Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Rural school counseling has garnered increased attention within the school counseling profession. However, guidelines for school counseling practice in these settings are lacking. To address this, utilizing the Delphi method, this study created the first empirical set of rural school counseling competencies to inform rural school counseling practice and preparation. This process resulted in 203 rural school counseling competencies agreed upon by individuals with rural school counseling expertise. We present implications for rural schools, practicing rural school counselors, and preservice rural school counselors, and discuss limitations and future research suggestions.

Keywords

rural school counseling rural schools competencies

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ajilore

Willingham

C. Z.

(2019). Adversity and assets: Identifying rural opportunities. The Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/adversity-assets-identifying-rural-opportunities/

American School Counselor Association . (2019a). ASCA National Model: A framework for school counseling programs (4th ed.).

American School Counselor Association . (2019b). ASCA school counselor professional standards & competencies. https://schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/a8d59c2c-51de-4ec3-a565-a3235f3b93c3/SC-Competencies.pdf

American School Counselor Association . (2022). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. https://schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/44f30280-ffe8-4b41-9ad8-f15909c3d164/EthicalStandards.pdf

Boulden

Brown

Coffield

(2022). “The single fish in the sea”: Exploring the lived experiences of rural school counselors earning RAMP. Professional School Counseling, 26(1), Article 2156759X211044145. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X211044145

Boulden

Brown

(2022). “We’re kind of forgotten”: An initial investigation of Appalachian school counselors’ lived experiences responding to the opioid crisis. School Community Journal, 32(2), 113–138. https://www.adi.org/journal/2022fw/BouldenBrownFW22.pdf

Boulden

Henry

(2023). A phenomenological investigation of rural school counselors’ experiences providing career development. Professional School Counseling, 27(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X231213324

Boulden

Schimmel

C. J.

(2021). More than just an internship: One university’s collaboration with a rural school district to attract, develop, and retain school counselors. Rural Educator, 42(3), 56–62. https://doi.org/10.35608/ruraled.v42i3.1237

Boulden

Schimmel

C. J.

(2022). Factors that affect school counselor retention in rural settings: An exploratory study. Rural Educator, 43(4), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.55533/2643-9662.1334

10.

College Board . (2017). Advanced Placement access and success: How do rural schools stack up? https://www.ecs.org/wp-content/uploads/Advanced-Placement-Access-and-Success-How-do-rural-schools-stack-up.pdf

11.

Crouch

Radcliff

Probst

J. C.

Bennett

K. J.

McKinney

S. H.

(2020). Rural-urban differences in adverse childhood experiences across a national sample of children. The Journal of Rural Health, 36(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12366

12.

Davis

C. R.

Griffard

M. R.

Burton

Weinberg

Kaneria

Smith

Sabin

Barnes

(2022). A Band-Aid fix to a problem that's going to be persistent”: The influence of social place attachment on rural residents' perceptions of natural hazard relief efforts. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 67(2), Article 102640. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102640

13.

Devaney

Henchion

(2018). Who is a Delphi ‘expert’? Reflections on a bioeconomy expert selection procedure from Ireland. Futures, 99(1), 45–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2018.03.017

14.

Dobis

E. A.

Krumel

T. P.

Cromartie

Conley

K. L.

Sanders

Ortiz

(2021). Rural America at a glance. U.S. Department of Agriculture. https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/102576/eib-230.pdf

15.

Edwards

Roberts

Clarke

DiGuiseppi

Pratap

Wentz

Kwan

(2002). Increasing response rates to postal questionnaires: Systematic review. British Medical Journal, 324(7347), 1183–1185. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.324.7347.1183

16.

Fege

(2020). Reimagining the “new normal”: Equity, policy, COVID, and rural public schools. MAEC. https://maec.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/MAEC-Rural-Reimagining-the-New-Normal-1.pdf

17.

Figas

Giannouchos

Crouch

(2022). Rural-urban differences in child and adolescent mental health prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from the National Survey of Children’s Health. Rural & Minority Health Research Center. https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/public_health/research/research_centers/sc_rural_health_research_center/documents/youthmhbriefnov2022final.pdf

18.

Fleming

A. R.

Ysasi

N. A.

Harley

D. A.

Bishop

M. L.

(2018). Resilience and strengths of rural communities. In Harley

Ysasi

Bishop

Fleming

(Eds.), Disability and vocational rehabilitation in rural settings (pp. 117–136). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64786-9_7

19.

Grimes

T. O.

(2020). Exploring the phenomenon of rural school counselors’ professional identity construction. Professional School Counseling, 24(1), Article 2156759X20965180. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X20965180

20.

Gutierrez

Terrones

(2023). Small and sparse: Defining rural school districts for K-12 fundings. Center on Education Data and Policy. https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/2023-03/Small/and/Sparse-Defining/Rural/School/Districts/for/K%E2%80%9312/Funding.pdf

21.

Hsu

Sandford

B. A.

(2007). The Delphi technique: Making sense of consensus. Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation, 12(10), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.7275/pdz9-th90

22.

Ingersoll

R. M.

Tran

(2023). Teacher shortages and turnover in rural schools in the US: An organizational analysis. Educational Administration Quarterly, 59(2), 396–431. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X231159922

23.

Irvin

M. J.

Byun

Smiley

W. S.

Hutchins

B. C.

(2017). Relation of opportunity to learn advanced math to the educational attainment of rural youth. American Journal of Education, 123(3), 475–510. https://doi.org/10.1086/691231

24.

Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University . (2016). The state of the nation’s housing: 2016. https://jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/media/imp/jchs_2016_state_of_the_nations_housing_lowres_0.pdf

25.

Jorm

A. F.

(2015). Using the Delphi expert consensus method in mental health research. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49(10), 887–897. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004867415600891

26.

Keeney

McKenna

H. A.

Hasson

(2011). The Delphi technique in nursing and health research. Wiley-Blackwell.

27.

Kelleher

K. J.

Gardner

(2017). Out of sight, out of mind – Behavioral and developmental care for rural children. New England Journal of Medicine, 376(14), 1301–1303. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp1700713

28.

Krippendorff

(2019). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology (4th ed.). Sage.

29.

Morales

D. A.

Barksdale

C. L.

Beckel-Mitchener

A. C.

(2020). A call to action to address rural mental health disparities. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 4(5), 463–467. https://doi.org/10.1017/cts.2020.42

30.

Nasa

Jain

Juneja

(2021). Delphi methodology in healthcare research: How to decide its appropriateness. World Journal of Methodology, 11(4), 116–129. https://doi.org/10.5662/wjm.v11.i4.116

31.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine . (2018). Achieving rural health equity and well-being: Proceedings of a workshop. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24967

32.

National Center for Education Statistics . (2023). Children in rural areas and their family characteristics. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/lfa

33.

National Center for Education Statistics . (nd). Locale lookup. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/maped/LocaleLookup/

34.

National Conference of State Legislatures . (2024). Map Monday: Rural jobs still lag after pandemic decline. https://www.ncsl.org/resources/map-monday-rural-jobs-still-lag-after-pandemic-decline

35.

Neuer Colburn

A. A.

Grothaus

Hays

D. G.

Milliken

(2016). A Delphi study and initial validation of counselor supervision competencies. Counselor Education and Supervision, 55(1), 2–15. https://doi.org/10.1002/ceas.12029

36.

Niederberger

Renn

(Eds.), (2023). Delphi methods in the social and health sciences: Concepts, applications and case studies. Springer.

37.

Player

(2015). The supply and demand for rural teachers. Rural Opportunities Consortium of Idaho.

38.

Prins

Kassab

(2017). Rural/non-rural differences among Pennsylvania FAFSA applicants pursuing the same type of postsecondary degree. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 32(7), 1–16. https://jrre.psu.edu/sites/default/files/2019-08/32-7.pdf

39.

Ratts

M. J.

Singh

A. A.

Nassar-McMillan

Butler

S. K.

McCullough

J. R.

(2016). Multicultural and social justice counseling competencies: Guidelines for the counseling profession. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 44(1), 28–48. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmcd.12035

40.

Reardon

P. T.

(2010). Mental health services are a critical rural need. Health Progress. https://www.chausa.org/publications/health-progress/archive/article/september-october-2010/when-there's-no-place-to-turn.

41.

Rooks

(2018). The unintended consequences of cohorts: How social relationships can influence the retention of rural teachers recruited by cohort-based alternative pathway programs. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 33(9), 1–22. https://jrre.psu.edu/sites/default/files/2019-08/33-9.pdf

42.

Runyan

Grothaus

Michel

R. E.

(2018). Classroom management competencies for school counselors: A Delphi study. Professional School Counseling, 22(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759x19834293

43.

Rural Health Information Hub . (2022). Healthcare access in rural communities. https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/topics/healthcare-access

44.

Seelig

J. L.

McCabe

K. M.

(2021). Why teachers stay: Shaping a new narrative on rural teacher retention. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 37(8), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.26209/jrre3708

45.

Showalter

Hartman

S. L.

Johnson

Klein

(2019). Why rural matters 2018-2019: The time is now. Rural School and Community Trust. https://www.ruraledu.org/WhyRuralMatters.pdf

46.

Siniscalco

T. M.

Auriat

(2005). Quantitative research methods in educational planning: Module 8 questionnaire design. UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning.

47.

Sipple

J. W.

Francis

J. D.

Fiduccia

P. C.

(2019). Exploring the gradient: The economic benefits of ‘nearby’ schools on rural communities. Journal of Rural Studies, 68, 251–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.02.018

48.

Stickl Haugen

Bledsoe

K. G.

Burgess

Rutledge

M. L.

(2022). Framework of anti-racist school counseling competencies: A Delphi study. Journal of Counseling and Development, 100(3), 252–265. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12422

49.

Strear

Forbes

Henninger

(2018). Procedures, pitfalls and product: Delphi methodology in counseling research. Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation, 9(1), 55–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/21501378.2017.1403847

50.

Swank

J. M.

Houseknecht

(2019). Teaching competencies in counselor education: A Delphi study. Counselor Education and Supervision, 58(3), 162–176. https://doi.org/10.1002/ceas.12148

51.

U.S. Department of Agriculture . (2019). Data show U.S. poverty rates in 2019 higher in rural areas than in urban for racial/ethnic groups. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=101903

52.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . (2021). Protecting youth mental health: The U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-youth-mental-health-advisory.pdf

53.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . (2024). Designated health professional shortage areas statistics. https://data.hrsa.gov/default/generatehpsaquarterlyreport

54.

Wester

K. L.

Borders

L. D.

(2014). Research competencies in counseling: A Delphi study. Journal of Counseling and Development, 92(4), 447–458. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.2014.00171.x

55.

Zuckerman

S. J.

(2020). The role of school leaders in a rural cradle-to-career network. Theory and Practice in Rural Education, 10(1), 73–91. https://tpre.ecu.edu/index.php/tpre/article/view/41/50