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In the year 2000, over one million children were involved in a new divorce. These statistics indicated that this subgroup of children would continue to be a large part of the school population. The school, because of time spent there, becomes a likely place for the recognition and identification of problems that may arise from parental divorce, thus providing an appropriate setting for interventions to be conducted. The purpose of this study was to determine how parents, classroom teachers, and school counselors viewed the role of the school as a support system for children of divorce. The study also explored opinions about intervention and suggestions from divorced parents with children in schools. In this phenomenological study, a guided interview guide was used to interview 20 parents, 20 classroom teachers, and 8 school counselors. Data were collected, analyzed, and arranged into themes. From the findings the researcher concluded that parents, classroom teachers, and school counselors were aware that families of divorce sometimes require school intervention for their child's well being. Parents interviewed indicated that school staff should be informed of a parental divorce, by stating that the classroom teacher and counselor, if needed, should be involved with the child's well being. They also indicated that they believed school counselors were trained to provide divorce intervention, and they gave suggestions for the school to consider when working with children of divorce. Classroom teachers interviewed indicated that intervention should be used for children of divorce in the school setting if needed, that they used some kind of strategy when needed, and that they saw the school counselor as a resource in divorce intervention. School counselors interviewed indicated that it was the counselor's responsibility to assist children of divorce. They stated that they had not had specific training in divorce intervention, and gave examples of divorce intervention techniques used in their home school.

Sammanfattning Titel: Skolkuratorn och läraren - i strid eller samspel? Författare: Laura Mäkinen & Linnea Nyland Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka upplevelsen av samverkan med lärare i grundskolan utifrån en skolkurators perspektiv. Utifrån tre forskningsfrågor undersöktes skolkuratorers generella upplevelse av samverkan, vilka hindrande och främjande faktorer som existerar kring samverkan mellan lärare och skolkuratorer samt eventuella förbättringsmöjligheter inom området. Studien använde en kvalitativ metod i form av halvstrukturerade intervjuer för att få utrymme för öppna frågor under intervjutillfällena. Sex yrkesverksamma skolkuratorer intervjuades vid fem olika tillfällen. Som analysmetod användes en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Den teori som användes i uppsatsen var Bourdieus fältteori med fokus på begreppen habitus, kapital och fält. Uppsatsens resultat påvisade att lärare upplevdes ha en förväntan på skolkuratorernas arbetsuppgifter som inte överensstämmer med skolkuratorns egen uppfattning. Exempelvis uppgavs att skolkuratorer tenderar att få andra uppdrag från lärare som inte inkluderas i deras ordinarie arbetsuppgifter. Vidare kunde främjande och hindrande faktorer utmärkas. De skolkuratorer som hade sin anställning fördelad på flera skolor upplevde en tidsbrist som påverkar samverkan negativt, något som är en hindrande faktor för samverkan. I resultatet uppmärksammades detta som ett exempel på faktorer att fokusera på i framtida utvecklingsarbete. / Abstract Title: The school counselor and the teacher - in conflict or concurrence? Authors: Laura Mäkinen & Linnea Nyland The purpose of this study was to examine school counselors’ experiences of collaboration with teachers in elementary school. Based on three research questions, the study examined school counselors’ general experience of collaboration, hindering and promoting factors for collaboration between school counselors and teachers, and if there are areas that can be improved. The study used a qualitative method in the form of half-structured interviews to make room for open questions during the interview. Six professional school counselors were interviewed on five different occasions. To analyze the data, a qualitative content analysis was used. The theory used in the study was Bourdieu’s field theory, focusing on habitus, capital and field. The result of the study showed that teachers seemed to have expectations on school counselors' assignments that do not correspond with the school counselors view on the matter. As an example, school counselors tend to get tasks which are not included in their primary work assignment. Furthermore, both promoting and hindering factors were identified. School counselors who had their work employment divided between several schools had limited time to engage with coworkers and students. This affected the collaboration negatively, thus becoming a hindering factor to collaboration. This was acknowledged in the results as an example of factors to improve in future development work.

