School counseling departmental web sites: what message do we send?

School counselors have struggled to define their roles for years. The use of technology has been discussed as one method for disseminating information about school counselor roles. Content from 456 school counseling departmental Web sites was examined and results showed that the majority of Web sites did not contain information pertaining to school counselor roles, comprehensive, developmental counseling programs, or other current trends in school counseling. Suggestions for using departmental Web sites for school counselor self-advocacy are provided.

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One cannot peruse more than a few issues of Professional School Counseling without encountering an article addressing the changes that have occurred in the school counseling profession over time. Shifts from vocational guidance to comprehensive, developmental counseling programs as well as influences from the Education Trust (2003) and various legislative mandates (e.g., No Child Left Behind) have likely contributed to the ambiguous role definitions that school counselors have struggled with for years (Murray, 1995). Undoubtedly, individual preferences balanced with administrative and programmatic expectations also result in variation in school counselor roles. The inconsistency in actual and expected roles for school counselors has been well documented in the literature.

Several researchers have examined how closely the roles school counselors engage in match the roles recommended by professional organizations. For example, Carter (1993) found consistency between the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) role statements and the roles in which elementary school counselors were engaging. More recently, Burnham and Jackson (2000) surveyed 80 school counselors representing all grade levels and found the majority of participants engaged in roles (e.g., small-group counseling, consultation) recommended by both Myrick (1993) and Gysbers and Henderson (2000). Burnham and Jackson also found, however, that participants engaged in a range of nonguidance activities such as scheduling, filing paperwork, and duplicating materials.

School counselor involvement in nonguidance activities is not uncommon (Napierkowski & Parsons, 1995), and school counselors often must manage external pressures to engage in certain roles that may be inconsistent with their desired roles (Lambie & Williamson, 2004). Napierkowski and Parsons reviewed literature addressing school counselor frustrations in relation to both unclear role definitions and changing job descriptions and reported that school counselors are often not permitted to engage in activities they viewed vital. Research suggests some administrators endorse school counselor involvement in activities that would be classified as nonguidance. In a survey of 86 preservice school administrators, Fitch, Newby, Ballestero, and Marshall (2001) found that while participants did endorse counseling and consultation roles as important, they also highly supported school counselor involvement in roles related to discipline, student records, and registration. Additionally, Amatea and Clark (2005) found school administrators' conceptions of the school counselor ranged from viewing them as quasi-administrators to engaging them as collaborative school leaders. The findings reflected historical trends in school counseling (e.g., traditional guidance and advising role, current emphasis on leadership and advocacy).

School counselors confronting resistance from administrators and other school personnel must "learn to influence and change that inhibiting system so they can more readily perform their duties and serve the students better" (Napierkowski & Parsons, 1995, p. 368). At a minimum, school counselors need to be able to "talk about their roles" (Clark & Amatea, 2004, p. 138), and communicating with a school principal has been suggested as an effective method for clarifying school counselor roles (Murray, 1995). Nevertheless, Studer and Allton (1996) concluded that one of the main reasons school counselors are not viewed as integral to the school is because school counselors fail "to communicate the nature of their skills and training" (p. 59). Many potential reasons exist for this failure to communicate, but lack of available methods is unlikely to be one of those reasons. Various suggestions have been made with regard to communicating and clarifying school counselor roles and accomplishments to both school administrators and others (e.g., parents), and the use of newsletters distributed to administrators, teachers, and parents has been supported as one effective method of consistently communicating both school counselor roles and accomplishments (Fitch et al., 2001; Lambie & Williamson, 2004).

Van Horn and Myrick (2001) stated that "computer technology ... will become a significant factor in the success of the 21st century school counselor" (p. 130). School counselors use computers for a variety of activities, from scheduling to communicating with parents. Technology also can be used as a tool for advocacy. While research has addressed the use of technology by school counselors in relation to advocating for students (see Stone & Turba, 1999), research identifying technology as a tool for school counselor self-advocacy is sparse. Computer technology impacts how school counselors disseminate information (Van Horn & Myrick), and the creation and use of a school counseling Web site as a means to disseminate information has been supported in the literature (Schmidt, 2003; Van Horn & Myrick). Information provided on the Web site can help promote "public awareness about the role and functions of a school counselor" (Van Horn & Myrick, p. 125).

