Education Reform: Connecting ABE/Literacy to K-12 Education

Professional school counselors (PSCs) and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) have been working diligently to reconfigure the professional identity of PSCs from its historical guidance epistemology to a comprehensive developmental model. Nevertheless, the historical influence defining a school counselor's identity has been difficult to alter. The purpose of this article is threefold: (a) to review the historical origins of school counseling, (b) to outline the current PSC identity model promoted by ASCA, and (c) to introduce steps to support the transition to a consistent professional identity for the school counselor. ********** School counselor preparation programs and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) advocate professional roles and standards of practice for school counseling professionals. However, incongruence is apparent between what is advocated and the actual duties most professional school counselors (PSCs) are performing. This divergence has cultivated role ambiguity and conflict, increasing occupational stress in PSCs (Lambie, 2002). Furthermore, school administrators, teachers, parents, and other groups tend to view the role of a school counselor in different ways (Burnham & Jackson, 2000). Role ambiguity is present in school counseling to the extent that even PSCs have different perceptions of their roles in the school environment. Role ambiguity exists when (a) an individual lacks information about his or her work role, (b) there is a lack of clarity about work objectives associated with the role, or (c) there is a lack of clarity about peer expectations of the scope and responsibility of the job (Lambie, 2002; Sears & Navin, 1983). Following their study comparing PSCs' actual role with roles prescribed in two accepted counseling models, Burnham and Jackson (2000) concluded that PSCs are too often involved in non-counseling-related activities including multiple clerical tasks, which require an inordinate amount of time and pull them away from "more appropriate counseling activities" (p. 47). Additionally, Hutchinson, Barrick, and Grove (1986) found that PSCs are required to perform increasing nonprofessional duties in a limited amount of time (e.g., attendance, record keeping, testing coordination, hall and bus duty). Furthermore, other noncounseling duties commonly reported include scheduling; transcripts; office sitting; clubs and organizations; parking lot, restroom, and lunch duties; averaging grades; and homeroom duty (Burnham & Jackson, 2000). HISTORICAL ORIGINS OF SCHOOL COUNSELING Countries, events, and people often are defined by their histories. Memorial services communicate a historical narrative of an event or person, providing attendees with a defining portrait. Therefore, the realities of an event, institution, or person are socially constructed (Freedman & Combs, 1996). The same holds true for school counseling, which is defined by its historical story. Within this conceptualization, "Beliefs held by individuals construct realities and realities are maintained through social interaction which, in turn, confirms the beliefs that are then socially originated" (Fruggeri, 1992, p. 43). Therefore, school counseling's historical narrative constructs the lens through which individuals interpret the profession. To understand and possibly alleviate the current incongruence between the actual and the ideal professional identity of PSCs, the historical narrative configuring the profession needs to be understood, appreciated, and then possibly reconstructed. From its inception in the early 1900s, school counseling was very different from the current functions advocated by the ASCA (2004) professional role statement. The term employed during the early 1900s for the profession was vocational guidance, which involves roles that were similar to modern career counseling with a focus on the transition from school to work, emphasizing an appropriate client-occupational placement match. …

The Challenge to Change from Guidance Counseling to Professional School Counseling: A Historical Proposition

