A Pilot Study on Information and Communication Technologies Utilization Among Turkish School Counselors

This study sought to investigate information and communication technologies (ICT) usage among Turkish school counselors utilizing a questionnaire developed by the authors. The participants were 208 school counselors (132 female, 76 male) with a mean age of 30.8 years. This sample contained 161 counselors employed in public elementary and secondary schools while the remaining 47 were employed in Guidance Resource Centers. The survey results were tabulated and examined for significant differences utilizing Chi-Square, t-test and one-way analysis of variance. Results of this survey revealed that virtually all participants had access to ICT at their worksite. Although 75% of the participants reported formal training in ICT only one third reported specific training in applying this knowledge in the field of Counseling. From among the applications of ICT to counseling, as identified by the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, the most frequently identified were report writing, presentation preparation, emailing, and internet searches. The least frequently reported uses were for data base utilization and communication with parents. Chi-Square analysis revealed that younger counselors (\u3c30 years of age) tend to use ICT for career counseling and web-site searches more frequently than older colleagues. This analysis further revealed that male counselors use ICT for testing/assessment purposes and for professional development more frequently than their female counterparts. The results revealed that although the participants reported high levels of self-reported competence, confidence or productivity related to ICT use, there were no significant differences by gender, age, or work setting