PURPOSE AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Given the importance of disseminating information about a school counseling program, the purpose of this study was to examine the types of information that school counselors share about themselves and their program via school counseling departmental Web sites. In other words, this research sought to examine the messages that school counselors send to stakeholders (i.e., administrators, students, teachers, parents) via school Web sites. This research also examined school counseling program Web-site content in relation to current trends in school counseling.

The ASCA National Model[R] (2005a) served as a basis for the development of the research questions. We believed that information categorized in both the Foundation and the Delivery System, as outlined by ASCA, was critical in conceptualizing the school counseling program and in communicating school counselor roles and functions. ASCA outlined the expectation that school counseling programs have a clear mission statement and that they also be designed to comprehensively and developmentally address the academic, career, and personal/social needs of students. ASCA also indicated school counseling programs are to be implemented by a "state-credentialed school counselor" (p. 16).

The following research questions were explored:

1. What term (guidance counselor or school counselor) is used as a descriptor on school counseling department Web sites?

2. Are school counselor roles communicated via school counseling department Web sites?

3. Is a school counseling mission statement communicated via school counseling department Web sites?

4. Is there a reference to comprehensive, developmental counseling programs on school counseling department Web sites?

5. Do school counselors provide information about their professional credentials (i.e., educational background and/or licenses or other credentials)?

6. To what extent do school counseling department Web sites reflect school counselor involvement with academic, career, and personal/social issues?

METHOD

Data Sources

Archival data were collected between June and July 2004 from school counseling Web sites in one Mid-Atlantic state. The sample was limited to allow for a comprehensive analysis of one state as opposed to a random national selection of schools. The state used in this study was chosen because of its diversity of districts (i.e., urban, suburban, rural) as well as the ease of locating and accessing all school district Web sites via the state Department of Education Web site.

A total of 2,635 individual buildings were identified, including 1,527 elementary schools, 463 middle/junior high schools, and 394 high schools. The remaining 251 buildings consisted of multilevel schools, vocational-technical schools, and alternative schools. Only the 2,384 elementary, middle, and high schools were considered for analysis.

A total of 1,836 buildings were eliminated because they either did not have a working district or school counseling department Web site or did not have a school counseling department Web-site link. Additionally, in some districts, multiple elementary buildings linked to the same general elementary school counseling Web site. In those cases, each general Web site was examined only once. Of the 548 remaining buildings, another 92 were excluded because the school counseling link simply opened up a picture of the school counselor(s) or provided contact information for the counselor(s).

The final data set (N = 456) consisted of 150 elementary, 107 middle/junior high, and 199 high school counseling Web sites. These Web sites included schools from 50 of the 68 counties in the state. Although each individual county was not represented, each of the 29 regional educational units (as broken down by the state) was represented.

Data Analysis

Content analysis was used to examine the Web sites, and meaning units were identified through an inductive process (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Because Web sites often contain multiple links, information was occasionally repeated within the same Web site. In this study, individual meaning units represented the single occurrence of information on the entire school counseling program Web site. In other words, redundant content (e.g., a link referencing a separate page with information about test-taking strategies, and the actual page with descriptions of individual strategies) was only coded as one meaning unit. The six research questions, developed from the ASCA National Model (2005a), served as predetermined categories for the data analysis, and operationalized definitions guided the coding of data (see Table 1). With regard to research question 6, the three domains (academic, career, and personal/social) as described by ASCA were used to further categorize data within the domain category (i.e., meaning units that fell under the domain category were further coded into one of those three categories).

Web-site pages were printed out to ensure consistency of information over time (i.e., the researchers wanted to avoid encountering Web-site updates during their analysis). Each researcher independently analyzed the content of the Web sites by identifying meaning units and coding data. Next, the researchers met to compare their findings, discussing meaning units and coding until they reached consensus. Data then were recoded according to the agreed-upon procedures.

