ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the type of changes in school counselor education that are needed in order to prepare strengths-based school counselors. The strengths-based school counseling framework requires distinctive practice from traditional and contemporary school counseling models. The chapter describes how to prepare strengths-based school counselors, and considers some of the major historical and contemporary influences on school counselor education. The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs provided formalized national accreditation standards for school counselor education programs starting in 1986. The Transforming School Counseling Initiative, set forth by the Education Trust, sought to assess the status of school counseling nationally, develop plans for reforming graduate-level preparation programs, partner with select institutions to implement the reforms, and disseminate the reforms nationally. Change in school counselor education historically has been about “adding-on” new content or skills to an already extensive curriculum.
