Book Description

A school counselor plays a significant role in school life. The role function of a counselor has been defined by the American Counseling Association (ASCA). Sta ndards of practice have been aligned to provide school counselors with baselines for practice. The description of a school counselor's role has been adopted by the Guidance Office in the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (EMEH) as based on the definition and standards provided by the ASCA. The review of the li terature has revealed confusion and misperception regarding the role function of a school counselor. Parents, teachers, and principals were found to have differ ent perceptions regarding the role of a counselor. According to Lambie & William son (2004), even counselors were found to have different perceptions regarding t heir own role. Research has revealed the absence of recent studies regarding the role function of a school counselor in the Lebanese Educational Settings. The p urpose of this study intended to investigate how the role of a counselor is perc eived by students, teachers, parents, principals and counselors themselves. The study examined the current perceptions, highlighted misperceptions and studied t he effect of those misperception on the implementation of the role in school set ting. A sample of (482) students from the middle and secondary levels, (482) parents, (384) teachers, (7) counselors and (5) principals participated in a descriptive study whereby they responded to a questionnaire instrument aimed to investigate the present perceptions regarding the role function of a school counselor. All c ounselors participated in a focus group to answer questions regarding the curren t perceptions, misperceptions if found, and how the role is being implemented at their current schools. There was a general agreement on groups' perception regarding the role of a coun selor. There were some misperception which were discussed with a focus group of counselors. The study investigated the effect of those misperceptions on the imp lementation of the role in school setting, and provided recommendations.