This is an exploratory study that makes use of survey research methods and a convenience sample (N = 222) to examine how urban school social workers' perceived knowledge of neighborhood and community risk and protective factors affect their levels of self-reported effectiveness in practice tasks. Using hierarchical multiple regression, the…

School dropout is a problem that has distressing personal and societal consequences. Not surprising, students who drop out are typically not academically motivated. This phenomenological study examined the meanings that students construct about academic motivation while participating in a dropout prevention program that primarily uses counseling.…

The purpose of this researcher-school collaborative study was to examine factors which might be intervenable by urban high school counselors in assisting at-risk students. There were two primary objectives. The first was to examine the degree to which urban adolescents' academic competence predicts cumulative grade point average (GPA). The second…

The purpose of this article is to provide middle level educators with an orientation to the theoretical constructs and tenets of Choice Theory (Glasser, 1998) as both a preventive and remedial framework for supporting the development of students exhibiting school disciplinary behavioral problems. The following three topics are addressed: (1)…

With the current emphasis on accountability in kindergarten through twelfth-grade education, greater demands have been placed on school social workers. In fact, many federal, state, and school officials are demanding the use of evaluative outcome research that demonstrates the potential impact of supportive services. The present study examined the…

A descriptive study was implemented to determine how urban school counselors adhere to the Gysbers and Henderson (2000) and Myrick (1993) models of school counseling programs. One hundred and two counselors in six urban centers (New York; Newark, NJ; Philadelphia; Washington, DC; Trenton, NJ," and Baltimore) completed the Urban School…

This study was designed to start a data base on black mental health practitioners working with black clients. The sample group consisted of 177 (57 men, 120 women) black school counselors and 36 (5 men, 31 women) psychologists in seven predominantly black, urban public schools. The information gathered covered the following areas: (1) demographics…

The authors examined the relationship between collective self-esteem (i.e., the extent to which school counselors possess favorable perceptions of their professional or social group) and professional burnout in a sample of 533 school counselors. They also explored whether there were significant differences in professional burnout in school…

The changing demographics of students in public schools have been a catalyst for reexamining the role of school counselors in the 21st century. Many writers have acknowledged that in order to effectively attend to the needs of students of color, school counselors need to be culturally competent and culturally responsive (e.g., Evans & Carter,…

The realities and needs of urban students, families, and educators have outgrown traditional individual counseling models. The American School Counselor Association's National Model and National Standards and the Education Trust's Transforming School Counseling Initiative encourage professional school counselors to shift roles toward implementing…

This article focuses on systemic conceptualizations that attempt to explicate why academic achievement may be challenging for some urban African American high school students. In addition, the author delineates the important roles that high school counselors can play in ensuring urban African American high school students' academic success.

Counseling skills can be taught to high school students who enter inner-city peer counselor training programs with few of the interpersonal communication skills that are essential to effective counseling, by using an incremental approach that includes intensive practice. The following skills can be introduced and demonstrated incrementally by the…

To address the problem of fighting in four urban middle schools, school and family counselors collaborated to provide school-based multifamily counseling as an alternative to the mandatory 3-day external suspension program. Supported by district leaders and local school principals, the program was successful in reducing fighting recidivism rates.…

Schools in the 21st century are facing a multitude of complex and multifactored problems (Paisley & McMahon, 2001), including poverty, violence, and poor academic achievement. The intensity of students' needs has led some to question whether school counseling programs are actually comprehensively meeting the needs of all students (Green & Keys,…

This article explores the nature of professional school counseling in urban settings. An overview of key characteristics of the urban environment and urban schools first provides context for the role of the professional school counselor in such a setting. Second, specific challenges facing urban school counselors are considered. Third, a set of…