School counselors’ perceived school climate, leadership practice, psychological empowerment, and multicultural competence before and during COVID‐19

Abstract

Following a population‐based randomized design, we investigated changes of school counselors’ psychological empowerment, multicultural competence, and leadership practice, as well as their perception of school climate from before to during COVID‐19. Specifically, school counselors were randomized into two conditions: (a) the pre‐COVID‐19 condition (n = 506) and (b) the current‐COVID‐19 condition (n = 542). Participants in the pre‐COVID condition responded to survey items following a retrospective manner based on their experiences between September 2019 and March 2020. We found that participants in the current COVID‐19 condition scored significantly higher in psychological empowerment and perceived school climate and lower in multicultural competence and leadership practices compared to the participants in the pre‐COVID‐19 condition. Regardless of directionality of changes, results supported the significant impacts that the pandemic had on school counselors’ roles related to addressing systemic issues. We discussed implications of the results to school counseling practice and school counselor training.

Student-To-School-Counselor Ratios, School-Level Factors, and Leadership Practices of School Counselors: A National Investigation

“…This is especially troublesome because school counselors have a shared responsibility in facilitating the socioemotional and behavioral development of all students (ASCA, 2019), yet large caseloads may prevent them from supporting students most in need. Taken collectively, with the increased mental health needs among all students, these reports offer preliminary evidence suggesting that inadequate student-to-school-counselor ratios may contribute to schools’ inability to efficaciously respond to the mental health and well-being needs of students during the pandemic (Hilts & Liu, 2023). Beyond the need for further investigation regarding the relationship between school counselor caseloads and student demographics, more insights concerning potential inequities in caseload sizes and school counselor demographics may be useful.…”

“…In another study, Fairchild and Zins (1986) found that school counselors with larger caseloads (750+ students) were actually more likely to be involved in accountability efforts than those with smaller caseloads. Based on these limited and discrepant findings, scholars’ call for further examination of the relationship between caseload sizes and actual practices, such as the leadership practices of school counselors, is not surprising (Hilts & Liu, 2023; Scarborough & Culbreth, 2008).…”