Experiences With Elementary School Counseling Advocacy

Professional Advocacy

School counselors are charged with advocating for both students and the profession. Student-focused advocacy involves school counselors working for systems changes to remove barriers and increase opportunities and services for all students (Ratts et al., 2007). School counseling-specific professional advocacy is defined as “efforts to promote awareness and support for their professional role” founded upon standards, practices, and student needs (Cigrand et al., 2015, p. 10). Professional advocacy efforts can create awareness and support among stakeholders for funding school counseling positions and clarify appropriate roles and responsibilities to enable delivery of comprehensive school counseling programs. For instance, the ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies (ASCA, 2019a) includes “demonstrating advocacy for a comprehensive school counseling program” (p. 10) as an essential behavior for school counselors. This behavior can be measured by competencies such as explaining the benefits of a comprehensive program to all stakeholders, articulating and providing the rationale for appropriate duties, and using data to promote better school counselor-to-student ratios and reduce nonrecommended counseling duties. Professional advocacy is a foundational practice for school counselors because it can ultimately help increase access to services for all students.

School counselors engage in various methods of professional advocacy from the micro to macro-level, ranging from providing information to stakeholders about their positions and programs to requesting resources and support. While these described studies took place in the United States, in Israel, a sample of school counselors across school levels reported that self-advocacy often occurred through daily encounters in school buildings with other educators (Shimoni & Greenberger, 2014). Other school counselor advocates across U.S. K–12 settings have described the importance of leveraging the educational hierarchy in a top-down approach to advocacy, which may occur through intentional conversations with administrators about appropriate duties for school counselors (Havlik et al., 2019). For example, Duquette (2021) interviewed elementary school counselors (N = 8) to better understand their experiences applying for RAMP status. Advocacy was a subtheme within Duquette’s study: Participants described advocating within their school buildings for their roles and positions through annual conversations with administrators as they completed the RAMP application. Thus, Duquette (2021) discussed advocacy as a subtheme within the larger conversation around RAMP, based on a sample of elementary school counselors. At a more macro-level, school counselors and district leaders have applied for and received federal grant funding to hire elementary school counselors and develop comprehensive school counseling programs with a prevention focus (see Duarte & Hatch, 2014, for a case study example of this work).

According to both research and conceptual papers, professional advocacy helps K–12 school counselors establish a clear identity with defined roles. The benefits of professional advocacy include increasing impact visibility among stakeholders, building collaborative networks, and creating opportunities to provide more services for students (Cigrand et al., 2015; Gibson et al., 2012; Havlik et al., 2019). In particular, elementary school counselors may advocate within their school level for time to deliver services (Milsom et al., 2020) and at a district level to maintain their positions (Duarte & Hatch, 2014). To engage in this work, school counselors can use advocacy dispositions, knowledge, and skills conceptually operationalized by Trusty and Brown (2005). These include an advocacy disposition in which school counselors “embrace their professional advocacy roles” given “an altruistic motivation with the major concern being students’ well-being” (Trusty & Brown, 2005, p. 260). These advocacy competencies highlight the personal nature of this work and the need for developing specific skills to engage in professional advocacy to ultimately benefit students.

School counselors have skills and strengths that aid them in professional advocacy. In Beck and Lane’s (2019) study of advocacy among ASCA School Counselor of the Year finalists, participants (N = 14) described beliefs and behaviors that helped them advocate. These exemplary counselors built relationships with stakeholders and administrators and also described the importance of professional advocacy as they expressed a personal responsibility to bolster the school counseling profession (Beck & Lane, 2019). Advocacy was presented as an intentional and ongoing process that was both personal and professional. Similarly, Havlik et al.’s (2019) exploration of the experiences of K–12 school counselors actively engaging in professional advocacy identified the importance of collaboration and communication for effective professional advocacy. Their survey results revealed that school counselors (N = 97) perceived their advocacy strengths as including being effective communicators with administrators, having positive relationships with educators, and using problem-solving skills given role challenges. Hence, school counselors with a clear professional identity had the self-efficacy necessary to engage in professional advocacy. Although both studies (i.e., Beck & Lane, 2019; Havlik et al., 2019) examined school counseling advocacy, neither study addressed advocacy pertaining to elementary school counseling specifically.

