High School Counselor Access and Benefit: Do They Differ by Social Strata
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Date
2020-12
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Having contact with school counselors is known to have a positive effect on students' postsecondary paths (Bryan et al., 2011). However, it is unclear if all students have similar access to and enjoy similar benefit from contact with their high school counselors. Previous literature has shown that students who are White, higher SES, and girls may be advantaged when it comes to developing school counselor relationships and achieving desirable postsecondary goals. Using the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, this study samples students, parents, and school administration (including school counselors) from 750 schools (22,500 students) across the United States in order to better understand social trends regarding the student-counselor relationship and its effect on educational attainment. The findings indicate that higher socioeconomic status is related to greater access to school counselors regarding postsecondary information. Along gender lines, girls, on average, had more access to counselors than boys. Racial trends were more complex and did not produce predictable outcomes related to counselor access; Asian students had the most access, and Native Americans had the least access, but the variations in all other racial groups made conclusions unclear. In terms of benefit, students of all groups enjoyed relatively equal benefit from visitations with their school counselors.
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Keywords
school, counselors, race, gender, class