Denna kvalitativa studie utforskar skolkuratorernas roll och arbetssätt för att främja elevers välbefinnande inom grundskolans miljö, med särskilt fokus på användningen av olika strategier och metoder. Studien belyser hur skolkuratorer arbetar för att skapa en trygg och stödjande atmosfär. Den belyser också vikten av skolkuratorers samarbete med annan skolpersonal för att förbättra och optimera deras kurativa insatser. Resultatet av studien bygger på semistrukturerade intervjuer med elva skolkuratorer från Sörmland, Sverige. Denna forskningsstudie visar en diversifierad användning av strategier för att främja elevhälsan. Det understryker också vikten av samarbete som en nyckelfaktor för att skapa en positiv skolmiljö. Genom att belysa dessa aspekter bidrar studien till en djupare förståelse för skolkuratorernas betydelsefulla roll och deras arbetsmetoder, som är avgörande för att stödja och förbättra elevernas välbefinnande inom skolmiljön. / This qualitative study explores the role and working methods of school counselors in promoting student well-being within the primary school environment, with a particular focus on the use of various strategies and methods. The study highlights how school counselors work to create a safe and supportive atmosphere. The results of the study are based on semi-structured interviews with eleven school counselors from Sörmland, Sweden, this research reveals a diversified use of strategies to promote student health. It also underscores the importance of collaboration as a key factor in establishing a positive school environment. By illuminating these aspects, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of the significant role of school counselors and their working methods, which are crucial in supporting and enhancing student well-being within the school setting.

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The roles and responsibilities of school counselors across the United States are often misinterpreted amongst various stakeholders, individual state requirements for educational initiatives, and often among practicing counselors’ own perceptions and view of professional identity. While the American School Counselor Association (ASCA, 2003; 2005) strives to provide ethical standards and practices to solidify the professional identity of school counselors and acquire the qualifications and skills to address all students’ academic, personal/social and career development needs, a clear defined definition and perception of the school counselor continues to become solidified. Perhaps this is due to the changing educational horizon, communities, administration, and federal influences of policies and procedures on schools and school districts (Bain, 2012). Whatever the reason, school counselors are faced with a myriad of challenges that make it difficult in today’s educational society to adhere to the social/emotional, post-secondary/career, and academic needs of all students. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA, 2003;2005) has developed the ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs which establishes a structure for effective school counseling programs; however, school counseling programs, credentials, and educational initiatives can be different from state to state. This study examined high school counselors (9th-12th grade) in Pennsylvania, suburban, public high Schools, specifically in Bucks and Montgomery Counties. A quasi-mixed methods, exploratory research approach was used. Nonparametric statistics were run to determine if a significant impact of demographic variables yielded a difference in school counselors’ self-efficacy. Additionally, school counselors were randomly selected to participate in semi-structured, open-ended interviews, examining high school counselors’ perceptions and self-efficacy regarding their roles and responsibilities pertaining to students’ mental health issues. Results indicated that gender, one’s undergraduate degree of education, and years of experience have significant impact on school counselors' self-efficacy, specifically related to certain items on the Counselor Activity Self-Efficacy Scales (Lent, et al., 2003). After content analysis coding, it was also found that school counselors feel high efficacy beliefs associated with specific roles and responsibilities and that self-efficacy beliefs change if counselors perceive a lack of stakeholder support or do not feel they are valued. Some implications for future research might be a longitudinal study of school counselors’ self-efficacy over a given period of time and a larger sample size. It might also be helpful to combine elements of the CASES Scales with other school counselor based scales to form a more unified measurement that speaks to school counselors’ roles and responsibilities that have been identified within this study and expand to specific mental health diagnosis, disorders, and behaviors. KEY WORDS: School Counseling, Communication, Educational Psychology / Educational Psychology

