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well as the verbatim transcriptions from counselor interviews, were used for open and axial coding.
Constant comparative analysis was done to inductively identify and thematically categorize the emergent
data. Selective coding served to refine the identified common themes and subsequent themes and patterns
in the emerged data from the interview transcripts (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). The qualitative process for
reduction, analysis, and interpretation of the findings ultimately resulted in the researcher’s findings and
conclusions of overarching themes and subsequent themes.
Table 1.
Participant Group
Female
Male
Total
Recent Graduate
4
0
4
NC Licensure
4
0
4
Monolingual
4
0
4
Results
Conclusively, like teachers, participant school counselors who work with English learners
described little or no strong feelings of competency to work with such students. This is relevant in the
historical pattern (Collison, et al., 1998), and yet school counselors are uniquely positioned to play a
crucial role for advocacy and education reform (Ravich, 2006; Singh, Urbano, Haston, & McMahon,
2010). School counselors must no longer be viewed as part of “ancillary hallways” where students
receive intensive therapeutic services, but rather as team members to form comprehensive partnerships
with teachers. School counselors as authorities on child development, academic achievement, mental
health, and catalysts for systemic change (ASCA, 2012; NCDPI, 2014) bring innovative skills and
knowledge that, when combined with pedagogical strategies, form a new layer in best practices for
working with ELs (Albers, Hoffman, & Lundahl, 2009). Similarly, while all graduate coursework taken
by the participants was found to be highly valuable and pertinent, there was little advantageous emphasis
given to
how
to deliver comprehensive systems of service with English learners. The emergent, detailed
thick descriptive data indicated nuances about the criteria used by school counselors to facilitate
individual planning sessions with high school ELs. Four major areas for consideration were revealed. As
a result, the organically formed subsequent themes of (a) the shape of students’ prior education; (b)
exposure to the curriculum; (c) teacher input; and (d) the lens of language had collective positions within
the study’s findings (see Figure 1).
Figure 1.
Thematic Data for Criteria Used for Individual Student Planning.