School counselors and school reform: new directions

Professional School Counseling, April, 2002 by Howard S. Adelman, Linda Taylor

As with other pupil service professions, school counseling is going through a period of extensive reform and restructuring (Bemak, 2000; Gysbers & Henderson, 2000, 2001; Lapan, 2001; Porter, Epp, & Bryant, 2000). What the end product will be depends on whether pupil service personnel take the lead in restructuring systemic change and renewal. It seems clear to us that taking a reactive stance will lead to dire consequences.

School counselors are especially well-situated to play proactive, catalytic roles in defining the future for programs that support the education of all students. Thus, our emphasis here is on framing new directions and encouraging a visionary and proactive approach. To underscore the need for new directions, we begin by briefly highlighting the current state of the art and its deficiencies. Then, we discuss the importance of reframing current reforms and offer some suggestions for a proactive agenda to shape the future.

The Current State of Affairs

Ask any teacher: "Most days, how many of your students come to class motivationally ready and able to learn?" We have asked that question across the country. The consistency of response is surprising and disturbing. In urban and rural schools serving economically disadvantaged families, teachers tell us they are lucky if 10% to 15% of their students fall into this group. In suburbia, teachers usually say 75% fit that profile. It is not surprising, therefore, that teachers are continuously asking for help in dealing with problems. And, to prevent problems, they also would like support in facilitating their students' healthy social and emotional development and in fostering the involvement of parents. School administrators, board members, parents, and students also recognize that social, emotional, and physical health problems and other major barriers to learning and teaching interfere with schools meeting their mission. Despite all this, relevant programs and services continue to be a supplementary item on schools' agendas. This also is not surprising. After all, administrators and policy makers tend to see any activity not directly related to instruction as taking resources away from schools' primary mission of teaching.

Unequal Opportunities to Learn at School

Although some youngsters have disabilities, it is well to remember few are born with internal problems that interfere with learning to read and write or behaving appropriately. Even those with internal problems usually have assets, strengths, and protective factors that can counter deficits and contribute to success. The majority of learning, behavior, and emotional problems seen in schools stem from situations where external barriers are not addressed, and there is insufficient accounting for learner differences that require some degree of personalization by instructional systems. The problems are exacerbated as youngsters internalize the frustrations of confronting barriers to development and learning and the debilitating effects of performing poorly at school (Adelman & Taylor, 1993; Allensworth, Wyche, Lawson, & Nicholson, 1997; Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1989; Comer, 1988; Dryfoos, 1990, 1998; Sarason, 1996; Schorr, 1997).

The litany of barriers is all too familiar to anyone who lives or works in communities where families struggle with low income. In such neighborhoods, school and community resources often are insufficient for providing the basic opportunities (never mind enrichment activities) found in higher income communities. Furthermore, the resources are inadequate for dealing with threats to well-being and learning such as gangs, violence, and drugs. In many of these settings, inadequate attention to language and cultural considerations and to high rates of student mobility creates additional barriers not only to student learning but to efforts to involve families in youngsters' schooling.

How many are affected? Estimates vary. Between 12% and 22% of all children are described as suffering from a diagnosable mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder--with relatively few receiving mental health services (Costello, 1989; Hoagwood, 1995). If one adds the many others experiencing significant psychosocial problems, the numbers grow dramatically. Harold Hodgkinson (1989), director of the Center for Demographic Policy, estimated that 40% of young people are in "very bad educational shape" and "at risk of failing to fulfill their physical and mental promise" (p. 24). Many live in inner cities or impoverished rural areas or are recently-arrived immigrants.

The problems they bring to the school setting often stem from restricted opportunities associated with poverty, difficult and diverse family circumstances, lack of English language skills, violent neighborhoods, and inadequate health care (Dryfoos, 1990, 1998; Knitzer, Steinberg, & Fleisch, 1990; Schorr, 1997). A reasonable estimate is that for many large urban and poor rural schools more than 50% of their students manifest learning, behavior, and emotional problems.