Comprehensive School Counseling Programs Research Articles

Investigating school counselor–parent relationships, interaction, and involvement

AbstractInvolvement of parents plays a crucial role in the implementation of a comprehensive school counseling program. For this study, 404 parents participated in a national survey conducted in the United States. The purpose of the study was to investigate parents’ perceptions of their involvement with the school counseling program and their relationship with the school counselor. Results suggested concerns regarding school counselor communication and the involvement of parents in their child's education and planning after high school. Results also indicated participants held a positive perception of school counselors (e.g., hopeful, positive, and accepting), their competency, and they felt comfortable with the school counselor.

Sizeism in Education: What School Counselors Need to Know

This conceptual article explains how school counselors can increase awareness of size discrimination and address sizeist attitudes and biases in U.S. schools. Sizeism can begin in early childhood and continue into young adulthood, with damaging effects on student wellness. Sizeist biases in society are reflected in school systems. We suggest actions school counselors can take to promote equity in education for students of size, including implementing size-inclusive prevention strategies within a comprehensive school counseling program.

School Counselor Leadership and Program Implementation Revisited: Findings From a National Sample

This replication study examines the relationship between school counselor leadership and school counseling program implementation, but with a larger sample and additional measures of leadership. In the original study (Mason, 2008) using Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Practices Inventory (2003), only Model the Way and Enable Others to Act subscales were predictors of program implementation, while in this study all subscales were predictors. The findings extend prior research, specifically that school counselor transformational leadership behavior strongly predicted comprehensive school counseling program implementation. We also found that specific leadership practices and behaviors, including modeling and systematic collaboration, accounted for the greatest variance in program implementation. Finally, exposure to the American School Counselor Association’s ASCA National Model and working in a Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) predicted program implementation. We discuss the implications of the findings with respect to today’s educational climate.

School Counselors’ Emotional Intelligence and Comprehensive School Counseling Program Implementation: The Mediating Role of Transformational Leadership

The authors examined whether school counselors’ emotional intelligence predicted their comprehensive school counseling program (CSCP) implementation and whether engagement in transformational leadership practices mediated the relationship between emotional intelligence and CSCP implementation. The sample for the study consisted of 792 school counselors nationwide. The findings demonstrated the significant mediating role of transformational leadership on the relationship between emotional intelligence and CSCP implementation. Implications for the counseling profession are discussed.

Leveraging State Policy to Promote School Counselor–Principal Collaboration

Over the past two decades, state policy pertaining to school counselors has grown to the point that most states now require the delivery of counseling services. Some states mandate the presence of a school counselor in each school, and several specify required student-to-school counselor ratios. In 2019, New York State instituted regulations requiring the delivery of a comprehensive school counseling program. The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of this mandate on the perceptions of principals, assistant principals, school counselors, and counseling supervisors. This study includes a comparison of these professionals’ understanding of the school counselor’s role and responsibilities, and school building and district expectations and priorities. Results suggest that a mandate requiring comprehensive school counseling programs fostered more agreement between school counselors and principals than found in previous studies. Implications for practice include state policy as a tool to increase collaboration and opportunities for social capital between school counselors and principals.

A Blueprint for Collaborative Action to Build a Trauma-Informed School: A Case Study

Analysis of multiple forms of data from a high-need K–8 charter school led to the hypothesis that increasing disciplinary disruptions and poor student academic achievement were the results of endemic student trauma. The principal, the lead school counselor, and an advisory council created a plan to explore and address behavioral and social/emotional issues, and wrote grants to sustain programming changes. The school achieved success in multiple areas, including: improving its comprehensive school counseling program using the ASCA National Model framework; benchmarking its practice with the ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies; reducing noncounseling duties for school counselors and providing 80% direct and indirect services to students; reducing the school counselor-to-student ratio; restructuring student discipline policies through the implementation of school-wide trauma-informed care practices; and utilizing social/emotional learning and trauma-informed lessons in the classroom. This case study outlines how one school created multidisciplinary internal and community-based teams to support trauma-informed practices for students, teachers, staff, and families, while emphasizing school counselor–principal leadership to build social capital. The discussion includes a review of progress toward systemic change goals.

Tiered Supports for the Class of 2021 in Unprecedented Times: A High School Counseling Department's Journey.

