School Counselors’ Strategies for Social Justice Change: A Grounded Theory of What Works in the Real World

A qualitative study used a grounded theory methodology to explore the strategies that 16 school counselors who self-identified as social justice agents used to advocate for systemic change within their school communities. Findings included seven overarching themes: (a) using political savvy to navigate power structures, (b) consciousness raising, (c) initiating difficult dialogues, (d) building intentional relationships, (e) teaching students self-advocacy skills, (f) using data for marketing, and (g) educating others about the school counselor role of advocate.

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Embracing School Counselors’ Situatedness: Data-Based Decision Making as Fulfillment of a Complex Identity

Professional School Counseling ◽

10.1177/2156759x211011922 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 24 (1_part_3) ◽

pp. 2156759X2110119

Author(s):

Brett Zyromski ◽

Catherine Griffith ◽

Jihyeon Choi

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

School Counselors ◽

School Counselor ◽

Use Of Data ◽

Counselor Identity ◽

Using Data ◽

Definition Of ◽

Support Students ◽

Students Success ◽

Data Based Decision Making

Since at least the 1930s, school counselors have used data to inform school counseling programming. However, the evolving complexity of school counselors’ identity calls for an updated understanding of the use of data. We offer an expanded definition of data-based decision making that reflects the purpose of using data in educational settings and an appreciation of the complexity of the school counselor identity. We discuss implications for applying the data-based decision-making process using a multifaceted school counselor identity lens to support students’ success.

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The Elementary School Counselor's Role in Fostering Caring School Communities

Professional School Counseling ◽

10.1177/2156759x0801200211 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 2156759X0801200 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jennifer J. Lindwall ◽

Hardin L. K. Coleman

Keyword(s):

Elementary School ◽

School Counselors ◽

School Environment ◽

School Counselor ◽

Elementary School Counselors ◽

School Communities ◽

Effective Strategies ◽

Core Set ◽

Personal Experiences ◽

Caring School Community

The school counselor can play a key role in fostering a caring school community (CSC). The counselor can engage in a comprehensive, preventive, and developmental intervention that helps to promote a sense of belongingness. Furthermore, this intervention reflects a strengths-based counseling approach because it considers how contextual changes can be made to promote overall development of youth. Seven elementary school counselors’ perspectives were examined for their understanding about what constitutes a CSC and how they help to facilitate such a context. The school counselors in the study reported the following: There are a core set of elements that they believe make up a CSC; they draw upon their personal experiences within the school environment to help them understand how their CSC efforts can best be implemented; they implement a set of effective strategies to foster a CSC; and they utilize a shared guiding philosophy that is reflected by their efforts to foster a CSC.

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Investigating the Psychometric Properties of School Counselor Self-Advocacy Questionnaire

Professional School Counseling ◽

10.1177/2156759x1101500101 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 2156759X1101500 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Elysia V. Clemens ◽

Adria Shipp ◽

Tyler Kimbel

Keyword(s):

Factor Analysis ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analysis ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

School Counselors ◽

Concurrent Validity ◽

School Counselor ◽

Self Advocacy ◽

Reliability Estimates ◽

Confirmatory Factor ◽

Alpha Reliability

This article reports on the development and the exploration of the underlying psychometric properties of the School Counselor Self-Advocacy Questionnaire, a measure of skills school counselors can use to advocate for their roles and programs. An exploratory factor analysis (N = 188) suggested a unidimensional model, and a confirmatory factor analysis indicated the overall model robustly explains the data, accounting for 80% of the variance. Cronbach's alpha reliability estimates ranged from .84 to .87 for the questionnaire and the estimates of concurrent validity were promising. Implications for school counselor advocacy practice are also included.

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School Counselor Roles and Opportunities in Promoting EcoWellness: Integrating Nature Connection in K–12 Settings

Professional School Counseling ◽

10.1177/2156759x19839651 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 2156759X1983965

Author(s):

Ryan F. Reese ◽

Lindsay C. Webster ◽

Kathy Biles

Keyword(s):

School Counseling ◽

School Counselors ◽

School Counselor ◽

Holistic Wellness ◽

Counselor Preparation ◽

School Communities ◽

Nature Connection ◽

School Counseling Program ◽

School Counselor Preparation ◽

K 12

Nature positively impacts holistic wellness and K–12 student learning, although this phenomenon has largely been unstudied in school counseling. School counselors are in a unique position to champion nature connection in school communities to promote holistic wellness and positive learning outcomes. This article introduces EcoWellness as a framework for strategically infusing nature throughout the comprehensive school counseling program. We discuss strategies for school counseling practice and implications for school counselor preparation and research.

