School Counselors' Use of Online Technologies in Professional Practice

• In Event: School Counseling at the Crossroads of Change

Abstract

Purpose/Objectives:
The purpose of the research study was to discover trends regarding school counselors’ use of online technology:
• across the four Delivery components of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model;
• in the area of social media, confidentiality and work/life boundaries;
• with regards to counselors’ background, working environment and experience; and,
• to develop specific hypothesis and areas for further study.

Perspectives: The outdated and paucity of research justifies the importance of gathering credible data to describe the current use of online technology in the daily work of school counselors and to guide the profession towards further research and possible implications for practice. The profession of school counseling appears to have a divide as to the frequency and type of technology use in delivering services. Uncharted areas include the scope, limits, and ethics of confidentiality and privacy in online technology use, and professional boundaries when web access spills over into counselors’ personal lives.

Methods and Data Sources. A web-based survey was provided to ASCA members/affiliates, a population with appropriate knowledge in the field. Using a case available analysis the statistics were calculated based on the number of respondents for each of the four components of the ASCA model: System Support (n=749), School Guidance Curriculum (n=755), Individual Student Planning (n=747) and Responsive Services (n=755). Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of internal consistency was utilized as a reliability estimate for the items on this scale. Descriptive statistics were computed on all survey items to examine general trends while non-parametric statistics were employed to explore how factors related to counselors’ backgrounds are associated with their technology use and beliefs.

Results. School counselors are employing online technology and communications more often in the area of System Support than the other three components. Forty-nine percent of counselors reported performing tasks related to System Support at least occasionally compared to 29% for School Guidance Curriculum (n=214), 28% (n=206) for Individual Student Planning and 26% (n=199) for Responsive Services. No statistically significant differences were found related to school counselors’ background, working environment or experience. School counselors hold differing beliefs about the role of online technology in their professional practice. The majority of respondents, 53% (n=433) felt that online communication is at least moderately compatible with their role. Significant differences in beliefs about compatibility of online communications with the school counseling role were found among counselors’ with various levels of previous training in technology, H(4)=9.915, p=.042. Technology impacts work boundaries as most counselors (67%, n=511) reported answering non-emergency messages at least occasionally if they receive them outside of regular work hours.

Scholarly significance. This study stands as the only recent data from a national sample identifying trends regarding school counselors’ use of online technology and resultant implications on professional practice across the four components of the American School Counselor Association’s model. The study reveals the need for additional research and the need for national school counseling organizations to provide guidelines for best practices.

Authors

• Carolyn B. Stone, University of North Florida

• Tracy Michele Steele, Stanford University