Pedagogical Perspectives on Counselor Education: An Autoethnographic Experience of Doctoral Student Development

There is minimal literature related to understanding what training factors

contribute to the development of qualified counselor educators. Specifically,

we wondered if counselor education doctoral students are effectively prepared

for their roles as instructors. We chose an autoethnographic phenomenology

method as a means for exploring the experiences of doctoral students’

pedagogical development in a doctoral instructional theory course. We sought

to understand the essence of our experience through written reflection,

photography, and group reflective processes. Analysis revealed the value we

all obtained through the instructional theory course, experiential learning,

and self-reflection, which contributed to increased self-efficacy as emerging

counselor educators. The essence of our experience is described through

seven descriptive themes—delineated as methods of coping and reinforcing.

The results demonstrate the benefit of including an explicit pedagogical

course in counselor education curricula.