Dollarhide and Saginak (2012) did a nice job of outlining what a comprehensive school counseling program looks like from an elementary, middle, and secondary level. It was interesting to see how all of the programs are similar; yet so different. I found the information listed by the three separate schools to be informative; especially since these schools are RAMP certified. When I first came into the program I was a little nervous because I was under the impression that we needed to choose either a primary or secondary certification. I was glad to see that we are allowed to choose both and pursue a dual certification through practicum. I was also almost positive when entering the program that I wanted to pursue a primary certification only. However, after learning about the different domains and which activities and services that counselors focus on at each level; I think I am not leaning more towards secondary. I had the opportunity to shadow a high school counselor and I could see a lot of similarities between her daily roles and what Dollarhide and Saginak (2012) describe as to what secondary counselors focus on. For example; “the developmental issues of young people in secondary schools involve the search for identity, independence, self-definition, meaningful relationships, and ways to make a unique contribution to the world” (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012, p. 210). Through shadowing; I would say that I definitely observed the counselor making these kinds of contributions to all of her individual counseling sessions. It was neat because she was able to tie these concepts into helping her students with academic, career development, and postsecondary plans; which is what Dollarhide and Saginak (2012) describe as a crucial role of secondary counselors (p. 210). For example; she met with one student who needed help with scheduling classes for the next semester. The meeting then turned into discussing personal/social needs, and ended with the counselor and student collaborating on short-term goals to help the student. It was like a complete package deal. After the student left her office; she explained to me that these types of meetings happen a lot and it works for her because she provides services to students which address all three domains of the ASCA National Model. Overall, I could see similarities between the three different developmental levels. There was a recurring themes of collaboration, coordination, and consultation on all three levels. Although the specifics change; the ASCA National Model surely fits into the elementary, middle, and secondary levels.
I will admit that like some of my classmates; I was nervous when beginning to read Rayle’s (2006) article on counselors and mattering. We often discuss in our classes about counselor burnout, managing job related stress, and resistance from teachers, administrators, and other key stakeholders. It was interesting to see these job related issues being correlated with counselor’s perceptions of mattering to others. I feel that this concept circles back to the idea that many stakeholders within schools do not truly know the real roles of school counselors. Yes, everyone wants to matter to the people they work with; but with the lack of knowledge about school counselor’s roles it is easy to see how they kind of get lost in the mix and the vision of school counselor’s just sitting in their offices all day long remains. I also found it interesting that high school counselors thought they mattered least and reported higher levels of job related stress (Rayle, 2006, p. 212 ) Is this because there is a higher focus on career exploration for students as they move to postsecondary education or employment? Or is it due to the fact that they are being asked to perform more duties that are out of their scope of school counseling? It would be interesting to see more research on why high school counselors are feeling more stressed than other levels. Overall, I feel that if a school counselors role was more defined within the school setting; stakeholders might start realizing that importance of these roles and in turn; counselors might feel a higher level of job satisfaction and mattering, with lower levels of job related stress.
Dollarhide, C. T., & Saginak, K. A. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs. (2nd ed.). New York: Pearson, Inc.
Rayle, A. D. (2006). Do school counselors matter? mattering as a moderator between job stress and job satisfaction. Professional School Counseling, 9(3), 206-215.
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