Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Chair for Desiree Adair Skinner, Dissertation Defense PPT.

1. High School Counselors’ Roles As
Perceived by High School Principals
and Counselors in Texas
A Dissertation Defense
by
Desiree Adair Skinner
March 11, 2010
Chair: William Allan Kritsonis, Ph.D.

2. Committee Members
 William Allan Kritsonis, Ph.D.
(Dissertation Chair)
 Tyrone Tanner, Ed.D
(Member)
 Edward Mason, Ph.D.
(Member)
 Camille Gibson, Ph.D.
(Member)

3. Dissertation Defense Format
I. Purpose of the Study
II. Research Questions
III. Conceptual Framework
IV. Method
V. Findings
VI. Previous CFI Results
VII. Accountability
VIII. Implications
IX. Conclusions
X. Recommendations for Future Research

4. Purpose of the Study
 The purpose of this study was to
describe the perceptions of high
school principals and high school
counselors about the role of high
school counselors.

5. Quantitative Research
Questions
1. Is there a significant correlation
between high school counselors’
perceptions and expectations on
the Counselor Function Inventory
(CFI) scores as it relates to the
American School Counselor
Association (ASCA) standards?

6. Quantitative Research
Questions
2. Is there a significant correlation
between high school principals’
perceptions and expectations on
the Counselor Function Inventory
(CFI) scores as it relates to the
American School Counselor
Association (ASCA) standards?

7. Quantitative Research
Questions
3. Is there a significant difference
between high school counselors’
and principals’ expectation scores
on the Counselor Function
Inventory (CFI) as it relates to the
American School Counselor
Association (ASCA) standards?

8. Quantitative Research
Questions
4. Is there a significant difference
between high school counselors’
and principals’ perception scores
on the Counselor Function
Inventory (CFI) as it relates to the
American School Counselor
Association (ASCA) standards?

9. Quantitative Research
Questions
5. What are the most important
functions of the high school
counselor as perceived by the high
school principal and counselor
based on the American School
Counselor Association (ASCA)
standards?

10. Null Hypothesis
 Ho1
: There is no statistically
significant correlation between high
school counselors’ perceptions and
expectations on the Counselor
Function Inventory (CFI) scores as it
relates to the American School
Counselor Association (ASCA)
standards.

11. Null Hypothesis
 Ho2
: There is no statistically
significant correlation between high
school principals’ perceptions and
expectations on the Counselor
Function Inventory (CFI) scores as it
relates to the American School
Counselor Association (ASCA)
standards.

12. Null Hypothesis
 Ho3
: There is no statistically
significant difference between high
school counselors’ and principals’
expectation scores on the Counselor
Function Inventory (CFI) as it
relates to the American School
Counselor Association (ASCA)
standards.

13. Null Hypothesis
 Ho4
: There is no statistically
significant difference between high
school counselors’ and principals’
perception scores on the Counselor
Function Inventory (CFI) as it
relates to the American School
Counselor Association (ASCA)
standards.

14. Conceptual Framework
 Role Theory
Role theory exists when there are
inconsistent expectations causing
stress, dissatisfaction, and less effective
performance (Rizzo, House, & Lirtzman,
1970).

15. Conceptual Framework
 Based on the work of Falls and
Nichter (2007) “high school
counselors are challenged with role
ambiguity, role conflict, and work
overload on a consistent basis
resulting in exposure to chronic job
stress, which research indicates can
lead to burnout” (Nelson, Robles-
Pina, & Nichter, 2008, p. 41-42).

16. Method
 Participants
 The population was 241 5A high school
principals and counselors, grades 9-12,
in Texas. Potential participants=482.
 249 participants: 113=principals,
136=counselors completed the survey
 51.66% return rate

17. Method
 Modified Counselor Function
Inventory (CFI) selected
 Modified survey completed on
SurveyMonkey

18. Method
 The survey was modified:
 Items were chosen to represent the
ASCA standards
 Contains 42 questions
 Validity
 Established through expert opinion

19. Method
 Reliability
 Cronbach alpha, α = .872
 Indicates consistency and reliability in what
each survey item tested
 Replication
 Maser (Washington-1971)
 Johnson (Florida-1989)
 Moore (southwestern Indiana-1997)

20. Method
 5-point Likert scale was used
1. Counselors have total responsibility
2. Have primary responsibility, though
may not personally perform the
function
3. Share function with other groups
4. Serve as a consultant
5. No direct responsibility

21. Method
 Scores
 Correlation
 T-tests
 Ranking

22. Findings-Question 1:
 There is a statistically significant
correlation between high school
counselors’ perceptions and
expectations on the Counselor
Function Inventory (CFI) scores as it
relates to the American School
Counselor Association (ASCA)
standards.

23. Findings-Question 1:
 This suggests high school counselors
are not in agreement about the
functions they perceive themselves
performing and the functions they
expect themselves to perform.
 There is a statistically significant
difference between their reported
actions, and what they think their
actions should be.

