| 英文摘要 |
The ongoing advancement of the counseling profession depends significantly on robust education and training systems. Within this framework, supervision serves as a core element in ensuring the quality and sustainability of counselor development. As a result, the training of supervisors holds critical importance. Despite this, the domain of supervisor training, particularly in school counseling contexts, remains under-explored, especially in Taiwan. In recent years, several professional associations, including the Taiwan Guidance and Counseling Association (TGCA) and the Taiwan Counseling Psychology Association, have begun offering structured supervisor training programs. In addition, doctoral-level counseling psychology programs have incorporated supervisor training into their curricula in Taiwan. Among these, TGCA is unique in providing a school guidance, specific track for supervisor training. Following the implementation of the Student Guidance Act in 2014, greater emphasis has been placed on ensuring that supervisors are well-versed in school contexts. Prior research (Lin et al., 2017) has underscored the importance of cultural and contextual familiarity for effective supervision in school settings. Supervisors who understand the school system are better equipped to provide relevant, applicable, and effective supervision. Given that many guidance counselors in Taiwan accumulate over ten years of practical experience, they represent a promising group of potential supervisors. However, access to formal training in supervision remains limited for this population. Consequently, there is a need to develop locally grounded training programs to cultivate supervisory capacity among guidance counselors. This study addresses this gap by offering supervisor training tailored to junior high school guidance counselors and investigating their training experiences. The ultimate goal is to strengthen the infrastructure of supervision in school guidance and counseling by empowering experienced practitioners to step into supervisory roles. Prior research suggests that supervisor training improves self-perceived supervisory competence (Crook-Lyon et al., 2008; Crook-Lyon et al., 2011; Hsu & Yu, 2017; O’Donovan et al., 2017; Scott et al., 2000). Furthermore, literature in counseling education highlights the effectiveness of incorporating didactic lectures, modelling, and experiential learning in supervisor training (Bernard & Goodyear, 2014; Holloway, 2016; Stoltenberg & McNeill, 2010). These components serve as a foundation for this study’s training design and analysis. The present study specifically investigates the training experiences of junior high school guidance counselors who participated in a supervisor training program grounded in the self-awareness supervision model (SASM; Chen, 2003). SASM was chosen as the framework for this training because it was developed based on Confucian and Taoist philosophies, making it particularly relevant to Taiwanese cultural contexts. Previous studies have applied SASM to guidance counselor populations (Chiang et al., 2023; Su, 2015), providing further support for its applicability. The central concept of SASM is to enhance supervisees’awareness of their counseling processes by working within their existing theoretical orientations. This alignment between supervisory support and the supervisee’s framework promotes a sense of empowerment and ownership, both of which are crucial for professional growth. In this study, SASM is not only the training content but also a theoretical stance aligned with the research objective of cultivating sustainable, contextually appropriate supervisory resources for guidance counselors. The study is guided by two primary research questions: (1) what are junior high school guidance counselors’experiences of supervisor training? and (2) what are their perspectives on the structure and content of the training? Adopting a qualitative research paradigm, the study employs phenomenology to explore participants’lived experiences in depth. Following ethical approval, data collection commenced. Eight junior high school guidance counselors with over five years of practice participated in the training and the study. The training consisted of a five-day SASM-based workshop, divided into an introductory and an advanced session. The two-day introductory workshop introduced participants to foundational concepts of supervision and included a live demonstration of SASM by the model’s developer, Dr. Chin-Yen Chen. The three-day advanced session involved hands-on practice, review, and refinement of SASM skills, with participants receiving real-time feedback from Dr. Chen. Following the training, participants engaged in three rounds of SASM supervision with supervisees and received supervision-of-supervision from experienced TGCA-certified supervisor, including a senior high school counselor with over 20 years of experience. To capture the evolution of their experiences, participants underwent five semi-structured interviews: prior to training, after the introductory workshop, after the advanced workshop, following the supervision-of-supervision process, and three months after the final training component. This longitudinal interview design allowed for the capture of changes in perception, competence, and reflective SASM practice. The research team consisted of three members: The principal investigator, a university-based counseling educator and licensed counseling psychologist with over ten years of supervisory experience; a second researcher with qualitative research expertise; and an experienced school counselor who provided the SASM supervision-of-supervision component. All researchers were certified supervisors under TGCA guidelines, ensuring familiarity with local supervisory standards and practices. Data analysis followed the principles of phenomenological thematic analysis. Five major themes emerged from the data: (a) participants’current stage of professional development facilitated their engagement with supervisor training, (b) training activities enhanced understanding of the SASM framework, (c) supervisory practice following training fostered increased competence and familiarity, (d) supervision-of-supervision supported deeper self-reflection and role internalization, and (e) overall reflections indicated that the training model met both individual and professional development needs. Based on the findings, many participants noted that their prior experience providing informal peer consultation led them to seek formal training in supervision. The training met a developmental need to formalize their supervisory identity. This finding aligns with Holloway’s (1994) model, which suggests that experienced practitioners draw on tacit and experiential knowledge when forming supervisory roles. Additionally, the structured training environment, including lectures, demonstrations, and reading materials allowed participants to understand the theoretical underpinning SASM. These elements provided a conceptual scaffolding that participants later applied in their practical supervisory engagements. The integration of experiential knowledge with theoretical understanding supports prior research that emphasizes the layered and dynamic nature of supervisor development (Landon et al., 2021). Moreover, the findings indicate the role of hands-on practice in solidifying learning. During and after the SASM training workshop, participants practiced SASM supervision, gaining confidence in structuring sessions, applying the model’s phases while following supervisees’theoretical orientations. The practical component of training echoes the literature on supervisor development, which underscores the importance of modeling and simulation (Bernard & Goodyear, 2014; Milne et al., 2011). Furthermore, the findings also highlight the significance of supervision-of-supervision. Participants noted that receiving feedback on their supervisory work prompted self-reflection and critical thinking, which helped them internalize their roles as supervisors. This component has been recognized in past research (Emilsson & Johnsson, 2007; Nelson et al., 2006) as a crucial element in fostering supervisory competence and professional identity formation. Finally, the results underscore the perceived applicability of SASM beyond formal supervision. Several participants reported using the SASM approach in consultations with parents and teachers after SASM training. They described a shift from offering direct solutions to facilitating collaborative dialogue, a key principle of the SASM model. This evolution in professional interactions suggests that SASM’s principles are transferrable and valuable across multiple facets of school guidance. Despite the promising findings, the study has limitations. The training focused solely on individual supervision and did not cover administrative or group supervision, both of which are essential in school settings. Future training programs may consider including these components to provide a more comprehensive supervisor preparation. Moreover, while this study focused on junior high school counselors, further research should explore the training experiences of elementary and senior high school counselors, as well as counseling psychologists in school and community settings, to broaden the understanding of supervisor development across educational levels. In conclusion, this exploratory investigation demonstrates the effectiveness of applying the self-awareness supervision model to supervisor training for junior high school guidance counselors. The study offers evidence that such training can enhance supervisory competence, deepen professional self-awareness, and support the development of locally grounded supervisory practices within the school counseling context in Taiwan. |