Beginning counselor educators' experiences developing a research agenda

To date, counselor education literature is narrow in the accounts of counselor educators' experiences as active scholars (Hill, 2004). Consequently, there is little research accounting for the experience of developing a research agenda for counselor educators during their initial faculty appointment. Hermeneutic, phenomenological methodology was used to explore experiences of developing a research agenda for five beginning counselor educators. Through in-depth, open-ended interviews participants described their experience addressing (a) balance, (b) isolation, and (c) evaluation. Participant references to trusting relationships were also manifest across all themes. In addition, participant accounts identified the prevalence of each theme's meaning fluctuating over the nine-month course of participating in this study. Included in this study is the researchers reflexive account of his journey into phenomenology as an essential aspect to understanding both the phenomenon under study and the research process. Recommendations for beginning counselor educators, counselor educator mentors, and emerging counselor educators are provided.