Predicting academic achievement and classroom environment using counselor and school variables in elementary level comprehensive school counseling programs.

摘要

The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which counselor-related variables predict academic achievement and classroom environment over and above significant school variables. Another aim was to determine if there are group differences in academic achievement and classroom climate between schools with low and high implementation of comprehensive school counseling programs (CSCP).; A total of 816 fourth grade students from 18 elementary schools participated in the study. Each student completed a My Class Inventory---Student Actual Short Form (MCI-SF) and participated in the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). Six predictor variables were grouped into school or counselor-related variables to determine their predictive value of students' WASL and MCI-SF scores. The sample was divided into two research groups, with 455 students in the high-CSCP group (six or more years experience implementing a CSCP) and 361 students in the low-CSCP group (less than six years experience implementing a CSCP). Data on the counselor and school variables were also collected.; Descriptive and inferential analyses were completed. Bivariate correlations were examined and stepwise and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to assess the predictive value of the school and counselor variables. The results show the counselor variable, years experience implementing a CSCP, had a positive relationship to reading, writing, and cohesiveness, and a negative relationship to competitiveness, accounting for 1% to 3% of the variance in each criterion variable. Furthermore, one MANCOVA and three ANOVAs were conducted to determine if there were group differences among fourth grade students in schools with low and high implementation of a CSCP in academic achievement and classroom climate. There was a statistical group difference between the research groups on academic achievement, after controlling for socioeconomic status. Post hoc analyses were not conducted because the results just reached significance and because the data were somewhat problematic. Around the classroom climate variables, there was a significant group difference on the Cohesiveness scale, but not on the Satisfaction and Competitiveness scales. The effect size estimate was relatively small, indicating that approximately 2% of the variance of Cohesiveness can be attributed to the level of CSCP implementation.