This study examines the alignment between Arizona public high school Administrators' expectations of professional school counselors, the ASCA National Model (2005), and the instruments used in Arizona to evaluate professional school counselors. Participants included ten principals and assistant principals, and 103 of the 111 public school districts with at least one high school in Arizona. Data was obtained through semistructured interviews, document, and content analysis. Organizational Role Theory and Leader-Member Exchange Theory guided the qualitative and quantitative analysis. Findings indicate that administrators' expectations of professional school counselors align 62% with the ASCA National Model, while the instruments used in Arizona to evaluate professional school counselors align 13% with administrators' expectations of professional school counselors and 21% with the ASCA National Model. The best predictor of alignment was school district use of a school counselor-specific evaluation instrument. Recommendations focused on the need for clearer communication of role expectations between administrators and counselors, and for more meaningful evaluation practices that align with counseling standards.

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Youth living in the United States are experiencing increasing rates of mental health issues (New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2003; U.S. Department of Education, 2006) and are less likely to receive mental health services (U.S.DHHS, 2009). Children and adolescent mental health services are fragmented, often times ineffective, and difficult to obtain (Brown, 2006; Center for Mental Health in Schools, 2008; Jacob, 2008). Children of color and children living in poverty (ASCA, 2009; Panigua, 2005; Shavers, 2013; and Vera, Buhin, & Shin, 2006), are more likely than their peers to experience mental health disorders and less likely to receive outside mental health services (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,1999; U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, 2001). Professional school counselors, play a significant role in identifying, meeting and connecting students in need of additional mental health services (ASCA, 2012; Jacob, 2008) and are advised to collaborate with community agencies to better meet the mental health needs of all their students (ASCA, 2009; ASCA, 2012). If left untreated, mental health issues can have a direct impact on students’ learning and academic performance (Adelman & Taylor, 2006). In response, there have been many recent initiatives to promote mental health in schools, including H.R. 628: Mental Health in Schools Act currently being considered by a United States congressional committee. School-based mental health counseling programs (SBMHCPs) have been implemented to address the fragmented mental health delivery system for children and adolescents needing mental health services (Center for Mental Health in Schools, 2003; New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2003; & Surgeon General Report on Mental Health, 1999). There is limited research about SBMHCPs from the perspective of those who have been addressing the mental health needs of students for decades—professional school counselors and professional school counselor educators. This qualitative study examined professional school counselors’ and counselor educators’ experiences working collaboratively with school-based mental health counselors. Seventeen school counselors (n=17) and five (n=5) counselor educators participated in a structured online questionnaire. Phenomenological data analysis methods were used to analyze the results (Hays & Woods, 2011; Moustakas, 1994). Results describe professional school counselor and counselor educator’s perceptions about school-based mental health programs, the roles of professional school counselors and school-based mental health counselors, training recommendations, and funding issues related to school-based mental health programs.

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MEd (Educational Psychology) / Department of Foundations of Education / This study examined the impact of guidance and counselling on learning outcomes. The study was comparative study of two high schools in Vhembe district located in the Northern part of Limpopo Province, South Africa. A mixed method design was employed, consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches. For the quantitative part an experimental design and a questionnaire were used. Independent samples entailed t-tests to compare the performance of the experimental and control group, a chi-square of association was used to determine the presence/absence of alignment between career and subject choices after counselling, while paired samples t-tests were used to ascertain if there was any improvement in the performance of the two groups. In addition, written mark schedules of pre-test, post-test and a short questionnaire for learners were analysed quantitatively. For the qualitative component face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were used while the purposive sampling technique was used to select 8 Life Orientation teachers, of which 4 were from school A and the other 4 were from school B. In addition, 2 Life Orientation heads of department were interviewed on challenges in implementing Guidance and Counselling in the school curriculum. For the quantitative data analysis, the chi-square and t- test of association was used to determine if there was any difference in career and subject choices alignment and performance between learners exposed to counselling and those not exposed to the program. The overall mean scores were calculated, and the chi-square test was used to indicate if there was any significant difference in career choices and subject alignment and performance between the group that received guidance and counselling and the group which did not receive such support. Fifty learners from the two selected schools were randomly selected, whereby 25 were used for the experiment and the other 25 as a control group. The experimental results indicated that learners who were exposed to guidance and counselling showed improvement in their learning outcomes while those who were not exposed to counselling showed no improvement in their learning outcomes. The fact that group that received guidance and counselling improved suggest that guidance and counselling services should be strengthened in all schools through departmental policy review meetings. / NRF