Racial Injustice in the School-to-College Pipeline: Gatekeeping Practices of School Counselors

• In Event: Equipping School Counselors for Inclusive Postsecondary Transitions: Navigating Student Shifting Plans, Racial Injustice, and College Readiness Strategies

Abstract

Purpose:
School counselors have pivotal roles in the college-going process as they are the professionals trained to address the college and career development for students through the development of comprehensive school counseling programs built on collaboration with parents, teachers, administrators, and the overall community (ASCA, 2019). Particularly important is that for low-income, first-generation students and other marginalized populations, school counselors may be the first or only contact for college readiness information (Griffin et al., 2011; McDonough & Fann, 2007). The objectives of this case study are: 1) to share the experiences of one parent in navigating the college going process for her son; and 2) to construct new educational discussions around dismantling and rebuilding a more equitable approach in college going processes.

Perspective:
School counselors are given an important role in the college going process as most colleges and universities require a letter of recommendation from the school counselor. Requiring letters of recommendation from school counselors is a practice that sets up inequitable outcomes in the college process, especially as school counselors often act as “gatekeepers” to college information, choosing which information to extend, when to extend it, and to whom to extend it (Hill Collins, 2009; McDonough & Fann, 2007). This is extremely troubling as results of a national survey of over 2000 school counselors suggest that many maintain limited confidence in their capacity to enact their college advising role (Parikh-Foxx et al., 2020). Over one-third of school counselors reported receiving no professional training in college and career readiness advising, and the majority reported receiving only a moderate level of training, which could contribute to minimal commitment to comprehensive college readiness support to students and parents (Parikh-Foxx et al., 2020). Moreover, over two-thirds of school counselors reported challenges in delivering college readiness activities, reflecting factors such as minimal time and lack of administrator support. To the extent that parents seek out school counselors, the school counselors may lack efficacy and direct training to provide support.

Methods
Using an ethnographic case study approach, chosen because it privileges the depth, rather than the time span, of the collected data (O’Reilly, 2008) and allows researchers to explore an event, issue, process, or one or more individuals (Creswell, 2009). Data will be collected from interviews and artifacts. All data will be hand coded, meaning that I will read, highlight, and write notes by hand to help support data analysis.

Data Sources
African American mother of high school male.

Results
Data analysis is on-going, but will be completed by December 2023.

Scholarly Significance
Students and parents from marginalized populations continue to receive inequitable treatment regarding college going practices, demonstrating a need for researchers to explore the nature
of these practices and processes and how they continue to serve as a system of oppression for
marginalized populations. Data from this study will advance the field and galvanize the professional discourse around the role of school counselors in the college going process.

Author

• Dana Griffin, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill