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.

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.

Research Questions and hypothesis

RQ1: How do advisory programs influence student expectations, emotions and disquiets of minority juveniles who are living below poverty mark in middle level school?

Null hypothesis: Advisory programs influence student expectations, emotions and disquiets of minority juveniles who are living below poverty mark in middle level school.

Alternate hypothesis: Advisory programs do not influence student expectations, emotions and disquiets of minority juveniles living below poverty mark in middle level school.

RQ2: What influence do advisory programs have on middle level students\' academic success?

Null hypothesis: Advisory programs attendance has an influence on middle school student\'s academic success.

Alternate hypothesis: Advisory programs attendance has no influence on a middle school student\'s academic success.

RQ3: What is the level of the impact of counseling programs on the perception of students and their academic success as rated by the increased attendance, reduced failure and the participation in nonacademic activities in middle schools?

Null hypothesis: The impact of counseling programs on the perceptions of student and academic performance as rated by reduced failure clearly increases non-academic participation and attendance among middle school students.

Alternate hypothesis: The impact of counseling programs on the perceptions of students and academic performance as rated by reduced failure is not connected to the increasing non-academic participation and attendance among middle school students.

Summary

Counseling in middle schools began in the 80s. The program has grown into one of the top ten most important components of middle level education, as stated by the National Association of Middle Schools (Giller, 2010). After the Adolescent Development Carnegie Council 1989 embraced the middle level advisory program, there were many transitions brought about by teachers in middle schools, which caused the schools for children between the age of 10 and 15 to be redesigned. CCAD proposed that every student needed to be close with at least one trustworthy adult. The recommendation was quite successful among advisory programs in middle schools.

Advisory programs in high schools are not as widespread as they are in middle schools (Walloff, 2011). Some of the advisory programs in Vermont high schools, like that of U32 High in Montpelier, began in the 70s. Nonetheless, most of the programs came to be more recently. Though there are many stated aims of the programs yet no standardized curriculum that has been articulated, studies have shown the following as the common categories of the functions of counseling: cognitive, affective and administrative. Administrative functions are the same as the traditional ones like giving out material to students and taking their attendance. Affective functions involve developing connectedness and care, and it involves a long time of devotedness for execution. Cognitive functions involve offering support with time management, study skills and most especially academic performance. Cognitive functions also require a long time of devotion for execution. These functions need minimum execution and prep. Cognitive functions have been mentioned among the main functions of counseling, hence creating the question of whether studies have confirmed that those schools, which have advisory programs, perform better academically. The truth is there is not much research that proves or rejects the idea. However, studies exist which prove that the relations built through counseling bring up caring education environments (Walloff, 2011), and the fact that teachers and students see that advisory programs help improve the academic performance of students (Mcclure et al., 2010). There is minimal qualitative research, which illustrates the views of students regarding counseling programs.