A Phenomenological Investigation of Rural School Counselors’ Experiences Providing Career Development

Abstract

The purpose of this phenomenological investigation was to explore the lived experiences of rural high school counselors when providing career development services. Several key themes emerged, including (a) contextual factors, (b) direct services, (c) indirect services, (d) rewarding aspects, and (e) challenging aspects. The findings support increased attention centered on rural career development in both preservice and in-service settings. We offer implications for school counselor practice and preparation, and discuss limitations and future research areas.

A Rural Ecological School Counseling Framework

“…While the distance between urban and rural areas results in geographic isolation, the number of miles from urbanized areas alone does not encapsulate the many characteristics of and challenges faced in these communities. Rurality has a lack of consideration within educational research (Bright, 2018;Schafft, 2016), despite one third of public schools and nine million students living in rural areas (Johnson et al, 2014;Showalter et al, 2019).…”

“…For school counselors, navigating through the community can present a barrier in itself, but can also be a strong asset in their role within the school. Furthermore, feelings of a tight-knit community can aid school counselors in making connections with families, the community, and the rural identity (Boulden & Schimmel, 2022).…”

“…Role ambiguity can affect school counselor retention and perceptions of support. In a study by Boulden and Schimmel (2022) on rural school counselor retention, participants reported that feelings of limited staff and community support or knowledge of the profession impacted how they chose to remain in their positions. Misconceptions of the school counselor's professional role can lead to feelings of isolation and increased feelings of burnout in rural school counselors (Morrissette, 2000), although research has not found significant differences between burnout rates of urban and rural school counselors (Holman et al, 2018).…”

“…Although small communities can mean close connections, they can also lead to limited access to resources, including financial, professional development, and mental health resources. Due to the difficulty in access and the stigma of mental health care in rural areas (Alang, 2015), school counselors are uniquely positioned to serve rural communities' mental health needs (Bright, 2018). Feelings of a tight-knit community can allow rural school counselors to easily connect with key stakeholders in their communities and advocate to reduce mental health barriers (Boulden & Schimmel, 2022;Crumb et al, 2019;Grimes et al, 2013;Sutton & Pearson, 2002).…”

“…Due to the difficulty in access and the stigma of mental health care in rural areas (Alang, 2015), school counselors are uniquely positioned to serve rural communities' mental health needs (Bright, 2018). Feelings of a tight-knit community can allow rural school counselors to easily connect with key stakeholders in their communities and advocate to reduce mental health barriers (Boulden & Schimmel, 2022;Crumb et al, 2019;Grimes et al, 2013;Sutton & Pearson, 2002). In a state-by-state report from 2014 on student-to-school-counselor ratios, rural districts experienced the extremes of the caseload distributionthe highest and lowest ratios were in rural districts (Patel & Clinedinst, 2021).…”