Data and Research that Matter: Four Action Research Studies from the Field

Added January 17, 2017

Data and research serve as powerful advocacy tools in highlighting the effectiveness of school counselors and school counseling programs. However, effective interventions are only known in the field if school counselors make efforts to share, present and publish their work. Action research is one practical method for measuring the effectiveness of school counseling interventions. Furthermore, school counselor educators can be key mentors who support practitioners in sharing the findings of local school action research.

This article focuses on four unique projects by school counselors that demonstrate specific outcomes in student achievement and the mentoring efforts in guiding the dissemination of their results. Projects include the following:

• Closing the grade gap at eighth grade with academic action plans.
• Improving elementary school student attendance with small group counseling.
• Individualized behavior interventions at the intermediate level.
• Combining individual and group behavior interventions for students across elementary grades.

School counselors’ use of data is essen­tial to inform effective, comprehensive school counseling interventions and to ground decisions that impact students’ academic, social/emotional, and career well-being (ASCA, 2012; Young et al., 2009). Action research projects shared with stakeholders are critical to the continued evolution of the field of school counseling (ASCA 2012; Young et al., 2009).

Erin C. M. Mason, Ph.D., is an assistant professor with the department of Counseling and Psychological Services at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Christy Land, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, GA. Ian Brodie is a school counselor in Burke, VA; Kathleen Collins is a former school counselor now in Nairobi, Kenya; and Claudia Pennington is a digital marketing consultant in Harrisburg, PA. Kristen Sands and Millie Sierra are school counselors in Jacksonville, FL.

 doi: 10.5330/1096-2409-20.1.184

 

Source:

Erin C. M. Mason, Ph.D., Christy Land, Ph.D., Kathleen Collins, Kristen Sands, and Millie Sierra