Date of Award
3-1996
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)
Department
Graduate Department of Clinical Psychology
Abstract
Little has been done to assess how students learn integration except by grading them on how well they memorize and echo back their professors' views. The present study sought to ask students what they find helpful from professors, rather than presuming that faculty already know what is best. Following the research protocol of Sorenson (1995), the present study measured graduate students' perceptions of what faculty characteristics are helpful in their integrative pursuit at George Fox College's Graduate School of Clinical Psychology. This research sought to (a) determine if students at George Fox College employ particular latent dimensions for evaluating faculty on integration, (b) identify faculty characteristics students at George Fox perceive as formative for integrative development, and (c) replicate Sorenson's (1995) findings from Rosemead School of Psychology with George Fox College to see if any results are generalizable across these different populations. Forty-eight clinical psychology doctoral students rated the perceived similarity of all faculty. Students' card sorts of faculty members were analyzed using multidimensional scaling to measure students' perceptions of similarities and dissimilarities of faculty members. Three dimensions were identified using multidimensional scaling. The resulting dimensions were correlated with a pooled dependent variable on how helpful and exemplary in integration various faculty members were for students-from the students' point of view. The dimensions were interpreted via canonical correlation with criterion variables. Results suggest that graduate students at George Fox College do tacitly evaluate faculty along two latent dimensions in ways that relate to integration ("sense of humor" and "personal spirituality"), and that these dimensions are similar to those from Rosemead School of Psychology. Implications of these findings are that (a) integrative programs select faculty with relationship and mentoring skills, (b) members of faculty give evidence of a personal relationship with God, and ( c) faculty development encourage personal spiritual growth and foster personal contact.
Recommended Citation
Derflinger, Kimberly Rene, "Graduate Students' Perceptions of Formative Faculty Characteristics: A Look At What Facilitates Integrative Development in a Christian Psychology Program" (1996). Doctor of Psychology (PsyD). 398.
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/psyd/398