Despite the development of the American School Counseling Association's National Standards for school counseling programs, the school counseling profession continues to struggle with role ambiguity and role conflict. In an effort to gain additional information regarding the school counselors' role, this study employed a research survey design to examine the principals' and counselors' perceptions of the school counselors' role and to investigate the similarities and differences between those perceptions. A purposeful sample of 141 public school principals and 149 counselors from elementary and secondary schools located within Region 4 in southeast Texas were solicited to complete a modified version of the School Counselor Activity Rating Scale (SCARS) (Scarborough, 2005). The researcher analyzed the data obtained from the SCARS by calculating frequency distributions and percentages for each statement of the SCARS to determine which activities were perceived by principals and counselors as most and least important. The findings of this study indicate the majority of principals and counselors have similar perceptions on 35 of the activities and differing perceptions on 15 of the activities measured on the SCARS.

School Counselors as Practitioners, Second Edition, is a hands-on, practice-based, task-oriented guide to being an effective school counselor. Thoroughly revised, this textbook continues to address the foundation of school counseling, the main duties of a school counselor, the skills needed to be successful, and what to expect as a school counseling professional. All these topics have been updated to include the current thinking, research and evidence-based practices, and challenges in school counseling. Additionally, interviews of principals, school counselors, and community leaders are included, which provide readers with the reality of how to navigate the waters of the comprehensive school counseling program. The chapter authors also highlight the necessity of designing, implementing, and evaluating the counseling program for continuous improvement. Online resources provide students with templates and handouts for on-the-job responsibilities, as well as quiz questions for every chapter. This updated edition is essential reading for counselor educators, graduate students enrolled in a school counseling program, supervisors of school counselors, including administrators, and practicing school counselors.

This qualitative study analyzed the perceptions of public school principals and assistant principals regarding the appropriateness of school counselor duty assignments. Perceptions of the participants were compared to the recommendations published in 2005 by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) in its National Model. Further comparisons were made between the perceptions of elementary and secondary administrators. Participants (N=91) represented 15 of the 16 school districts in one south central county in Pennsylvania. A survey was used to collect data as well as subsequent interviews with 12 randomly-selected participants. Results indicated that although most participants rated themselves as only slightly familiar with the ASCA National Model, their perceptions regarding which counselor duties were important and which were not important matched the recommendations in the model. The duty ranked most differently by elementary and secondary principals was the delivery of classroom guidance lessons, which the elementary principals felt was much more important than the secondary principals. Although some non-counseling duty assignments were discovered during the data collection process, results indicated a very favorable outlook for school counselors who wish to comply with the ASCA National Model and implement an effective comprehensive guidance program for their school.