Advocacy Barriers and Benefits

Professional advocacy is critical given the challenges school counselors face in delivering comprehensive school counseling programs. Barriers to program delivery include large caseloads, limited time, lack of support, and assignment of non-counseling duties (Fye et al., 2018). Some elementary school counselors may face challenges with role confusion and delivery of services arising from being assigned a routine or related arts schedule for classroom instruction (Milsom et al., 2020). Elementary school counselors may also be assigned to work in multiple schools, have changes in administration, and encounter different expectations from various school administrators over time, all of which could lead to varied levels of comprehensive program implementation (Johnson et al., 2011). Recognizing the potential personal toll of these challenges is important. School counselors working in settings with higher role ambiguity and role inconsistency reported less job satisfaction, a dimension of burnout (Fye et al., 2020). School counselor advocates also have described personal and emotional barriers to professional advocacy: School counselors have noted facing resistance and experiencing feelings of fear, guilt, and hesitancy when engaging in professional advocacy (Havlik et al., 2019).

Despite these challenges, professional advocacy is critical for continuing to strengthen the profession and serve the needs of students. School counselors committed to advocacy have reported that the work has benefitted themselves and their programs, suggesting both an intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to professionally advocate. For instance, in a study of advocacy experiences among ASCA School Counselor of the Year finalists, Beck and Lane (2019) reported that participants strongly desired to give back to their spheres of influence and the profession. Havlik et al. (2019) reported that school counselor participants in their study were passionate about advocating for the good of students and the profession. School counselors and students can experience benefits from professional advocacy results.

Rationale and Purpose of the Study

Overall, elementary school counselors support students’ educational success, yet they also face unique barriers, including large caseloads and job instability. As such, advocating for elementary school counseling is particularly important to serve all students K–12 (Cigrand et al., 2015; Havlik et al., 2019). Advocacy has recently been the subject of research, although studies have typically included K–12 samples or results addressed advocacy as one aspect of a broader investigation (e.g., Beck & Lane, 2019; Duquette, 2021; Havlik et al., 2019). Thus, research is minimal on school counseling professional advocacy specifically at the elementary level. Given that the voices of elementary school counselor advocates are largely missing from the advocacy literature, the following research question guided this study: What are the lived experiences of professionals who have successfully advocated for elementary school counseling?

The results of this study have the potential to contribute foundational information to the field, sharing both experiences and strategies for the successful advocacy of elementary school counseling, guiding future research and practice. For instance, research-informed experiences and strategies gleaned from this study may be used for future advocacy, including decreasing elementary school counselor ratios and creating new elementary school counseling positions.

Reflexivity Statement

According to Creswell and Poth (2018), reflexivity statements are often used in qualitative research to communicate researchers’ backgrounds (e.g., demographics, experiences, biases, etc.) and how these characteristics can influence their involvement in the research study. All four researchers are counselor educators at public universities across the United States. Each identifies as a White, cisgender female who has paid school counseling experience. Specifically, three of the four researchers have elementary school counseling experience. All four researchers obtained both a master’s degree with a school counseling concentration and a doctoral degree in counselor education.

Our efforts in this investigation were affected by our philosophical assumptions. Each of the four researchers identifies with a social constructivist perspective: the existence of multiple, diverse realities. This perspective corresponds with both qualitative research and a phenomenological approach, striving to gather a common lived experience, or essence, across participants (Creswell & Poth, 2018; Flynn & Korcuska, 2018; Hays & Singh, 2012). As we describe further in the Trustworthiness section, our research team members engaged in bracketing throughout the study.

Participants

All participants (N = 13) met the study’s inclusion criterion: self-reporting as having experiences advocating for elementary school counseling that led to (a) the creation of new elementary positions in their school or district, (b) maintaining current elementary school positions in jeopardy of elimination, or (c) changes to elementary school counselor roles to better align with recommended counseling duties (ASCA, n.d.). Participants reported their current job title as elementary school counselor (n = 5), district school counseling leader (n = 3), and school counselor educator (n = 2). One participant self-described as a retired counselor educator, another as an executive for a state school counseling association, and another as a candidate in a doctoral program. Participants’ time in the school counseling profession ranged between 3 and 46 years (M = 20.92 years), while length of time in their current position ranged between 1 and 29 years (M = 8.31 years). Multiple participants worked in schools or districts at the time of the study (n = 9), including urban (n = 3), rural (n = 3), suburban (n = 2), and undisclosed (n = 1) settings. According to participants, their highest degrees were either a master’s or an educational specialist degree (n = 10), or doctorate (n = 3). Participants indicated their gender as female (n = 10) and male (n = 3), and in terms of race, identified as White (n = 11) and Black or African-American (n = 2). These gender and racial/ethnic demographics are similar to those of school counselors nationally (ASCA, 2020).

