Parents' perceptions of the role and function of a high school guidance counselor

Abstract

Parents play an integral role in their child’s education and are perhaps the most important link between the home and school. Therefore, if a counselor understands parents’ perceptions of the role and function of the high school counselor, the counselor can use that to his or her advantage. This understanding will enable the high school counselor to effectively interact, consult, and help the parents become more aware and involved in their child’s academic and personal development. As a result, the high school counselor’s individual performance in the guidance program will increase, thus increasing the overall performance of delivering the guidance services (Gysbers & Henderson, 1994; Schmidt, 1999). The purpose of this study was to investigate parents’ perceptions of the role and function of a high school guidance counselor. The study attempted to examine the perceptions parents’ have of the role and function of a high school counselor and whether their child’s high school counselor is performing these perceived roles and functions. The results of the study revealed that the majority of the parents surveyed were able to indicate the appropriate roles and functions taken on by a high school counselor. It was also found that the majority of parents surveyed perceived their child’s high school counselor as performing these appropriate and necessary duties and responsibilities