The Preparation and Training of School Counselors for Roles in Virtual K-12 Settings

Abstract

Education is changing. One example is the rise in online schools. Online schools are defined as schools where learning takes place mostly online and the students do not have physical contact with their teacher daily. Statistics indicate that almost five million students are enrolled in at least one online class. The rise in online schools results in a need for school counselors that are trained to work in the virtual environment. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of school counselors regarding any training and preparation for working in a virtual K-12 setting. There is a small amount of research on the roles of virtual school counselors, but there is no study on their training and preparation, so this topic represents a gap in the literature. The literature review covers online schools, virtual counseling, and school counseling to both put virtual school counseling into perspective and to provide context for the study. The theoretical framework is based on adult learning theory, specifically, the concept of andragogy. This study used a phenomenological research design to answer the following research questions: 1. What are the lived experiences of school counselors regarding any training and preparation for working in a virtual K-12 setting? 2. How do school counselors perceive the effectiveness of any training and preparation in addressing the specific challenges of working in a virtual K-12 setting? 3. In what ways do school counselors believe their preparation and training for work in the virtual K-12 setting could be improved? The results indicated that although the participants did not receive any formal training in their graduate programs, most of the respondents felt their training in school counseling and their experience in a brick-and-mortar school significantly improved their ability to be successful in the virtual setting. There were numerous forms of informal training including peer and administrative support, mentorship, professional development, and professional organizations. Leveraging this previous training and experience and utilizing the informal training also supported them in meeting the unique challenges of the virtual environment. Finally, resources and best practices from the participants were shared.