Data Collection Procedures

Prior to beginning recruitment or data collection, we received approval from our university’s Institutional Review Board. Participant selection occurred through criterion and convenience sampling. We sent recruitment materials primarily through professional school counseling conferences, listservs, and social media sites, seeking participants who met the inclusion criteria (effectively advocated for school counseling positions or roles) and may have identified as school counselors, counselor educators, school administrators, or school counseling leaders.

Participants completed a brief Google form that confirmed their eligibility for the study and their preferences for interview availability. Next, participants were contacted by a research team member who provided an email description of the study and a copy of the informed consent, and confirmed the interview time and day.

The research team held individual interviews to gather information about the participants’ experiences with advocacy; each researcher conducted interviews. The interviews took place over the phone or via video conference and were audio recorded for transcription. Each recording was transcribed using a secure transcription method, and each transcript was checked by the participant for accuracy. Interviews ranged between 43 and 105 minutes (M = 66 minutes).

Data Analysis

We analyzed the data according to Creswell and Poth’s (2018) modification of Moustakas’ (1994) transcendental phenomenology (i.e., a qualitative approach investigating participants lived experiences). Specifically, these steps included the following: (a) horizonalization: reviewing data and highlighting meaningful content or units; (b) organizing the meaning units into clusters; (c) creating textural and structural descriptions to describe the what and the context, respectively; and (d) writing the essence, or common overarching experiences, across the sample of participants. In following the first step of data analysis, the first and third authors read all transcripts, noting their reactions and reflections, which they shared during the subsequent research meeting. Then the first author read through one transcript, highlighting meaningful content (i.e., horizonalization or coding), followed by the third author engaging in consensus coding, reading the coded transcript and noting areas of agreement and disagreement with the first author’s coding. Next, the two authors engaged in an in-depth research meeting in which they discussed and reached consensus on all coded content in the first transcript. This process of coding and consensus coding continued for each transcript, with the first and third author alternating roles as first coder and consensus coder. The researchers added codes to the codebook throughout the coding process. In the second step of data analysis, the first and third authors separately reviewed the codebook, independently organizing the codes (i.e., meaning units) into clusters, or themes. Next, they engaged in several research meetings in which they discussed the development of themes until reaching consensus on the themes, which were also added to the codebook. For the third step of data analysis, the first and third authors together used the codebook to construct structural and textural descriptions, based on the codes and themes. Last, in alignment with the fourth step of data analysis, the two researchers wrote an overall essence, or composite meaning of the participants’ lived experiences.

Trustworthiness Strategies

Trustworthiness strategies are routinely used in qualitative research to increase the rigor or validation of the study (Creswell & Poth, 2018; Flynn & Korcuska, 2018; Hays & Singh, 2012). Creswell and Poth (2018) recommended that researchers engage in at least two such trustworthiness strategies, across three categories. First, some strategies strengthen the researcher’s role, such as clarifying researcher bias, researcher reflexivity, and researcher triangulation. Thus, in the present study, researchers engaged in bracketing by reflecting on their backgrounds, biases, and assumptions during individual reflexive journaling and research meeting conversations. We also used researcher triangulation or intercoder agreement, with Researcher A and B reaching consensus on all data analysis, such as coding, theme development, and so forth. A second type of trustworthiness strategy addresses participants’ roles, such as member checking. As such, all researchers conducted member checking during interviews as they reflected participants’ meaning to confirm content. Researchers also used member checking through asking participants to read their blinded transcripts for accuracy and provide expansion and clarification. Feedback from participants’ member checking was minimal, such as clarifying terms in the transcript. A third type of trustworthiness strategy is geared toward those external to the study (e.g., the reader) and includes external auditing and writing a thick, rich description. For the current study, we solicited a school counselor educator as an external auditor; they had experience as a journal editor and researcher versed in qualitative research. The external auditor reviewed the transcripts, codebook, results, field notes, and audit trail to suggest feedback (i.e., confirmability and rival explanations). Last, we used a thick, rich description in the method and the results.