Hög arbetsbelastning har i tidigare forskning lyfts fram som särskilt påtagligt i skolkuratorers arbetsmiljö. Yrkesrollen beskrivs som ensam och på grund av komplexa arbetsuppgifter finns inte tid för främjande och förebyggande arbete. Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur skolkuratorer upplever sin organisatoriska och sociala arbetsmiljö. Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med 11 skolkuratorer i åldrarna 26-57 år. Materialet analyserades med tematisk analys. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten var krav- och resursmodellen. Resultatet visade att skolkuratorerna upplevde ansvar över ett stort antal elevärenden vilket gav upphov till kvantitativa krav, samt komplexa arbetsuppgifter som krävde stor kognitiv ansträngning. Dessutom hade skolkuratorerna en otydlig arbetsbeskrivning och upplevde rollkonflikt. Gällande resurser upplevde skolkuratorerna gott socialt stöd från kollegor och genom handledning, samt emotionellt stöd från ledningen. Ytterligare framträdande resurser var upplevd autonomi och återkoppling från elever. Trots en jämn fördelning mellan antalet funna krav och resurser beskrevs kraven som något tyngre vilket resulterade i en obalanserad arbetsmiljö.

The purpose of the study was to investigate and analyze the role of school counselors in detecting and preventing juvenile delinquency. To address this purpose, a qualitative method was used in the form of an interview study, where eight middle school counselors were interviewed. The data was processed through thematic analysis. Subsequently, the results were analyzed in relation to system theory and collaboration theory. The results indicate that school counselors currently work on crime detection and prevention, albeit not to the extent they desire. The lack of preventive work is a consequence of resource scarcity, weak school structure, and ambiguity regarding the role of school counselors in legislation. Additionally, the sense of professional isolation experienced by school counselors and the resulting heavy workload hinder crime prevention efforts. To effectively detect and prevent juvenile delinquency, school counselors collaborate with other stakeholders. Building relationships with students also allows school counselors to work on detecting and preventing juvenile delinquency. The study concludes that school counselors have a significant, but often overlooked role in crime preventative work. / Syftet med studien var att undersöka och analysera skolkuratorns roll för att upptäcka och förebygga ungdomsbrottslighet. För att besvara syftet användes en kvalitativ metod i form av en intervjustudie, där åtta högstadiekuratorer intervjuades. Empirin bearbetades genom en tematisk analys. Därefter analyserades resultatet i relation till systemteori och samverkansteori. Av resultatet framkommer att skolkuratorer idag arbetar brottsupptäckande och förebyggande, dock inte i den utsträckning de önskar. Bristen på förebyggande arbete är en konsekvens av resursbrist, svag struktur i skolan samt en otydlighet gällande skolkuratorns roll i skollagen. Vidare visar resultatet att skolkuratorerna upplever en ensamhet i professionen och har därmed en stor arbetsbelastning vilket hämmar det brottsförebyggande arbetet. För att på bästa sätt upptäcka och förebygga ungdomsbrottslighet arbetar skolkuratorer i samverkan med andra aktörer. Även genom relationsskapande med eleverna kan skolkuratorn arbeta för att upptäcka och förebygga ungdomsbrottslighet. Studiens slutsats är att skolkuratorer har en betydelsefull men ofta förbisedd roll i det brottsförebyggande arbetet.

Career development is a component of the work of both school counselors and counselor educators. A review of the literature found no existing comparison of between-rural differences in career self-efficacy and college outcome expectation when considering students from rural fringe, rural distant, and rural remote communities. Utilizing Social Cognitive Career Theory and Critical Pedagogy of Place as guiding theoretical frameworks, this study sought to examine between-rural differences in self-efficacy and outcome expectation. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze data collected from rural college students attending a large Appalachian research university. Regression and path analysis were used to make causal inferences from the data. The mixed-method exploratory study utilized a convergent design where qualitative data was concurrently collected and analyzed to provide context to the quantitative findings. The findings show that while no statistically significant between-group differences existed with outcome expectation, rural remote students had lower self-efficacy scores than other rural students, particularly relating to social skills. Large group social skills and social adjustment to college could be valuable areas of intervention for school counselors and higher education administrators looking to improve college outcomes for rural remote students. / Doctor of Philosophy / Career and college preparation are key components to the work of school counselors and higher education administrators. While a review of the literature shows that the career development needs of rural students are different than their non-rural peers, there has been no examination of the differences that exist between rural groups. This study looked at differences in career development among rural students who had grown up in various levels of remoteness. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to determine if any differences exist and what those differences are. The results showed that students from more remote areas had lower levels of confidence in their ability to succeed academically in college. Additionally, social skills were a common theme when exploring what areas of transition were difficult for rural students.

