Harmonizing Educational Leadership with School Counseling: Preparing Principals to Support School Counselors

Abstract

The National Educational Leadership Preparation (NPBEA, 2018) & the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (NPBEA, 2015) state that an effective school leader must promote the current and future success and well-being of each student and adult by developing supportive, equitable, culturally responsive, and inclusive school culture while implementing systems of curriculum and support through engaging in collaborative partnership with families, community, and school personnel for student learning, school improvement, and the needs of the school. Research shows that many principals struggle to effectively collaborate with school counselors to proactively promote the well-being, current and future success, and inclusiveness for all students within their schools. The purpose of this study was to highlight perceptions around the conversation of School Counselor-Principal Collaboration and the readiness of principals from principal preparation programs. This study examined integration of school counseling into educational leadership curriculum and perceived preparedness of principals to work with school counselors from the perspective of professors in both fields. A pragmatic, sequential explanatory methodology for mixed methods allowed for thematic and statistical analysis to discuss real-world solutions and practical implications for the field of principal preparation. The findings suggest a lack of integration of School Counselor-Principal Collaboration and the promotion of student well-being in principal preparation programs. In addition, the means for integration is not clearly understood by educational leadership professors or school counseling professors leaving room for investigation and program development.