Training for Professionalism in Institutions of Higher Learning in Kenya: A Phenomenological Analysis of Counsellors' Attachment/Practicum Experience.

The role of higher institution of learning is to prepare students to be creative in dealing with challenges in society. For students to be useful counselors in society they require both technical expertise and professional skills. This paper discusses the relevance of training and professionalism displayed by counseling graduates from the perspective of the service consumers. The major objective of this study is, therefore, to establish whether professionalism is being promoted in the training of counselors in institutions of higher learning or not. It is a common practice for most institutions of higher learning to send their students out for attachment and/or practicum with the aim of providing for an integration of the student 's on-site experiences with theories, treatment processes and ethical issues learned in class. This study is qualitative in nature. Respondents included 117 students in their 3rd and 4th year levels from 4 institutions of higher learning; 42 lecturers; and 13 site supervisors--all around one major urban area in Kenya. Focus Group Discussions and interviews were used to collect data. The major finding of the study is that though the institutions of higher learning in Kenya have a good curriculum for training counselors, students on attachment/practicum are not assessed well because of issues specific to different institutions. This study advances the understanding of the discipline by promoting excellence in the teaching and learning of Counseling Psychology. Through the attachment/practicum experience, the consumer institutions foster partnership with institutions of higher learning by providing resources, services and opportunitiesfor professional development. Public andpolicy makers should recognize that Psychology is employed every day when teaching, making assessments, decisions as well as in client management. This, therefore, calls for not just training a counseling psychologist but promoting professionalism that is relevant to the society s needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]