24. Findings-Question 1:
 According to Scarborough &
Culbreth (2008) experience also
plays a part of what counselors do
and should do.
 Nelson, Robles-Pina, and Nichter
(2008) found that counselors with
10 or more years experience have a
better understanding of nationally
defined expectations.

25. Findings-Question 2:
 There is a statistically significant
correlation between high school
principals’ perceptions and
expectations on the Counselor
Function Inventory (CFI) scores as it
relates to the American School
Counselor Association (ASCA)
standards.

26. Findings-Question 2:
 This suggests that high school principals
are not in agreement about the functions
they perceive counselors are performing
and the functions they expect them to
perform.
 There is a statistically significant
difference between the reported actions,
and what the actions should be.

27. Findings-Question 2:
 Opinions of the counselor’s role may vary
due to the everyday needs of the
individual campus (Kirchner & Setchfield,
2005).
 Amatea and Clark (2005) found that the
disagreements between principals could
possibly come in many forms. Some
principals do not agree with the value of
the work responsibilities.

28. Findings-Question 3:
 There is no statistically significant
difference between high school
counselors’ and principals’
expectations scores on the
Counselor Function Inventory (CFI)
as it relates to the American School
Counselor Association (ASCA)
standards.

29. Findings-Question 3:
 There is no statistically significant
difference (t = 1.45, p > .05) between
high school counselors’ expectation scores
and principals’ expectation scores;
therefore, the null hypothesis cannot be
rejected.
 This would suggest that high school
counselors and high school principals tend
to agree on the functions that high school
counselors should be performing.

30. Findings-Question 3:
 The study conducted by Kirchner and
Setchfield (2005) found that counselors
agree regarding duties that are congruent
with the national standards.
 According to Pérusse, Goodnough,
Donegan, and Jones (2004), counselors
and principals believe the national
standards should be the underpinning of
counseling programs.

31. Findings-Question 4:
 There is a statistically significant
difference between high school
counselors’ and principals’
perception scores on the Counselor
Function Inventory (CFI) as it
relates to the American School
Counselor Association (ASCA)
standards.

32. Findings-Question 4:
 There is a statistically significant
difference (t = 3.39, p < .05) between
high school counselors’ perception scores
and principals’ perception scores;
therefore, the null is rejected.
 This would suggest that high school
counselors and high school principals do
not agree on the functions that high
school counselors are actually performing.

33. Findings-Question 4:
 If a principal feels that the counseling
program will not help the campus to meet
federal and state accountability
indicators, the principal is going to
prioritize and assign duties to maximize
the counselor’s benefit.
 Chata and Loesch (2007) have stated that
the most effective way for counselors to
fulfill duties is to have a collaborative
relationship with the principal.

34. Findings-Question 5:
 What are the most important
functions of the high school
counselor as perceived by the high
school principal and counselor based
on the American School Counselor
Association (ASCA) standards?

35. Findings-Question 5:
1. Assisting students in selecting high
school courses.=80.3%
2. Providing the student an
opportunity to “talk through his
problems.”=79.1%
3. Counseling with potential
dropouts.=71.5%

36. Findings-Question 5:
4. Counseling with students
concerning academic
failures.=69.9%
5. Counseling with students in regard
to educational and vocational
plans.=61.0%
6. Checking credits for graduation and
college entrance.=60.6%

37. Findings-Question 5:
7. Counseling with students
concerning personal
decisions.=54.6%
8. Providing college
information.=41.0%
9. Assisting students with college
plans.=34.5%
10. Scheduling new students.=30.1%

38. Previous CFI Results
 Maser (Washington, 1971)-studied
perceptions of junior high and senior
high school administrators,
counselors, and teachers.
 Perceived counselors’ role similarly

39. Previous CFI Results
 Johnson (Florida, 1989)-analyzed
high school principals and
counselors
 agree in their perceptions and
expectations about the functions that
counselors do and should be doing

40. Previous CFI Results
 Moore (southwestern Indiana,
1997)-analyzed existing and ideal
counselor roles as perceived by high
school principals and counselors.
 similar perceptions and expectations of
what counselors do and what they
should be doing

41. Accountability
 The ASCA National Model provides
opportunities for counselors to use and
assess quantitative and qualitative data-
gathering techniques (Sabella, 2006).
 Accountability and achievement create an
opportunity for school counselors to
become more involved in the educational
process affecting academic outcomes
(Webb, Brigman, & Campbell, 2005).

42. Accountability
 When school counselors use
research-based techniques to
counsel students on specific skills,
academic achievement and social
performance increase (Webb,
Brigman, & Campbell, 2005).

43. Implications
 Principals have varying opinions on
what counselors’ duties entail.
Therefore, counselors may develop
job survival skills to avoid conflict as
well as frustration with their job.

44. Implications
 Given that the job duties are
unclear, counselors have conformed
to the role that principals expect in
order to find job satisfaction.

