School Administrators’ and Counselors' Perceptions of the Role of the Public SchoolCounselor in Elementary Schools

Abstract

School counselors are routinely asked to perform daily emerging tasks as theprincipal sees fit, and the counseling mission is ignored (Ross & Herrington, 2006).Administrators creating the most suitable role for counselors continues to be a point ofapprehension for school counselors. A quantitative research design was utilized in thisstudy to determine the following: elementary administrators’ perceptions of the potentialrole of the elementary school counselor, elementary school counselors’ perceptions oftheir role, and differences between elementary administrators’ and elementary schoolcounselors’ perceptions of the role of the elementary school counselor. The PublicSchool Counselor Role Ambiguity Questionnaire (PSCRAQ) was administered to theelementary administrators (principals and assistant principals) and the elementary schoolcounselors employed in District A during the 2020-2021 school year. The participants inthe study included 41 elementary administrators (23 principals and 18 assistantprincipals) and 20 elementary counselors. The results of the 48 hypothesis tests, whichwere complex and mixed, indicate that elementary administrators were satisfied with thejob responsibilities of their counselors, believe that they should be involved indetermining the duties of their counselors, and should dialogue with counselors whenassigning them non-counseling responsibilities. The elementary administrators disagreethey have too much involvement in defining the role of the counselor and do notunderstand the role and responsibilities of the counselor. The results of this study alsoindicated that elementary counselors are satisfied with their job responsibilities andshould dialogue with administrators about non-counseling duties. The elementarycounselors disagree that principals should have the tasks of assigning their job responsibilities and that they should be utilized as substitute teachers. The results of thisstudy indicated elementary administrators agree and elementary counselors neither agreenor disagree that disruptive students should be sent to the counselor when they havediscipline problems. Elementary counselors agree more strongly than administrators thatcounselors should be involved in determining the duties and responsibilities of schoolcounselors. The findings of this study indicated that there are significant differences inthe perceptions of elementary administrators and elementary counselors as they relate tothe potential role of the school counselor. Implications for action could includeadditional professional development for elementary administrators, and more dialoguebetween elementary administrators and counselors should occur. Further research iswarranted.