Student perceptions of school counseling advisory programs in middle school

Student Perception on Advisory Programs in Middle School

Abridged Literature Review

There has been intense research on the perceptions that teachers, administrators and parents assume of the roles of school counselors. The primary recipients of counseling are students, yet there has not been as much research conducted on their view regarding the roles school counselors, as there has been on teachers, parents and administrators. Counseling programs come up with and encourage the value in motivating peer issues such as emotional and social aspects among middle school students, in order to help them develop academically, career-wise and socially (Johnson, 2013). Studies show that the advisory programs require addressing their academic requirements by dealing with academic issues, addressing their cognitive and affective needs for growth guidance as also by attending to their emotional needs in order to improve their student and adult interactions.

Counseling programs are effective and widely seen as significant among high school and middle school students. The assessed and evaluated support looks at minority learners in the high school and middle school; it is shaped and enhanced within the program\'s setting, which allow for interaction as well as cultivate and support the growth of the skills they need to be successful in future, with academic achievements.

Even though these programs are often suggested for reforms in middle schools, the amount of research conducted on the programs\' effectiveness is minimal, since practice in schools is also limited. Teacher counseling would be of great help in middle schools, even if in most cases, it was the least adequately executed program. Counseling programs are among the hardest middle school programs to execute (Mcclure, Yonezawa & Jones, 2010). According to research, extra-curricular school factors are determinants of student and school performance. Fostering trust and ensuring that each student has a close relation to one adult at least are the approaches for fostering school connectedness. However, most people see school as a place for creating knowledge, not for enhancing the entire development of a child.

The suggested research topic is to evaluate the view of students in middle school as regards school counseling. The study is exploratory; a design used where there is uncertainty of the expected result, the actual problem or the solution. The study will focus on counseling programs which gives direction through the proficiencies and phases required by middle school students for them to succeed. The research will also involve case study, and the research tools to be used are observation and focus groups.

Introduction

Connecting with a kind adult while at middle school matters a lot to the student, regardless of whether he fails or succeeds. During the first stages of their adolescence, students need to learn in an environment which supports and nurtures them, while at the same time allowing them to develop independent attributes. This implies that, for a counseling program to be successful it must create care and trust within a community that allows students to see their counselors as people who are determined to help them grow. The Curriculum and Supervision Department Association of 2011 states that any child that joins school feeling secure, being healthy and having a connection with that school has all that is needed to be ready for learning (Center for Social and Emotional Education, 2012; Mcclure et al., 2010). Every year, a large number of elementary students join middle school. The transition entails students shifting from a school that is self-contained and has one teacher and joining a school with many teachers and distinct class periods. Consequently, the chances of middle school kids being as close with their teachers as they were back in elementary school diminish. Students need to have a close relationship with one or more adult while in middle school in order to help them grow emotionally and socially, and continue with schooling.

Student counseling programs allow middle schools to ensure each student has an adult to advocate for him/her. Most young adolescents go through loneliness and isolation. When the students are counseled, they are able to interact with their peers and with adults, who support them when they go through hard times in middle school. Student counseling is a great way to allow for students to interact with adults who care for them, and it has been recommended for a long time by experts in school reforms. The Adolescent Development Carnegie Council of 1989 suggests that each student needs to have an adult they can rely on, from whose experiences they can learn, and who can help them understand the physical transitions they experience, how to interact with friends and family, and who can advocate for them and help them achieve their goals. Therefore, the Emotional and Social Education Center (2012) asserts that those students with close relationships, and belief that adults care for them have better chances of refraining from acts that may hinder their success. Counseling programs may be of great importance in the growth of students and schools.

McEwin and Greene (2010) conducted a national study on middle schools and found that the gap in proposed middle school variables and execution is quite wide since there are consistent testing pressures, traditionalist criticism as well as economic issues that affect practices that are responsive; developmentally. The proposed components are block scheduling, exploratory programs, teaming, transition programs as well as counseling programs. School counseling is being ruled out, and the extra time the elimination creates is used as extra time for fundamental classes like the art of communication and mathematics, aimed at improving standardized achievement performance.

