School Counselors as School Leaders: Defining and Teaching School Counselor Leadership

• In Event: Leadership Roles, Responsibilities, and Opportunities Across School Settings and Systems

Abstract

This phenomenological study explores how current school counselors perceive their leadership and readiness as school counselor leaders, and how their school counselor training programs impacted their readiness to exercise their leadership. Findings for the study highlight how counselor leadership is developed and training programs are key in this formation of the counselor leader identity. Moreover, the study underscores the need for alignment between the school counselor role and its actual responsibilities, and how these might impact the school counselors’ perceived leadership. While participants in this study did not ascribe to a leadership style, they describe leadership traits that align to the demands of the counseling profession and how these can be harnessed in educational environments.

Authors

• Margarita Landeros, California State University - Dominguez Hills

• Jessica Alvarez, California State University - Dominguez Hills