From my own experience as a school counselor I have learned that the decision making processes in terms of supporting and helping the students is extremely hard and very individual. In different situations, a different approach between individuals is present. I thought about which factors effects the school counselor’s way of handling problematic situations. I soon realized that the individual has a great effect on the work itself. This brought my attention and I found it necessary to research the area more.This thesis is about the counselors in school and their assessments. The main focus is on differences in the decision making processes, if differences appear and why.By using theories that focus on interpretation of actions this thesis presents an insight in the school counselors work and provide the readers an explanation model to why differences appear. The theories used in this thesis are symbolic interactionism, phenomenology and social construction. These three theories are closely connected to one another and the selected keyword of each theory works as the foundation of the analysis. The main result of the study showed that interpretation of the situation and what references the interpreter has is critical to the result of actions. Many different factors however effects the interpretations based on the individual, such as emotional intelligence and the complexity of a professional relationship.

The demands on teachers have been further amplified both personal and professional in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the level of stress teachers face is unsustainable. Stress can have negative outcomes for the teacher student relationship. Increasing teachers' social-emotional competence can lead to a more supportive classroom environment and improved teacher and student outcomes. Researchers have determined mindfulness-based interventions are conducive to increasing teachers' social-emotional competence. School counselors can assist and equip teachers with these vital skills through consultation services. To date, there are no studies that investigate the effects of a combined mindfulness and social-emotional learning-based school counselor consultation approach. In this study, I sought to explore the results of that approach. Teacher participants reported their racial identity as 22% Black (n = 7), 46% Caucasian (n = 15), 25% Hispanic (n = 8), 3% multi-racial (n = 1), and 3% Asian (n = 1) and self-reported gender as follows 38% male (n = 12) and 62% female (n = 20). Participants received 5 weeks of a combined mindfulness and social-emotional learning school counselor consultation. Results of hierarchical linear regressions revealed statistically significant improvement in the mindfulness disposition of acting with awareness, and practical significance of decreased perceived stress and conflict in the teacher student relationship. Results of this study illustrate the possible benefits of utilizing school counselor consultation to increase the socio-emotional competence of teachers through mindfulness.

Titel: ”Tillgång är att synas och finnas tillgänglig” - En kvalitativ studie om hur yrkesverksamma skolkuratorer arbetar för att säkerställa att eleverna har tillgång till en skolkurator Författare: Irvina Bajramovic och Frida Bloom  Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur yrkesverksamma skolkuratorer inom grundskolan arbetar för att säkerställa att eleverna har tillgång till en skolkurator. För att besvara studiens syfte har en kvalitativ metod tillämpats och sju semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med skolkuratorer som arbetar i kommunala grundskolor i västra Sverige. Det insamlade materialet har tolkats och analyserats utifrån begreppen formell och informell organisation samt handlingsutrymme. Resultatet visade att skollagens (SFS 2010:800) formulering gällande elevernas tillgång till en skolkurator ger ett stort tolkningsutrymme och därmed att elevernas tillgång till en skolkurator kan se olika ut. Vidare framkom att utformningen av skolkuratorns tjänst påverkas av hur rektorn väljer att tolka den aktuella lagen. Inom de ramar som skolkuratorerna ges har de dock stor frihet att själva utforma sitt arbete för att vara tillgängliga. Resultatet visade även att skolkuratorerna arbetade med att vistas bland elever för att skapa tillitsfulla relationer med eleverna och därmed vara mer tillgängliga och öka chansen att de självmant söker hjälp hos skolkuratorn. Sammanfattningsvis visade studiens resultat att skolkuratorer inte alltid kan garantera att alla elever får det stöd som de är i behov av. / Titel: ”Access is to be visible and accessible” - A qualitative study about how school counselors work to ensure that students have access to a school counselor Authors: Irvina Bajramovic och Frida Bloom The aim of the study has been to investigate how school counselors work to ensure that students have access to a school counselor. To attain the aim of the study, a qualitative method has been used and seven semi-structured interviews have been conducted with school counselors who work at municipal elementary schools in the west part of Sweden. The collected material has been interpreted and analyzed from the perspective of the terms formal and informal organization, as well as discretion. The result showed that the wording of the Swedish school law (SFS 2010:800) regarding students’ access to a school counselor leaves a big room for interpretation, which makes students’ access to a school counselor vary a lot. Moreover, it showed that the school counselors’ employments to a large extent are affected by the principals’ interpretation of the law. To continue, the result showed that school counselors make sure to be present among the students to create trustful relationships, and thereby be more accessible and increase the likelihood that the students voluntarily seek support at the school counselor. To summarize, the study showed that school counselors cannot always guarantee that all students get the support that they need.

