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Context of the Project
This study’s findings are from an urban, qualitative investigation that carefully examined
high school counselor practices with English learners, including specific elements for
comprehensive partnerships with teachers. The contextual details for the study include its
location in an urban district in the Piedmont (south-central) region of North Carolina. English as
a second language program services for linguistically and culturally diverse students are
provided in all schools for the district (NCDPI, 2014). Additionally, in accordance with public
school licensure mandates in North Carolina, school counselors serving all students, including
immigrant ELs, must have completed a masters-level counselor preparation program in order to
work as a K-12 school counselor in a public school. Of the district’s approximate 140, 000
students K-12, nearly 10 % are classified as limited English proficient (LEP) (Charlotte-
Mecklenburg School [CMS], 2011, 2013).
Representative of the national trend, school counseling programs are clearly called to
respond to the needs of diverse student populations, removing barriers to academic achievement
through standards-based, comprehensive, and culturally responsive program services (Chen-
Hayes, Miller, Baily, Getch, & Erford, 2011; Crethar, 2010; Martin & Robinson, 2011; No Child
Left Behind [NCLB], 2001). Likewise, school counseling program policies follow those of the
American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model for school counseling
programs, decisively shaping program design and delivery (ASCA, 2008, 2010, 2012). The
ASCA framework’s quadrants of Foundation, Delivery, Management, and Accountability insist
school counselors possess knowledge and skills for diversification within the student services.
School counseling practices include an emphasis on rigor, diversity within experiential learning,
and the facilitation of appropriate academic pathways for
all
students. (ASCA, 2012; Chen-
Hayes, Miller, Baily, Getch, & Erford, 2011; NCDPI, 2014).
This multi-case study focused intensely on the experiences of four professional school
counselors who revealed aspects of school counselor preparation, required daily practices in the
field, and how they were equipped to work with ELs. Within the process, substantial particulars
emerged regarding the urgency of understanding how to design and deliver culturally
responsive, standards-based services to linguistically and culturally diverse students, including
partnerships with teachers for critical input within the process.
Theoretical Frame
The fundamental principles of the study’s framework are grounded in social
constructivism, the idea that knowledge comes from real-world experiences (Glesne, 2006).
Expanding this one step further explains this paradigm to mean that human beings do construct
meaning as real-world perceptions through interaction with others across a variety of social
contexts, including school, with undoubtedly deep-rooted cultural aspects (Crotty, 1998).
Correspondingly, Lev Vygotsky proclaimed the fundamental concept that cognitive development
and learning requires student interaction and [academic] language dialogue (Vygotsky, 1978,
1987). A child’s achievement is fully dependent on and determined by interdependent problem
solving in collaboration with capable peers under the guidance of an adult for eventual learned
independence in completing academic tasks (Gibbons, 2002). Additionally, this study and its
connections to language and culture are also framed by the theoretical understanding of linguistic