RESULTS

A content analysis of the 456 Web sites (including 150 elementary, 107 middle/junior high, and 199 high schools) was completed for each of the six predetermined categories. Descriptive information (frequencies and percentages) is presented for each category and chi-square analyses were calculated to compare the frequency of meaning units for elementary, middle/junior, and high school Web sites.

Descriptor

A total of 456 meaning units were identified in the Descriptor category; 308 fell under the guidance descriptor and the remaining 148 under the school counseling descriptor. See Table 2 for a breakdown of descriptors by building level. A chi-square analysis indicated that significantly more elementary school counseling program Web sites and significantly fewer high school Web sites contained the school counseling descriptor ([chi square] [2,456] = 79.413, p = 0.000). A small effect size (0.174) was associated with this result.

Roles

Concerning specific communication of school counselor roles, 175 (38%) program Web sites contained this type of information, based on criteria in Table 1. Results from a chi-square analysis indicated that significantly more elementary school counseling program Web sites and significantly fewer high school counseling Web sites contained this information (c [2, 456] = 95.671, p = 0.000). The effect size for this analysis was moderate (0.210). See Table 2 for a sorting of meaning units in the roles category by building level.

Mission Statement

Fourteen percent of the Web sites (n = 65) had a school counseling mission statement posted. Table 2 presents a breakdown of meaning units in this category by building level. A chi-square analysis revealed that significantly more elementary school counseling program Web sites and significantly fewer high school Web sites contained mission statements ([chi square] [2,456] = 9.940, p = 0.007). The effect size for this analysis was very small (0.022).

Comprehensive Developmental Program

Fifty-one (11%) Web sites referenced components of a comprehensive, developmental school counseling program. See Table 2 for a breakdown of these Web sites by building level. Chi-square analysis results showed that significantly more elementary school counseling Web sites and significantly fewer high school Web sites made reference to comprehensive developmental programs ([chi square] [2,456] = 18.827, p = 0.000). A very small effect size (0.041) was associated with this result.

Credentials

With regard to school counselor credentials, 36 (8%) Web sites contained meaning units meeting criteria for the credentials category. Table 2 provides a breakdown of these meaning units by building level. Chi-square analysis results revealed that significantly more elementary school counseling Web sites contained information about credentials and significantly fewer high school Web sites contained that information ([chi square] [2, 456] = 8.845, p = 0.012). A very small effect size (0.019) was associated with this result.

Domains

A total of 3,594 meaning units from the 456 Web sites were coded into academic (n = 1,106, 31%), career (n = 1,231, 34%), and personal/social (n = 1,257, 35%) categories. See Table 2 for a breakdown of meaning units by domain and building level. Every Web site contained at least one meaning unit in the general domain category. Of the 150 elementary school counseling program Web sites containing 1,046 domain meaning units, 24 (16%) contained no academic meaning units, 100 (67%) contained no career units, and 9 (6%) contained no personal/social meaning units. Middle school counseling Web sites (N = 107) with a total of 839 domain meaning units included 9 (8%) with no academic meaning units, 39 (36%) with no career meaning units, and 8 (8%) with no personal/social meaning units. Regarding the 199 high school counseling Web sites containing a total of 1,706 domain meaning units, 58 (29%) contained no academic meaning units, 5 (3%) no career meaning units, and 114 (57%) no personal/social meaning units.

A 3 x 3 chi-square analysis (building level by domain type) was calculated and significance was found ([chi square] [4, 3,594] = 159.789, p < 0.000). Results revealed significantly more meaning units in the elementary personal/social domain and in the high school career domain. Additionally, significantly fewer meaning units were found in the high school personal/social domain, elementary career domain, and middle school career domain. The effect size (0.21) was moderate.