Theme 1: Advocacy Priorities: “Elementary Was So Important”

When asked about their experiences advocating for elementary school counseling, participants communicated the necessity of advocacy, noting the priorities for which they advocated. This first theme had three subthemes: (a) prevention, (b) student needs, and (c) understanding school counselor roles.

Prevention Is Crucial

When discussing advocating for elementary school counseling, participants frequently communicated the importance of prevention, such as the statement: “The elementary years are so important, if we don’t have a strong program to start the kids out, then by the time they get to middle school or high school, often it’s too late.” Another participant expressed, “Counselors’ intervention and prevention activities needed to be earlier. . . . Elementary was so important and that the advocacy and the work that we do day to day is just an invaluable component of for student success . . . pivotal for their long-term success.” Last, a different participant found:

If we had a stronger foundation with the preventative, we would have less issues in the middle school and high school. . . . It was frustrating that we would have a lot more students needing support at the middle school and even at the high school because they didn’t have that support at the elementary level. It was overwhelming because there were so many students needing support. When you’re not having a foundation at the elementary level, and you have students coming in [to middle and high school], you’re literally having to start from scratch, it’s definitely harder.

Meeting Student Needs

Participants also voiced advocating for elementary school counseling in order to meet student needs. As one participant reported, some student needs pertained to equity: “It became an equity issue. . . . We have huge issues of achievement and an opportunity gaps. . . . Explain to me why this school, kids from those families don’t need the support . . . kids below the poverty line.” Others discussed students’ burgeoning mental health needs: “Unfortunately in [my state] it’s because of that shooting. . . . It’s sad that it took something so horrible for [stakeholders] to focus more on [students’] mental health” and “We’re seeing more kids showing signs of mental health disorders that were undiagnosed and parents didn’t know what to do. . . . We need to do more to address this [at the elementary level] because staff and teachers aren’t prepared.” Another participant stated:

I think it’s the behavior piece. And the mental illness piece. It’s the suicidal thoughts. There’d be extreme behaviors, students throwing things. . . . Our suspension rates started to go up a bit. . . . We were able to hire about 24 of them, plac[ing] an elementary school counselor in each of our schools . . . showing the significance of the needs of our students.

The Importance of Understanding Recommended School Counseling Roles

In addition to advocating for prevention and meeting students’ needs, participants also relayed advocating for recommended school counselor roles, due to widespread misunderstanding. As one participant said, “Every year, elementary counselors were on the chopping block. . . . I started thinking . . . how do you get people to understand what this role is? I started working on their role description . . . [informing] our superintendents . . . [focusing on] data collection and data sharing.” Another expressed how they described school counselors’ roles:

[Our advocacy] changed a lot of the dialog occurring. . . . I still run across people statewide who say “elementary school counselors, what do they do? . . . We know all about scheduling and college applications, but what do YOU do?” . . . I took [those comments] humorously but it sort of breaks your heart. We did our best presenting at board meetings and advocating in the last round of [budget] cuts.

Last, one participant in the study considered,

It’s amazing how little they [elected officials] know, too, about schools and actually what goes on in schools. And I think the most frustrating part is how little our school counselors, supervisors, and directors know about elementary counseling because they’ve never worked in elementary schools.

Theme 2: Advocacy Tools and Strategies: “That Provided Us with a Foundation”

According to participants, they advocated for elementary school counseling in a plethora of ways. Specifically, they advocated through (a) grants, (b) awards and acknowledgments, and (c) proactively advocating before budget cuts.

Grants

Several participants were excited to share their success with receiving grants, which were a tool to advocate and receive funding for elementary school counseling positions. As one participant stated:

We got our first elementary and secondary school counseling program (ESSCP) grant that allowed us to hire three elementary school counselors. . . . Our second ESSCP grant allowed us to hire [more]. . . from there it was just like miracle after miracle. I just kept meeting people that were very helpful, putting materials together to write grants and then hooking up with other people that could help me. . . . I had control of over a million dollars. . . . So that provided us with a foundation [of elementary school counselors].

