An examination of self-efficacy of school counsellors working in special education schools with counseling and research centers on guidance and psychological counseling services in special education

The main purpose of this study is to examine the self-efficacy of school counsellors who work in special education schools and guidance and research centers on guidance and psychological counseling services in special education. In our study, mixed research design was used. This research consists of two stages. In the first stage, "Special Education Self-Efficacy Scale of School Counsellors (SESES of SC)'', which was developed this scale to investigate the self-efficacy of the guidance teachers working in various provinces by Aksoy (2008), was used. In our study, a total of 171 school counsellors, 84 of which were women and 87 of them were male. The data obtained from the study universe was coded and transferred to the computer environment and ready for analysis. The SPSS-21 program was used to analyze the quantitative data. Independet Sample T test and One Way Anova analysis were applied to the independent variables. In the second part of the study, Semi-Structured Interview Form consisting of 5 questions with open and closed ends was applied to 10 participants with the highest level of inadequacy in the result of SESES of SC. Descriptive analysis method was used in the analysis of the qualitative data obtained as a result of the interviews. As a result of the analysis of quantitative data, it was determined that gender, marital status, education level, education received from the Ministry of National Education, seniority in the profession and place of duty variables did not make a significant difference on the self-efficacy levels of school counsellors. According to the undergraduate graduation field variable, the self-efficacy levels of the participants with the graduation area Psychological Counseling and Guidance were lower than those of the other graduates. It was determined that the adequacy of the education given for the master's degree and special education on bachelor or master degree had significant differences on the self-efficacy levels of the guidance teachers. As a result of the analysis of the qualitative data, it was determined that the majority of the guidance teachers did not feel sufficient in the psychological counseling and guidance services in special education. Anahtar Kelimeler: Guidance and Psychological Counseling, Special Education, Self-Efficacy, School Counsellor