Experiences With Elementary School Counseling Advocacy

Abstract

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 settings and included advocacy as one aspect of larger studies. Given this gap in the literature, we conducted a phenomenological investigation to examine the lived experiences of professionals who reported successfully advocating for elementary school counseling positions and roles. We discuss findings and implications, including applying results to the school counseling profession, in an effort to bolster elementary school counseling and better school counseling services to students.

Effectiveness of Psychoeducation Techniques and Guidance Counseling Services for Non-Guidance Counseling Primary Teachers

“…Not all Early Childhood and Elementary School (primary) levels have Counseling Guidance teachers or school counselors. In the background of the research, Goodman-Scott, Brown, Berger, and Blalock (2022) found that according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2020) the ratio of school counselors to students for elementary school counselors is around 1:800, while the ratio for middle school counselors is about 1:225. This shows a significant difference between school counselors available at primary versus secondary levels, including in Indonesia showing a high gap.…”

Driving Forces in Elementary School Counseling Advocacy: A Phenomenological Investigation of Advocates’ Experiences

“…Qualitative data sets can be extensive and therefore often warrant multiple publications (Hunt, 2011). This article describes a subset from an overarching qualitative study, in addition to the results reported by Goodman-Scott and colleagues (in press). While the first article described the elementary school counseling advocacy process and driving forces, this second article reports the results of how school counselors and related stakeholders successfully advocated for elementary school counseling positions and roles.…”