Advocacy Leadership And The Professional School Counselor

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Running head: ADVOCACY, LEADERSHIP, AND THE PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL 1

Advocacy, Leadership, and the Professional School Counselor

Erickah Thao

Salem College

Anne Sourbeer Morris, Ed.D.

March 07, 2018

ADVOCACY, LEADERSHIP, AND THE PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL 2

Advocacy, Leadership, and the Professional School Counselor

What are the aspects which can help create the professional school counselor? There is no

clear concrete response for creating the professional school counselor because every person or

individual are different from one another. Advocating for the academic achievement of every

student is a key role of school counselors and places them at the forefront of efforts to promote

school reform” (American School Counselor Association [ASCA], 2012, p. 4). However, when

promoting student achievement, the school counselors are the ones to “believe, support, and

promote every student’s opportunity to achieve success in school” (ASCA, 2012, p. 4). As a

school counselor, advocacy is necessary because it demonstrates how students are different

because of what school counselors do for the students. When trying to promote student

achievement and being there to guide the students along the way, it portrays school counselors

being advocates but also being leaders within the school or the school system. The school

counselor’s advocacy efforts involve a) eliminating the barriers impeding students’

developments, b) creating opportunities to learn for all students, c) ensuring the access to a

quality school curriculum, d) collaborating with others within and outside the school to help

students meet their needs, and e) promoting positive, systemic change in schools. The moment a

school counselor begins to advocate for these efforts, they step into their leadership role.

School counselors are leaders in a variety of ways. Their leadership involves: a)

supporting academic achievement and student development, b) advances effective delivery of the

comprehensive school counseling program, c) promotes professional identity, and d) overcomes

challenges of role inconsistency (ASCA, 2012). Since school counselors spend time being

leaders within the school system, it is up to them to decide how to work on trying to improve

their leadership within the administration. As a school counselor, leadership should not be to

ADVOCACY, LEADERSHIP, AND THE PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL 3

command but to teach. “School counselors should try to open people’s eyes and minds because

when you are teaching them, they should learn new ways to see the world and guide them to new

goals. To achieve these goals, it gives those being taught motivation and discipline while at the

same time teaching them to share their own knowledge and try to teach others” (ASCA, 2012, p.

2).

However, not everyone can be a leader but some are still able to become a professional

school counselor. Being an advocate involves holding some form of leadership towards the

administration, faculty, staff, and students. Which are two aspects at becoming a professional

school counselor. There are a variety of people who are professional school counselors and each

one of those professional school counselors are alike. As a professional school counselor, there

needs to be an understanding of what you should be doing and how that involves with who you

are as an individual. Then there are the moments where the school counselor would have to pay

attention to who they are as a professional and how they create their professional outlook

towards students and their colleagues. Many of these can help create and improve upon the

transformed school counselor. Especially at knowing how to become advocates for the students,

school, teachers, and administrators.

Discussion

Advocacy

“When advocacy is conceptualized and described in terms of school counselor

competencies, the structure, purposes, and processes of advocacy are illuminated” (Trusty &

Brown, 2005, p. 260). As a school counselor, when you are trying to advocate for the students,

there is a consultation process the school counselor can utilize when they are consulting with a

student. The consultation process is categorized into five different consulting modes which

ADVOCACY, LEADERSHIP, AND THE PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL 4

happen between the school counselor and the student or client. These modes are prescription,

provision, initiation, collaboration, and mediation which are described in Appendix A (Baker,

Robichaurd, Westforth Dietrich, Wells, & Schrek, 2009). As school counselors, there is a need

for many to become advocates because they can be there for educational opportunities for the

students, especially those who are the least successful.

The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs

(CACREP) 2009 standards defined advocacy as the “action taken on behalf of clients or the

counseling profession to support appropriate policies and standards for the profession; promote

individual human worth, dignity, and potential; and oppose or work to change policies and

procedures, systemic barriers, long-standing traditions, and preconceived notions that stifle