A different participant shared:

We have successfully navigated two of the federal grants for elementary school counseling. [Our state] doesn’t have a very solid concept of elementary school counseling. . . . We wrote the grant to lower the ratio . . . we were basically developing a program from nothing. We didn’t have an elementary school counselor at that point.

Although the participants appreciated grants funding elementary school counseling, they also faced challenges when the grants ended and they lost the positions. For example, one participant shared, “Initially we started off with not having any elementary counselors [in our district]. We had one through a grant, but then when the grant went away, they laid off the counselor [funded] through that grant.”

Awards and Acknowledgments

Several participants described advocating by “emphasizing the importance of [elementary school counselors’] work” by highlighting them through awards and acknowledgments. For instance, one participant described the first elementary school counselor in the state to achieve RAMP:

They were a RAMP school of distinction, one of three in the United States. Now it’s like coaching them [RAMP recipients] to use that to our advantage. [For example] I am about to meet one of the board members from [our city], and I’m going to make sure she knows about that [RAMP school of distinction] and how much it matters.

Another participant conveyed:

In [our state] we use a data accountability report. . . . We take data in the three main areas of academics, personal-social, and career . . . and show students’] results data. By putting that document together, we won an award through [the state] school counselor association. Our school board president came to our ceremony. The superintendent [read the report] . . . he literally looked at it and said “How do I get everyone to do this?” He was so impressed with that advocacy. . . . So then the next year we were able to add two full-time elementary school counselors in our very small district.

Last, a participant reflected:

Making sure your counselors are doing great work, and that it’s being recognized. One year, [we had the state] school counselor of the year and she got to go see Michelle Obama; that was highlighted in our school newspaper. Typically when things like that happen, a press release gets done, and other people are like, “Oh, what’s going on with this counseling program?” Even at the county level. They started doing county recognition of school counseling programs, to bring awareness to the role. . . . That brought great publicity. . . . It leaves a memory in people’s mind about like, “Wow, if it’s [school counseling] that good, I don’t want to get rid of it.”

Proactively Advocating Before Budget Cuts

Not only did participants advocate through grants and awards, but also through proactive actions, to get ahead of budget cuts. One participant discussed avoiding future budget cuts as her motivation for advocating:

Over 10 years ago [my district] cut the counselors. I remember sitting in the board meeting saying, “You have to save us!” And it was too late by that time. . . . [The current superintendent] understands and sees the value in [elementary school counseling]. But the only reason why we were able to get to that point is because [stakeholders] know [about school counseling] now.

Another participant emphasized: “From the beginning we became very active in presenting at our school counseling association conference about the work we were doing. We made regular presentations to our school board.” In a similar vein, a participant highlighted, “[the importance of] telling our story [all the time]” because “we don’t want to be a budget cut, because [stakeholders] don’t see our relevance.”

Theme 3: Advocates’ Personal Characteristics: “That’s What Helped Me”

When reflecting on their experiences advocating for elementary school counseling, participants described their personal characteristics that assisted them with advocacy efforts. These characteristics included being: (a) hardworking and persistent, (b) passionate, and (c) assertive and courageous.

Hardworking and Persistent

Many participants found that hard work and drive were required in successful advocacy. As one reported, “putting in that extra effort: that’s what helped me go a little bit farther. I am going to those night meetings, putting in that extra time, getting emails on the weekends, showing up at programs.” Other participants stressed the importance of persisting, because advocacy can be a slow process that takes time, “hard work and also working overtime: it’s running on a hamster wheel. . . . It’s a very slow process . . . you’re planting seeds and don’t always get to see the result.” One participant stated, “You have to keep doing the work,” while another stressed:

The hard part is to not give up because it’s very exasperating. . . . You have to just take a breath and when you fail one year, you regroup the next year, when the next budget season comes along. . . . You gotta be persistent and really tenacious.

Passionate

The participants worked tirelessly, doing so because they were passionate about elementary school counseling. As one stated, “If you don’t really, really believe in [elementary school counseling] there’s no way you’ll be able to advocate effectively. . . . Our counselors are doing some amazing work, and I’m not afraid to tell people about it.” Another shared, “I love [school counseling]! I’m a collaborative leader advocating for systemic change. The role that I took on was met with pride. . . . It’s my jam!” One commented, “I feel proud that we made an impact in school counseling. I feel empowered. I feel more positive about the future of school counseling [and] proud of speaking up for our careers and of what we’ve accomplished.” In a heartfelt expression, a participant declared,

This is not a job for me, this is my hobby, it’s a passion. . . . I’ve been an educator my whole life, it’s never ever been about the money, it’s always been about [that] I love kids and now, I love school counseling. I’ve seen it be life altering, lifesaving, life changing. [participant became tearful] Sorry, I get emotional. It’s my love.

