Bullying is a major challenge faced by students and stakeholders in the education system. Governments and educators have implemented various initiatives and strategies to address bullying. Rising cases of bullying have raised scrutiny over the role of school counselors. This research investigated school counselors' perceived self-efficacy in…

LGBTQ+ youth make up a significant portion of the United States student population (Conron, 2020). A sense of belonging for middle school students is an essential indicator for academic achievement and positive motivational and health outcomes (Kosciw et al., 2020; Steiner et al., 2019), yet LGBTQ+ students experience less belonging than their…

The objective of the qualitative study was to investigate the perceived competency of school counselors in working with at-risk students who engage in self-injury, and their use of professional standards to effectively navigate their intervention. Self-injury (SI) is a behavioral concern defined as the intentional injuring of body tissue without…

A school counselor's education and training are often inconsistent with the job duties assigned by the school. These discrepancies from perceived appropriate job duties can lead to uncertainty and negatively impact the school counselor's sense of self-worth. This study explored the research question: "What are the experiences of school…

This study examined the perceptions of elementary, middle, and high school counselors and principals regarding school counselor job duties and their impact on the school counselor-principal relationship. Previous research has highlighted disparities in viewpoints between school counselors and principals, leading to variations in job duties and…

The purpose of this mixed model study was to examine middle school teachers and counselors' perceptions and beliefs about the benefits of social and emotional learning in middle school. It also looked at how middle school teachers and counselors perceived their level of competence when it comes to social emotional learning practices. Efforts to…

Increasing suicide rates among our nation's youth show an alarming trend among girls. Since 2007, the suicide rate for girls (ages 10-14) rose 12.7% per year, compared to 7.1% for boys in the same age group. For adolescents (ages 15-19), the annual suicide rate increased by 7.9% for girls and 3.5% for boys (Ruch et al., 2019). School counselors…

This quantitative study utilized a causal-comparative design to explore if there was a predictive relationship between school counselors' supervision satisfaction and program implementation. The sample (N=77) included school counselors from the United States who are licensed/certified, currently employed full-time in a public-school setting, have…

This qualitative study delved into how educators, administrators, and counselors at a North Texas middle school perceived the impact of a school anti-bullying initiative on student behavior and school climate, guided by Bronfenbrenner's socioecological theory. Two main questions were explored: How do these educators, administrators, and counselors…

It should be noted that about a year after this researcher began work on this dissertation, he became seriously ill, greatly interfering with his ability to function. In 2019 he was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a terminal lung disease. As his physical condition continued to worsen, work on the dissertation came to practically a…

Objective: Previous studies suggest hope may protect against stress and burnout. Hope has also been associated with higher levels of job satisfaction for individuals across professions. However, no research has yet explored the relationships among school counselors' hope, stress, and job satisfaction. Method: We conducted a hierarchical regression…

The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of middle school principals or Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program designees on the implementation practices of SEL programs at their school sites. Adolescents in grades sixth through eighth experience diverse changes that are physical, social, and emotional in nature given their…

Adolescents are in a dynamic period of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development. School-based interventions that focus on social-emotional learning, including the development of self-regulation skills, have been shown to have positive impacts on students' mental health and academic achievement. In this qualitative study, we examine health…

Adolescents are in a dynamic period of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development. School-based interventions that focus on social-emotional learning, including the development of self-regulation skills, have been shown to have positive impacts on students' mental health and academic achievement. In this qualitative study, we examine health…

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events occurring in the household or community that hold painful or distressing outcomes for children immediately and in their future (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). School counselors work with children and young adolescents suffering from negative mental health…