Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education

In community and agency counselling, students focus on counselling individuals, couples and families. Affective and developmental needs of individual and families are studied in content and practicum courses. Skills are developed in group and individual counselling. Students graduating from this specialty area are employed as counsellors in a range of governmental, industrial, and agency settings.

The MA and MEd programs in school counselling are offered for both elementary and secondary school levels. These programs offered are intended to develop knowledge and skills for school counselling and child and adolescent counselling in non-school settings, with emphasis on individual and group counselling, consultation, coordination and assessment.

Students who complete courses in school counselling are employed by school districts as counsellors. Child and youth counsellors are employed in mental health, hospitals, community care teams, and schools.

“Self-regulating” learners mobilize “metacognition” (e.g., awareness of strengths and challenges in relation to tasks), motivation/emotions (e.g., growth mindsets), and strategic action to proactively and adaptively learn in all kinds of contexts. Models of self-regulated learning provide powerful frameworks for educators to understand challenges/successes in students’ learning and engagement, and construct practices that foster students’ development as empowered, strategic learners, innovations (e.g., inquiry learning, assessment for learning).

The HDLC MA program is most appropriate for those with an interest in research and the possibility of continuing on to advanced work in a doctoral program. Participants in the MA- SRL concentration will engage in rich, inquiry-based processes through which they will continually have opportunities to co-construct knowledge related to learning and development, and to bridge theory, research and practice. As part of their program, they will advance their understanding about research methods suited to the study of complex learning processes like SRL, and will contribute to understanding about HDLC and SRL through undertaking a supervised masters thesis project.

The School Psychology program prepares graduate students to become psychologists who work in schools, academic, research, community and private practice settings. The primary goal of the program is to develop professional psychologists whose research, training and practice activities increase the educational and psychological wellbeing of children and youth. The School Psychology program follows a scientist-practitioner model, with emphasis on the integration of theory, research and clinical skills. Training encompasses academic, social, behavioral, consultation, intervention and prevention domains, and students receive training in the integration of assessment and intervention and in relevant professional, legal and ethical issues. Science and professional practice are viewed as interactive and complementary, with research integrated across core psychological and educational foundations training as well as relevant practical experiences at all levels of the program.

This concentration is appropriate for students with a special interest in supporting students at risk for or with behavioural disorders.

This concentration prepares professional personnel to work with all ages of deaf and hard of hearing children and youth in various kinds of educational programs and settings.

The program is offered through a combination of on-campus summer coursework and part-time, on-line study that allows students to remain in their communities and maintain work during the school year.

This concentration is designed for teachers who work in general education classrooms and/or within learning assistance or resource classrooms that include students with learning disabilities.

This concentration allows for avenues that prepare educators to work with students who are blind or visually impaired in the classroom and as orientation and mobility specialist.

The program is offered through a combination of on-campus summer coursework and part-time, on-line study that allows students to remain in their communities and maintain work during the school year.

In this area of specialization, students focus on college/university counselling. The focus is on the facilitation of informed career decision making and life style planning. Beyond the common core, students in this area acquire knowledge about counselling issues pertinent to students in higher education, and develop skills in individual and group counselling.
Students graduating with this area of focus are employed as counsellors in colleges and universities.

The MEd program is appropriate for students with an undergraduate degree in an area related to HDLC. The MEd program is a course-based 30-credit program that is normally completed over two years. It is usually a terminal degree appropriate for those with an interest in advancing their knowledge in the area of HDLC, but who are not interested in conducting research. A teaching certificate is not a requirement.

The Measurement, Evaluation, and Research Methodology (MERM) programs prepare graduate students to be research methodologists, measurement specialists, and evaluators in the public and private sectors.

The MEd program is usually a terminal degree appropriate for those with an interest in the application of measurement, evaluation and research to specific educational, health and social service contexts.

This concentration is appropriate for students with a special interest in meeting the educational, behavioural, and communication needs of students with autism spectrum disorders or other developmental disabilities (e.g., Down syndrome, cerebral palsy).

This concentration prepares professional personnel to work with all ages of deaf and hard of hearing children and youth in various kinds of educational programs and settings.

The program is offered through a combination of on-campus summer coursework and part-time, on-line study that allows students to remain in their communities and maintain work during the school year.

The concentration is designed for teachers who work in general education classrooms and/or within learning assistance or resource classrooms that include students with learning disabilities.

The Vocational Rehabilitation Counselling (VRHC) is to address the vocational effects of neurological, physical, sensory, psychiatric, neuropsychological and pain-related disabilities. The curriculum has been developed in accordance with future program accreditation requirements and prepares graduates for licensing by respective professional licensing bodies for vocational rehabilitation professionals.The area of focus in Vocational Rehabilitation Counselling which follows the scientist-practitioner training model and prepares students for independent practice in a wide spectrum of vocational rehabilitation service areas, including, but not limited to: vocational assessment, vocational individual and group intervention, adjustment and rehabilitative counselling, job development and placement, return-to-work planning, case and disability management, and research and program evaluation. A supervised clinical experience in the Vocational Rehabilitation setting, as well as coursework on psychosocial and medical aspects of disability, has also been built into the curriculum. It is responsive to the needs of Canadian vocational rehabilitation professionals and provides a uniquely Canadian perspective on vocational rehabilitation counselling and the environment where it is delivered.Both regular UBC faculty and sessional faculty will be involved in teaching. Sessional faculty will be selected among expert vocational rehabilitation professionals with academic background and qualifications.