DISCUSSION

Of the fairly low percentage of school districts and school counseling programs in this state with accessible Web sites, the data show that school counselors in this state are not making good use of Web sites as a method for disseminating information about their programs, as suggested by Van Horn and Myrick (2001). In fact, of the accessible Web sites well over half did not include information about the role of the school counselor(s) and even fewer provided an overview of the school counseling program mission or information about counselor credentials. In all fairness, other types of public awareness initiatives (e.g., newsletters, staff meetings) by school counselors in this state are unknown. Based on data from the Web sites alone, however, the results support Studer and Allton's (1996) contention that school counselors often do not share information about their skills and training.

One might reasonably assume that the content of a school counseling program Web site could be viewed as a reflection of the beliefs and practices of the school counselors in that district. If such an assumption is accurate, then many school counselors in this state either are not aware of (Lambie & Williamson, 2004) or are not in support of current trends in school counseling (i.e., comprehensive, developmental programs). Given that the ASCA National Model (2005a) has been well publicized for a few years, it would be expected that more than 11% of the programs represented are comprehensive and developmental in nature, yet the Web sites do not clearly portray them as such. Additionally, the Web-site content reflects a majority of school counselors who have not adopted the term school counselor in replacement of guidance. These discrepancies with recommended practice (ASCA) also might be a reflection of administrator resistance to change (Napierkowski & Parsons, 1995).

A determination of the actual roles and beliefs of school counselors in this state cannot be made with any certainty. Yet, regardless of whether the Web site content accurately reflects the school counseling program, the public's perceptions of the program will likely result in part from what they read online. School counselors who refer to themselves and their program via the Web site as guidance counselor could reasonably expect parents and others to address them with that descriptor. If school counselors in this state do in fact provide comprehensive, developmental school counseling programs, including this information on their Web sites may be of some benefit to them.

An informal analysis of the Web site content suggests school counselors use Web sites as tools for disseminating information of relevance to students and/or parents, an idea suggested by both Schmidt (2003) and Van Horn and Myrick (2001). Meaning units in all three domains often included suggestions for students and/or parents (e.g., study tips), timelines (e.g., junior/senior planning checklists for graduation), or other relevant information (e.g., warning signs for suicide). In terms of providing easily accessible information on a wide variety of topics, school counselors appear to be consistently using Web sites in this manner to the benefit of various stakeholders.

Notable were the results related to domain-specific content. Although the ASCA National Model (2005a) provides guidelines for school counselors in terms of assisting all students in acquiring knowledge and skills in academic, career, and personal/ social areas, an examination of the Web site content did not reveal consistent or clear emphasis in all three domains at each level (elementary, middle/ junior, and high school). In fact, many Web sites contained little to no content in each of the three domains. Content on high school counseling Web sites typically reflected a strong emphasis on the career domain while content on elementary school counseling Web sites generally related more to personal/social concerns.

Given greater emphasis on individual student planning at the high school level and classroom guidance and responsive services at the elementary school level (Gysbers & Henderson, 2000), it is understandable that Web-site content would reflect these different delivery systems. That is, career information fits more closely with individual planning activities while personal/social information fits closely with classroom guidance activities.

If school counselors plan to use Web sites as methods for communicating information about the services they provide, they might consider the importance of ensuring the information they present accurately reflects all components of their job. One might infer from the Web sites analyzed in this study that most high school counselors do not address personal/social issues. Again, the actual domain-specific emphases of school counselors in this state are unknown; however, the perceptions of individuals examining school counseling program Web sites may be very relevant in shaping their understanding of the school counseling program. For example, a parent who views a high school counseling program Web site and sees no reference to personal/social issues might be reluctant to seek those types of services from a school counselor. Similarly, a parent who views an elementary school counseling Web site to find out the types of career information available to students but finds no information in that domain might assume career services are not provided by the elementary school counselor.

Limitations

One limitation to this research study is the use of Web sites from only one state. Although the districts in this state were diverse in terms of urbanicity and other demographic characteristics (e.g., socioeconomic status, ethnicity), a more comprehensive examination of Web sites throughout the country might provide different results. Additionally, effect sizes for the results were mostly small, suggesting that little variance in results could be attributed to building level. Finally, we acknowledge that Web site content may or may not reflect the actual practices of school counselors in the state. Nevertheless, the emphasis of this study was not what actually occurs but rather what messages are being sent.

