1997 5-5 Exploratory Study on the Concept of Consultation: from the Perceptions of Elementary School Counselors The major purpose of this study was to explore the concept of consultation from the perceptions of 36 elementary school counselors. This study shows the following results: 1.The concept of consultation was related to problem solving, information providing, counseling, and expert helping. 2.The consultation process was conceptualized as 13 forms. Most of the subjects in this study expressed that they would basically provide suggestions to teachers. In some cases, they would intervene directly with students when the following situations occur: requested by teachers, uneffective treatment, severe problem, or no special treatment. 3. There was little consensus regarding to the consultation method, with two exceptions. More than 67% of the subjects expressed: “ understand the problem, provide suggestions to teachers, or counsel with students directly" is the method of consultation they portrayed. More than 34% of subjects expressed: “ collect data of students as well as teachers" is another method when consultation services were called by teachers. Based on the results above, researchers of this study provide further discussions and suggestions to the following themes: reflections of current consultation work, advanced education for consultant training, and future research on consultation. Keywords |