Abridged Literature Review

Students succeed academically by means of a curriculum that covers every aspect as well as programming aspect in middle level schools, which help students learn actively and through exploration. The curriculum in middle schools allows students to learn actively; hence providing them with a chance to interact with their teachers. The curriculum is set up based on the personal styles of learning for every student. Middle level schools try to use a strategy that is all-inclusive, which also depends on complete programming for their students (Greenlee, 2010). The middle level curriculum allows for community partnerships and multifaceted programs. The strategy aims to involve every aspect of engagement and opportunity, with many choices for students. The community within a school includes students, employees, parents, administrators, as well as all those who invest in education in middle schools.

A Historical Review of advisory programs

Middle school counseling has existed since long. It is implemented differently among middle school students. The main reason for executing counseling in schools is to enhance the achievement of students. There are different counseling strategies for different schools. It takes place in different durations for different schools. To come up with a lasting counseling program, schools need to make sure they have a goal or purpose for the program (Bryan et al., 2012). Schools may have different goals for counseling, but the most important goal in many schools is to create close relationships between students and the school. The aim of building relationships is to help every student have a close relationship with one or more adult within the school.

Most schools will likely begin with a strategy, establishing a way for monitoring their school performance. After coming up with a strategy, the schools may choose the data they will use to monitor the growth. A high school known as Waukesha North in Wisconsin came up with a way of evaluating their performance in 1998. The school started to assess the rends in test scores, grades, attendance, graduation rates, AP enrollments, education after high school as well as performance of those students that are offered low-price or free lunches. The school discovered that they required a counseling program to help them enhance their assessment of how the connections between teachers and students were progressing. another school used counseling as an extra tool for increasing the relevance and rigor in its curriculum. Counselors enhance rigor through assessing the academic performance of those whom they counsel (Miglin et al., 2015). Counselors give out interim reports and report cards during the counseling period, and discuss them individually with the students.

Counselors are allowed to attend student events such as friendly completions, school service and homecoming. These events allow students to feel involved and like they are part of our school. The counseling culture incorporates community service, which involves such activities as providing disaster victims with food or sending letters to aged people. Counseling is a component of the school culture. It is important to the school staff, students, and even the community. The school staff should be invited to participate in making decisions about counseling in schools. Allowing teachers to give their opinions to the principal regarding the creation of a counseling strategy with a clear goal and an aligning organization, substance and evaluation with the goal may help the teacher \"buy-in\" greatly (Mcclure et al., 2010). Advisory needs to be monitored to ensure it is achieving its purpose. Counseling programs need to be monitored and modified frequently, at least four times a year, and achievements need to be acknowledged. Student, counselor and parent feedback is important in maintaining the program as well as improving it. This is important for the success of the program. Advisory programs need to have clear goals and focus, which should be discussed by the school employees. They also need to be assessed frequently and enhanced in order to achieve positive results, which are expected by the entire school community.

Student and Teacher relationships as an effect of advisory

Creating and nurturing relationships is clearly the main aim of coming up with advisory programs in most schools. Human relationships determine organizations\' and schools\' success levels. Human relationships are seen to be the fundamental component of almost every program. The most important step is determining the activities as well as the time needed for teachers and students to create these connections. It is proposed that parents participate in the process of counseling. It is possible for students to relate with their teachers on their own, but with the help of advisory programs, they can know more about each other, from different perspectives (Mcclure et al., 2010; Weilbacher & Lanier, 2012). A survey conducted on teachers from a high school known as Kingwood showed that among the five main advantages of advisory programs is that students are able to have closer relationships with teachers, which goes beyond just being taught. The close connections help the school develop a sense of community. Advisory programs allow students to be advocated for, so that they can be more than subjects of their class system. Students are able to trust the same people to whom they are accountable for, the way they perform academically, as well as in their behavioral tendencies and acumen. The factory kind of structure for school is outdated. We need to do much more and find out the needs of our students.