Title: “Ethical dilemmas in school counselors work, a interview study with seven school counselors”: A study of school counselors experiences of ethical dilemmas and relations to students.  The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the school counselor experience an ethical dilemma when reporting a concern and whether the relationship is affected after the concern report has been made, as well as how the school counselor maintains a good relationship with the student. The study was based on three research questions which were following: Which ethical dilemmas occur when the school counselor finds out that a child maltreatment? How is the relationship between the school counselor and the student affected when the report of concern has been sent to social services? How does the school counselor maintain a good relationship with the student after a report of concern has been sent to social services?  The following study is a qualitative study where seven school counselors who work in primary schools were interviewed. Material was produced through previous research in the research area and the search process included both national and global research. During the search process, we discovered that there are knowledge gaps on a national level and globally regarding whether school counselors experience ethical dilemmas and how the relationship with the student can be affected and maintained after a report of concern. The results have been analyzed while relating them to previous research and theories. The results showed that when there was evidence for their concern, the school counselors did not experience any ethical dilemmas, for example in cases of physical violence. On the other hand, the school counselors experience an ethical dilemma in situations that are ambiguous, for example in cases of psychological violence. The school counselors also experience an ethical dilemma when the laws contradict each other, where the best interests of the child as a primary consideration is not taken into consideration. Furthermore, a report of concern can affect the relationship between the school counselor and the student. This can either result in parents silencing their children, which means that the children are no longer allowed to talk to the counselors, or that the children deviate from the school counselor by themselves. In such cases, the school counselor needs to hand over the responsibility to usually the students mentor at the school and supervise them. The exchange of information takes place between the school counselor and the where the school counselor follows the student's situation through the student's mentor.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how school counselors describe their work with youths mental illness and how they experience the collaboration of the work with other professions. The study presented three main questions and was based on a qualitative approach. Six semi-structured interviews were held with school counselors to answer the three main questions. The collected material from the interviews was then analyzed through a qualitative content analysis and then interpreted using the concepts of collaboration and empowerment. The results showed that all respondents had a common view that mental illness among young people has increased. School-related pressure, social media, the Covid-19 pandemic and different forms of disabilities are described by the respondents as factors that can lead to mental illness in individual students. The respondents described that many students need help through individual counseling, however, there was a desire among the respondents to work more preventively and health-promoting at group level. The result also showed a broad picture of collaboration as the school counselors described themselves as having a large number of contacts with students and parents as well as professional groups such as teachers, social workers and police. Student-health and collaboration with teachers were highlighted as important parts of collaboration in reference to young people's mental health. The study's conclusion results in the school counselor having an important role for young people with mental illness, both by being the one who intercepts and supports but also by cooperating with other professions.

Mental illness continues to increase, and it is a societal problem that involves many young people. Young people often spend large parts of their upbringing in school and thus this is a place where mental illness becomes particularly evident. School counselors are psychosocial experts who, according to SFS 2010:800, must work to promote health and prevent mental illness. On the other hand, there are organizational challenges in the school counselors' work that prevent them from working as much preventively as they really needed. The aim of the study is therefore to increase understanding of how the school counselors experience their preventive work against mental illness. The study has been based on a qualitative method and is primarily based on the eight interviews held through a semi-structured interview method. The interviewees in the study are school counselors and are all active in Sweden, both women and men. The school counselors express that mental illness is mainly very individual, but that there are also patterns in many cases of how the mental illness expresses itself. There is a connection in the answers of the interviewees to the fact that there are a lot of organizational challenges in the conditions for working preventively against mental illness. The challenges are mainly about lack of time, uneven distribution of resources, unclear guidelines, and a lack of cooperation with other professionals both internally and externally.

The purpose of the study is to investigate school counselors' work with issues related to concerns that a child is being harmed due to abuse or neglect, and what they believe affects their decision to submit or not to submit a report of concern. The study uses a qualitative method with semi structured interviews. The theoretical framework for this study is neoinstitutional theory with focus on organizational fields and institutional logics. The results show that school counselors have a central role in their schools reporting system due to them often being responsible for writing and signing the reports. Considerations they make consist of whether or not to make a report and what approach they should have. Central factors that affect school counselors’ decision-making is; if they suspect physical abuse, if the guardians are willing to cooperate and whether or not social services advice for a report to be made or not. The findings of this study show that school counselors use their knowledge of social work in regards to dealing with suspicion of abuse and neglect and in making reports of concern.