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RESEARCH

The Experiences of School Counselors-in-Training in Group Work With

LGBTQ Adolescents

Kristopher M. GoodrichSouthern Arkansas University

Melissa LukeSyracuse University

This article describes an ethnographic study that explored the effectiveness ofintegrating training in social justice group work within an existent school counsel-ing course. This research supported that school counseling trainees expanded theirknowledge, awareness, and skills related to both lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgen-der, and questioning (LGBTQ) adolescents and psycho-educational group work inschools. Limit setting was one skill that remained under-developed for trainees atthe conclusion of this project. Implications for training and future research arediscussed.

Keywords: counselor education; experiential learning; group work; LGBTQ;school counseling; social justice

Research has indicated that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender andquestioning (LGBTQ) students remain underserved and at-risk inschools (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network [GLSEN],2008; Holmes & Cahill, 2004; Mallon, 2000; Russell, Seif, & Troung,2001; Rutter & Leech, 2006). Although it has been estimated that

Manuscript submitted May 11, 2009; final revision accepted February 1, 2010.Kristopher M. Goodrich, Ph.D., N.C.C., A.C.S., is a visiting assistant professor at theCounseling and Professional Studies Department, and coordinator of Student Affairsand College Counseling Program, at Southern Arkansas University. Melissa Luke,Ph.D., N.C.C., A.C.S., is an assistant professor and coordinator of the School CounselingProgram, Syracuse University. This research was partially supported by the 2009 ChiSigma Iota Excellence in Counseling Research Grant and the 2009 Public ScholarshipGrant, provided by The Graduate School of Syracuse University. Additionally, theauthors would like to acknowledge the moderators of the Gay-Straight Alliances whoparticipated in this research. Without the support and encouragement of each of theseparties, this research could not have been completed. Correspondence concerning thisarticle should be addressed to Melissa Luke, Counseling and Human Services, SyracuseUniversity, 258 Huntington Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244. E-mail: mmluke@syr.edu

THE JOURNAL FOR SPECIALISTS IN GROUP WORK, Vol. 35 No. 2, June 2010, 143–159DOI: 10.1080/01933921003705966# 2010 ASGW

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6–10% of high school students identify as LGBTQ (Chung, Szymanski,& Amadio, 2006), it has been a decade since Professional SchoolCounseling has published a special edition about the LGBTQ popu-lation, and only a handful of articles and book chapters have sincefollowed (e.g., Smith & Chen-Hayes, 2004). This is disappointing, asthe American School Counselor Association (ASCA) ethical standardscalled school counselors to affirm and respect all students from diversecultural groups, including sexual orientation and gender identity(ASCA, 2004). In a subsequent position statement, ASCA (2007)reaffirmed the responsibility of school counselors to ensure equalopportunity and access regardless of students’ sexual orientation orgender identity.

Concurrently, scholars have argued that school counselors lackthe proper training needed to successfully implement groups inschools (Akos, Goodnough, & Milsom, 2004; Paisley & Milsom,2007; Steen, Bauman, & Smith, 2008). Researchers have foundthat existent group work training has consisted primarily ofexposure to process=counseling groups, at the exclusion of task orpsycho-educational groups (Conyne, Wilson, & Ward, 1997). Akosand colleagues (2004) suggested that this was a detriment to schoolcounseling trainees, as the majority of group work professionalschool counselors engage in consists of psycho-educational or taskgroups (DeLucia-Waack, 2006). Likewise, group work research hasdemonstrated that nearly all group training experiences occur withadults (DeLucia-Waack, 2000; Riva & Haub, 2004; Steen et al.,2008), with little attention given to the specific needs of childrenor adolescents. Related, school counselors have reported feelingunder-prepared for working with children or adolescents in a groupcontext after leaving their master’s program (Riva & Haub, 2004;Steen et al., 2008).

