Studies Completed

Studies completed presents findings from research on the Middle and High School Supplemental School Counseling Program.

AB 1802 Implementation:
Early Progress in Poway Unified Middle Schools
Jennifer Leslie, Graduate Student, University of San Diego

A team of University of San Diego (USD) graduate students conducted a collaborative action research project in partnership with Poway Unified School District in Poway. The project involved two student support program administrators and school counselors at three middle schools in the district.

Poway's Director of Student Support Services and the Director of Learning Support Services worked with USD's Center for Student Support Systems (CS3) through Fall 2006 to collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data regarding counselor and student experiences with the individual student conferences implemented in response to AB 1802's Middle and High School Supplemental Counseling Program. For this initial research, the district was less interested in measurable outcomes related to student academic performance than in how students and counselors have experienced the conferences. The focus of the action research project was to collect data from three middle schools regarding counselor and student experiences of the implementation of the AB 1802 student conferences. The team utilized survey and focus group research methods to gather qualitative and quantitative data on the conferences. The intent was to assess the responses of counselors and students to the conferences and to elicit feedback on improving the planning, content and execution of the conferences for the future.