Clearly, the perceptions that stakeholders have of the school counselor’s role are
extremely important. This chapter will review literature on administrators’, teachers’,
and parents’ perceptions of the roles of school counselors.
The Traditional and Transformed Roles of School Counselors
For many years, school counselors have been taught to define their role by the
three “Cs:” counseling, coordination, and consultation. However, as Erford (2003)
explained, these three roles are too limiting because they do “not provide a basis for
serving all students” (p. 5). As a result, the roles of the school counselor have been
broadened so that a school counselor’s work is more inclusive, and thus, helpful to more
students (Erford, 2003). Today, school counselors strive to be leaders, advocates,
collaborators, counselors and coordinators, and data utilizers. These five roles enable
school counselors “to create supportive pathways that allow all students to succeed”
(Erford, 2003, p. 8).
Administrators’ Perceptions of School Counselor Roles
Fitch, Newby, Ballestero, and Marshall (2001) examined the perceptions of future
administrators regarding the role of the school counselor. At most schools, the school
counselor’s role is determined by administrators. Hence, the purpose of the study was to
examine the perceptions of students in two educational administration graduate programs
in order to identify potential barriers that could interfere with establishing counseling
programs. “Knowing the perceptions of future administrators regarding the role of the
school counselor is important because it helps counselors anticipate areas of agreement