The impact of COVID-19 and the racial awakening of the United States intensified the inequities already present in many K–12 schools. Authors report a practitioner-focused case study of a high school counseling department integrating multitiered systems of support (MTSS) into their comprehensive school counseling program during the 2020–2021 school year, in response to both a global pandemic and the racial justice movement. Authors describe school counselors’ passionate commitment to supporting the school and department goal of increased graduation rate for the graduating class of 2021 in the midst of navigating virtual learning, racial and ethnic disparities, and lack of resources.

An Investigation of How School Counselors Adapted Their Delivery Due to COVID-Induced Disparities

We utilized a mixed-methods design to understand how a national sample of 589 school counselors adapted their approach to address K–12 students’ academic, social/emotional, and career development during the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, we examined how COVID-19–induced disparities influenced school counselors’ delivery of services. We identified six themes using thematic analysis and conducted a t test to further understand what services and strategies counselors were actively using 6 months after the onset of COVID-19. Our findings suggest that school counselors continued to adjust their comprehensive school counseling programs to address pandemic-induced disparities.

“She Went Above and Beyond”: How Comprehensive School Counseling Programs Benefit First-Generation College Students through Personalized Support

This qualitative research study contains a focus on first-generation students’ perceptions of their school’s comprehensive school counseling program and their school counselor. Through a social capital theory lens, three themes emerged, (a) received school counselors’ emotional, motivational, and tailored support, (b) increased social capital through accessing school counselors’ knowledge & skills, and (c) benefited from varied modalities of structured support. Implications for school counselors and counselor educators to improve first- generation student outcomes are included.

An Antiracist Framework for Evidence-Informed School Counseling Practice

School counselors are charged with creating comprehensive school counseling programs that recognize and affirm the wholeness and humanness of students, families, and their communities (Holcomb-McCoy, C., Mayes, R. D., Cheatham, C., Sharp, S., and Savitz-Romer, M. (2020). Antiracist school counseling: A call to action [webinar]. Center for Postsecondary Readiness and Success, American University. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEjNaB2L3Vc ). However, despite our best efforts, many school environments operate in ways that harm BIPOC students (Love, B. L. (2019). We want to do more than survive: Abolitionist teaching and the pursuit of educational freedom. Beacon Press). School counselors are uniquely positioned to be leaders in antiracist efforts and can influence a shift in school culture by using evidence-based practices across academic, career, and social/emotional domains. This conceptual article has four primary goals: (a) provide a working definition of antiracist school counseling; (b) outline key components of developing a critical consciousness as a foundation to antiracist school counseling practice; (c) describe a framework for engaging in evidence-informed, antiracist practice as a part of MTSS to support strategies that interrupt and dismantle harmful school policies/practices across all domains of service; and (d) provide recommendations for school counselors and school counselor educators who are committing to antiracist practice.

Applying for RAMP Using a Cohort Model: Overcoming Challenges

Although comprehensive school counseling programs are implemented widely across the country, school counselors face myriad barriers to implementation. As such, we conducted a multilevel, descriptive case study to examine a school counseling cohort preparing to apply for the American School Counselor Association’s Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) over a 2-year period. Due to the significant amount of data collected during the research process, this is the second article of a two-part study. Results of this study highlight the process of school counselors overcoming barriers to comprehensive program implementation via prolonged professional development and include the following themes: (a) overcoming a lack of training and knowledge on comprehensive school counseling programs and (b) advocating to overcome systemic barriers. We address considerations for counselor educators, school counseling professionals, and counseling organizations/associations.

Applying for RAMP Using a Cohort Model: Results of a Multilevel Case Study

School counselors across the United States are implementing comprehensive school counseling programs, such as those following the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model. ASCA awards a designation honoring exemplary school counseling programs: Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP). Although a growing number of studies have examined RAMP status through survey methods and student outcomes, the need remains to understand RAMP through the lens of each school’s unique context and experience. We present a multilevel, qualitative, participatory, descriptive case study to examine a school counseling cohort preparing over a 2-year period to apply for RAMP, utilizing a district–university partnership. Given the expansive data gleaned from the present study, the results are reported in two articles; this is the first of a two-part study. Results highlight this RAMP cohort process, including the following themes: (a) the push and pull of deciding to participate, (b) collaborative supports, (c) facilitators’ integral and complex role, and (d) next steps.

