Study On The Professional Identity Of College Counselors

In 2005, the Ministry of Education clearly stated the goal for the team building of college counselors as its professional and specialized development, which has placed the professional identity of college counselor as its key. Conducting thematic studies on the professional identity of college counselor constitutes an important part of team building research with fundamental theoretical and practical significance. In terms of the theoretical sense, for one thing, the content of professional identity theory research can be enriched; and the second is to enrich the college counselor professional identity theory model research. In terms of the practice sense, one is to promote the professional development of college counselors; and the second is that it could act as an important reference for the establishment of long-term ranking mechanism for college counselors as well as education authorities.This study applied literature research, questionnaires, interview and statistical analysis methods. Based on the literature research of scientific connotation, it constituted dimensions and factors of professional identity and college counselor professional identity, and scientifically defined the connotation of college counselor professional identity. Empirical research was conducted by questionnaires through surveys and interviews. The researcher objectively grasped the status and influential factors of college counselors’professional identity, making practical suggestions to enhance the college counselors’professional identity. The goal was to provide theoretical reference and guidance for the professional and specialized development of college counselors and enable college counselors to serve better to fulfill the national talent training objectives.The main contents of the study are summarized as follows:The first, the basic theory of the study of college counselors’ professional identity was stated. The process of professional identity is a socialized process for the individual to gradually form the professional self in the social environment through cognition, experience and behavior. Since college counselors have carried the mission to help and guide college students to build a world of meaning, the process of their professional identity is thus not only the professional socialization process of the self, but also a process of ideological and political re-education. This paper studied on the main theory of Marxism, the theory of subject, epistemology, interest theory, people development theory; and the ideological and political education theories, such as the environment theory, management theory, process theory and value theory; social psychology theory, such as social identity theory, incentive theory and the hierarchy needs theory; and the policies that the State Council and the Ministry of Education issued in recent years, "the CPC Central Committee and State Council opinions on further strengthening and improving ideological and political education of college Students" "College Counselors provisions" and "college counselor professional competence standards (Interim)" and so on. Base on these, the researcher constructed the theory frame of researching professional identity of college counselor.The second, the construction of structure and the making-up of the test scales for the college counselors’ professional identity. In this paper, theoretical analysis and empirical testing were combined as research methods to construct the structural dimensions of the college counselor professional identity in theory. Then empirical methods for its inspection and correction were applied, using qualitative research methods combined amount of college counselors’ professional identity construction to construct the model of structure. The paper argues that college counselors’professional identity is a psychological process, with such manifestation as cognition, emotion, belief, volition, and specific behaviors towards this position. This paper argues that college counselors’ professional identity have five ingredients including career cognition, career emotion, career belief, career volition and career behavior. College counselors’professional identity consists of five second-order factor structure model assumptions, namely a first-order factor of "college counselors’professional identity", second-order factor of five "career cognition", "career emotion", "career belief, "career volition" and "career behavior" professional identity structural model. In the study, a self-report questionnaire is used to construct the structure of college counselors’ professional identity. AMOS7.0 and SPSS17.0 are used as the statistical analysis softwares. Using these to identify empirical exploration and validation of the structure of college counselors’ professional identity, and assuming the modified model for college counselors’professional identity is a "one third-order factor, three second-order factors and five first-order factors" structure model. Eventually a scale was formed by 20 questions, with a homogeneity reliability internal consistency coefficient of 0.937. The split-half reliability coefficient was 0.890, with a total score of each factor correlation coefficients between 0.727-0.905, the correlation coefficient between the various factors in between 0.405-0.784. The scale can be well used as a tool for the measurement of college counselors’professional identity tool.The third, the current status of college counselors’ professional identity. Using the self-made college counselors’professional identity scale as a tool, the study applied the above analysis and statistical tools to analyze the preliminary questionnaire data, drawing the overall conclusions that the current level of our college counselors’professional identity is relatively high. On each factor relating college counselors’professional identity, career cognition, career emotion and professional behavior are in medium to high levels, while the career beliefs and volition are in the middle level. Through interviews, the result of college counselors at post is in the middle level, essentially in agree with the survey results. College counselors’professional identity demonstrated the following demographic characteristics:in terms of gender, females are slightly higher than men. In terms of age, the orders are- 25 years old and below,36 years of age and over,26-30 years old,31-35 years old. In terms of working period, the orders are-1 year of work, more than 8 years,2-3 years,4-7 years. In terms of educational background, undergraduates holds a higher one than masters. In terms of the professional ranks and