A SURVEY OF GRADUATES FROM A PROGRAM OF REHABILITATION COUNSELING WITH THE DEAF

Abstract

The general purpose of this study was to increase the knowledge about graduate-level trained personnel in the area of deafness. The first group of subjects were master's and doctoral degree graduates from The University of Arizona Rehabilitation Counseling with the Deaf Program who graduated during the period of June, 1969, to June, 1977. A total of 45 of a possible 60 graduates were included in the study. The second group of subjects were employers of the graduates. A total of 36 of a possible 45 employers were included in the study. Information from the two groups of subjects was obtained from questionnaires especially developed for use in this study.The results of the study show that the sex of the graduates was evenly divided between male and female; that the majority of graduates started the Program in the early 1970s and that twelve of the graduates had a hearing loss. Twenty-eight of the 45 graduates worked with the hearing impaired before entering the program. The employment history of the graduates since graduation from the Program showed that the majority worked in positions related to the profession of rehabilitation and that they have stayed in the field over a period of years.Furthermore, 86% of the graduates who were working at the time of the study were employed in positions related to hearing impaired populations. The majority of the master's degree graduates worked in positions as counselors or administrators , whereas the doctoral degree graduates worked in positions as professors or administrators. The median salary at the time of the study was $13,994 for the master's degree graduates and $24,000 for the doctoral degree graduates . The results showed that slightly over one-half of the graduates were working in school or rehabilitation education settings at the time of the study. Another one-fourth were working for State-Federal Vocational Rehabilitation programs. The graduates performed a wide variety of duties in the various settings. The 29 graduates who listed counseling spent a median amount of only 25% of their time on this activity. The amount of "paper work" that the graduates were doing increased substantially from past positions to the positions they held at the time of the study. The graduates gave a large number of reasons for entering the Program. The most frequently mentioned reasons for entering were to fulfill a goal of working with deaf people and to increase their skill in counseling deaf people. The graduates rated "Manual Communication Skills" as the component of the curriculum they thought was the most relevant to their present position. This component was followed closely by that of "Practicum and Internship" and "Medical-Psychological-Social Aspects of Disabilities." "Rehabilitation-related Knowledge" and "Research and Testing" received the lowest ratings. The most frequently suggested way to improve the program was through more emphasis on counseling theory and practical applications of the theories. The second most frequently mentioned suggestion was to provide more exposure to deaf residents of the community.The employers of the graduates seemed to be satisfied with the professional competence of the graduates. Their rankings of specific areas of professional competence were for the most part in the "Above Average" or "Excellent" categories. The employers listed a number of other strengths which included such positive adjectives as empathic, caring, capable, effective, responsible, dependable, dedicated and hard working. The employers mentioned some weaknesses but in less frequently occurring numbers than the strengths. The largest single category mentioned was overcommitted or overinvolved.