With significant challenges in rural schools such as limited mental health resources, poverty, high visibility, and physical isolation, rural school counselors face a set of unique experiences and challenges. We present an ecological framework to conceptualize the roles, responsibilities, and challenges of rural school counselors and provide…

Feelings of empowerment among students are crucial prerequisites to their participation in change agency in both educational and non-educational settings. Educators notice a compelling correlation between student empowerment and academic achievement and other positive outcomes in K-12 educational environments. School counselors are optimally…

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…

Only a few researchers have used qualitative methods to explore Latinx students' experiences and testimonials with their high school counselors. These studies, conducted more than 10 years ago, found that Latinx students reported negative experiences with high school counselors, such as low academic expectations and lack of availability. In the…

Over the past two decades, state policy pertaining to school counselors has grown to the point that most states now require the delivery of counseling services. Some states mandate the presence of a school counselor in each school, and several specify required student-to-school counselor ratios. In 2019, New York State instituted regulations…

School counselors support the academic, career, and social/emotional development of all students in their care, and one important method of delivery of a comprehensive school counseling program is the use of classroom instruction. In this exploratory, sequential mixed-methods study, we examined participant responses from nine focus groups…

Comic book characters (CBCs) provide an escapism from reality while still confronting real issues. However, for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) there is a lack of characters that look, talk, and think like them. Black Panther is an example of a character more inclusive of BIPOC populations, especially Black males. What…

Across the United States, the number of children with mental health conditions has continued to rise. However, access and utilization of mental health services vary greatly. School-based mental health complements comprehensive school counseling and provides an opportunity for K-12 students to receive needed treatment they may not otherwise have…

This phenomenological study aimed to explore the self-care practices of Black female secondary school counselors serving in public school districts in central Indiana. Eight participants were recruited through purposive sampling and participated in semistructured interviews. Findings indicate that participants engage in various self-care practices…

School counselors provide comprehensive school counseling services related to prevention of school violence, but a critical step is to put those pieces together in an intentional and preventive evidence-based model. Several nationally recognized safe school initiatives neglect the significant role school counselors provide in mental health…

Background: The role of school counselors has undergone a considerable evolution in response to societal, economic, and cultural shifts, with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic standing as a particularly significant period of change. With students reentering formal school environments after prolonged isolation, disruptions in learning, and…

This study surveyed 225 school counselors to investigate the college and career readiness (CCR) supports they provide, with a focus on whether these supports vary based on students' disability status. The results reveal that school counselors deliver CCR supports related to resource coordination, life-readiness instruction, and career assessment…

This study examined the associations among experiencing bias-based bullying on multiple social identities, fear, and school avoidance. The sample included 1177 adolescents who experienced bullying in a nationally representative dataset. Results indicated that 42% of students who were bullied reported that this was due to biases. We found a…

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…

The study explored the experiences of rural school counselors broaching conversations on race with students. We used a critical research framework with a phenomenological approach to understand the experiences of nine rural school counselors. Our findings relate to the factors that impacted school counselors' broaching behaviors with students. We…