The purpose of this article is to describe preliminary results ofresearch that explored the experiences of school counseling trainees(from this point on referred to as ‘‘trainees’’) while engaged in a schoolcounseling course that integrated social justice group work practices.This project grew out collaboration between the researchers that high-lighted the gap in the preparation of school counselors to effectivelywork with LGBTQ adolescents in schools (Carroll & Gilroy, 2002;Israel & Hackett, 2004). Through their previous community engage-ment, the researchers observed practicing school counselors’ lack ofawareness of LGBTQ students and their needs (Goodrich & Luke,2009), many local schools struggling to establish and maintainGay-Straight Alliance (GSAs) or Acceptance Coalitions studentgroups, as well as the opportunity for university-community collabor-ation around these issues.

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METHOD

Qualitative, ethnographic methods were utilized to understandthe experiences of school counseling trainees while they engaged insocial justice group work within an introduction to school counselingcourse.

Ethnography

Ethnography relies on personal and participatory experiencesbetween researchers and participants (Bogden & Biklen, 2006), andcan be useful for gathering unstructured data with small numbers ofparticipants to explore the nature of social experiences and interpretthe meanings of human behavior (Atkinson & Hammersley, 1994).Ethnography consists of sustained involvement between researchersand participants through a variety of methods including interactions,observations, researcher notes and memos, as well as interviews(Sanjek, 2002; Suzuki, Ahluwalia, Mattis, & Quizon, 2005). Accord-ingly, it has been argued that ethnographic methodologies canenhance counseling research conducted with multicultural communi-ties, as well as provide a contextual understanding of diversitythrough professional inquiry (Suzuki et al., 2005). Ethnography wasselected for this study because it advocates for increased interculturalunderstanding and social change, facilitates community participationand collaboration (Maginn, 2007; Suzuki et al., 2005), and wasconsistent with the study’s purpose.

Participants

Eleven school counseling trainees enrolled in an introductory schoolcounseling course at a Council for the Accreditation of Counselingand Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited counseloreducation program in the Northeast region of the United States duringthe spring 2009 semester voluntarily agreed to participate in thisstudy. All trainees identified as heterosexual and female; 10 identifiedas Caucasian and one identified as Korean American; ages rangedfrom 22 to 28 years.

Training

The trainees enrolled in the introductory school counseling coursewere required to participate in a structured, semester-long experien-tial activity co-facilitating groups of LGBTQ high school studentsin pre-existing GSAs or Acceptance Coalitions. In this project, all

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trainees co-facilitated GSA student groups. In the third week ofthe semester, the trainees attended a program hosted by a localLGBTQ Youth Center where they actively participated in a tour ofthe facility and presentation on the research related to LGBTQstudents’ experiences in schools. This was followed by video clips ofLGBTQ students sharing their personal stories. In subsequent classmeetings, trainees discussed topical readings (e.g., Goodrich & Luke,2009; GLSEN, 2008, 2009) and took part in lecture and class activitiesrelated to both LGBTQ adolescent experiences and group work inschools. All trainees had previously or were concurrently enrolled inboth group counseling and pre-practicum courses. Group work wasintentionally infused into the school counseling course in response toscholars’ arguments that school counselors lack the proper trainingneeded to successfully implement groups in schools (Akos et al.,2004; Paisley & Milsom, 2007; Steen et al., 2008). Thus, this trainingexperience was designed to potentially fill that gap. Course contentincluded group work training specific to a K–12 school counselingcontext. Students completed readings and participated in an in-classlecture and demonstrations focusing on some of the distinctive aspectsof group work with LGBTQ adolescents and K–12 school settings.Within class, the co-instructors (the authors=researchers) modeledand discussed co-facilitation skills. The trainees were then pairedinto co-facilitation groups, composed of two to four trainees each, toco-facilitate GSA groups at local schools with the host school’s moder-ator (see Table 1). Over a 2-month period, each group of traineesco-facilitated three GSA meetings that focused on addressing thepsychosocial needs of the students, providing social support and