The school counselor is the person who works with social work in the school. A school counselor's assignment is multifaceted, with duties playing a central role in health promotion and prevention work against for example mental illness, bullying and abusive treatment. The aim of this study has been to increase understanding of how school counselors and principals perceive the school counselor's assignment and the limitations that affect it. Our study emanates from eight semistructured qualitative interviews with school counselors and principals which were analyzed using sentence concentration. The results show that the assignment is perceived as vague where job descriptions are unclear. This in turn affects the school counselors' discretion. School counselors feel that their role is "fuzzy" and that there are unreasonable expectations from other professions. Furthermore, the results show that the main factors that control and limit the assignment are laws, regulations, guidelines, lack of resources such as time and finances, and the expectations of the principal and other professionals. Our conclusion is that school counselors need a clearer job description in order to clarify their assignment and their role at school. The school counselors described a desire to be able to devote more time to preventive work in order to be able to work more proactively than reactively.

En uppsats om skolkuratorers syn och arbete med psykisk hälsa. Studien syftade till att undersöka hur skolkuratorer som arbetar med tonåringar ser på och arbetar med psykisk hälsa samt hur det förebyggande och främjande arbetet med psykisk hälsa bedrivs. Uppsatsen tar utgångspunkt i bakgrund om psykisk hälsa bland unga, elevhälsans uppdrag och kuratorns ansvar. Vidare utgår uppsatsen från aktuell litteratur kring ungas psykiska hälsa, psykosocialt arbete inom skolan samt skolkuratorers arbete, förebyggande metoder och hälsofrämjande arbete. En kvalitativ studie genomfördes där fem skolkuratorer inom högstadiet och gymnasiet intervjuade kring deras arbete med psykisk hälsa. Materialet analyserades genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys där resultatet påvisade två huvudkategorier; Arbetssätt – en variabel av relation, samverkan, perspektiv och handlingsutrymme samt Psykisk hälsa – ett individuellt gränsland med tillhörande subkategorier. Resultatet diskuterades utifrån organisationsteorin och förståelse från bakgrundsavsnittet. Studien resulterade i en slutsats om att skolkuratorer ser på psykisk hälsa som en individuell upplevelse som både överensstämde och skiljde sig från definitionen av begreppet. En annan slutsats av studien är att skolkuratorer arbetar med psykisk hälsa i stor utsträckning genom att bemöta symptom på psykisk ohälsa, främst på individnivå genom enskilda samtal. Arbete med psykisk hälsa som är förebyggande och främjande sker i större utsträckning på organisatorisk nivå men även på gruppnivå. Slutligen kunde författarna säga att studien visat att psykisk hälsa innehåller och påverkas av flera komponenter och att det därmed är svårt för skolkuratorerna att arbeta generellt med psykisk hälsa. Arbetet bedrivs istället genom arbete med specifika faktorer som kan påverka psykisk hälsa. / An essay on school counselors view and work on mental health. The study aimed to investigate how school counselors who work with adolescence work with and view mental health and the prevention and promotion work on mental health carries. The essay is based on the background of mental health among young people, student health's mission and responsibility of the school counselor. Furthermore the essay is based on current research on young people's mental health, psychosocial work within the school and school counselors work, methods of prevention and health promotion. A qualitative study was carried with five school counselors working in different high schools. The material from individual interviews with the school counselors was analysed by a qualitative analysis where the results showed two main categories; Working method - a variable of relationship, cooperation, perspectives and discretion and Mental health - an individual borderland, with its subcategories. The results were discussed on the basis of organizational theory and with understanding of the background section. The study resulted in a conclusion that school counselors look at mental health as an individual experience that is both consistent and differed from the conception. Another conclusion of the study is that school counselors work with mental health to a great extent by treating the symptoms of mental illness, particularly at the individual level and individual cases. Work on mental health, prevention and promotion is done to a greater extent on a organizational level but also at a group level. Finally, the authors could say that the study showed that mental health includes and is affected by several components and that it is therefore difficult for school counselors working in general with mental health. Work was instead carried by working with individual factors that could affect mental health.