Abstract:

The aim of this study is to determine the reasons why undergraduate first year students in the Psychological Counseling and Guidance (PDR) program prefer PDR. The study group consists of 200 (women and men) students who have just started to study in the PDR department of 10 different universities. The phenomenology design from qualitative research methods is used in this research. The research data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of 10 open-ended and closed-ended questions developed by the researchers. Data were analyzed using content analysis. According to the results of the research, psychological counselors are seen by the participants as psychological supporters in schools. They stated that psychological counselors worked outside the school in courthouses and private companies. While perceiving the concept of guidance teacher in the context of school, teacher and student; the concept of psychological counselors is perceived as psychology graduates working with adults and outside school. Most of the participants preferred the PDR program in the first place. They mostly benefited from school psychological counselors and family members as a source of information and support during the choice process. The participants expressed personal factors as the reasons for preference the PDR program. This was followed by political, economic and educational factors and social factors.The results of the research were discussed based on the related literature. The limitations of the research and suggestions for future research are presented.

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