & Stroh, 2010)

Correlation between college completion and quality of life

(Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014; Ross & Willigen, 1997; Smith & Holcombe, 2011;Telfair & Shelton, 2012)

Shifts in thinking that occur during adolescence make the

middle school years a particularly important time (Gibbons & Borders,
2010; NACAC, 2009)

Local Need for CCR Programs

Broward Middle School Counselors surveyed:

Approx. 30% participation rate

Overall, Florida DOE career standards are being met
However, NOSCA components are not being met
50% reported that students are not being taught about
financial aid
40% reported that parents/guardians are not involved in
the CCR process.
Survey illustrated gaps in CCR components

Current Research Project

Pilot Study to Improve the College and Career Readiness

Program in a Broward County Middle School
Project resulted from ongoing collaboration with
Broward County
Collaboration resulted in a $10,000 Quality of Life
grant

How should counselors decide what to

include in an intervention?

Look at standards/guidelines (when possible)

ASCA standards
State standards
Multicultural Competency Standards
Career Development Standards (e.g., NCDA policies)
Suicide Prevention Standards (NSSP)

Look at past research studies

National Guideline Clearinghouse: http://www.guideline.gov/

Standards of Care for specific mental disorders

What Works Clearinghouse: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/

For this project, I focused on:

FL DOE Career & Ed Standards

National Office for School Counselor Advocacy- CCR
Components (College Board)

FL DOE Standards

FL required Career and Education Planning course

This course covers eight standards including:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

societal changes in relation to employment

career information
goal setting
employability skills
relationship between education and career options
interest assessments
career and education plan
knowledge of technology as it relates to careers

NOSCA Standards

College Boards National Office of School Counselor

Advocacy (NOSCA) identified six components of
CCR that need to be covered in the middle school:
1.
2.
3.

4.
5.
6.

College aspirations
Academic planning
Extracurricular engagement
College and career exploration and selection processes
College and career assessments
College affordability planning

Collaboration

Broward school counseling leaders in support of

revamping the CCR curriculum
Timing was pivotal

District leaders invested in improving CCR

Adoption of Naviance

Recognition that FL DOE standards and NOSCA

components both need to be covered

Collaboration

Connected with the principal of a middle school who

recognized need for stronger CCR curriculum
This middle school is Title I and was purposefully chosen
due to high need

School Demographics

86.2% African American/Black, 9.7% Hispanic, 1.4% White,

and 2.7% other ethnic backgrounds
90% Free/Reduced Lunch
Curriculum implemented with 7th graders (approx. 315
students)
Faculty involved include:

3 school counselors
62 teachers (including three 7th grade social studies teachers)
4 administrators

(Data from FL DOE, last updated 12/21/15)

Now What??

So we know that CCR is an area of need for MS students

(both nationally and in the county)
We know the standards
We have connected with a principal of a middle school
who is passionate about topic

Now what could you do?

Pair up with someone and come up with at
least three ideas of next steps

Determining Priorities

Standards were analyzed and priority areas

were developed
Special attention was paid to local needs of
low SES schools
Research was also consulted

Collaboration
Priorities:

Raise Students Career Knowledge and

College Aspirations through CCR
Curriculum (FL DOE & NOSCA)
Increase Parent/Family Involvement in CCR

(Dettmer et al., 2009; Trusty, Niles, & Carney, 2005)

Build College-Going Culture (Bruce & Bridgeland, 2012;

Perusse, Poynton, Parzych, & Goodnough, 2015)

Objective #1

Raise Student Career Knowledge and College

Aspirations through CCR Curriculum

Consult with district leaders as well as school staff to

develop curriculum
Naviance district-adopted CCR platform
Integrate curriculum with FL DOE Standards and NOSCA
Standards
Integrate evidence-based practices such as lesson topics
covered in ACTs DISCOVER curriculum (Brake, 2001; Luzzo
& Pierce, 1996) and Career Targets (Legum & Hoare, 2004)

