Response to the Past, Present, and Future of School Counseling: Raising Some Issues

Abstract

Although I want to view myself as being objective and still firmly entrenched in the scientific method, mv response to the four articles published in the December 2001 issue of Professional School Counseling (PSC) that focused on the past, present, and future of school counseling is most likely influenced by my own past. I am currently a counselor educator at a large research institution, where I teach many of the school counseling courses. In addition, one of my areas of research concerns examining the effectiveness of school counseling activities and programs. To me, the paramount reason for examining school counseling's past and present is to determine what is most helpful to students. I firmly believe that most school counselors are helpful to students and have a significant influence on their development. I do not believe, however, that there is sufficient evidence or documentation of the positive effects of school counselors. My interest in school counseling research and the steadfast belief that the school counseling profession is at risk because of the lack of research will be a continuing theme throughout my response. I respect the authors of these four vision articles, and I believe they have made significant contributions to school counseling throughout their careers. These individuals are leaders in the field of school counseling and their visions provide important insights into our past and explore significant future directions. As an example, Stan Baker (2001) made the history of school counseling enthralling with his own personal history interwoven into his overview of the development of the profession. Stan Baker's leadership in school counseling is evident by his textbooks, serving as editor of Professional School Counseling, and his research. He raised some important issues in his article about achieving balance between implementing a school counseling program and serving the needs of at-risk students. Furthermore, his realistic optimism about the profession reflected confidence in the abilities of professional associations, scholars, and funding agencies to improve school counseling. He did, however, point out that these efforts are not reaching the grass roots level and that leadership is needed to promote the 21st Century guidance point-of-view. (As a side note to his article, I personally think Stan Baker is charismatic in a scholarly manner.) Green and Keys (2001) raised some important questions regarding whether school counseling programs have transitioned to theoretically based programs and whether these programs are accomplishing the objective of positive development for all students. A major theme in Green and Keys' article was the call for school counselors to consider contextual factors in meeting the needs of students. They particularly focused on the needs of urban youth and the ecological implications of an urban environment. Given the needs of this population (Sanders, 2000), it seems imperative that school counselors develop innovative methods for meeting those needs. In particular, Green and Keyes suggested that developing an awareness of self-in-context should be an important focus of all school counseling programs. In my view, Norm Gysbers has had one of the most significant influences on the field of school counseling during the past 20 years. He has moved the field from a service orientation to a programmatic focus. In his article in the December 2001 issue of PSC, he provided an eloquent account of what can be learned from school counseling's past and the importance of remembering this past into the future. Gysbers (2001) advocated for guidance and counseling programs that are seen as an integral part of education. His vision for the future is a fully implemented comprehensive guidance and counseling program in every school district in the United States that serves all students and their parents and is staffed by active, involved school counselors. In the fourth article, Paisley and McMahon (2001) provided, yet, another perspective. …

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