Inclusion of Theory for Evidence-Based School Counseling Practice and Scholarship

Abstract

Evidence-based school counseling requires that practitioners and scholars utilize formal counseling theory. Theories that inform school counseling must cohere with the unique needs of students and school environments. Therefore, we propose that school counseling theories must include the following constituents: (a) qualities of students and school environments, (b) empirical and professional endorsements, (c) school counseling customs, and (c) methodological relevance. We describe the utility of these constituents through example using a school counseling–specific theory, the Advocating Student-within-Environment approach.

Educator–Counselor: A Nondual Identity for School Counselors

“…The implications of this position are profound, including how counselors intervene with students and ally with stakeholders. Other implications not specifically addressed in this special issue include what theories pertain to school counselors (see Lemberger-Truelove et al, 2020) and how to pursue evidence-based practice or scholarship in schools (Bowers & Lemberger, 2016). We further assert that an educator–counselor identity will reduce some of the unfortunate ambiguities experienced by school counselors, especially when they embody a more cohesive and unified posture.…”

Growth in Middle School Students’ Curiosity, Executive Functioning, and Academic Achievement: Results From a Theory-Informed SEL and MBI School Counseling Intervention

“…Professionals often adopt theories of practice to ensure that the intended services are delivered in a consistent and helpful manner. For many school counselors, the theories discussed in training programs were not specifically tailored for school environments, the nature of children and adolescents as students in schools, or the roles and responsibilities of school counselors in particular (Dollarhide & Lemberger-Truelove, 2019;Lemberger-Truelove et al, 2020). As such, such generic approaches to practice are unlikely to contribute thoroughly to the unique and manifold demands of working as a school counselor or the needs of students and school environments.…”

Embracing School Counselors’ Situatedness: Data-Based Decision Making as Fulfillment of a Complex Identity

“…Lemberger-Truelove and colleagues (2020) argued persuasively that school counselors lacking a theoretical system in which to apply evidence-based school counseling may invest in a proprietary curriculum without considering the theoretical assumptions implicit to the intervention and with little consideration of the relevance to their unique school environment or the needs of their students. As mentioned above, this would be skipping the informative journey inherent in the initial step of evidence-based school counseling, unfortunately, perhaps in an effort to merely satisfy educational stakeholders or, worse, to satisfy personal preferences for school counseling practices.…”

“…As mentioned above, this would be skipping the informative journey inherent in the initial step of evidence-based school counseling, unfortunately, perhaps in an effort to merely satisfy educational stakeholders or, worse, to satisfy personal preferences for school counseling practices. In response, we propose the use of the ASE approach to guide evidence-based school counseling practices (Lemberger-Truelove et al, 2020).…”