Curriculum Outline
1)
2)

3)
4)
5)
6)
7)

Self-assessment- Interests (2 sessions)

Career exploration (2 sessions)
College Aspirations (include college affordability)
Postsecondary Options & College Exploration
Extracurricular engagement
Goal setting
Academic planning

Objective #2

Increase Parent/Family Involvement in CCR

Research shows it is essential for schools to involve

parents/families in CCR interventions (Dettmer et al., 2009;
Trusty, Niles, & Carney, 2005)

Regular communication will go home to parents regarding

CCR curriculum/activities
Invite parents and families to CCR event at the end of
curriculum
Make Family College Night accessible by offering at a
time feasible for parents to attend; food and incentives
will be offered for attending

Objective #3

Build a College-Going Culture

Reported gap in BCPS CCR program for middle school

Professional development trainings for teachers that focus
on increasing students college aspirations and linking core
curriculum with CCR counseling standards
Trainings will be tied to teacher initiatives (e.g., college door
contest)
CCR center being created in the school
College club will begin to meet after school
Focus is to help students become more exposed to college
information

Data Analysis & Study Design

Study Design
Primary Research Question
What is the impact of a classroom counseling unit on CCR on
7th grade students Career Maturity, College-Going SelfEfficacy, GPA, attendance, discipline, and extracurricular
participation as compared to 7th grade students who do not
receive the intervention?

Study Design

Secondary research question(s)

What are teachers, parents/guardians, and

students perception of the effectiveness of the
CCR curriculum?

Study Design
Data Collection
Intervention and waitlist comparison groups
complete pre-tests and post-tests
Tests to be administered online via survey monkey
15-20 minutes to complete
Students will be given numeric codes to use instead
of identification information
Data will be stored properly in locked cabinet and
computer data will be password protected

Study Design: Instrumentation

College-Going Self-Efficacy Scale (Gibbons, 2005)

Career Maturity Inventory- Form C (Crites & Savickas,

1995).

30 items
Not at all sure, Somewhat Sure, Sure,Very sure
Categories of persistence (I could get As and Bs in college)
and attendance (I can find a way to pay for college)

24 statements (agree or disagree)

4 scales: concern, curiosity, confidence, and consultation.

Surveys to assess students, teachers, and parents

perceived effectiveness of the CCR curriculum

Study Design: Other Data

Attendance
Discipline referrals
GPA
Participation in extracurricular activities

Study Design: Ideal

Pretest/Posttest control group design

Students will be randomly assigned to a social studies class,

stratifying based on reading achievement levels on the FL
Standards Assessment
Half of the classes will receive the CCR curriculum in the
beginning of the semester (Experimental Group- EG)
The other half will receive the curriculum during the second
half of the semester (Control Group- CG)
The 3 social studies teachers to share the experimental and
control groups equally

GROUP

PRE-TEST

Exp Group

Control Group

TREATMENT

POST-TEST

O
O

TREATMENT
X

Study Design: Alternate

Pretest/Posttest control group design

Alternate plan: Quasi-experimental Design

Assign experimental and control groups based on similar
criteria (e.g. honors vs. regular courses)
Statistically analyze treatment and control groups for
differences
Control group would receive delayed treatment

Study Design

Secondary research question

Descriptive statistics will be used

Post-test only used to measure perception of
helpfulness of intervention

Study Design

Independent Variable:?

Dependent Variables?

