School counselors, like all educational professionals, are increasingly being
required to demonstrate evidence of effective practice. Research that helps school
counselors choose which program components and interventions most effectively
and efficiently improve student outcomes has become more crucial to the field.
School counselors need to be informed consumers of research, and also need the
necessary skills to conduct evaluation studies of their programs and interventions.
Research conducted in education, psychology, sociology, and other related fields
which is relevant to school counseling practice will need to be incorporated into
counselor education, as will more information about program evaluation.
Center School Counseling Research Monographs Page 22
This review has summarized the school counseling outcome studies to date,
and it is clearly imperative that more studies be completed and published as soon
as possible. With strong research as a foundation for programmatic decisionmaking,
school counselors can better serve their students and communities.
With the advent of several centers for school counseling which have as
stated goals the dissemination of information about research, evaluation of
practice, and the impact of school counseling on educational outcomes, important
necessary changes are being implemented. The establishment of the National
Panel for School Counseling Evidence Based Practice is another essential
improvement in the field. School counseling is increasingly well positioned to
address accountability demands, and school counselors are progressively more able
to demonstrate how and why they make a difference in students’ lives.