FIVE SURPRISING RESPONSIBILITIES OF SCHOOL COUNSELORS

Updated November 30, 2022 · 1 Min Read

Learn about some of the responsibilities of school counselors/guidance counselors, including what we consider the five most surprising responsibilities.

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School Counselor Responsibilities

  • Technological Trend Research
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Tutor References
  • Parental Advisement
  • Teacher Advisement

The responsibilities of school counselors are far more diverse than what a lot of people may consider with only a surface-level understanding of the occupation. A school counselor not only needs to be well-versed in the strictly regulatory nature of their job, but also in a very important a variety of soft skills that take a combination of both hard work and natural affinity to truly excel in. The following are some of the most surprising yet highly vital responsibilities of school counselors in all academic settings.

Technological Trend Research

Rather than simply serving as a resource for academic information for students, a school counselor fulfills a technological trend research role that require a great deal of savviness to fully master. Students are deeply immersed in apps that let them communicate and form their social hierarchies, and a counselor's familiarity with them can be vital for gaining better understanding of their culture.

Conflict Resolution

Though a school counselor is not directly involved in the social battles of their students, one of the main responsibilities that they will have is to serve as a guiding hand for the ways in which students are able to cope with certain conflicts in their social lives that are not immediately able to be resolved.

A school counselor may not be able to immediately solve students' situations themselves, they can oftentimes serve as a highly valuable rock of stability for students when they have very few other dependable adult figures to do the same for them.

When students are embroiled in conflict that can't be immediately answered by black and white answers, a school counselor can be a figure that they can look to in order to make sense of the chaos of the situations in a manner that other adult figures may simply not be able to emulate with the same impartial approach.

Tutor References

Certain students who may have personality types that create a level of difficulty in their comprehension of certain subjects may not always be able to have said difficulties immediately addressed in their academic environment.

In order to see to it that even students who have unique personal difficulties still have the right ability to earn the education that they need, a school counselor may take it upon themselves to seek out different tutors that students can work with for a better chance at succeeding.

Parental Advisement

When it comes to the parents of particularly young children, as school counselor can be a very valuable point of reference for these parents to understand how to address some of the biggest challenges in helping young students overcome their difficulties with the help of their families.

The parents of students are oftentimes just as much at loss as to how to handle certain difficult socially situations in school affecting their child's performance as the child is; because of this, they too can benefit from having an understanding counselor give them a new point of perspective one how these issues have been and can be managed effectively.

Teacher Advisement

As the various challenges that students are going through in their social lives can very well have an impact on the manner in which they conduct themselves in the classroom, a school counselor may collaborate with teachers in order to help them get a fresh perspective on these challenges and be wary of them when they emerge. Helping teachers understand the challenges of their students can lead to a better mutual understanding between all parties on how to address certain personal problems impacting the lesson plan.

Related resource:
Top 10 Cheap Online Master's in Educational Counseling and School Counseling Degree Programs

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