Table 1 Description of Gay=Straight Alliances Used in Course Training

# StudentsAttending

# TraineeFacilitatorsa

ModeratorDemographics School Demographics

GSA 1 3–8 3 Female, Socialwork intern

Urban, 9–12 HS, Newlyestablished GSA

GSA 2 13–18 2 Male, Socialstudies teacher

Suburban, 9–12 HS,Established GSA

GSA 3 0–20 3 Female, Mathteacher

Suburban, 10–12 HS,Long-established GSA

GSA 4 11–16 3 Female, Communitycounselor

Suburban, 9–12 HS,Established GSA

GSA 5 12–17 4 Male, Scienceteacher

Suburban, 9–12HS,Established GSA

aTotal equals more than 11 participants, as not all trainees in school counseling classconsented to be part of the research.

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psycho-educational resources, as well as providing high school stu-dents information on how to advocate in their school and community.Following each GSA meeting, the researchers provided group super-vision to facilitate counselor development, as well as to protect theGSA student population.

The GSAs selected for the study were independent groups foundedby each school district to address the unique needs of the LGBTQand straight supportive students they served. Each GSA had its ownstructure, and meeting schedules differed across groups (e.g., weekly,biweekly). The trainee co-facilitation groups met with their respectiveGSA for approximately 1 hour during weeks five, eight and elevenof the semester. Although structure and activities differed, eachGSA had the same goals: to provide support, resources and advocacy.

Throughout the semester, the trainees completed a subjectivityjournal (Peshkin, 1988) to record their experiences as they partici-pated in the project. They were asked to explore the assumptionsand reactions that emerged while working with the GSA andco-facilitators, and to reflect on the meanings of these experiences,as a person, school counselor, and group worker. The instructor ofrecord (second author) responded to students’ journals each week asa secondary form of supervision of the group counseling. The Appendixprovides a listing of each journal prompt.

Researchers

At the time of the project, the first author was a doctoral candidatein the counselor education program. Although not involved in evaluat-ing the trainees, he understood that his subjectivity as an openly gayWhite man involved in LGBTQ community activism influencedhis observations and interactions with trainees and that his positionas an adjunct instructor and clinical placement coordinator couldinfluence how trainees viewed their relationship with him. The secondauthor understood that her identity as a heterosexual White femalein her mid-forties, who had previously worked as a teacher, schoolcounselor, and past moderator of a high school GSA, informed not onlyher current role as course instructor and school counseling programcoordinator, but further contributed to her interactions with trainees.Although the authors recognized they could not eliminate the powerinherent in their institutionalized authority, they attempted to conveythis awareness to the trainees and undertook steps to address theimbalance, including writing researcher memos and subjectivityjournals about their experiences, and actively seeking consultationwith colleagues not associated with the project to assist them in under-standing and addressing their dual roles.

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Participant Observation and Fieldwork

Researchers contacted seven GSA moderators at local high schoolsand invited them to participate in the group work training project.Collaboration was established with one newly formed and four exi-stent high school GSA groups. Over several months, the first authorcorresponded with the five GSA moderators and regularly communi-cated with the second author=course instructor to set up the logisticsof the training project. This contact included describing the trainingproject in detail to the GSA moderators, explaining the co-facilitationcomponent including moderator and university supervisor responsibil-ities, and coordinating the schedule. Concurrently, researcherssecured involvement of four additional doctoral-level process observerstrained in qualitative methods, distributed the necessary documentsrelated to this training project, as well as those required for theresearch component, and coordinated an observation schedule thatpermitted triangulation.

Several obstacles encountered in planning turned into opportu-nities for advocacy for LGBTQ adolescents. For example, the secondauthor met with the central office and building administration ofone school district prior to permission being given for trainees andobservers to work with their established GSA. She was asked toexplain the training project aims, why GSAs were of interest to heror to the counseling field, and how the data would be reported. In con-trast, as school counseling program coordinator she had previouslyplaced trainees in this school district and been able to observethem without a similar meeting. After raising this discrepancy andquestioning how the content of the project might be influencing thecaution, district personnel not only gave their permission for partici-pation, but also scheduled the second author to provide training fordistrict personnel regarding both developmental school counselingand LGBTQ issues. This was an unforeseen positive correlate of theproject and served as an avenue of advocacy for LGBTQ studentsacross the school district.

