Running

head: ADVOCACY IN SCHOOL COUNSELORS ROLES 1

School Counselors Role in Advocating for All Students Needs

Lauren Brand

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Abstract

School Counselors roles have changed drastically in the past few decades and their presence in

schools has become of the utmost importance to the success of all students. School Counselors

have demanding, high caseloads. Therefore, they are forced to prioritize in order to meet as many

students needs as possible. In order to help reach as many students and be an integral part of the

school environment and education field, school counselors have an important role to be an

advocate. The following paper uses empirical research to show how being an advocate for

students needs gives the counselor the means to reach diverse populations of students, help

students succeed in their education, and stand up for the school counseling profession. School

counselors who advocate set a positive example for the students to become self-advocates and

create positive educational changes.

Keywords: advocacy, self-advocacy, school counselor, diverse populations

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School Counselors Role in Advocating for All Students Needs

The job of a school counselor is ever changing and evolving into a more complex, intense

role in the school environment. Since it is a growing field of great importance, it is essential that

there is considerable attention and research on the role of school counselors, as well as the effect

it has on the school culture and students. In order to create a safe environment for children to

grow and succeed, counselors have a duty to advocate on behalf of students and the school

system. An advocate is defined as a person who takes extra steps to respond to students needs

while keeping a student-centered approach and exhibiting behaviors such as taking a stand

(Field & Baker, 2004). Without an advocate, students will struggle to find adequate resources

and equitable support in order to thrive on their own. Therefore, advocacy plays an integral role

in a comprehensive school counseling program.

Advocacy itself takes on many different views, but the goal is always to be a strong voice

for the students needs. For example, school counselors advocate by consulting and collaborating

with other colleagues, administration, and professionals and by helping schools avoid stereotypes

and take a stand to promote bully-free, culturally competent, and safe school environments.

Perhaps most importantly, school counselors advocate for the rights of students to have their

needs met and have equitable access to an education (Schmidt, 1999).

By no means does advocacy cover the entire scope of roles a school counselor is

expected to perform on a daily basis. First and foremost, school counselors are placed in schools

to counsel students. However, advocacy encompasses many of the other expectations of school

counselors, such as standing up for students needs and ensuring students have the skills to stand

up for themselves (Clemens, 2011). It is vital to create a safe, nurturing environment to empower

students and counsel them. Therefore, advocating is a way to touch all aspects of the school as
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well as provide a proactive way to build a comprehensive school program (Dixon, Tucker, &

Clark, 2010).

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) provides a framework for a

comprehensive school counseling program, and one of the main themes is advocacy. According

to ASCA (2012), school counselors must advocate for equitable programs to assist in closing

achievement, opportunity, and attainment gaps, as well as guarantee students access to

demanding curriculum and high expectations. Advocacy is the basis of a comprehensive school

program and can help jumpstart the journey to student success and achievement.

School counselors are in a position to be a strong advocate for equity and support of all

students (Parikh, Post, & Flowers, 2011). The students are a school counselors first priority in

all situations, and therefore, advocacy is at the foundation of a school counselors persona. In

order to keep the best interests of the students, the first step is to advocate for each student,

followed by leadership, collaboration, and systemic change. School counselors are able to start

from the bottom, and by advocating for small changes, school counselors are able to address

issues and lead the school towards progressive systemic change.

It is not only important that school counselors advocate, but also that they teach the

students to advocate for themselves. By setting an example, students will learn the importance of

advocating for themselves and others. Gasparini (2014) stated the importance of self-advocacy

and help-seeking strategies on elementary students academic successes; he found that a number

of factors contributed to elementary students ability to self-advocate, such as classroom

environment, teacher trust, autonomy, and peer comparison. The factors are all barriers that a

school counselor is trained to assist in eliminating. Promoting self-advocacy skills and

eliminating barriers could improve the climate of the school. There are many facets to the
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advocating position that school counselors must not only be aware of in order to achieve

systematic change and improvement, but also understand the importance of each of these and

their contribution to a schools atmosphere.

Advocate for Diversity and Achievement/Opportunity Gaps

As a professional duty, school counselors are supposed to be leaders in promoting

diversity and closing the gap in achievement and opportunity amongst students (Dixon et al.,

2010). School counselors are responsible for the use and interpretation of student outcome data,

and they are in charge of prioritizing the needs of the students. Unfortunately, gaps in

achievement, access, and opportunity are mostly found with disadvantaged ethnic minorities

(Lee, 2012). Therefore, it is crucial for school counselors to advocate for the disadvantaged

populations in attempt to close the gaps in education.

By advocating for the value of diversity, school counselors acknowledge the cultural

makeup of a school and therefore keep all students best interests in mind. Advocacy can

increase educator, parental, community, and student involvement by creating an equitable

environment in which students can thrive, which is consistently a goal of the education system

(Stephens & Lindsey, 2011). Research has shown that advocating for community involvement

(particularly parent involvement) can increase resources, opportunity, and access to strategies to

minimize achievement gaps, as well as foster academic achievement in multiple populations,

such as African American, Latino, and low-income (Bower & Griffin, 2011).