Implications and Recommendations

Gysbers and Henderson (2000) discussed the importance of public relations to a school counseling program:

   Because one purpose of public relations is for
   people to know more about the program so
   they can access and appreciate its services, the
   goal at this time is to help people move from
   what they thought the program was. (p. 196)

When school counselor and administrator expectations do not match or when parents have misperceptions about the counseling program, school counseling program Web sites can be valuable tools for public awareness and advocacy. School counselors do not have to be technologically competent in order to create these sites, but they must be willing to invest time into examining their existing Web sites, gathering perception data from stakeholders, and working to ensure the content presented results in an accurate portrayal of them and the school counseling program. Developing competence in Web page design would allow school counselors to edit their sites as frequently as they desired; however, school counselors can likely just as easily consult with school district personnel in charge of maintaining the district Web site.

An important first step in using Web sites to develop public awareness about the school counseling program is to ensure that a working, accessible Web site exists. School counselors could work with district technology personnel at this stage and they also might consider advertising the Web address in the local newspaper or school newsletter. Next, school counselors could decide what information they want to share via the Web site. In other words, they must determine what messages they want to send. Examining existing Web sites can be useful for choosing both Web-site content and format, and ASCA (2005b) has provided links to a variety of school counseling departmental Web sites that may serve as useful models. As suggested previously, school counselors can take advantage of opportunities to communicate information about their training and skills as well as about the components of the school counseling program.

Finally, school counselors might generate a timeline for revising the Web site. Information on the Web site should ideally be updated as frequently as possible. Just as many classroom teachers post weekly homework assignments and study tips, school counselors could post a weekly list of guidance and counseling activities, important timelines, and other activities in which they are involved.

CONCLUSION

School counselors will likely continue to struggle with unclear role definitions and job descriptions for many years. Rather than wait for others to define their jobs for them, school counselors can educate others about their work via school counseling departmental Web sites and other public awareness activities. School counselors must take the initiative to create and maintain Web sites that accurately reflect their beliefs about school counseling as well as the roles and activities in which they engage. With technology continuing to play an important role in public education, school counselors cannot overlook the potential impact of self-advocating via departmental Web sites.

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 Counseling, 9, 16-27.

American School Counselor Association. (2005a). The ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Author.

American School Counselor Association. (2005b). Resource center: School counseling program websites. Retrieved June 10, 2005, from http://www.schoolcounselor.org/resources_list.asp?c=65&i=14

Burnham, J. J., & Jackson, M. C. (2000). School counselor roles: Discrepancies between actual practice and existing models. Professional School Counseling, 4, 41-49.

Carter, R. B. (1993). School counselor role statements: Fact or fiction. Education, 114, 45-53.

Clark, M. A., & Amatea, E. (2004).Teacher perceptions and expectations of school counselor contributions: Implications for program planning and training. Professional School Counseling, 8, 132-140.

Education Trust. (2003). National Center for Transforming School Counseling. Retrieved June 10, 2005, from http://www2.edtrust.org/EdTrust/Transforming+School+Counseling/main

Fitch, T., Newby, E., Ballestero, V., & Marshall, J. L. (2001). Future school administrators' perceptions of the school counselor's role. Counselor Education & Supervision, 41, 89-99.

Gysbers, N. C., & Henderson, P. (Eds.). (2000). Developing and managing your school guidance program (3rd ed.). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

Lambie, G. W., & Williamson, L. L. (2004). The challenge to change from guidance counseling to professional school counseling: A historical proposition. Professional School Counseling, 8, 124-131.

Lincoln, Y., & Guba, E. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

Murray, B. A. (1995). Validating the role of the school counselor. School Counselor, 43, 5-9.

Myrick, R. D. (1993). Developmental guidance and counseling: A practical approach (2nd ed.). Minneapolis, MN: Educational Media.

