Counseling to Empower: A Philosophical Shift in the Way We Serve Our Children and Students

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Tosha Raynor Diggs (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Glenn Hudak

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the issues surrounding why and how children and students are experiencing levels of disservice through school counseling programs within formal educational settings. The goal of this examination is to transform the school counseling profession to better serve children and students in a socially and educationally responsible manner. This aspect of the educational process is critiqued as having the potential to positively or negatively impact the present and future lives of everyone involved in the education of children and students, hence fostering productive growth or perpetuating oppression and the status quo. An examination of the author's lived experiences and literature pertaining to school counseling, counseling theories, education, race, and empowerment are utilized to illustrate why this issue needs to be addressed, why a philosophical and conceptual approach is needed, and what core factors influence the status of school counseling from historical inception to present-day theory and practice. The result of this examination is a recommendation to shift away from the traditional school counseling paradigm to an empowerment philosophy for both school counselors and their practice. This shift will require critical reflection of self, actions/practice, and world view, including one's life purpose, social responsibility, and concept of others. Everyone involved in the lives of children and students must be invested in this empowerment process. Factors that impact the operational framework of an empowerment school counseling philosophy are also discussed as critical to the overall implementation and perceived effectiveness.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2008
Keywords
Counseling, empowerment, race, school counseling, educational disservice
Subjects
Educational counseling.
Counseling of. Children

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