A national study conducted with the members of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) database examined school counselors' utilization of online technologies. The researchers also explored beliefs and practices and examined mitigating factors such as school counselors' background, training, and experience. Training impacted…

Despite recognition of accountability for school counselors, no clear set of interrelated performance measures exists to guide school counselors in collecting and evaluating data that relates to student academic success. This article outlines four critical domains of accountability for school counselors (i.e., grades, attendance, disciplinary…

Supporting interethnic and interracial friendships in schools among children and adolescents is an important part of a progressive educational agenda informed in equity, social justice frameworks, and critical multicultural education that leads to a reduction in racial prejudice. Positive intergroup contact is a necessary condition in prejudice…

This phenomenological study explored the experiences of rural school counselors as social justice advocates. The first author interviewed seven participants in their respective communities and identified five themes, including both positive and negative elements: the stability of place, community promise, mutual reliance, professional and personal…

School counselors from across the United States responded to a survey asking when they should break confidentiality and report student risk-taking behaviors to school administrators. Generally, counselors believed it to be more ethical to break confidentiality when the behaviors were directly observed (as opposed to reported by students) and when…

The authors conducted a content analysis of the articles published in the first 10 volumes of the "Professional School Counseling" (PSC) journal, beginning in October 1997 when "The School Counselor" merged with "Elementary School Counseling and Guidance". The analysis coded a total of 571 articles into 20 content categories. Findings address the…

The study in this article examined the relationship of school counselors' reports of demands and resources in their work environment to perceived stress, biographic factors, and caseload characteristics. Participants were 227 school counselors in Texas. Paperwork requirements and size of caseload were rated the most demanding aspects of their job,…

This article reports the results of a national study of American School Counselor Association members (N = 860). Information includes level of school counselor self-efficacy, type of program, status of achievement gap, and equity in their schools. School counselors with higher self-efficacy were more aware of achievement gap data, and school…

This article examined school counselor dispositions (e.g., general self-efficacy, counselor self-efficacy, openness to change, commitment to counseling improvement/professional development) that predict data usage among K-12 professional school counselors. For the study, 130 professional school counselors from Maryland and Virginia completed the…

The statewide Utah Model for Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance: K-12 Programs (Utah State Office of Education, 2008) began implementation in 1988. Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, data collection has been required for all schools collecting program funds. This article reviews research data from three Utah schools--one elementary…

Leadership requires long-term commitment and a long-range vision of the future. As school counselors are called on to provide leadership, it becomes important to understand the temporal context of school counseling leadership. To accomplish this, a year-long qualitative study was designed in which the authors interviewed five new counselors who…

School counselors acknowledge the need for supervision but rarely receive it. This article describes the counselor performance improvement system in one school district. Supervision is embedded in a process that assesses counselors' levels of professionalism on a matrix of competence and commitment. Administrative and clinical supervisors…

Mattering to others involves individuals' perceptions that they are important and are valued by other people in interpersonal relationships and within systems. Mattering is a foundational concept that can inform the implementation of comprehensive, K-12 Strengths-Based School Counseling (SBSC; Galassi & Akos, 2007) programs and can allow…

This article provides a contemporary view of assisting the large and growing Latino student population in K-12 schools, particularly as it relates to current demographic shifts, school reform, and the ASCA National Model [R]. The article highlights concerns for Latino students and families, culturally appropriate school counseling strategies for…

The recent endorsement of the advocacy competencies by the American Counseling Association signals their relevance to the school counseling profession. This article outlines the importance of being a social change agent, the value of advocacy in K-12 schools, and how school counselors can use the advocacy competencies as a framework for promoting…