School Counselors’ Lived Experiences of Support Received During the RAMP Designation Process: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

The American School Counselor Association’s Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) designation identifies exemplary comprehensive school counseling programs. Leadership stakeholders often support school counselors in RAMP achievement. This qualitative, interpretative phenomenological analysis explored the lived experiences of seven school counselors regarding support received during the RAMP-seeking process. The findings from this research reveal four emergent themes regarding school counselors’ lived support experiences. This article indicates implications for leadership stakeholders and recommendations for future research.

Implementing Large-Group Consultation in Comprehensive School Counseling Programs

ABSTRACT Large-group consultation (LGC) is a tool in which professional school counselors deliver key expertise to faculty and staff in their schools while using their group work skills to facilitate meaningful learning. As part of a comprehensive school counseling program, LGC is an efficient, systemic strategy for school counselors to impact students’ academic, career, and social/emotional success. In this article, we present best practices when designing and implementing LGC. We also highlight two school counseling case studies to demonstrate the usefulness of LGC.

School Counseling Programs Identifying Academic Development Needs

This study examined student, parent, and faculty perceptions of academic development needs and related comprehensive school counseling program services from four urban middle and high schools. Participants ( n = 1,032) completed a survey designed to assist schools in planning and evaluating their career and college readiness programs, and exploring perceived student support needs. Statistically significant differences were observed in stakeholder perceptions among 12 identified interventions that support improved academic development, through factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) and pairwise comparisons analysis. Findings provide valuable information about prioritizing student academic counseling services strategically and effectively, to meet program needs of students in high-poverty schools.

Grit and Growth Mindset Contribution to School Counseling Services

School counselors are essential staff in an education setting, contributing to student success by delivering critical services when implementing a comprehensive school counseling program. The study examined the predictive relationships of school counselors’ level of grit and mindset with their activities performed in programmatic service delivery. This novel study contributed to the expansion of grit and mindset predictive relationship with school counselor’s activities performed in a comprehensive counseling program. Practical implications were discussed, and further research is warranted to identify other factors that are predictive of counselor’s job activities in a comprehensive school counseling program.

Peer-to-Peer Mental Health Support: Validating Scores on the Mental Distress Response Scale With High School Students

This investigation tested the internal structure of scores on the Mental Distress Response Scale (MDRS), a peer-to-peer mental health support screening tool, with a national sample of 237 adolescents from 111 high schools in 30 states. Results revealed psychometric support for the scores on the MDRS and demographic differences in students’ responses. We discuss implications for how school counselors can use the MDRS to enhance peer-to-peer mental health support as part of a comprehensive school counseling program.

Advocacy Without Adversity: Developing an Understanding of Micropolitical Theory to Promote a Comprehensive School Counseling Program

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 school counseling profession. We also discuss the limitations and implications of this position.

School Counselors Applying the ASCA 2016 Ethical Standards

<p>As the student population becomes more diverse in the United States (Human Rights Campaign, 2018; National Center for Education Statistics, 2018), school counselors (SCs) are also called upon to provide comprehensive school counseling programs to meet the needs of all students (ASCA, 2019). In addition to following the profession’s national model, the American School Counseling Association’s Ethical Standards (2016) provide a set of guidelines including specific language aimed at providing culturally competent counseling services to students and stakeholders. With this in mind, the purpose of this manuscript is twofold. The first goal is to provide SCs with strategies for use when providing services to diverse students. Next, the authors will highlight sections of the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors (ASCA, 2016) that specifically address diverse students’ needs. Case scenarios will also be provided.</p>

School Counselors Applying the ASCA 2016 Ethical Standards

<p>As the student population becomes more diverse in the United States (Human Rights Campaign, 2018; National Center for Education Statistics, 2018), school counselors (SCs) are also called upon to provide comprehensive school counseling programs to meet the needs of all students (ASCA, 2019). In addition to following the profession’s national model, the American School Counseling Association’s Ethical Standards (2016) provide a set of guidelines including specific language aimed at providing culturally competent counseling services to students and stakeholders. With this in mind, the purpose of this manuscript is twofold. The first goal is to provide SCs with strategies for use when providing services to diverse students. Next, the authors will highlight sections of the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors (ASCA, 2016) that specifically address diverse students’ needs. Case scenarios will also be provided.</p>