Data Collection and Analysis

Consistent with applied ethnography, the researchers kept individ-ual subjectivity journals (Peshkin, 1988) throughout the project, astheir contact with trainees occurred across formal and informalresearch contexts. In addition, researchers and four trained processobservers recorded observations of the trainees in three formalresearch settings, including the visit to the local LGBTQ YouthCenter, three sessions of small group GSA co-facilitation at five high

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schools, and three in-class group supervision sessions. Following eachtraining activity, the second author=course instructor providedtrainees with a different journal prompt for trainees’ subjectivity jour-nal, and required them to make an entry in their subjectivity journals.

Multiple levels of triangulation were undertaken to increase thetrustworthiness of findings (Bogdan & Biklen, 2006). Consistent withethnographic research, data were collected using several methods(process observer notes, trainees’ subjectivity journals, researchers’memos, and participants’ journals) across multiple research settings(class presentation at LGBTQ Youth Center, high school GSAs,in-class group supervision) by multiple process observers. Further,attempts were undertaken so that the same process observer did notobserve any of the trainee co-facilitation groups more than once overthe three sessions with respective GSAs, although one observer didsee the same group twice due to scheduling constraints. In the finalgroup supervision, the co-instructors=researchers elicited feedbackfrom the trainees regarding some of the researchers’ identifiedfindings as a form of member checking (Kline, 2008). At that time,all participants approved the primary findings and additionalcomments were retained as new data.

Data analysis occurred in accordance with ethnographic methods(Bogden & Biklen, 2006), with both authors sharing responsibilityfor the multi-step process. Initially, all data sources were integratedin chronological order and the authors independently reread material.Analysis began with open coding, with codes ranging from a few wordsto a few sentences (Fassinger, 2005). The authors then met to sharerespective ideas and discussed to consensus their overlapping anddivergent observations. Following revision of codes, authors returnedto the data to verify each of the researcher-identified themes. Duringthis process, themes were refined and collapsed (Sanjek, 2002) intoaxial coding based on relationships among categories (Fassinger,2005).

FINDINGS

The trainees reported that their awareness, knowledge, and skillsrelated to both LGBTQ students and group work in schools increasedas a result of the course training.

Awareness

Trainees identified a connection between participation in thetraining experience and their increased awareness related to several

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constructs. These included; (a) unrecognized aspects of self (includingpersonal biases), (b) LGBTQ student identity and needs, (c) necessityof advocacy, and (d) group process. Upon first hearing of the course-required field experience, many students responded in an emotionallycharged way to the instructor of record and co-researcher about thecoordination and amount of time that would be required for this pro-ject. Trainees retrospectively noted that their initial emotional reac-tion was connected to material they were not consciously aware of atthat time, including personal biases about LGBTQ persons. One find-ing that reoccurred across trainees was the assumption that work witha GSA would be focused on sex and that such a focus might increasesexual behavior. Sherry stated, ‘‘To be honest I think I am a littleuncomfortable bringing up sexuality in general to children’’ (Journal1). After interacting with LGBTQ adolescents, Sherry and othersfound earlier assumptions were often inaccurate and based on stereo-types, ‘‘I realized that when students are struggling with LGBTQissues, the issues are more than sexuality, more than talking aboutsex’’ (Journal 2). Trainees also reported a discrepancy between theirprevious level of awareness and that subsequent to the trainingexperience. Specifically, many reported learning about the uniqueneeds of LGBTQ students for the first time and as a result, havingconcerns about not being knowledgeable or assertive enough toappropriately address these needs.

