School Service Personnel K-12 (Endorsement)

Courses (36 Hours)

Introduction to the Counseling Profession

Training, role and professional identity of counselors and other professions in the helping profession. Professional organizations, publications, certification and licensing. Roles and functions of counselors in various settings. Ethical and legal issues in counseling.

Counseling Theory and Practice

Individual, couple and systems theories of counseling/psychotherapy. Examination of the helping process, client and counselor characteristics that influence the process consistent with current professional research and practice in the field allowing the development of a personal model of counseling.

Counseling Interventions and Techniques

This course addresses the competencies, attitudes, and skills essential to developing the character and identity of a professional counselor. Foundational and advanced counseling skills and therapeutic interventions examined as they apply to the personal, social and academic realms. Counseling techniques from the major schools and orientations including crisis intervention, multicultural and ethical issues. This course will use role playing and videotaping to fortify burgeoning skills and interventions.

Counseling and Human Development

Students are provided with an understanding of the nature and needs of persons throughout the lifespan including developmental and multicultural domains. Counseling approaches and issues are discussed in relation to developmental stages. Resiliency factors and ethical issues are applied across the lifespan.

Ethics, Law and Morality for Counselors

Addresses the competencies, attitudes and skills essential to the developing character and identity of a professional counselor. This course is designed to give the student an understanding of ethics and applicable laws in the profession of counseling as well as allowing them to examine their own moral values. Prerequisite: Introduction to the Counseling Profession.

Multicultural Counseling

Assessment and therapeutic treatment of diverse populations with special emphasis on understanding of the cultural context of relationships, issues, and trends in a multicultural society. Emphasis on specific problems associated with age, race, disability, religious preferences, etc., and how these affect the counseling relationships.

School Counseling Program Development and Organization

Examination of the role and function of the school counselor in a comprehensive school counseling program. Emphasis on developmental counseling and the components of an effective developmental school counseling program. Discussion of school counseling, historical roots, present and future trends. Role of counseling in total education program.

Counseling and Consulting in Schools

Counseling and consulting strategies used by counselors in the school setting for academic, career and personal/social issues. Examination of specific problems of children and adolescents.

Evaluation and Research for Counselors

Introduces students to the importance of research methods and program evaluation in advancing the counseling profession. Identifying and reading research, critically evaluating results, analyzing and using data to enhance program quality.

Group Work in Schools

Will provide an understanding, both theoretical and experiential, of school counseling groups for grades K‐12. The purpose, development, dynamics, theories, methods, skills, ethics and other group approaches in a multicultural society will be covered. Students will experience and participate as group members in small group activities. Prerequisite: Counseling Theory and Practice and Counseling Techniques and Interventions.

Fundamentals of Assessment

Historical, current and expected uses of testing and assessment procedures in educational settings. Statistical concepts, ethics and ethical factors in the appropriate use of various assessment techniques and tools with emphasis on benefits and limitations.

Career Counseling for School Counselors

This course addresses grades K-12 career counseling in the schools.  Career education viewed through the world of work, career theories, related life processes and development of programs and interventions to promote the career development of all students. Prerequisite: Introduction to the Counseling Profession.

Elective (3 hours)

Electives are available on a semester basis. Choose one 6000-level course from CED or PSY in consultation with your GPS Advisor to coordinate the elective registration.

Clinical Experience (9 hours)

Practicum: School Counseling (3 hours)

On-site based experiences in school counseling designed to introduce the student to the various functions of school counseling. Students should consult the School Counseling Practicum and Internship manual for additional information and requirements. Prerequisite: Completion of all course work.

CED‐6926/6927 Internship: School Counseling I & II (6 hours)

This is a two semester clinical school internship that meets the requirement for the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), School Counselor endorsement, and the CUC capstone requirement for classroom teachers with two years of teaching experience. Supervised individual and group work experiences in P‐12 and clinical settings appropriate to the program are required for 200 internship hours per semester (total 400 for the year). A classroom seminar component meeting is also required. Prerequisite: admission to this course is based on Division of Human Services approval of 2 year teaching experience. In addition, it is required that all program course work and successful completion of CED 6920 Practicum. This internship is not intended for candidates seeking the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) which requires 600 internship hours.

CED‐6928/6929 Internship: School Counseling I &II (6 hours)

This is a two semester clinical school internship that meets the requirement for the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), School Counselor endorsement, and the CUC capstone requirement for candidates without a standard teaching certificate in the State of Illinois and candidates with a standard teaching certificate in the State of Illinois seeking the additional LPC licensure.

Supervised individual and group work experiences in P‐12 and clinical settings appropriate to the program are required for 300 internship hours per semester (total 600 for the year). A classroom seminar component meeting is also required. Pre‐requisite: completion of all program course work and successful completion of CED‐6920 Practicum. Candidates without a standard teaching certificate in the State of Illinois are required to complete the following three track two courses prior to starting this Internship: Psychology and Methods of Teaching the Exceptional Learner, Affective Education, and Psychological Theories and Educational Processes.

Capstone Experience

All students in Concordia’s school counseling program will complete a Counseling Intervention Project (CIP) for the capstone requirement. The goal of the CIP is to develop a comprehensive, data-driven school counseling program using the ASCA model and its national standards as a framework under the supervision of the on-site supervisor and university supervisor. During the practicum portion of the program, students will begin construction a comprehensive developmental program that may be implemented and increase the success rates of the student’s they are assisting in multiple domains. Importantly, the CIP will be a program in which graduating school counselors may use in their future career as a school counselor.