Teachers strive to establish partnerships with parents to support student learning. Strong communication is fundamental to this partnership and to building a sense of community between home and school. In these changing times, teachers must continue to develop and expand their skills in order to maximize effective communication with parents. This article presents a range of communication opportunities available to teachers, including the emerging use of technology. Some of these practical suggestions may seem very basic to those already actively promoting parental involvement, but unfortunately, many teachers have not been trained in nor are they practicing proactive communication with parents. Barriers to effective communication are considered in conjunction with potential solutions. Key Words: parent involvement, teacher-parent relationships, school-home partnerships, communication Introduction In today's society, schools and parents are responding to increased expectations, economic pressures, and time constraints. In these changing times, effective partnerships between teachers and parents become even more essential to meet the needs of the children they "share." Indeed, Epstein (1995) describes communicating with parents as one of six major types of parent involvement practices critical to establishing strong working relationships between teachers and parents. Cultivating the teacher-parent relationship is also considered vital to the development of schools as learning communities (Schussler, 2003). Unfortunately, many teachers are not specifically trained in the skills they need to communicate effectively with parents (Hradecky, 1994; Lawrence- Lightfoot, 2004). Because school communication practices are so fundamental to involving families in the education process, Caspe (2003) suggests that teacher preparation and professional development programs should actively promote the development of communication skills for teachers. The goal of this article is to outline a range of communication opportunities and strategies to maximize partnerships with parents. Barriers to effective communication are also considered, as well as potential solutions. Avenues of Communication Communication may involve impressions created or words expressed. In fact, communication begins with the welcome sign when the parent first enters the school building (Chambers, 1998). Welcome signs reflecting the range of ethnic languages spoken in the school community create an even more inviting atmosphere (Lai & Ishiyama, 2004). The next impression may be the smile or, conversely, lack of acknowledgement by office staff. Parents may also be positively influenced by the cleanliness of the school grounds, student artwork on the walls, and the sounds in the hallway. A "customer-friendly" school environment reflects how highly communication with parents is valued by school staff (Chambers, 1998). Expressed communication involves one-way or two-way exchanges (Berger, 1991). One-way communication occurs when teachers seek to inform parents about events, activities, or student progress through a variety of sources, such as an introductory letter at the beginning of the school year, classroom or school newsletters, report cards, communication books, radio announcements, school Web sites, and so on. Two-way communication involves interactive dialogue between teachers and parents. Conversations may occur during telephone calls, home visits, parent-teacher conferences, open houses, and various school-based community activities. Teachers should actively incorporate both strategies to maximize sharing information with parents. One-Way Communication "Written communication is probably the most efficient and effective way we can provide valuable ongoing correspondence between school and home" (Williams & Cartledge, 1997, p. 30). Written communication is a permanent product that requires careful consideration regarding format and content. …

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Communicating with Parents: Strategies for Teachers

The purpose of this article is to investigate correlates and predictors of school counselors' career satisfaction and commitment. Regression analyses of 1,280 Florida counselors' survey responses indicated that positive predictors of career satisfaction included appropriate duties, high self-efficacy, and district and peer supervision, while negative predictors were inappropriate duties and stress. The only positive predictor of career commitment was appropriate counseling duties while the only negative predictor was stress. Results and future directions are discussed.

School Counselors' Career Satisfaction and Commitment: Correlates and Predictors

A number of developments have marked the evolution of clinical supervision as a separate specialty since publication of the Standards for Counseling Supervisors in 1990, including accreditation and counselor licensure standards, supervisor credentials, and research on supervision practice and supervisor training, nationally and internationally. Such developments culminated in the development of a statement of Supervision Best Practices Guidelines. The Guidelines are described, followed by suggestions for their implementation and further evolution through research.

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Best Practices in Clinical Supervision: Evolution of a Counseling Specialty

School counselors have been remiss in documenting how the school counseling program is an essential component to the growth of school-aged youth. As a result, school counseling programs and personnel either have been eliminated or school counselors have been assigned duties that do not reflect their training and education. Many school counselors complain that existing assessment instruments either are too expensive or do not adequately reflect the program objectives and goals. This article provides a step-by-step model for designing testing instruments that can be effective in producing data that reflect program or intervention results. An example of how a middle school counselor assessed her leadership program is included.

Producing Evidence to Show Counseling Effectiveness in the Schools.

