Background of the

School Counseling
Profession

Exercises & Applications

Reflect

on your experience with a

school counselor. Based on this,
describe the role of the school
counselor.
Compare this description to the ASCA
description of a school counselor.
Discuss differences and similarities.

History of School Counseling

The

counseling profession
entered the schoolhouse in the
early 20th century

History
Jesse

B. Davis - introduced
vocational and moral guidance
as a curriculum into an English
course
This was the first systematic
guidance program in public
schools

History
Frank

Parsons - the Father of

Guidance
His work had significant impact on
the vocational guidance movement
1909 - Wrote the book, Choosing a
Vocation, which offered a method
to match a persons personal
characteristics with an occupation

History
The

work of Jesse Davis, Eli Weaver,

and Frank Parsons and a host of
other pioneers created momentum
for the development of a school
counseling profession.
During the 1920s-1940s, many
events occurred that gave clarity and
direction to this emerging profession.

History
World

War I - gave more reason for

testing individuals
The term counselor rarely heard
prior to the depression, was now a
part of the vocabulary of all
educators.
Prior to this time, the term
guidance was used

History
World War II - and its aftermath
created a greater emphasis on
psychological testing that
directly influenced school guidance
World War II - government
requested assistance from
counselors for screening, selecting
military and industrial specialist

History
1930s

- the first theory of

guidance was introduced. E. G.
Williamsons Trait and Factor
theory.
This was known as directive or
counselor-centered

History
1946

- George Barden Act - legislation

that provided funds to develop and
support guidance and counseling
activities in schools and other settings

This

was the first time school

counselors and state and local
supervisors received resources,
leadership and financial support from
the government

History
1957

- Sputnik - first earth

satellite that was launched by
the Soviet Union
Sputnik was the lift-off and
orbit for counseling & guidance
in the US
1958 - Natl Defense Ed. Act

History
Part

of the NDEA focused on:

1. Providing funds to help states
establish and maintain school
counseling, testing, guidance
activities
2. Authorized the establishment of
counseling institutions and training
programs in colleges and universities

History
1953

- ASCA joined APGA

1962 - Wrenns book, The
Counselor in a Changing World
-solidified the goals of school cing
1964 - ASCA develops a role and
function statement for counselors
a

History
1965

- Elem & secondary Ed Act provided funding to improve

educational opportunities of lowincome families
1960-70s - Collaboration with teachers
1974 - PL 14-142
1980-90s - maturation of legislative
efforts, need for clear identify, roles

History
1997

- National Standards for

School Counseling Programs is
published
Late 1990s-00s - Transforming
school counseling

School Guidance
(1900

- 1920) - Occupational
Selection and Placement was
emphasized
(1930 -1960) - School
Adjustment
(1960- present) - Personal
Development

AlCAs Formative Years/History

www.alca.sumternet.com
1957 - Guidance Dept @ St Dept
NDEA = Guidance Institutes
1967 - Joins APGA as AlPGA
1979 - 3rd state in nation to
have licensure for professional
counselors

Defining Guidance & Counseling

What

is guidance?

What

is counseling?

Defining
School

counselors serve 3 populations: students,

parents and teachers.
Counselors deliver these services within the
framework of an organized program
The design of the program is guided by the
overall mission of the school, the desires and
needs of the local community and the expanded
goals of the state
(Schmidt, 1999)

Defining
"School counseling is a relatively young
profession having emerged out of the
vocational guidance movement in the early
1900s. In the decades since then, the
profession has searched for a clear identity and
the role for counselors in schools. Over 50
years ago, counselors struggled with their
direction and purpose in schools, and today
this struggle continues. Because of

Defining
this

uncertainty, school counselors are

sometimes criticized for not fulfilling their
obligations. Exactly what these obligations are
is a basic question all school counselors must
ascertain in developing appropriate goals and
objectives for their programs. Without clear
goals and objectives, a

Defining
counselor's

obligations can easily be

misinterpreted and misunderstood by both the
professional and the people who seek
counseling services."
"Misunderstandings about the counselor's role
are related in some measure to the confusion
between the terms guidance and counseling and
how these terms are used to describe what
school counselors do."