As the training experience continued, some of the trainees’increased self- and other-awareness unfolded outside the context ofthe introductory school counseling class. This increased conscious-ness appeared to have impacted trainees’ thoughts and behaviorsrelated to LGBTQ persons in their families, social and professionallives, as well as in the educational context. For example, Bethreported an experience with a school security officer that occurredwhile she visited a local area school. She heard the guard ‘‘complain-ing about all of the boys who want to be girls’’ because they dress‘like girls’,’’ and making other disparaging comments about gendernon-conforming students. Beth noted she initially responded with‘‘a slight laugh because I couldn’t believe that we were hearing dis-criminatory remarks as soon as we entered the building and . . . thesecurity guard’s ignorance,’’ but later realized her reaction mighthave been interpreted as an agreement with the comment. Sheexplained further, ‘‘I want to be able to speak up, and I should beable to, and if I can’t then how can I expect other people to andhow can I be a visible advocate for LGBTQ youth?’’ (Journal 3). LikeBeth, other trainees reported struggles in finding their voice, andrecognized it will take time before they reached a point where theycould speak up for such things even if they felt strongly about them.

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As Monica said, ‘‘I think I have the heart to advocate for people, I justneed help finding my voice.’’

Finally, trainees reported an awareness of group process issuesthrough their participationin the training experience. Many describedthe unexpected difficulties in working in a co-facilitation team, includ-ing cultural issues and the differences in expectations held by eachco-leader. Processing these issues with their co-leaders was difficultfor trainees and did not occur until after the researchers intentionallyrole played how one could address co-leader conflict. With time, aware-ness increased and these challenges were easier for trainees to nego-tiate. For example, Tina expressed disappointment in the level ofher co-facilitator’s involvement, as she saw it as negatively impactingthe GSA. She also expressed ‘‘as a school counselor I will need tolearn . . . to be more trusting of my colleagues’’ in regards to the processof collaboration and coordination.

Knowledge

Increased knowledge was observed across trainees. This was notconfined to the school counseling course, as the second author receivedreports from a department faculty member about the ‘‘connections thetrainees were making between their experiential learning aboutoppression, marginalization, and privilege and the book learningwithin the social and cultural diversity course’’ (Subjectivity Journal).The other faculty member reported being impressed with how traineeswere able to generalize their experience with LGBTQ students toother cultural groups. In addition, trainees also identified linksbetween the training experience and their expanded knowledgerelated to LGBTQ identity, experiences, and needs, particularlywithin a school context, as well as knowledge related to the processof group facilitation.

At the start of the semester, trainees identified a self-perceivedlack of knowledge about LGBTQ persons as interfering with theirability to adequately meet the expectations of the project. Forexample, Michelle noted her feelings ‘‘of not being good enough,phony, and ashamed for not knowing more about the LGBT com-munity for this task’’ (Journal 1). As a result, trainees describedundertaking strategies to increase their knowledge related toLGBTQ students, including intentionally seeking out LGBTQadults to inquire about their prior school experiences and consult-ing some of the resources and references provided through thecourse. Leah consulted resources to increase her knowledge: ‘‘I readthrough them [reference materials] pretty thoroughly so thatI would be confident when I spoke to the group . . . I wanted to be

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prepared and knowledgeable on the subject’’ (Journal 3). Severalweeks later she reflected on her efforts to expand her knowledgeand how they had increased her ability to be empathic when listen-ing to GSA members’ stories.

Trainees also identified two aspects of increased knowledge relatedto conducting group work in schools: learning about the differencesbetween content and process in group work, and acquiring anincreased understanding of the process of co-facilitation. Manytrainees described how at the initial GSA session their focus was onthe GSA members’ spoken contributions, but that this evolved overtime so that in later sessions they could recognize the dynamics andgroup processes taking place. Beth tangentially addressed this, ‘‘Iliked having that plan . . . but one of my goals was to not get too caughtup in the structure of the activity’’ (Journal 3). Another trainee, Kelly,described a similar aspect of increased knowledge, observing ‘‘the stu-dent’s lack of participation during structured interactions (questions)and that they were more willing to interact during unstructuredconversation’’ (Journal 3).