45. Implications
 Many counselors find themselves
bogged down with schedule changes
and paperwork; not a lot of
counseling. One might wonder if
more individual counseling was
happening would the achievement
gap be impacted.

46. Implications
 Without proper knowledge of
national and state expectations,
counselors are not used to their full
potential and students are not
served to the fullest capacity.

47. Conclusions
 Referring to the ASCA standards
may alleviate some of the gaps for
what a counselor should do and
actually do on a campus. It is
imperative for principals to have
communication with counselors
regarding campus expectations and
perceptions.

48. Conclusions
 With increased communication
counselor job duties can be more
clearly defined. Clarity will reduce
job anxiety giving counselors a
sense of purpose.

49. Recommendations for
Future Research
 A study could be conducted that
would include the perceptions and
expectations of teachers, students,
and parents of the counselors role.
 A study could be conducted choosing
schools of various populations.
 A study could be conducted in rural
schools.

50. Recommendations for
Future Research
 A study could be conducted in urban
schools.
 A study could be conducted in suburban
schools.
 A study could be conducted where
principals and counselors work together
to establish a comprehensive guidance
and counseling program that is congruent
with the American School Counselor
Association.

51. Recommendations for
Future Research
 A study could be conducted on individual
campuses to create, revise, and evaluate
guidance and counseling programs to
ensure congruence with the ASCA
standards.
 A study could be conducted to determine
the effectiveness of a complete guidance
and counseling program on student
achievement.

52. Recommendations for
Future Research
 A study could be conducted to determine
the effectiveness of a complete guidance
and counseling program and its impact on
state accountability ratings.
 A study could be conducted to develop
appropriate professional development for
both principals and counselors to better
understand the role of the counselor.

53. References
 Amatea, E. S., & Clark, M. A. (2005). Changing
schools, changing counselors: A qualitative study
of school administrators' conceptions of the
school counselor role. Professional School
Counselor, 9, 16-27. Retrieved October 10,
2007, from
http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/Journals
 Chata, C. C., & Loesch, L. C. (2007). Future
school principals' views of the roles of
professional school counselors. Professional
School Counseling, 11, 35-41. Retrieved
November 24, 2007, from EBSCOHost database.

54. References
 Falls, L. & Nichter, M. (2007). High school
counselor's lived experiences of burnout: A
phenomenological study. Professional School
Counseling, 5, 47-55. Retrieved May 13, 2009,
from
http://www.jsc.montana.edu/articles/v5n13.pdf.
 Johnson, T. H. (1989). An analysis of senior high
school guidance counselor role perceptions and
expectations by high school principals and
guidance counselors in Florida school districts
(Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest
Dissertations and Theses database (UMI No.
8917455).

55. References
 Kirchner, G. L., & Setchfield, M. S.
(2005). School counselors' and school
principals' perceptions of the school
counselor's role. [Electronic version].
Education, 126, 10-16.
 Maser, A. L. (1971). Counselor function in
secondary schools. The School Counselor,
12, 367-372.

56. References
 Moore, L. G. (1997). An analysis of existing and
ideal guidance counselor roles as perceived by
high school principals and counselors in
southwestern Indiana (Doctoral dissertation).
Available from ProQuest Dissertations and
Theses database (UMI No. 9724573).
 Nelson, J., Robles-Pina, R., & Nichter, M. (2008).
An analysis of Texas high school counselors'
roles: actual and preferred counseling activities.
Journal of Professional Counseling: Practice,
Theory and Research, 36(1), 30-46.. Retrieved,
from EBSCOHost database.

57. References
 Pérusse, R., Goodnough, G. E., Donegan,
J., & Jones, C. (2004). Perceptions of
school counselors and school principals
about the national standards for school
counseling programs and the
transforming school counseling initiative.
Professional School Counseling, 7, 152-
161. Retrieved November 22, 2007, from
EBSCOHost database.

58. References
 Ponec, D. L., & Brock, B. L. (2000). Relationships
among elementary school counselors and
principals: A unique bond. Professional School
Counseling, 3, 208-217. Retrieved July 20, 2007,
from EBSCOHost Academic Search Premier
database.
 Rizzo, J. R., House, R. J., & Lirtzman, S. I.
(1970). Role conflict and ambiguity in complex
organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly,
15, 150-163. Retrieved October 16, 2007 from
http://www.jstor.org

59. References
 Sabella, R. A. (2006). The ASCA national
school counseling research center: A brief
history and agenda. Professional School
Counseling, 9, 412-415.
 Scarborough, J. L., & Culbreth, J. R.
(2002). Examining discrepancies between
actual and preferred practice of school
counselors. Journal of Counseling and
Development, 86, 446-459.

60. References
 Webb, L. D., Brigman, G. A., & Campbell,
C. (2005). Linking school counselors and
student success: A replication of the
student success skills approach targeting
the academic social competence of
students. Professional School Counseling,
8, 407-413. Retrieved August 13, 2007,
from EBSCOHost database.