ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we will further explore the possibilities, constraints, and myriad pathways to justice as social justice advocates. We outline a critical theoretical orientation that recognizes the strengths and full ecological context of children. We also present school counseling applications that shift our thinking and move us toward action. The goal of this chapter is to explore the salient educational background, personal experiences, and family upbringing of school counselors within U.S. public schools, highlighting the impacts on their role. The reader is challenged to critique the personal experiences the authors share about their own racial identity development through a social justice lens. We use examples of obstacles that the authors experienced in public schools in the U.S. and how this background influences the professional roles employed to create more equitable school environments for oppressed children and adolescents. Examples include experiences in elementary, middle, and high school, as well as graduate school. When possible, evidence, recollections, and artifacts from those years are provided.
Additionally, this chapter will explore theoretical approaches in and outside the field of counseling grounded in a multicultural, social justice, and/or liberation framework. As a result, school counselors can develop a more socially just school counseling program. The chapter also outlines how school counselors construct and understand their theoretical framework for action in school settings and beyond. We make connections between research, the lived experience of the school counselor, and its impact on how we see the world and how we navigate the various systems we live in. Readers will examine a) how our K-12 experiences impact our identities as school counselors; b) cultural identities to further develop an identity as a social justice advocate; and c) areas of passion for advocacy.
