The Experiences of School Counselors as Antibullying Specialists: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

To learn about school counselors’ experiences in being assigned as their school’s antibullying specialist (ABS), per state legislation, we interviewed six school counselors and analyzed their responses using interpretative phenomenological design. The participants’ responses reflected three overarching themes describing their ABS experience: negotiating different bullying definitions, the “dumping ground” position, and inherent with role conflicts. We present implications for school counseling practice and recommendations for school counseling research.

The Role of School Connectedness in Mitigating the Impact of Victimization on Life Satisfaction

“…Over the past decades, school counselors have increased efforts to prevent bullying as part of comprehensive school counseling programs (Goodman-Scott et al, 2013; Young et al, 2009). Nevertheless, bullying in schools is still pervasive and serious (Hannon et al, 2019), with national statistics indicating that approximately one out of five students experiences peer victimization (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2016). Students in historically marginalized groups, such as immigrants, students with special needs, and LGBTQ students, are reported to be even more vulnerable to peer victimization (Griese & Buhs, 2014).…”

Prevention of Sex-Based Harassment in K–12 Schools

“…Since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, all 50 states have passed antibullying legislation (Stopbullying.gov, 2018). As a result, school counselors have often been given responsibility for their school’s bullying prevention programming (Hannon et al, 2019). The same hasn’t occurred with sex-based harassment despite the legal dictates of Title IX (2020) and, more importantly, the negative impact that such harassment has on individual students and the school environment (Chiodo et al, 2009; Norcott et al, 2019; Reed et al, 2019).…”