Previous research suggests high school counselors are not living up to their potential as social/emotional, academic, and postsecondary counselors. This article addresses this concern by studying how schools and districts utilize counselors. Through interviews and observations of high school counselors, administrators, and counselor educators in…

School counselor-school administrator relationships have seen greater attention in the literature, especially as it relates to the development and implementation of comprehensive school counseling programs. These programs are well-suited to support the holistic development of children and adolescents in K-12 schools. As a part of this…

There is a lack of an established framework or taxonomy in the academic literature to systematically analyze school counseling policies. This study was conducted to fill in this gap. Specifically, the researchers propose an initial taxonomy developed based on review of relevant school counseling policy documents and research. The proposed taxonomy…

How can school counselors support large-scale postsecondary and career-readiness initiatives? While schools and districts want to use personalized learning or individualized learning plans as a way to align students' school experiences to their postsecondary and career goals, schools may lack the human capital to support and guide this endeavor.…

The professional identity of school counselors has changed and adapted in significant part due to the empirically supported American School Counselors Association (ASCA) National Model. The roles of school counselors within the P-12 school setting have been ruled by job descriptions (describing the expectations of the position) and performance…

This article is the second of a two-part series that describes the development of the "Taxonomy of Policy Levers to Promote High Quality School-Based Counseling." Previous article (Morshed & Carey, 2020) described the development of the taxonomy using content analysis of existing published descriptions of policy levers. This article…

Professional school counselors have been advocating for their role as counselors in the schools for decades (Galassi & Akos, 2007; Gysbers, 2002; Slaten & Baskin, 2013). Although researchers have addressed this concern through advocacy in service and writing, school counselors continue to perform a significant amount of non-counseling…

For students whose families and friends do not have college-going experience to share, applying to college can be challenging. School counselors can fill the gap, but in many schools--especially those serving students most in need--counselors are spread thin. This NASBE policy update explores the ways state boards of education can address the…

In most states, educator evaluation systems are moving toward more frequent and focused evaluations that include educators' contributions to student outcomes such as learning growth. Many states include "Specialized Instructional Support Personnel" (SISP) in their educator evaluation systems, but the measures and methods used to evaluate…

This quantitative study examined professional identity development and orientation for 489 counseling practitioners, educators, and trainees as predicted by participant-identified sex and engagement in professional activities. Differences between male and female participants regarding aspects of professional identity were evaluated. Discriminant…

This exploratory study used qualitative methods to better understand how youths in a residential setting perceive their relationships with the counselors. Using focus group methodology, the study focused on how youth describe the relationship, what staff qualities the youth are able to identify as important in engaging and maintaining the…

The results of this study seem to indicate that superintendents view their counselors as performing duties congruent with ASCA policy. They feel, however, that many counselor functions must be extended and improved. (Author)

Developing and administering the Community College Counselor Function Inventory to 75 students and their counselors, the author found a discrepancy between student and counselor perceptions of what counselor functions are important. Students tended to see the counselor role as primarily educational-occupational, while the counselors saw their role…

An Englishman's view of the main current trends in guidance and counseling in the USA, notably the reevaluation of the counselor's role and the push for career education. (Author)

A guidance dean discusses the new role of the counselor. Using a team approach, the guidance dean develops a priority of "job targets" in behavioral terms for aiding students. Evaluation is done by assessing his performance in achieving these job targets. (CG)