Introduction
Today, school counseling has evolved as a viable profession manifesting national standards, a national identity, and a national mission to provide more accountability of programs and services for meeting the changing needs of youth, schools, families, and communities (Thompson, 2001; Sink, Eppler, & Cher, 2011 ). In the current age, the school counselor has emerged, and for the first time, there are National Standards for School Counseling Programs. Their intent is to (a) help school systems identify what students will know and be able to do as a result of participating in a school counseling program; (b) establish similar goals, expectations, support systems, and experiences for all students; (c) serve as an organizational tool to identify and prioritize the elements of an effective school counseling program; and (d) provide an opportunity to discuss the role of counseling programs in school to enhance student learning (Peterson & Deal, 2002)
Points that shaped the profession
The post-world war II years dramatically affected guidance and counseling in schools (Inc, 2007). New psychological theories and techniques evolved with the predominant advancement of psychodynamic methodologies of therapy. The influence of Carl Rodgers and his counseling orientation of person-centered therapy led counselors to consider counseling as their primary function (Holcomb-McCoy, 2007). The particular emphasis in school counseling was termed the therapeutic role.
The Case Study
This case presents a situation whereby students in a school in Kentucky have been performing dismally. Furthermore, it highlights a situation whereby the teachers and the education administrators are discouraged by the prevailing circumstances. Due to this, there is a need to establish intervention strategies in order to mitigate the negative perspectives which have been created within the institution. Some of the steps to be followed are outlined below.
Step One
This step involves identifying the prevailing problem. There are several issues which are arising from this case that need urgent attention. First, there is the issue off low morale among the teachers and the students. This has led to inconsistent school attendance. In addition, the school is located in an area that is characterized by low socioeconomic status.
Step Two
This step entails gathering information about the school situation. The information was to be gathered by interviews and looking at the archives. According to the records within the school, this problem started to manifest itself approximately five years ago when there was a change in the school principal who brought about changes in the school policy. Due to the fact that the school is located in a low-income area, the school depended on grants from the government.
Step Three
This involves identifying the stakeholders within and without the institution that can play a role in revamping the school. In this case, the stakeholders include the teachers, the students, the community, the funding organization, and the local government. The role of the teachers and the administration is to put in place the right framework in terms of policy with regard to running the school. The parents are supposed to inform the administration of the challenges that affect them as well as address some of the challenges that the students might be facing right from home. The students need to also take part in adhering to the processes and ongoings within the school. The government should step in to address some of the challenges that they might not be in a position of addressing. Lastly, the community should also step up efforts that should be aimed at guarding the school against declining.
Step Four
The advocacy problem of the school has been based on the fact that there has been little, which has been done in order to let the stakeholders know exactly what has been happening. Some of the previous measures included seeking audience with the local authorities to attempt to let the problems be known. Secondly, the administration convened meeting with the parents to try and understand the scope of the problem. However, the problems were never addressed as expected due to a lack of commitment from all the parties.
Step Five
The intervention plan will include establishing meetings with the stakeholders in order to give them an opportunity to air out their issues or the fears that they hold. This will be followed by establishing links with the local authorities in light of the fact that much needs to be done within a given span of time. During this time, the researcher shall be able to work out a plan of action that shall be followed towards addressing the problems which are facing the school.
Step Six and Seven
The goals to be followed include, opening networks of communication among the school stakeholders, ensuring that the stated parties are able to appreciate the progress and the challenges which lay ahead, to work in conjunction with the students in order to ensure that the proper strategies are realized. Lastly, the goals to achieve will be arrived at in partnership with the local committee, which shall be established to oversee the implementation of the project. There were circumstances that contributed to this problem. Some of them included a lack of commitment among some of the stakeholders. This slowed down the process of establishing the intervention. The location of the school hindered communication with the local authorities.
Currently, a lack of commitment from the parents is a major barrier that is facing the school progress. Secondly, the lack of commitment from the community to address the prevailing challenges has also posed a major challenge in this area. These hindrances are complex.
References
Holcomb-McCoy, C. (2007). School counseling to close the achievement gap: a social justice framework for success. New York: Corwin Press.
Inc, J.-B. (2007). The Jossey-Bass reader on educational leadership. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Peterson, K. D., & Deal, T. E. (2002). The shaping school culture fieldbook. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Sink, C. A., Eppler, C., & Cher, E. (2011 ). School Based Group Counseling. California: Cengage Learning.
Thompson, R. ( 2001). School counseling:best practices for working in the schools. New York: Psychology Press.