Practicing professional school counselors often are asked to supervise school counselors-in-training without the benefit of training in supervision or an awareness of the various clinical experiences. The purpose of this article is to outline the clinical experiences, supervisory stages, roles supervisors play, and useful strategies for directing the supervisory process. Furthermore, trainees often express disappointment and frustration when they are not provided with the opportunity to perform activities that reflect counselor performance in a comprehensive, developmental school counselor program. This article includes suggestions for providing supervisory activities within the American School Counselor Association's National Model. ********** I was asked to be a supervisor for a practicum student and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. It has been so many years since I received my training in school counseling, that when I was asked to serve as a supervisor for an internship student, at first I refused. I was trained under a different model of school counseling, and I was afraid that I would be viewed as "out of touch" with school counseling today. After I thought about it, I realized that this would be an opportunity for me to learn about the trends in the profession and I agreed to serve as a supervisor. Practicing, experienced professional school counselors commonly make statements such as those above when they are asked to serve as supervisors for students training for the profession of school counseling. Two carefully guarded professional secrets are the nonexistence of a common set of supervisory expectations, tasks, and responsibilities provided to all school counselor trainees (Henderson, 1994; Nelson & Johnson, 1999) and that supervisors, for the most part, have not received instruction in supervisory practices for students training for the profession of school counseling (Nelson & Johnson). Despite limited knowledge of the supervisory process, school counselors do provide supervision to graduate students without the advantage of training (Nelson & Johnson, 1999). This lack of training is exacerbated in that literature assists little in the way of providing practicing school counselors with practical information on the "how to" of supervision (Getz, 1999; Goodyear & Bernard, 1998; Henderson, 1994). Although counselor education programs provide information about supervision, training varies among institutions, and each trainee brings to the school setting a different set of concerns and expectations that requires different learning strategies. The purpose of this article is to provide a basic understanding of supervisory roles, expectations, stages, and techniques to assist school counselor supervisors as they provide clinical training in a school setting. SUPERVISION AND THE CLINICAL EXPERIENCES The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) provides guidelines for institutions training individuals for the profession of school counseling. These standards include supervised opportunities that are identified as the "most critical experience elements in the program" (CACREP, 2003). These experiences are obtained through the practicum and internship courses, and because each requires different training, the supervisor is to be clear as to the supervision course in which the student trainee is enrolled. The main purpose of the practicum is to develop and refine counseling skills, while the internship provides the school counselor-in-training with the opportunity to perform a variety of school counselor-related activities. Additional information on CACREP can be found at http://www.counseling.org/cacrep/ default.htm. Many school counseling programs are not CACREP accredited, leaving state regulations and/or the individual counselor education programs to determine content and clinical experiences (Holloway, as cited in Bradley & Fiorini, 1999). …

Supervising School Counselors-in-Training: A Guide for Field Supervisors

This study investigated the types of supervisory activities provided to school counselor trainees. The researchers examined the responses of 73 practicing school counselors from the Southern region who were members of the American School Counselor Association. The supervisory activities provided to trainees working in a traditional school counseling program were compared with trainees performing in a developmental program as recommended in the ASCA National Model®. The researchers also examined the years of experience as a school counselor, the amount of training received in supervision, differences in supervision at various grade levels, and the principal's understanding of the school counselor's role when working in a traditional or a transformed school counseling model. Implications for school counselors are included.

The Use of the ASCA National Model® in Supervision

1. From Guidance Worker to Professional School Counselor. 2. The Professional School Counselor and Legal and Ethical Issues. 3. The Culturally Sensitive Professional School Counselor. 4. Students with Special Needs. 5. The Developmental, Comprehensive School Counselor Program. 6. The Professional School Counselor and Accountability. 7. The Professional School Counselor's Role in Career Development. 8. The Professional School Counselor's Role in Testing and Assessment. 9. The Internet's Influence on the School Counseling Profession. 10. Crisis Counseling and Critical Incident Management. 11. The School Counselor and Family Partnership. 12. Planning and Implementing Group Work in the Schools. 13. Expressive Arts in Counseling Children and Adolescents. 14. The Supervision Process and the Professional School Counselor as a Consultant.

Jeannine R. Studer

Papers

Producing Evidence to Show Counseling Effectiveness in the Schools.

Supervising School Counselors-in-Training: A Guide for Field Supervisors

The Use of the ASCA National Model® in Supervision

The Professional School Counselor: An Advocate for Students

The Professional School Counselor: Supporting and Understanding the Role of the Guidance Program: