Studien undersökte skolkuratorers uppfattningar om det suicidpreventiva arbetet i högstadieskolor. Syftet var att identifiera verkningsfulla metoder och utmaningar. Genom kvalitativa intervjuer med sex skolkuratorer framkom att relationsskapande, samverkan och kunskap är centrala för effektiv suicidprevention. Informanterna betonade vikten av starka relationer med elever och samarbete med skolpersonal för tidiga insatser. De största utmaningarna var resursbrist, bristande kunskap och föräldrainvolvering.  Känsla av Sammanhang användes som teoretiskt ramverk för att analysera hur skolkuratorer hanterar sitt arbete. Resultaten visade att en hög grad av begriplighet, hanterbarhet och meningsfullhet hos skolkuratorerna främjar deras suicidpreventiva insatser. Studien avslutades med förslag på hur skolor kan förbättra sina insatser genom att stärka personalens kompetens och öka resurserna för elevhälsan. / The study explored school counselors' perceptions of suicide prevention work in secondary schools. The aim was to identify effective methods and challenges. Through qualitative interviews with six school counselors, it was found that relationship building, collaboration, and knowledge are crucial for effective suicide prevention. The respondents emphasized the importance of strong relationships with students and cooperation with school staff for early interventions. The biggest challenges were resource shortages, lack of knowledge, and parental involvement. Sense of Coherence was used as the theoretical framework to analyze how school counselors manage their work. The results showed that a high degree of comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness among the school counselors enhances their suicide prevention efforts. The study concluded with suggestions on how schools can improve their efforts by strengthening staff competence and increasing resources for student health services.

Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka skolkuratorers erfarenheter av våld i unga parrelationer, deras uppfattning av hur våldet ter sig samt hur de identifierar och arbetar stödjande i frågan. Data samlades in genom intervjuer med fem skolkuratorer i Mellansverige och analyserades med hjälp av tematisk analys ur ett systemteoretiskt perspektiv och KASAM. Resultatet visade att ungdomar har bristande kunskap gällande våld i parrelationer, något som leder till att det sällan rapporteras. Till följd av okunskap hos ungdomarna är våldet svåridentifierat, ungdomar tenderar att förstora småsaker som kan leda till kontroll i relationen, medan de har svårt att identifiera och en tendens att nonchalera det våld som faktiskt förekommer. Kuratorerna arbetar preventivt och stödjande på olika sätt och deras egna intressen i frågan styr arbetet då de inte har något metodstöd för att arbeta preventivt, identifiera förekomst av våld eller stötta utsatta ungdomar. / The purpose of this study was to investigate high school counselors' experiences of domestic violence in adolescents' relationships and how they implement their knowledge of this subject in their daily work. The empirical data was collected through interviews with five school counselors in Sweden. The analysis was done by using the method thematic analysis and the theoretical perspectives consisted of the general systems theory and sense of coherence. Results revealed that domestic violence in adolescents' relationships rarely being reported. As a result of adolescents' ignorance regarding violence it's difficult to identify. Adolescents also tend to magnify behaviors amongst each other and neglect the violence that occurs due to their lack of knowledge. Results revealed that the school counselors' work methods seemed to depend on their own interest in the subject because they don´t have any evidence-based methodological support to identifying domestic violence and supporting students exposed to it.

While current accountability regimes in U.S. public education focus on the job performance of individual school professionals, research in industrial/organizational psychology has established the importance of system-wide factors for organizational outcomes. The purpose of this study was to identify school-wide factors that predict guidance program readiness in New York State high schools. This nonexperimental, quantitative study was based on a survey sample of 97 guidance counselors in New York State. Multivariariate analyses of variance showed that two school-wide independent variables-urbanization of school location and counselor-student ratio-predict scores on guidance program readiness, measured using the American School Counselor Association Readiness Survey. This instrument assesses program readiness on seven subscales-community support, leadership, guidance curriculum, staff/time use, counselor's beliefs and attitudes, counselor's skills, district resources-and overall program readiness. Because prior research shows that this instrument predicts guidance program effectiveness, the findings of the present research have important implications for school reform debates. Specifically, it would appear that school-wide factors significantly influence guidance program outcomes, calling into question the adequacy of accountability systems based on the job performance of individual guidance counselors and other education professionals. This research contributes to a growing body of evidence in support of the whole system paradigm of school reform, which seeks to improve both individual and system outcomes through system transformation.

The purpose of this study has been to examine and analyze school counselors’ experience of collaboration with other professions in the student health team and the preconditions for their work. The study is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with six elementary-, and two high school student counselors in a medium-sized town in Sweden. The theoretical approach being used is: role theory, theory of professions and theory about collaboration. The study´s result shows that the school counselors’ experience an unclarity in their job assignments and their role is often described as diffuse and vauge. Furthermore, the result also shows that personality, different perspectives, education, lack of time, resources and confidentiality is affecting their possibility to execute an independent professional social work in the student health team. This study also shows that the school counselors valuate collaboration. A opportunity that sometimes is being obstructed through the different perspectives as compared to the other professions in the student health team, and therefore affects their experience of collaboration.

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of school counselors who address the mental health needs of students through at least one of the following educational evidenced-based programs: Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports, Response to Intervention, Restorative Practices, and Student Assistance Program. EBPs have evolved as a staple of quality educational programming with a focus on best practices, data, and accountability. Over the past several decades, school counselors have struggled to demonstrate efficiency, accountability, and transparency consistently in counseling outcomes (Generali, Foss-Kelly, & McNamara, 2013). Recent literature in school counseling embraces the movement toward evidenced based practices to urge counselors to demonstrate their capacity for leadership, advocacy, and accountability (Cressey, Whitcomb, McGilvray-Rivet, Morrison, & Shander-Reynolds, 2014; Goodman-Scott, Betters-Bubon, & Donohue, 2015). Six significant themes emerged through data analysis: 1) Cultivating advocacy and leadership skills; 2) Recognizing benefits of EBP integration; 3) Being frontline in mental health as personal-social domain dominates school counselor role; 4) Collaborating and consulting with school and community stakeholders; 5) Needing supportive environment to promote mental wellness; and 6) Navigating EBP implementation challenges. Findings from this study suggest that promoting mental wellness using EBPs is conducive to address the personal social needs of students. Moreover, the school counselor participants indicated that the EBPs reviewed were valuable school reform models as the EBPs address students’ mental health needs. The findings also suggest that school counselors, as key educational stakeholders, should be included in the discourse of EBP advancement, execution, and assessment.

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School counsellors have been an occupation in Sweden since the 1940s but despite this, there is very little knowledge and research about school counsellors’ preconditions according to their work. This study aims to examine in what frequencies school counsellors’ use evidence-based methods in their work with students in senior high school. The result is based on a survey with N 215 respondents from all over Sweden and the analysis theoretical perspective is founded on evidence-based practice (EBP) and new institutional theory. The result indicates that school counsellors in Sweden do not use evidence-based methods to such an extent and that there are organisational and structural obstacles for school counsellors to base their work from evidence-based practice. There is a decoupling process where ideals of EBP do not match the reality as different kinds of logic appear and come into conflict with each other over whose legitimacy is the one that should dominate the organizational field. To increase the conditions, a school management that provides support and enables professional guidance and competence development is needed. The research field needs to start looking at the school counsellors’ practice from a bottom-up perspective to see what they do that works and develop EBP and the organizational field based on this. This is one way to give school counsellors’ more legitimacy.

The aim of this study is to analyze school counselors' experience regarding their work with children living under difficult home conditions. The objective is the counselors' view on their profession, their perceived mandate within their professional role, and the resources allocated to them. The method applied in this study is a qualitative approach. The data collection is characterized by interviews conducted with seven school counselors. Previous research has shown that the professional role as school counselor is unclear, and that the profession lacks precise policies. In research studies, Lipsky's theory of grassroots bureaucrats has been used, where we also have chosen to use the informal and formal scope. Through analysis, the result has shown that several of the school counselors perceive their professional role as undefined. Some of the school counselors said that they appreciate the unclear role because it provides them with an extensive and flexible mandate within their professional role. Furthermore the result shows that the school counselors perceive that some laws, such as the confidentiality law for example, limits their professional mandate. In the realm of available resources, the result has shown that most school counselors experience insufficient resources, often in the form of time and lack of competence development. Overall the school counselors experience limitations within their role and there are thus opportunities for development.

The aim of this study was to examine school counselors' experience working with high school students' psychosocial health during spring 2020 when school was online. The empirical data consists of qualitative interviews with nine school counselors. The result showed that school counselors used their discretion at a greater extent to help and support their students during spring 2020. They also said that the online communication made it easier for some students to contact the counselors. The school counselors said that there were some students that dislike the online way of communicating and in these cases the school counselors made other arrangements for them. Furthermore, the school counselors could see that virtual learning had an impact on the students psychosocial health mainly due to the lack of everyday routines and social contact with other students. The results of the interviews were analyzed using the theoretical concept of discretion and the professional meeting. The conclusion states that school counselors need to incorporate digital communication in their everyday work even when school is not online to be able to meet the needs of every student. It also shows the great impact school has on students' psychosocial health.

Previous research has shown there is a lack of studies made about school counselors and their work with secondary school students, especially in a Swedish context. Although the research is limited, there are a few studies who can show that there is a distancing of students towards school counselors and students seeking help, but there also seems to be a lack of direction that makes school counselors work tasks to appear unclear. Previous research shows that there seem to be a few explanatory factors that may impact this behavior of students such as a lack of trust, a fear that confidentiality will be compromised as well as other people's opinions. The purpose of this study was to describe, analyze and find possible connections between secondary students' knowledge and attitudes towards school counselors and counselors' work tasks, and also secondary students' tendency to seek help. The study was carried out by a quantitative questionnaire study with focus on two different schools in two different municipalities. Empirical material was collected through google forms and participants were asked to fill out the survey online. We visited a few schools who were interested in participating in the questionnaire. The reason for this was because we had an idea of an increasing number of participants by visiting schools and informing them about this study and its purpose, and also to be able to answer any questions they might have. The results were analyzed through a univariate and a bivariate analysis and by using the Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS). The results showed that students had a rather positive attitude towards school counselors, but still tend to not seek help if needed, which can be due to a lack of trust to the counselor.