In a parallel fashion, trainees seemed to experientially expandtheir knowledge related to group work in schools. Many recognizedthey had never considered how school counselors facilitated a groupor the planning and preparation necessary for this to occur. Sometrainees referenced how they learned about group facilitation bywatching the GSA moderator. For example, Tabitha wrote, ‘‘He is agood facilitator who is not afraid to really get students thinking.He really can focus conversations and go deeper than maybe mostteachers=facilitators would’’ (Journal 2). The moderator’s relation-ship with the students, as well as skillful use of confrontation,self-disclosure, empathy, and active listening stood out to traineesas a good example of how they might intentionally use counselingskills to implement a group. Capturing a similar concept, Jessicareflected on what both the GSA moderator and course instructormodeled: ‘‘They taught me so much. If you give a student a chanceto open and express themselves without judging, they will let youinto their world’’ (Journal 2).

Skills

Trainees developed increased group work skills over the courseof the project, with trainees displaying and discussing improvedskills in three areas: general group leadership skills; interventionskills specific to LGBTQ adolescents; and group co-facilitation skills.Trainees and process observers described limit-setting skills asunder-developed throughout the project.

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Initially, there was a lack of trainee skill evident across general,specific, and co-facilitation leadership skills. Few trainees identifiedor discussed their own or co-facilitators’ use of group work skills andwhen skills were mentioned, it was not the focus of the communi-cation. For example, Tina noted, ‘‘I spoke most of the time for mygroup, especially during the introduction=ice breaker we did’’(Journal 2). The lack of trainees’ implementation of group workskills was also evident across the different sets of process observernotes for the five GSA groups. Addressing this skill deficit, oneobserver noted that trainees ‘‘expressed concerns over what theywere going ‘to do,’ at which point I checked in to make sure theyhad received the instructor’s email which provided a checklist ofpotential things ‘to do,’ which they had’’ (Observer Note 1). A differ-ent process observer reflected on the lack of group planning skillsevident: ‘‘It became fairly obvious . . . that they had not spoken muchas co-facilitators about what the plan for the group would be andwho would be responsible for facilitating what portions’’ (ObserverNote 2). This process observer noted developments during a secondobservation, ‘‘As the trainees walked into the room, they engagedin some strategy about what they were going to do in group . . . [Theskills] they were strategizing about were different than last time’’(Observer Note 3).

As the semester progressed, the trainees wrote about their use ofgroup work skills more frequently and identified numerous strategiesthat often were connected to LGBTQ adolescents. Each co-facilitationteam used different strategies after trainees recognized that eachgroup had different needs. Jessica realized that her group requiredstructured strategies and described using Venn diagrams with labels,graphs, and other visual aids to prompt discussion in her group. Bethfound unstructured exercises were more useful for her group, and herco-facilitators only had to ‘‘throw out quotes’’ to engage their group inspirited discussions.

Both trainees and process observers identified a lack of limit-settingskills being used by the trainees within their GSA group work. A pro-cess observer described this, ‘‘There were many times when the stu-dents were all talking over one another, and the trainees weren’tdoing anything to intervene or reclaim control of the session’’(Observer Note 3). Trainees’ journal entries suggested they wereaware of the need for limit setting, but were unsure how to intervenewhen group members interrupted each other, made negative or other-wise inappropriate statements, and behaved disruptively. Despiteindication of under-developed limit setting skills, data supported thedevelopment of trainees’ awareness, knowledge, and skills related togroup work with LGBTQ students.

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DISCUSSION

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of schoolcounseling trainees engaged in social justice group work practice whileenrolled in an introductory school counseling course. The researchsupported that trainees expanded their knowledge, awareness, andskills related to both LGBTQ adolescents and psycho-educationalgroup work in schools. It appeared that the experiential training forgroup work with high school GSAs immersed trainees in the cultureof the LGBTQ community and schools, while also creating ongoingopportunities for trainees to receive contextual feedback from GSAstudents and moderators, co-facilitators and classmates, as well asthe researchers. This research supports that experiential field workallowed trainees to confront their biases and assumptions, increasetheir knowledge and develop their skills working with marginalizedstudent populations as well as co-facilitating groups.