Advocating for students promotes access and equity in the school environment (Dixon et

al., 2010). For example, it is important to advocate for access and equity because Lee (2012)

found that math scores were 27 percent and 22 percent lower for African American and Hispanic

students respectively, who did not have access to qualified teachers or adequate funds like their
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Caucasian counterparts in different schools around the United States. Students who were

considered poor in Lees study performed 27 percent lower in Math achievement than their non-

poor counterparts. Another example is Davis, Davis, and Mobley (2013) advocated and

collaborated together for the participation of African American students in the Advanced

Placement (AP) Psychology course, as African American students are underrepresented in the

AP classes. Davis et al. (2013) aimed to create an achievement-minded cohort amongst the

African American students. Multiple researchers have found that AP courses are directly

correlated with higher college grade point averages and higher four-year college graduation rates

(Dougherty, Mellor, & Jian, 2006). Further, high school students who are African American,

Latino, or low-income students are three times more likely to receive a bachelors degree if they

try an AP course (Adelman, 2006). Advocating and encouraging the presence of ethnic minority

students in AP courses can foster academic success and achievement. It can also help decrease

the achievement gaps and cultivate justice and equity. (Bemak & Chung, 2005).

Promoting Students to be Self-Advocates

Laws, education, and resources have improved drastically over time for students with

challenges, including, but not limited to learning disabilities, emotional and behavior problems,

and special needs. While the changes have been positive and crucial, this population as a whole

is still in direct need of more advocates. It is imperative that more people are educated on the

particular needs and accommodations without assigning them labels such as problems or

challenges (Scheuermann & Beverley, 2002). Promoting awareness is necessary when

advocating for this group and the ability for them to receive the necessary tools to be productive.

Without people advocating for children with special needs, it could harm the students education

and ability to participate in school (Scheuermann & Beverley, 2002).

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It is also important to lead as an example and teach students with disabilities to advocate

for themselves. Research has shown teaching students with special needs self-advocacy relates to

higher school retention rate, better post-secondary education, and more success as an adult and in

employment (Roberts, Song & Zhang, 2016). Higher school retention rates, improvement in

post-secondary education, and successful adulthood transitions are continuously goals for school

counselors to help their students with (ASCA, 2012). The research done on disabled children and

being taught self-advocacy skills showcases a need for more research on students and self-

advocacy. It seems that teaching self-advocacy skills could be beneficial to all students to

empower academic success.

Advocate for School Counseling Position and Profession

Since the role of school counselors has changed throughout the decades, role confusion is

a barrier that school counselors face daily. While flexibility is a coveted trait in the profession,

school counselors must advocate for their duties, use of time, and responsibility to the students.

This advocacy can cause friction between administrators and school counselors when the school

counselor is expected to perform outside the professional standards and competencies (Clemens,

Shipp, & Kimbel, 2011). Therefore, it is essential that school counselors advocate for

comprehensive school programs. Comprehensive school problems relate to higher achievement

test scores in early elementary students (Sink & Stroh, 2003).

A school counselor should continuously aspire to advocate for the benefits of

comprehensive school programs. Doing other duties that are inappropriate to the school

counselors caseload could negatively impact the students. Ward (2009) investigated recognized

ASCA model programs (RAMP) and found that RAMP schools had significantly higher

attendance rates, academic achievement, third grade reading achievement, and third grade
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achievement for students considered low socioeconomic status. Furthermore, another study

found that schools with RAMP programs had higher math and reading proficiency (Wilkerson,

Perusse, & Hughes, 2013). It is evident that counselors should advocate for the comprehensive

programs they place in schools because it reflects in student achievement across multiple

domains.

Conclusion

While the research is limited on exactly the school counselors role with advocacy, the

empirical research thus far presents a case that advocacy is important in the school environment.

School counselors should aspire to build programs in which they are advocates for systemic

change, as it is an umbrella term for comprehensive and inclusive of all students. It will provide

no harm for the students to be advocated for and to be taught self-advocacy skills.

Creating a comprehensive school program should start first with advocacy. Without

advocacy, it would be difficult to establish a foundation on which to build to meet all the needs

of students. An advocate is responsive to the students needs, culturally aware, and inclusive. A

counselor who is an advocate sets an example for the students and promotes self-advocacy

among the different populations. Once an advocate, a school counselor can be a leader in the

school environment, a collaborator with professionals, parents, and students, and an agent of

change within the system. By mandating equitable treatment for students and running a

comprehensive school counseling program, a school counselor gives students access to tools that

will provide them with life long skills to improve academic achievement, social interactions, and

behavior despite other barriers that might be affecting their education. School counselors should

aspire to be advocates in the education system and continuously reflect and improve on the

issues at hand. While the school counselors will have many roles throughout their career and the
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roles will change due to the needs of the school and system, advocacy will consistently be the

voice for the students and system.

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