titles, it follows an order from science and engineering, education, psychology and management, to history, philosophy and law class. In terms of the job level (rank), it follows the order of the section level, the level of deputy department, clerks, and chief. In terms of its attributes, it follows an order of supplementary, teachers, administration, etc. As to the nature in the preparation, career preparation counselors’identity is higher than counselors from personnel agency. Finally, as to the class of the educational institutions, it follows the order of subordinate institutions, vocational, private colleges (independent Institute), provincial undergraduate. None of above demonstrated significant differences.The fourth, analysis of influential factors of college counselors’ professional identity. The Marxist ideological and political education theory with the influence of environment believes that the formation of the human mind and the concept are the result of the external environment. Therefore, all factors such as the society, organizations and families would exert an important impact on college counselors’professional identity. The social factors include the social prestige and national policies. Marxism individual subject reveals the intrinsic link on the individual subjectivity and social history, advocates to respect for the individual and their personal subjectivity, and emphasizing the initiative, autonomy and creativity of the individual as an active subject during the interaction process with other object. So the college counselor’ personal factors will affect their professional identity, including mainly the career emotion, career interests, employment needs and realization of the value of life. Working in the environment of institutional organization, college counselors’ professional identity will be affected by the security policy, evaluation, incentives and organizational culture and other factors. College counselors also need to interact with others in daily life, so their professional identity will be affected by parental occupation, parental expectations, teachers’ expectations and the impact of part-time counselors work experience and other factors.The fifth, some countermeasures to improve college counselors’professional identity.This research puts forward six countermeasures for ascension. (1) Optimizing the college counselors’supportive system. Which include organization management mechanism, working coordination mechanism and performance evaluation mechanism. (2) Strengthening ideological and political education of college counselors. The requirement on particularity and importance of the college counselor were emphasized and the necessity of the lack of performance and so on was analyzed. It also introduced the approach to promote education from improving theoretical level, strengthening job training and furthering work platform. It also indicated that in the process of strengthening the ideological and political education we should pay attention to art education, adhere to the standards and promote the mainstream line. (3)Bringing the college counselors into the professional classification of the PRC law. The study analyzed the necessity of including college counselors in the professional classification of the PRC law from the social division of labor, professional characteristics, team construction and so on, with an analysis of the feasibility from training system, skills assessment, title appraisal and job specification. It also advised to bring the college counselor into the main class of "professionals" (GBM 1/2) and the subclass of teaching staff (2-09 (GBM2-4)) and higher education teaching staff (2-09-01 (GBM 2-41)), changing the code of higher education teaching staff from "2-09-01-00" to "2-09-01-01" and code the college counselor on "2-09-01-02". (4) Training the professional ability from development and application of modern distance education. The study analyzed the necessity from intrinsic requirement of service and support on students scientific development, making up for a lack of systemic on current counselor training and the need of enhancing the capacity of the counselor positions and so on. The analysis of the feasibility started with the construction of distance education network platform and teaching resource and the learning process and evaluation of the distance education system, building the professional ability training course system, and putting forward three problems that should be paid attention to. (5) Strengthening the management of knowledge. The study analyzed the necessity from the ontological status of knowledge and the objectively requires of richness on college students knowledge activities, pointing out four ways to strengthen the knowledge of student affairs including learning accumulation dissemination and sharing. (6) Improving the work family conflict of college counselors. The researcher holds that counselors has a high work family conflict, mainly for work-family conflict and none work-family conflict. The family-work conflicts based on time, pressure and behavior are all included. The one reason lies in that the boundary of family has been broken and the time shifting to work; the other reason lies in the conflict of work roles and family roles, some forced to give up the responsibility of family roles. Organization intervention strategies and individual coping strategies are put forward.The sixth, the innovations and shortcomings of this study. The innovation of this study is mainly reflected in the following aspects:First, the study is based on the perspective of ideological and political education, and use Marxism correlation theories, the ideological and political education theories, Social psychology correlation theories and national relevant policies to make a comprehensive Analysis.lt Widens the perspective of college counselors’professional identity research. Second, it designed the high reliability and validity of college counselors professional identity scale. Third, it established the college counselors professional identity structural model on "one third-order factor, three second-order factors and five first-order factors". Forth, it put forward the innovative solutions to promote the professional identity of college counselors. The weak points of this study lies in the following:to further validate the counselors’ professional identity structure model requires a large number of samples, the analysis of the factors affecting college counselors’vocational identity on the data support is not very comprehensive and detailed, etc. A through in-depth study would be attempted to subsequently dedicate to further improvements.