Many trainees reported that the experiential field work was highlyvalued and provided unique benefits compared to other coursework.Tina was one of many students who expressed ‘‘I wish there were moreexperiential activities like this in the program.’’ Trainees repeatedlydescribed how their participation in the field experience allowed theman opportunity to take content knowledge and see how it can beapplied to a group in schools.

The themes of awareness, knowledge, and skills support the work ofGreen, McCollum, and Hays (2008) who reported that teaching advo-cacy counseling requires one to reorient to multicultural counselingwith a progression of understanding towards corresponding actionsassociated to giving a voice to disenfranchised groups. Findings alsosupport the use of a field experience within a traditional course as apossible vehicle for counselor educators to provide didactic and experi-ential knowledge of diverse groups, as suggested by Mobley and Chea-tham (1999). Although trainees increased their use of group workskills and were observed using more advanced co-facilitation skillsfrom the start of the project to the finish, limit setting remained anunder-developed skill at the conclusion of this project. Future trainingand research in the fields of group work and school counselor edu-cation should explore this further.

Strengths and Limitations

This research project expanded the literature in both group workand school counselor education. To begin, findings supported a counse-lor training experience grounded in social justice which connectedthree concerns currently omitted in school counselor education: the

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limited voice of LGBTQ adolescents in schools and counselor education(Carroll & Gilroy, 2001; Israel & Hackett, 2004); the lack of trainingfor school counselors in psycho-educational groups (Conyne et al.,1997; DeLucia-Waack, 2006); and work with adolescents (Riva &Haub, 2004; Steen et al., 2008). Further, this research on anexperiential training project may offer school counselor educators anopportunity to address this gap within existent school counseling cour-sework, while also connecting social justice concerns across personal,educational, and societal systems (Green et al., 2008). However, thefindings of this study represent the experiences of 11 participatingtrainees enrolled in an introductory school counseling course at oneuniversity. All were female and also identified as heterosexual.Although generalizability is not a focus of qualitative research, appli-cability of the results is important. Researchers have reportedattempts undertaken to control for potential researcher bias, includingtriangulation, peer debriefing, member checking (Fassinger, 2005),and balancing thick and rich description with sufficient participantquotes (Kline, 2008). Results should be considered accordingly.

Another limitation of this work is that although the experientialactivity undertaken in this course is aimed to provide voice to theexperiences of LGBTQ adolescents as a marginalized group in oursociety, their actual voices are not represented in the findings. Weknow little about the high school students’ experiences working withthe counselor trainees. Reviewing the trainees’ journals, however,demonstrated the profound impact the GSA members’ voices had onthe trainees’ field experiences. Further, trainees reported that hearingand observing the real life experiences of students in the GSA wasgoing to impact their work as school counselors. Although this projectprovided an opportunity for school counseling trainees to directly hearthe voices of LGBTQ students and GSA participants, more research isneeded to explore the unique perspective of this marginalized group.Likewise, this research was limited by the lack of continuity acrossGSAs, as each group was comprised of different students with differ-ent needs. Although all trainees addressed GSA students’ academic,career, and personal=social needs, this research did not specificallyexamine how trainees integrated or implemented theses core compe-tencies as outlined by ASCA (2005).

Implications

The results from this study have several potential implications forcounselor training and future research. Findings support that counse-lor educators can utilize intentional experiential activities withinexistent school counseling coursework to address gaps in education,

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such as those including multicultural issues, specifically LGBTQissues (Carroll & Gilroy, 2001; Israel & Hackett, 2004) and group workin schools (Conyne et al., 1997; DeLucia-Waack, 2006; Riva & Haub,2004; Steen et al., 2008). By infusing a social justice curriculum withinextant coursework and engaging trainees in exploring their own sub-jectivity while working with underserved populations, such as youthand LGBTQ populations, counselor educators might provide a vehiclefor their trainees to understand the nature of inequalities and injus-tices present across systems (Green et al., 2008) and model how theycan more effectively address these issues with their students.