Scores on CMI, CGSES + GPA, attendance, discipline

referrals, extracurricular participation

Primary Research Question (differences between

groups)

intervention or comparison group

Statistical analyses will be chosen based on ultimate

experimental design

Secondary Research Question

Basic descriptive statistics will be used

Data Analysis

Quantitative analysis of student attendance, discipline

referrals, the CMI, the CGSES, and surveys filled out by
the students, teachers, and parents
Descriptive statistics will be used to compare students
attendance, discipline referrals, GPA, and participation in
extracurricular activities

Grant Funding

Monies will be used to train teachers on CCR

curriculum- printing of manuals and payment for teachers
time
Supplies for curriculum and College-Going Culture
materials
Food for teacher trainings and Family College Night
Incentives for parents to attend Family College Night
Research assistant funding
Research team travel

Future Grant Funding

Institute for Education Science- funding for educational

research, including the recently added topic area of career
education
Department of Education grant programs
Local funding (e.g., Browards Community Foundations
Ignite! Innovations Grant)

Obstacles

School district research approval

Buy-in from teachers
Integrity of curriculum
Testing pressure
Student engagement/interest in CCR
Bringing families into the process

Resources

Connections with school district

Building foundation for teacher buy in early establishment
of relevancy, grant $ helps!
Manualize curriculum and teacher training
Work around testing schedule, integrate in classes that are less
pressured to perform on state tests
Student engagement/interest- importance of making
curriculum interesting and link to topics they are interested in
Consult school staff and families

What are the best times/ways to implement the CCR training?

What resources do we need to provide families to attend the
training?
What are ways to encourage families to read communications and
come to events?

Summary

CCR is a timely, relevant research interest

Integration of CCR in middle school has been largely
ignored
Current project will pilot program and measure data to
examine its effectiveness
Future grant funding available for CCR studies
Consultation and collaboration with the community,
schools, families, teachers, and students is a crucial part of
CCR research

Thank you for listening!

Dr. Carolyn Berger

cs453@nova.edu

References
Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014). Employment projections: Earning and unemployment rates by educational
attainment. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm
Brake, R. G. (2001). The effects of DISCOVER career guidance software on career decision-making self-efficacy
of adolescents in foster care. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio,
TX.
Bruce, M., & Bridgeland, J. (2012). 2012 National Survey of School Counselors:True North--Charting the Course
to College and Career Readiness. College Board Advocacy & Policy Center.
The College Board (2010).The College Board National Office for School Counselor Advocacy: Eight
components of college and career readiness counseling. Retrieved from https://securemedia.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/nosca/11b_4416_8_Components_WEB_111107.pdf
Crites, J. O., & Savickas, M. L. (1995). Revision of the Career Maturity Inventory. Journal of Career Assessment, 4,
131138.
Dettmer, P., Thurston, L.P., Knackendoffel, A., & Dyck, N. J. (2009). Collaboration, consultation, and teamwork for
students with special needs. Columbus, OH: Pearson.
Florida Department of Education (n.d.). College and career planning: Educators toolkit. Retrieved from
http://www.fldoe.org/academics/college-career-planning/educators-toolkit

Gibbons, M. M. (2005). College-going beliefs of prospective first-generation college students: Perceived barriers,
social supports, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations. Dissertation Abstracts International, 66(08A), 2841.
Gibbons, M. M., & Borders, L. D. (2010). Prospective first-generation college students: A social-cognitive
perspective. Career Development Quarterly, 58(3), 194-208.

References
Legum, H. L., & Hoare, C. H. (2004). Impact of a career intervention on at-risk middle school students' career
maturity levels, academic achievement, and self-esteem. Professional School Counseling, 8, 148-155.
Luzzo, D. A. & Pierce, G. (1996, December). Effects of DISCOVER on the career maturity of middle school
students.The Career Developmental Quarterly, 45(2), 170-172.
National Association for College Admissions Counseling (2009). Adolescent development and the transition to
college: Psychological and social considerations. Research to Practice Brief, 5. Retrieved from
http://www.nacacnet.org/research/PublicationsResources/Marketplace/research/Pages/RTPBriefAdolescentDevel
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Perusse, R., Poynton,T. A., Parzych, J. L., & Goodnough, G. E. (2015).The importance and implementation of eight
components of college and career readiness counseling in school counselor education programs. Journal of
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School Counseling, 9(2), 136-143
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