This special edition of Professional School Counseling provides some ofthe key proceedings from the seventh annual Evidence-based School Counseling Conference(EBSCC). As the conceptual and practical ...aspects of conducting evidence-based schoolcounseling (EBSC) have evolved, those changes are reflected in the conference content.This article identifies some of the ways that EBSC has progressed, including making surethat multiple aspects of student well-being—such as mental health and social-emotionallearning—are given full consideration, increased attention to complex social contexts andstudent intersectional identities, new ways of thinking about what data to use and how touse it to make decisions and to show impact, as well as methods for teaching prospectiveschool counselors how to most effectively practice EBSC.
Motivational interviewing (MI) is a brief, evidence‐based counseling style that helps people make positive behavior changes. Scholars have advocated for MI's use by school counselors (SCs), and ...research lends evidence to MI's effectiveness in schools. However, there are little data focused on how SCs are trained to utilize MI. Researchers investigated MI training in school counseling graduate programs from the perspective of SCs and counselor educators (CEs). The article presents two qualitative studies that discussed the importance of MI training in graduate programs. Researchers identified six themes and discussed their implications for graduate programs.
School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) is a universal prevention strategy currently implemented in >16,000 schools across the United States. SWPBIS intends to reduce ...students' behavior problems by altering staff behaviors and developing systems and supports to meet children's behavioral needs. The current study reports intervention effects on child behaviors and adjustment from an effectiveness trial of SWPBIS.
The sample of 12,344 elementary school children was 52.9% male, 45.1% African American, and 46.1% Caucasian. Approximately 49% received free or reduced-priced meals, and 12.9% received special education services at baseline. The trial used a group randomized controlled effectiveness design implemented in 37 elementary schools. Multilevel analyses were conducted on teachers' ratings of children's behavior problems, concentration problems, social-emotional functioning, prosocial behavior, office discipline referrals, and suspensions at 5 time points over the course of 4 school years.
The multilevel results indicated significant effects of SWPBIS on children's behavior problems, concentration problems, social-emotional functioning, and prosocial behavior. Children in SWPBIS schools also were 33% less likely to receive an office discipline referral than those in the comparison schools. The effects tended to be strongest among children who were first exposed to SWPBIS in kindergarten.
These findings provide support for the hypothesized reduction in behavior problems and improvements in prosocial behavior and effective emotion regulation after training in SWPBIS. The SWPBIS framework appears to be a promising approach for reducing problems and promoting adjustment among elementary school children.
Leadership as part of school counselor competence remains under-addressed in supervision. Grounded in prior research models, we introduce the Model for Supervision of School Counseling Leadership ...(MSSCL) which is a 10 x three x three framework. We provide examples for each of the 90 different leadership x Focus x Role combinations through an appendix that can be used in supervision, discuss the use of the MSSCL, and identify implications for practice, training, and future research.
Involvement 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.
Practitioner Points
Parents indicated that school counselors had not communicated with them about the services offered through the school counseling program.
The majority of parents reported school counselors had not helped them become involved in their child's education nor in planning the child's life after high school.
Most parents perceived their child's school counselors as hopeful, positive, and accepting. A large majority felt comfortable speaking with their child's school counselor.
This manuscript describes an empirically designed internship course that utilized the Ecological Social Justice School Counseling theory to teach internship students how to engage in antiracist ...practice to address social determinants of health in schools. The research reports on the eight school counseling internship students' experiences, through five themes and 12 subthemes, highlighting the ways they increased awareness of SDOH, antiracist practice, and related constructs at their schools and with students including their action toward addressing SDOH, advocacy, barriers, and growth. Implications for counselor educators and site supervisors conclude.
A strong counsellor professional identity is associated with the provision of more effective school counselling programmes. However, many school counsellors in East and Southeast Asia carry out ...wide‐ranging and poorly defined roles, occupy marginalised positions in schools, and have limited access to communities of practice and professional development. To provide more effective support for children’s well‐being, a greater focus on the professional identity of school counsellors in the region is needed. A significant task for professional school counselling organisations is the promotion of counselling in schools as an important and distinct professional role.
Introduction to the Special Issue Parikh, Foxx Sejal; Lewis, Chance W
Professional school counseling,
01/2020, Volume:
23, Issue:
1_part_2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
In this introduction to the special issue of Professional SchoolCounseling on urban school counseling, the guest editors discuss the challengesfaced by urban students and the gap in recent ...scholarship on this topic. Research andliterature in this special issue highlight school counseling strategies and interventionsthat demonstrate positive outcomes and practical strategies for working with thispopulation. Articles address college and career readiness, university–family–communitypartnerships, use of child–teacher relationship training, and strategies for establishinga culturally sustaining comprehensive school counseling program.
In the wake of the COVID‐19 outbreak, school counselors played an essential role in helping students, teachers, and families pivot to new learning environments and implemented services to promote ...students’ academic, social‐emotional, and career development. In this study, we analyzed school counselors’ (N = 589) delivery of program services and their individual and school characteristics to identify four approaches to school counseling: reactive, universal, consultative/collaborative, and comprehensive during the first wave of the pandemic. School counselors in the reactive profile spent most of their time engaged in noncounselor‐duties and reported the highest levels of burnout. Conversely, counselors belonging to the comprehensive profile devoted the most time to delivering consultation, coordination, counseling, and curriculum services and limited engagement in noncounseling‐related duties. This study emphasizes the importance of defining the school counselors’ roles and responsibilities and the extent to which school counselors were able to deliver their school counselor services during the global pandemic.
The purpose of this article is to provide a new social justice conceptual framework in school counselling. Although principles of social justice have been discussed in the counselling field, more ...discussion on the principles is needed to help school counsellors improve their counselling services for all students. This comprehensive literature review suggests eight social justice principles: (1) Constant self-examination, (2) appreciating students' worldviews and life experiences, (3) focus on strengths, (4) liberatory consciousness, (5) sharing power (6) reciprocal collaboration, (7) taking action, and (8) leaving students with tools. Challenges to implementing these principles are discussed and recommendations for school counsellors are provided.
PDF