School Counselor Role

Interventions
Individual

and small group

counseling
Group guidance
Consultation with parents, teachers,
others
Program coordination
(Cobia

& Henderson)

ASCA Ethical Standards

Responsibilities
To

students
To parents
To colleagues and professional associates
To the school and community
To self
To the profession
(Cobia & Henderson)

Struggles and Confusion with

Professional Identity
Schmidts

view (1993):
Confusion between the terms
guidance and counseling
Myricks view (1992):
No clear understanding of the
programs and processes involved in
guidance and counseling

Defining Guidance
Imprecise

meaning and usage

Has been flip-flopped with counseling
for over 50 years
Traditionally an umbrella term
Guidance, guidance program,
guidance services, guidance lesson,
guidance personnel, guidance
counselor, guidance lessons, etc..

Guidance
An

umbrella term that includes such

a constellation of services aimed at
personal and career development
and school adjustment
Guidance also describes the overall
school program and implies personal
assistance to students, teachers,
parents and administrators

Defining Counseling
Counseling

has been perceived as a

process in which someone who has a
problem receives personal assistance,
usually through private discussion
Term not used exclusively by school
counselors or other professional
counselors. Who else uses our term?
What is counseling? What factors are
involved?

Counseling
The

term "counseling" is used by people in

the counseling profession to describe a special
type of helping process.

There

is a trust relationship in which the focus

is on personal meaning of events and
experiences. Counseling focuses on personal
awareness, interests, attitudes, and

Counseling
goals.

It has a philosophical and theoretical

base which conceptualizes learning, human
behavior, and interpersonal relationships.

Counseling

considered a professional
endeavor by a professionally trained and
certified person

Counseling
Counseling

can be described as a job

function and a helping process. It
identifies the work or service of the
counselor and the way in which the
counselor helps the students.

What Can Counseling Do?

1. Counseling can help prevent normal
problems from becoming more serious. More
serious ones could result in delinquency,
school failure, emotional disturbance
2. Counseling can create a healthy environment
to help children cope with the stresses and
conflicts of their growth and development.

What Can Counseling Do?

3. Counseling can also be a major remedial
force for healing children in trouble.
They can be helped through the
counseling interventions offered at
school.

Historical Approaches to C&G

Myrick

(1992) offered 4
approaches:
1. Crisis Approach
2. Remedial Approach
3. Preventive Approach
4. Developmental Approach

Status of the Profession

ACA

- www.counseling.org

ASCA

- www.schoolcounselor.org

ALACA

www.alca.sumternet.com

ACAs Formative Years &

History

www.counseling.org
1952 - APGA established
1983 - Name changed to AACD
1992 - Name changed to ACA
60,000 members in ACA
13,000 in ASCA

Status
What

is the role of the school

counselor?

What

should the school

counselor do? What should they
not do?

Status
Myrick

stated: As a whole, we
have a poor identity. Even today,
we are many things to many
people.
they are miracle workers,
record keeping and scheduling
clerks, .their own guidance
program.

Status
This

inability to identify a clear

purpose has placed some
counselors in clerical,
administrative, and instructional
roles, diminishing their value in
school.

Status
In

contrast, by developing a clear

understanding of their purpose,
school counselors can establish
a philosophical basis on which to
build a credible program.

Status
In

the past, school counselors

have been willing to be viewed
as support personnel.
Accepting the support role
instead of the essential role
allows others to define the role,
assign functions, dictate the
mission, and design the program.

EXERCISES:
1.

Professional identity is an important issue

for school counselors. If you were hired by
a school tomorrow as its new counselor,
what five actions would you take to begin
establishing a professional identity?
Discuss and compare your actions with a
group of your classmates.

 Discuss

factors and events that influenced your

decision to enter or consider the counseling
profession
Select and write down any historic leaders
name. In 15 minutes, describe how the leader
would have benefited from counseling at some
particular point of his/her career.

Exercises
Review

the ASCA role statement (see

Appendix A in Cobia & Henderson) and
identify any aspects that are different
from the previous preceptions of a school
counselors role. Reflecting on these
differences, speculate about how you
came to hold these beliefs. How might
your awareness of these preconceptions
influence your training experiences?