School Counselor Roles and Preparation

Abstract

Responding to the lack of clarity related to the defined role of the school counselor, the authors investigated school principals (n = 538), in a rural Midwest state, and their perceptions of the role of the school counselor. The survey utilized was developed based on professional standards of service delivery for professional school counselors as identified by the American School Counselor Association and a listing of identified appropriate and inappropriate school counselor tasks. Results indicate that school principals see responsive service provision as an essential task of the school counselor. School principals also perceive a number of ASCA identified inappropriate tasks as being important. Recommendations are made to further enhance school principals' understanding of the appropriate role of the school counselor.