“We’re Powerful Too, You Know?” A Narrative Inquiry Into Elementary School Counselors’ Experiences of the RAMP Process

Abstract

This study utilized a qualitative narrative inquiry to explore the experiences of eight elementary school counselors who successfully applied for and received Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) designation for their schools. Participants provided insight into motivations, resources, and other considerations that contributed to their success in earning RAMP distinction. The overarching theme, Don’t be afraid to engage in RAMP process, serves to enlighten and guide current and future school counselors in pursuing RAMP designation. This article discusses findings, implications, and future directions for research related to this study.

“The single fish in the sea”: Exploring the Lived Experiences of Rural School Counselors Earning RAMP

“…Another qualitative study could explore how rural universities collaborate with rural school counselors and school districts to provide service related to comprehensive school counseling programs and RAMP. School counselors in both the present study and Duquette's (2021) highlighted how RAMP served as a springboard to professional advocacy. Considering this, a qualitative study could explore how RAMP recipients across various urbanicities (e.g., urban, suburban, and rural) leverage their national recognition to advocate, at the state and federal levels, for the school counseling profession (e.g., role congruence and funding), and the results of their advocacy efforts.…”

“…This study also complements Duquette’s (2021) qualitative study in which he interviewed eight suburban and urban elementary school counselors who earned RAMP. The study highlighted contextual factors that impacted their RAMP pursuit, including motivation and amotivation, leveraging peer and ecological support (e.g., school districts and municipalities), and navigating the vagueness of certain RAMP application components.…”

“…An emerging body of research highlights school counselors’ experiences pursuing and earning the RAMP designation and factors informing their RAMP pursuits. For example, in Duquette’s (2021) study, many school counselors expressed that the application was time consuming, often detracting from their school counseling duties. Similarly, some school counselors expressed difficulty navigating the application process in which they felt some components were unclear and inflexible and many expressed great doubt in the likelihood that they would attain RAMP.…”

School Counselors’ Lived Experiences of Support Received During the RAMP Designation Process: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

“…Existing literature affirms the resistance that school counselors might exhibit when met with data usage and a lack of data confidence (Young & Kaffenberger, 2015). Feeling overwhelmed, another process-related doubt demonstrated consistently by participants in this study, is understandable given what is known about the challenges associated with barriers to implementing a comprehensive school counseling program (ASCA, 2019;Duquette, 2021;Hilts et al, 2019). Participants also experienced high to low motivation levels as they sought to implement and document the outcomes of their data-driven school counseling programs.…”

Applying for RAMP Using a Cohort Model: Results of a Multilevel Case Study

“…Thus, participants became less driven by the prestige of RAMP and more focused on creating stronger comprehensive programs. Although a number of studies have examined RAMP in regard to descriptive survey results (e.g., Young & Kaffenberger, 2011), student outcomes (e.g., Wilkerson et al, 2013), and qualitative research (e.g., Duquette, 2021), this present study provided many unique, novel features. This is the first known study to look at the process of RAMP through a multifaceted, cohort partnership approach, collecting and triangulating several types of data over multiple years from a range of stakeholders including school counselors, district coordinator, facilitators, and state DOE representatives.…”