Feelings of empowerment among students are crucial prerequisites to their participation in change agency in both educational and non-educational settings. Educators notice a compelling correlation between student empowerment and academic achievement and other positive outcomes in K-12 educational environments. School counselors are optimally…

Anti-LGBTQ+ school legislation has proliferated across the United States in recent years, with potential consequences for both students and school counselors. Florida's controversial 2022 Parental Rights in Education Act offers one such example. In this descriptive, phenomenological, qualitative study, we examined the experiences of 10 Florida…

The practice of using microaffirmations enables positive outcomes through small acts of active listening that encourage feelings of inclusion and shared cultural intimacy. Microaffirmations can be intersectional and are beneficial to a wide range of populations, including people of color, LGBTQIA + individuals, and people with disabilities. School…

In this qualitative study, 10 White school counselors were interviewed after they completed a 7-week affinity group designed to address their racial identity development, cultural humility, and antiracist school counseling practice. We conducted two semistructured interviews with each participant and analyzed them using interpretive…

School counselors and principals are in natural leadership positions that provide opportunities to influence systemic change. Given these educators' great responsibility of supporting the academic, social/emotional, and college and career development of all students, aligning their efforts toward impacting student outcomes is wise. Current…

Principals and school counselors, as advocates and leaders, have a moral and ethical imperative to interrogate and disrupt the educational inequities pervading P-12 schools. Trained in data collection, disaggregation, and analyses, principals and school counselors must utilize their knowledge and skills in program evaluation to challenge systemic…

School counselors are well positioned to support students who have experienced trauma, and the need to do so has increased during the past few years. In this article, we provide school counselors with relevant evidence-based practices that are focused on addressing trauma and supporting students who have experienced a traumatic event(s). We also…

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the School Counselor 504 Activities Scale, a practical tool to assess how often school counselors engage in various ASCA recommended and non-recommended duties. Utilizing a sample of 379 practicing school counselors, this process resulted in two subscales: (a) Collaboration, Advocacy, and…

Elementary school counselors are instrumental in student success and well-being; unfortunately, school counselors at the elementary level also have higher caseloads and more tenuous job opportunities. Thus, there exists a need to advocate for elementary school counseling. Previous research has examined school counseling advocacy across K-12…

We investigated the relationship between self-reported multicultural competence and social issues awareness among school counselors and raters' assessment of multicultural orientation skills (cultural humility and cultural comfort) using a recorded mock counseling session. Results revealed a positive correlation between multicultural competence…

This article presents the development of the Antiracist School Counseling Inventory (ASCI), an instrument designed to support school counselors engaging in antiracist counseling practice. We administered the ASCI to a sample of 457 practicing school counselors. Results of an exploratory factor analysis yielded a 19-item exploratory model…

School counselors are urged to create systemic change within a school system by working as an advocate, leader, and collaborator within the school. Each of these roles requires a school counselor to be skilled in micropolitics and micropolitical literacy. This article explores the main concepts of micropolitical theory and its application to the…

English language learners (ELLs) experience higher barriers to education than non-ELLs. School counselors are uniquely positioned to identify and respond to the needs of these students. This phenomenological study explored the advocacy efforts of 14 school counselors working with ELLs. Major themes included creating space for culture and context,…

Background: K-12 students have experienced increases in the amount of hate crimes and prejudice they encounter. School counselors are well-positioned to reduce oppression in schools, but often lack the means to develop advocacy skills that would do so. Objectives: We implemented the School Counselor Equity Fellowship (SCEF), a yearlong…

School counselors completed measures of school counselor activity and role beliefs; competence with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and intersex (LGBTQQI) issues; and school-based LGBTQQI advocacy and awareness. Hierarchical multiple regression identified that LGBTQQI clinical skill predicts school counselor LGBTQQI…