After reading Dahir, Burnham, and Stone’s (2009) article; the ideas of professional development for school counselors remains to be a topic of interest for me. I found it slightly disheartening to read that there are many professional development opportunities for teachers and other stakeholders; yet there still seems to be a lack of these opportunities for school counselors. Currently working in a school; there is always a need for professional development no matter what position it pertains to; teachers, principals, support staff, and other personnel. Im my opinion; professional development is one way to bring new creative and innovative knowledge and ideas into schools. These ideas can then be passed out to other school personnel in attempt to better the school environment and bring about systemic change. I can personally say that every opportunity for professional development I have been given in my current job has allowed me to spark many conversations with teachers and key stakeholders about new ideas to try with our students; especially pertaining to special education. It does not make sense to me that there is a lack of these development opportunities for school counselors. If school counselors are expected to be leaders, advocates, and agents for social change; then it is imperative that they are given these opportunities. Professional development would be a great avenue for counselors to being back knowledge gained to their schools and teach other staff about new ideas and concepts. I feel that this would help a counselor in defining their roles within a school and to become the leader that everyone expects them to be. Counselors could also use these skills to create a more comprehensive school counseling program that is aligned with ASCA National Model and meets the needs of every student across academic, career, and personal/social domains.
Another area of the article that I found interesting was the discussion of the Transforming School Counseling Initiative. Dahir, Burnham, and Stone (2009) state that the original mission of this initiative was to provide better preparation for school counseling graduate students; however, “TSCI also has focused on the role that school counselors can play in increasing educational opportunities for all students while emphasizing advocacy, leadership, and contributions to the academic success of students” (p. 183). I feel that these two statements go hand in hand. If graduate students are better trained while in school; they will be able to create more comprehensive programs that emphasize advocacy, leadership, and better opportunities for students. I feel extremely fortunate that I am receiving my preservice education and training at Millersville University. Two out of the three counselors I interviewed went through the program at Millersville. I was happy to see that they had a strong foundation of knowledge regarding the ASCA National Model. It is just unfortunate that they are facing barriers to implementation due to time and lack of administrative support. This circles back to the ideas of collaboration and professional development. Counselors need to be given more of an opportunity to attend professional development trainings to learn how to align their programs with the ASCA National Model. If this was done; they could then collaborate with teachers, administrators, and other key stakeholders to have everyone on the same page to implement a more effective school counseling program. Overall, I feel that I have learned a great deal about comprehensive school counseling programs and the ASCA National Model through this course. I am looking forward to utilizing this knowledge as a future school counselor.
Dahir, C. A., Burnham, J. J., & Stone, C. (2009). Listen to the voices: School counselors and comprehensive school counseling programs. Professional School Counseling, 12(3), 182-192.
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