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The Contribution of School Counselors' Altruism to Their Degree of Burnout

Professional School Counseling ◽

10.5330/1096-2409-20.1.127 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 1096-2409-20.1. ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Dodie Limberg ◽

Glenn Lambie ◽

E. H. Robinson

Keyword(s):

School Counselors ◽

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

School Counselor ◽

Counselor Educators ◽

Statistical Analyses ◽

Personal Accomplishment ◽

Counselor Role ◽

And Behavior

The school counselor role embodies altruistic intention and behavior, but may lead to burnout. This study tested the hypothesized directional relationship that school counselors scoring at higher levels of altruism would have lower levels of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment). The results of the statistical analyses supported the hypothesized relationship, indicating that altruism contributes to lower levels of burnout. This article discusses implications for school counselors and school counselor educators.

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School Counselors Walking the Walk and Talking the Talk: A Grounded Theory of Effective Program Implementation

Professional School Counseling ◽

10.1177/2156759x0801100607 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 2156759X0801100

Author(s):

Janna L. Scarborough ◽

Melissa Luke

Keyword(s):

Grounded Theory ◽

School Counseling ◽

School Counselors ◽

Program Implementation ◽

School Counselor ◽

Best Practice ◽

The United States ◽

Professional School ◽

Future Research ◽

Effective Program

Comprehensive, developmental school counseling programming has been associated with numerous benefits for students and is considered current best practice. A qualitative, grounded theory study was conducted to investigate eight professional school counselors employed across grade level, geographic setting, and region within the United States. This article presents this research and the emergent model for successful comprehensive, developmental school counseling program implementation. Implications for school counselor education and practice, as well as future research, are discussed.

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School Counselors’ Involvement with a School-Wide Positive Behavior Support Intervention: Addressing Student Behavior Issues in a Proactive and Positive Manner

Professional School Counseling ◽

10.1177/2156759x1201600504 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 16 (5) ◽

pp. 2156759X1201600 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Katie Martens ◽

Kelsey Andreen

Keyword(s):

School Counselors ◽

Positive Behavior Support ◽

Student Behavior ◽

School Counselor ◽

Positive Behavior ◽

Behavior Support ◽

Implementation Team ◽

Behavior Issues ◽

Prevention Model ◽

Using Data

For schools using School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports, the school counselor is an essential member of the implementation team. Moreover, the prevention model corresponds with the school counselor standards and the ASCA National Model. This article shows how a school counselor teams with school staff in a K-3 elementary school of 600 pupils to implement and manage a School-Wide Positive Behavior Support targeted intervention called Check-in/Check-out (CICO). The authors review current research relevant to CICO and provide sample student data, daily behavior report cards, referral forms, and home reports. The article gives suggestions on using CICO to support students with mental health concerns including using data to collaborate with other community professionals.

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Do Lower Student to Counselor Ratios Reduce School Disciplinary Problems?

The B E Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy ◽

10.1515/1538-0645.1463 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Scott E Carrell ◽

Susan A Carrell

Keyword(s):

School Counselors ◽

Low Income ◽

School Counselor ◽

Unobserved Heterogeneity ◽

Positive Role ◽

University Of Florida ◽

Alachua County ◽

Disciplinary Problems ◽

Using Data ◽

The University

AbstractThe American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends that there be no more than 250 students to each school counselor. Although numerous studies in the education literature show that school counselors play a positive role in educating children, to our knowledge, this is the first study answering the question of whether lower student to counselor ratios, all else equal, improve student outcomes. Using data provided to us by Florida's Alachua County School District and the University of Florida Counselor Education Department, we show that lower student to counselor ratios decrease both the recurrence of student disciplinary problems and the share of students involved in a disciplinary incident. These effects are greater for minority and low-income students. The fixed-effect models used, control for all unobserved heterogeneity across schools, isolating the effects on discipline from the within-school changes in the student-to-counselor ratio. The empirical methodologies employed produce unbiased estimates as long as the variation in the student to counselor ratio is not driven by unobserved factors that affect disciplinary outcomes.

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A Clear and Consistent Focus on Students: Principals’ Perceptions of the Role of School Counselors

Journal of School Leadership ◽

10.1177/1052684620972067 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 105268462097206

Author(s):

Travis Lewis ◽

Karen D. Jones ◽

Matthew Militello ◽

Randy Meisenhelder

Keyword(s):

School Counselors ◽

Q Methodology ◽

School Counselor ◽

School Administrators ◽

School Principal ◽

Preparation Programs ◽

School Communities ◽

Principal Preparation Programs ◽

Grade Levels

As greater emphasis is placed on addressing critical school issues such as school-based mental health, violence prevention, and the effects of trauma, the utilization of school counselors should be examined to ensure that these uniquely-trained professionals are mobilized by school administrators to engage these issues. Q methodology was employed to explore how a convenience sampling of 32 current principals across varying demographics and grade levels conceptualize the role of the school counselor. The results of this study provide a rich understanding of how principals view school counselors in relation to the needs of their respective school communities. Evident is a clear and consistent emphasis of principals on the need for school counselors to have a strong rapport with their students. Discussed are additional steps that may be considered in further advancing the relationships between these two types of professionals, as well as insights to inform school principal preparation programs in how school leaders can appropriately utilize student services personnel.

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