Research Reports

Professional school counselors play integral roles in the lives of their students, most notably in the area of helping students plan for life after high school. Specifically, this research examined historical data on per-pupil spending on guidance services across the commonwealth and used survey data of secondary professional school counselors to identify the availability of resources, the needs of students, and interventions used to meet those needs, counseling curriculum development, and guidance on STEM-related education. It was concluded that when counselors have lower caseloads, larger budgets, and more resources, such as career counseling inventories, they are able to commit more time to the post-graduation needs of their students. Based on the study results, the researchers offered several policy considerations for state and local policymakers aimed at positively influencing the career guidance needs of students.