Advisory programs have quite an interesting influence on the culture of schools. As mentioned earlier, creation of advisories is based on the improvement needs of schools. Schools are beginning to comprehend the effects of teachers creating connections with students, students being advocate for, or having a close relationship with at least one trustworthy adult. All this will greatly influence the school culture (Mcclure et al., 2010; Shi, Liu & Leuwerke, 2014). Teachers that take part in counseling programs and the ones that get support through the counseling process are able to acknowledge its benefits.

Benefits of Advisory

According to research, if an advisory program is done correctly, it can act as a dominant effective instrument in assisting schools craft an atmosphere in which student education, associations, and personal development are enriched positively. D\'Amore (2013) stated, \"The results of our advisory program include higher overall GPAs, increased attendance rates, and fewer behavior referrals.\" (page no. needed, direct quote) As an outcome academic success can upsurge as well, as shown by many surveys and evaluations of advisory programs. Students are likely to perform well academically and behaviorally in school when they are aware that their teachers and others in their school community sincerely love them. \"If teachers expect students to be engaged learners, they must communicate to those students that they are cared for, respected, welcomed, and appreciated. Young adolescents need affirmation. They need support. They need to know that those who are charged with educating them are also concerned with them,\" (Miglin et al., 2015, page number needed). With advisory programs, every student has a grown-up counselor and is a part of a community. Through these interactions, students get to succeed both developmentally and educationally.

Throughout the focus groups, the students stated that teachers liked them as an entire student, and took notice of them. The students also reported that they felt close and had confidence in their teachers and peers. Some of them even said that their groups were sensitive and susceptible together during the sharing of individual experiences. A Study by D\'Amore, (2013) demonstrates that students will remain more devoted in school at each rating level, be more educationally successful and evade risky behavior if their school crafts a \"safe, supportive, respectful learning environment, personalize young people\'s learning experiences, helps them develop social and emotional competencies, and provide opportunities to practice these skills,\" (Miglin et al., 2015, insert page number). Advisory programs can achieve these goals.

Problem Statement

Compared to learners of other stages, students in middle school are distinctive in terms of their physical, educational and social-emotional attributes, as revealed through the study literature. In achieving the growth requirements of juveniles, advisory programs have stayed resolute to be the only most vital element of a middle school strategy. There is considerable empirical proof to ascertain the claim that counseling programs in middle level school can deliver positive backing for learners and can therefore improve learner attitudes regarding academics. Effective advising can help students in middle school face different barriers effectively, and overcome them. A research by Mcclure et al. (2010) agrees that in the framework of advisory programs, \"higher levels of personalization are associated with higher levels of academic achievement, improved school culture and more student engagement.\" (insert page number Owing to a lack of substantial researches on viewpoints of learners on counseling programs, a crack in the literature subsists. Due to this, this research had the chance to investigate the counseling programs in middle level schools from administrators\' opinions.

Purpose Statement

The notion of advisory programs as an outline is the base of academic success through the middle stages of education is limpid about the necessity for juveniles to get adult guidance to help them have control of the foundational years of middle level education. Study by Greenlee (2010) illustrates that the sole most important influence backing middle-level student accomplishment, is an accustomed association with one or more adult who profess consideration and concern for student\'s growth. The reason behind this quantitative event study is to examine the result of Advisory Programs on Learner Attitudes in high school and among middle school students. Target population for this study will comprise of learners of school district 152, situated in the mid-west region of the U.S. that is the southwest area of Harvey Illinois, who have encountered different barriers that disrupt academic accomplishment and delinquency. The population is suitable for this examination since Mcclure, et al. (2010) agrees that in advisory programs framework, \"higher levels of personalization are associated with higher levels of academic achievement, improved school culture, lessening of delinquency and more student engagement.\" (page number) Repercussions for progressive social alteration addresses the potential to exploit advisory programs with affective, psychological or a combination of both conduct model should prove fruitful in nurturing resiliency and increasing coping abilities amid at-risk juveniles. Equally, helpful relations to elder persons, progressive social abilities and appropriate decision-making capabilities aid resolve the difficulty of advisory programs delivery for educational achievement amongst learners during the high and middle school years.