Anti-LGBTQ+ school legislation has proliferated across the United States in recent years, with potential consequences for both students and school counselors. Florida's controversial 2022 Parental Rights in Education Act offers one such example. In this descriptive, phenomenological, qualitative study, we examined the experiences of 10 Florida…

This study utilized a qualitative narrative inquiry to explore the experiences of eight elementary school counselors who successfully applied for and received Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) designation for their schools. Participants provided insight into motivations, resources, and other considerations that contributed to their success in…

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…

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…

When and how often school counselors teach lessons varies; sometimes they go into classrooms in collaboration with teacher requests, and other times they have a set schedule rotation in conjunction with nonacademic classes like art, music, or physical education--often referred to as a related arts rotation. In this phenomenological study, we…

Although the literature contains many recommendations for professional advocacy for school counseling, there is a dearth of research providing clear and contemporary evidence of effective strategies for advocating for elementary school counseling. In response to this gap in the literature, we conducted a phenomenological qualitative study of 13…

Systemic inequity in education compels school counselors to widen their scope of advocacy beyond their local school environment. Fortunately, the tools of evidence-based, data-driven school counseling can be scaled up to influence change in larger systems. We present an advocacy project undertaken by an elementary school counselor who was alarmed…

Principals have power to delegate job responsibilities to school counselors, and this may impact principal-school counselor relationship quality. In a study grounded in leader-member exchange theory, we surveyed 167 school counselors about the relationship between their job roles, gender, and years of experience and the quality of their…

This article discusses school counselors' multifaceted role as educator-counselor-leader-collaborator, inextricably linked roles so necessary to build strengths-based school-family-community partnerships. We examined the effects of one such partnership on 20 elementary school students, using photo elicitation and interviews to explore students'…

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused myriad issues for early elementary students and their families. Those early in their educational careers, particularly pre-K-2 students, are especially vulnerable developmentally to abrupt disruptions. School counselors, in turn, are being called upon to respond to crises and provide trauma-informed care for these…

Researchers analyzed data collected from elementary school students (N = 893) to further establish the psychometric soundness of the My Class Inventory--Short Form Revised (MCI-SFR). A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted resulting in a good fit for a four-factor model, which corresponds to the instrument's four scales (Cohesion,…

This study examined the extent to which 99 school counselors delivered information to stakeholders about their profession and work via various channels. Results showed that information was mainly delivered via routine encounters within the school while the use of a pre-arranged manner and electronic media were less frequent. School counselors'…

School counselors are tasked with contributing to a safe and preventative school climate serving students' academic, career, and social/emotional needs through comprehensive school counseling program implementation. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) prioritizes a positive school climate, is widely implemented in the United…

This phenomenological, qualitative study examined a national sample of academically resilient, low-income middle school students' (N = 24) perspectives of what school counselors can do to promote their academic achievement. Three main themes and nine subthemes were identified: build meaningful relationships, build on the cultural wealth of…

This study describes the benefits of systematic universal screening (US) for school counselors engaged in the creation of effective, multi-tiered systems of support that address academic, social, emotional, and behavioral student concerns. The authors used an action research framework to present a case example of one school district's pilot of US…