School Counseling - Research Paper Example

The program also prepares students for improving their social behaviors that are needed to grow positively in the society. Here, an important point to mention is that a school counseling program is not just focused towards working with students, rather it works collaboratively with all stakeholders of the institute that include parents, teachers, students, and the community members. The purpose of engaging all stakeholders in the counseling program is to ensure that students prosper in an all-inclusive environment, which is extremely important for a student to reach his/her highest potential.

The role of the school counselor is critical in improving academic and personal behaviors of the students. As Brown and Trusty (2005), “School counselors can use strategic interventions to improve academic achievement” (p. 1). A counselor is actually a guide or a leader who serves the needs of the students by taking in consideration their needs and demands and conveying them to the related authorities if necessary. It is the job of a counselor to listen to the concerns of students individually and in groups to identify their behavioral deficiencies and learning needs, as well as to help them improve their behaviors and achieve academic goals.

A counselor listens to the students to get their viewpoints about the learning environment and tells them the ways to prosper in the environment in an appropriate manner. It is also the responsibility of a counselor to guide students in developing and maintain positive peer-to-peer and student-teacher relationships both of which are necessary for the students to show improved school performances. A counselor also works on improving the social attitudes and behaviors of students to help them become productive citizens.

The phases of a school counseling program include planning, designing, implementing,