Assertive and Courageous

Although the participants were ardent advocates, they also found that advocacy required assertiveness and courage. For instance, one said, “[Advocacy is] not for the faint-hearted . . . You have to be somewhat pushy because a lot of people would just overlook you. . . . You have to be willing to push back.” Others conveyed, “It’s being brave and bold enough to ask the people, in a nice way, who have some power and influence, to understand your plight and you just keep reaching out” and “If you don’t call and push and advocate, they’re [legislative bills] going to die in committee . . . so we have to advocate to push things forward. We have to be active citizens in our democracy.” An additional participant noted being brave and advocating in spite of feeling nervous:

We were warned that it can be a hard task to show principals and teachers the importance of what we do. So we were prepared. It is scary for an introvert. . . . It’s nerve-wracking, and no one likes confrontation, but it’s important and worth it.

In conclusion, several participants mentioned that advocacy was about having the courage to use their voice: “giving a voice to those who did not have one or who do not know how to use theirs,” “I want to be part of this national voice for advocating for school counselors,” and “advocacy is being a voice for the voiceless . . . making sure that the elementary school counselor had a voice.”

Theme 4: The Challenges of Advocacy: “You Hit These Barriers”

While participants talked about the importance of advocacy, they were also upfront about the related challenges and how they felt about these challenges. Specifically, participants described the subthemes (a) frustration, (b) intimidation, and (c) resistance.

Frustration

According to participants, they often felt frustration during the advocacy process. For instance, one said, “It’s a very slow process and I’m not always the most patient person. . . . I could tell I was I was becoming very angry.” Another reported, “When I was at the elementary level . . . it was super frustrating knowing the [school counseling] position was going away . . . because people didn’t understand it, they didn’t really understand the role.” Another school counselor relayed: “I had times when I felt myself potentially becoming cynical: You start to fight long and hard for something that you know is right and you know it’s good for kids. But you know you hit these barriers.”

Intimidation

In addition to frustration, advocacy could also be daunting. One participant expressed that school counselors may be intimidated due to a lack of previous advocacy experiences: “They’re not sure of what they’re doing . . . they’re afraid . . . their confidence is low. . . . I never went to Advocacy Day, I didn’t call anybody, or write a letter. I was shy. And then I went to Advocacy Day and I got hooked.” Others reported feeling anxious:

I have anxiety and I get very nervous [when advocating]. . . . Presenting to our teachers, that’s pretty difficult for me. . . . [When advocating to my principal] I was nervous because I heard of other counselors where they are not able to do their role [and] a lot of things are put on them that shouldn’t be. . . . So I was nervous about [our principal] not actually doing anything about what we talked about.

Another described “feeling powerless initially. . . . [Legislative Day] was initially very overwhelming, intimidating. I don’t feel comfortable with politics; policy and government relations is not a strength of mine.” However, “once I took a risk and put myself out there, I realized it’s really just talking with people about what I do.”

Resistance

Another barrier expressed was resistance from peers; advocacy requires a lot of effort and according to participants, not all school counselors were on board. One reported:

[Stakeholders] are going to be more comfortable giving you support or money if they know who you are. I make it priority to go to every PTA meeting and tell them what we’re doing in the counseling program. . . . And when I ask them for money, and they give it to me. But if I’m a counselor who’s not getting paid extra because I’m not a director, or an administrator, then I’m going to be giving up my time [to go to these activities/meetings]. Which I get: it’s your time and you’re not going to get compensated to go to a PTA meeting at night . . . but if you’re not going to put in that extra effort to create those opportunities and relationships [with stakeholders], then your students won’t be advantaged as much.

A different participant called school counselor resistance

one of our profession’s greatest failures: We don’t get out there and speak on behalf of our program and profession. There’s a lot of complaining, but I’m not hearing enough people say, “Wait a minute, this is the way it should be.”

