Roles of School Counselors: Their Strengths and Weaknesses

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Introduction. Counselors have large shoes to fill. They not only administer assessments, but are also involved in group counseling, individual counseling, and have to plan and implement comprehensive school guidance programs. A counselor must know and be competent in all realms of their position. School counselors work with all children, including children with disabilities in various settings within the school (Villalba, Latus, Hamilton, & Kendrick (2005 p 449). As stated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), school counseling services must be made available to all students in special education programs as part of their right to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) (Bowen & Glenn, 1998; Clark, 1998). School counselors are to take on this role in the educational and personal-social well being of students in special education programs. Federal law does require that children, who receive special education services, and do not display appropriate behavior have a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) team (Villalba, Latus, Hamilton, & Kendrick (2005) p 449). This team constructs a BIP. Since counselors should be active on the FBA team, there is a need here that must be addressed because this article defines a lack of knowledge present with practicing counselors. With that, counselors do receive relevant training throughout their program. There are only so many classes and hours of instruction that the pre-counselors receive. The curriculum that is generated encompasses what counselors need, but could their be a few gaps and missing pieces? This study was conducted to determine counselors awareness, knowledge, and role in the Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) process (Villalba, Latus, Hamilton, & Ken... ... middle of paper ... ... constructing an IEP when they haven’t had the proper training. Works Cited Bowen, M. L., & Glenn, E. E. (1998). Counseling interventions for students who have mild disabilities. Professional School Counseling, 2, 16-25. Clark, J. P. (1998). Functional behavioral assessment and behavioral intervention plans: Implementing the student discipline provisions of IDEA 1997. A technical assistance guide for school social workers. School Social Work Association of America, Washington, DC. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No ED455632). Drummond, R. & Jones, K. D. (2010). Assessment procedures for counselors and helping professionals (7th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Villalba, J. A., Latus, M., Hamilton, S., & Kendrick, C. (2005). School Counselors' Knowledge of Functional Behavioral Assessments. Behavioral Disorders, 30(4), 449-455.

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