Napierkowski, C. M., & Parsons, R. D. (1995). Diffusion of innovation: Implementing changes in school counselor roles and functions. School Counselor, 42, 364-369.

Schmidt, J. J. (2003). Counseling in schools: Essential services and comprehensive programs (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Stone, C. B., & Turba, R. (1999). School counselors using technology for advocacy. Journal of Technology in Counseling, 1(1). Retrieved December 20, 2004, from http://jtc.colstate.edu/vol1_1/advocacy.htm

Studer, J. R., & Allton, J. A. (1996). The professional school counselor: Supporting and understanding the role of the guidance program. NASSP Bulletin, 80, 53-60.

Van Horn, S. M., & Myrick, R. D. (2001). Computer technology and the 21st century school counselor. Professional School Counseling, 5, 124-130.

Amy Milsom is an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. E-mail: [e-mail]

Jill Bryant is a counselor with Family Psychology Associates in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Table 1. Operational Definitions of Categories

Variable         Definition                  Examples

Web-site         Guidance: References to     "Guidance Department"
descriptor       the school counseling
                 program and/or personnel    "Welcome to the
                 were made only using the    Elementary Guidance
                 term guidance.              Website"

                 School counseling:          "Counselor's Corner"
                 References to the school
                 counseling program and/or   "Your Guide to Guidance:
                 personnel were made using   What Should You Expect
                 school counseling or both   from Your School
                 counselor and guidance.     Counselor?"

School           Web site contained          "Elementary school
counselor        descriptions or lists of    counselors assist
roles            school counselor roles      students through four
                 (e.g., group counseling,    primary interventions ...
                 classroom guidance,         counseling ... Large
                 consultation).              group guidance ...
                                             consultation ...
                                             coordination"

Mission          Web site contained          "The--school counseling
statement        information about the       department is committed
                 overarching goal or         to promoting and
                 mission of the school       enhancing the learning
                 counseling program, even    process. The guidance
                 if it was not labeled as    program is designed to
                 such.                       encourage and assist ..."

Comprehensive,   Web site contained the      "The counseling
developmental    descriptor comprehensive,   department provides
counseling       developmental program,      services to every student
program          and/or references to        through a comprehensive,
                 academic, career, and       developmental guidance
                 personal social             curriculum ... in ninth
                 development along with      grade all students
                 components (guidance        receive ... the tenth
                 curriculum, individual      grade curriculum focuses
                 planning, responsive        on ..."
                 services, and system
                 support) of the school
                 counseling delivery
                 system.

Credentials      Web site included           "B.A. Sociology
                 information about the       [university name], M.Ed.
                 school counselor's          Guidance and Counseling
                 license, certification,     [university name]"
                 or educational
                 background.

Domain           Academic: Content was       "Assignment book"
                 related to academic
                 issues.                     "Learning styles"

                                             "Class rank"

                 Career: Content addressed   "Apprenticeship programs"
                 career or postsecondary
                 school.                     "Job-seeking skills"

                                             "College checklist"

                 Personal/social: Content    "Resiliency"
                 was related to emotional,
                 social, or mental health    "Grief and loss"
                 issues.
                                             "Bullying"

Table 2. Frequency and Percentage of Meaning Units by Category and
Building Level

                                   Elementary    Middle       High

Category                           n      %      n     %     n     %

Web-site descriptor
  Guidance (N = 308)                61    41     77   72     170   85
  School counseling (N = 148)       89    59     30   28      29    1
School counselor roles (N = 175)    98    65     48   45      29   15
Mission statement (N = 65)          30    20     18   17      17    9
Comprehensive, developmental
  program (N = 51)                  27    18     16   15       8    4
  Credentials (N = 36)              19    13      9    8       8    4
Domain
  Academic (N = 1,106)             308    29    322   38     476   28
  Career (N = 1,228)                56     5    146   17   1,026   60
  Personal/social (N =1,257)       682    65    371   44     204   12

Note. N = the total number of Web sites per category meeting criteria
for inclusion; n refers to the number of meaning units representing
each category as described in Table 1; % refers to the percent of
meaning units by level in each category.