In a similar vein, other participants found resistance often from senior school counselors: “Having brand new folks, they’re on board, they don’t know any different. It’s the folks who have been around for a while . . . who are stuck in that [former] stage.” Another described “counselors who have been doing the same job for years, and don’t want to change or are not willing to use data: ‘I don’t want to collect data, I’m here to help kids’ . . . I mean, those are huge barriers.”

Theme 5: The Results of Advocacy: “Excited Beyond Measure”

Throughout the interviews, participants repeatedly expressed their excitement in advocating for elementary school counseling. These comments included the following: “It’s been a great experience. It was a high when we did Legislative Day, talked about what we do;” “It’s exciting, it’s ongoing and I still can’t believe when I wake up that [advocacy] was successful to this level;” and advocacy “gives [school counselors] a sense of pride, a sense of confidence . . . that they are important.” Finally, another participant noted:

I feel proud that we made an impact in school counseling. I feel empowered. I feel more positive about the future of school counseling in our district. . . . I feel proud of speaking up for our careers and of what we’ve accomplished this year . . . and the power of advocacy. And I feel positive with the changes across our district that are coming, that it can only get better. That we can help more students and make more of an impact.

Limitations

There are several limitations to examine when considering the results of the present study. The experiences and perceptions of the research team, who may also identify as elementary school counseling advocates, could have influenced their interest and understanding of the topic. They allayed this limitation through various trustworthiness strategies as previously described. Next, the data were collected by all members of the research team; while all four followed identical interview protocols they created and practiced together, slight differences may have occurred between researchers. Last, support and funding for elementary school counselors varies at the local and state level, and the successful advocacy experiences of this study’s small sample of participants should be considered within these diverse contexts and structures.

Implications and Future Research

Although the findings of phenomenological research are not designed for generalizability, our results may have professional advocacy implications for elementary school counselors, district leaders, and counselor educators to consider. First, elementary school counselors can be intentional and proactive in their professional advocacy efforts. Despite the examples of successful advocacy provided in this study, school counselors may not be as intentional as they could be with professional advocacy (Shimoni & Greenberger, 2014). As the participants in the present study indicated, sharing information about the work of elementary school counselors is a critical strategy for successful advocating. For instance, participants in this study described efforts to share data reports, job descriptions, awards, and acknowledgments that allowed for expanded elementary school counseling positions and prevented budget cuts. Relatedly, school counselors and school/district counseling leaders can provide information about the work of elementary school counselors to key stakeholders outside of individual schools; this seems necessary for successful professional advocacy.

Second, elementary school counselors could convey how their work supports the priorities of school district leaders and elected officials. For instance, as leaders are expressing concerns about student mental health, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic or community crises, elementary school counselors and school/district leaders can provide information about the foundational and related prevention work that elementary school counselors do. Participants in the current study indicated that elementary school counselors were providing mental health responsive services for young children experiencing suicidal ideation and undiagnosed mental illness, and in the wake of tragedies such as school shootings. Elementary school counselors can professionally advocate by bringing attention to the needs of young children and the difference early intervention and prevention can make for K–12 students and communities.

Finally, although most school counselor education programs take a K–12 preparation focus (Goodman-Scott et al., 2016), school counselor educators can prepare future elementary school counselors for the additional challenges and barriers they may face given limited understanding and awareness of elementary school counseling. This differentiation is important for empowering new elementary school counselors to persist through frustration, intimidation, and resistance. With training and awareness, elementary school counselors may be better equipped to navigate role ambiguity and role inconsistency that can lead to burnout (Fye et al., 2020). Given the finding that some of the resistance elementary school counselor advocates experienced was among peers, novice elementary school counselors need to be prepared to professionally advocate to more seasoned colleagues to advance change and services to meet the needs of students.

Additional research is needed to further understand the professional advocacy experiences of elementary school counselors. Researchers could examine how elementary school counselors advocate for their roles and positions, such as through a grounded theory. Several participants in this study referenced experiences obtaining grant support for elementary school counseling, and more research could elucidate that phenomenon, such as through case studies or qualitative research. Future researchers could also examine the personal characteristics of elementary school counseling advocates and the relationship between these characteristics and advocacy self-efficacy and behaviors. Finally, further research is needed to better understand the resistance to change within the school counseling profession, to help elementary school counselor advocates recognize and navigate internal systems.