Future investigation is needed to further support the findings ofthis study, provide a fuller understanding of the relationship betweenthemes, as well as identify other experiential activities that may havea similar impact on the development of awareness, knowledge, andskills in counselors-in-training. Follow-up studies could address whattrainees might take from the experience, and apply to their later workas interns and professional school counselors. Finally, an interestingresult was that limit-setting remained an under-developed skill fortrainees. Future studies should explore this, address what may beoperating for trainees while in groups, and what training interven-tions might address this gap.

Opportunities for practical learning within a real world contextemerged as an important experience for trainees. By having experi-ences with GSA members, trainees reported increased awareness,knowledge, and skills related to LGBTQ adolescents and group workin schools. Counselor educators should consider intentional inte-gration of experiential social justice curriculum within extantcoursework, as this process appears to address both deficits incounselor skills training, as well as personal, educational, and socialsystems to address the inequities and injustices currently presentin our world.

REFERENCES

Akos, P., Goodnough, G. E., & Milsom, A. S. (2004). Preparing school counselors forgroup work. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 29, 127–136. doi:10.1080=0193-3920600977440

American School Counseling Association. (2004). Ethical standards for school counse-lors. Retrieved from http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content.asp?contentid=173

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APPENDIX

Trainee Journal Prompts

Journal 1 (week 6). Using the Peshkin (1988) article as a guide,please examine your own subjectivity as related to your field experi-ence placement. Although I do not have any set format for thejournal, I am interested in you identifying your hot and cold buttons,as well as exploring some of how your own worldview and previousexperiences may impact your upcoming work co-facilitating apsycho-educational Gay-Straight Alliance or Acceptance Coalitiongroup in an area high school. In doing so, it might be helpful to beginby reflecting on your reaction to learning about the field experiencelast week in class and what that might have raised in you, as wellas locating some of the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors you havenoticed connected to this. Please remember that although I will bereading your journal responses and giving you credit for completingthem, the content of your journal is not being evaluated. My hope isthat you will utilize this assignment as a vehicle to become moreaware of your own subjectivity so that it will ultimately be lesspresent in your intervention with students. Said another way, ifyou do not struggle with the complexities of who you are, what

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you think and believe, and how you feel in relation to the fieldexperience, you will be unable to grow.

Journal 2 (week 9). As part of the ongoing assignment to examineyour own subjectivity related to your field experience co-facilitatinga high school Gay-Straight Alliance or Acceptance Coalition, pleaseexplore your reactions to (a) the tour and presentation at the Q-Centeron 1=28=09 and (b) your first field experience visit to the high school.Specifically, what were your affective, cognitive, and behavioralresponses leading up to the class, during your time there, and follow-ing? In addition, what were your affective, cognitive, and behavioralresponses leading up to the first group co-facilitation, during your timewith the high school students, and following?

Journal 3 (week 12). As you complete your third journal, I wouldlike you to continue to reflect on your own subjectivity as discussedby Peshkin (1988). Please focus on your thoughts, feelings andbehavior within your co-facilitation of the GSA=Acceptance Coalitiongroup. In doing so, please identify and explore your specific experi-ences as part of a co-facilitation team. Please also discuss what you,and your group, have done within and since your last GSA=AcceptanceCoalition meeting.

Journal 4 (week 14). Please describe the planning that you under-took as an individual, as well as with your co-facilitation group,to prepare for your last GSA=Acceptance Coalition meeting. In doingso, discuss your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors throughout a)the process of preparation and b) the implementation in the highschool. Lastly, please reflect upon any development that has occurredrelated to your subjectivity.

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