[[alternative]]Middle School Counselors' Role Identity and Role Performance

[[abstract]]The purpose of this research was to understand the role identity, role performance, and the discrepancy between them among middle school counselors in Taiwan. This research also compared them by variables including involvement in the school reorganization experimental project, school location, school size, gender of the counselors, education level, professional background, job content, and counselors’ years of work. Random sampling was used to investigate 268 middle schools and 600 middle school counselors in Taiwan. The collected data was analyzed by its mean value, standard deviation, t-test, and one-way ANOVA. Results of the research are as follows: 1.Middle school counselors showed a high level of role identity, and the order of each role’s score from high to low is test-diagnosis, consultation, administration, counseling, resource coordination, teaching, and research-reeducation. 2.Middle school counselors of different school sizes and job duties had significantly different levels of role identity: middle-sized school counselors had highest role identity; directors of counseling office had higher role identity toward administration; counselors responsible for managing student data had higher role identity toward test-diagnosis; counselors serve as teachers had higher role identity toward teaching. 3.Middle school counselors obtained a middle-high score in their role performance, which is lower than the score of role identity. The order of the role performance scores from high to low are consultation, test-diagnosis, administration, resource coordination, counseling, teaching, and research-reeducation. 4.Middle school counselors of different school sizes, gender, education levels, and job duties showed significantly different levels of role performance, yet showed no difference among variables such as involvement in school reorganization experimental project, school location, profession background, and years of work. 5.Middle school counselors showed significant discrepancy between role identity and performance, with identity score higher than the performance score. The degrees of differences from high to low are research-reeducation, counseling, teaching, resource coordination, test-diagnosis, administration, and consultation. 6.Highest level of discrepancy between role identity and performance was found among those who involve in the school reorganization experimental project, with college degree, with job content of teaching, with work experience of less than two years. 7.Discrepancy was found between middle school counselors’ ideal and actual work schedule. Their actual work schedule was occupied by administration, and the actual time devoted into counseling was less than ideal. . 8.Middle schools involving in the reorganization experimental project had experienced greater change in the work of school guidance, especially those small-sized schools or those located in eastern Taiwan. The change caused by the project including the replacement and combination of the counseling office by and with the student affairs office, lowering ratio in number of school counselors, and the transfer of the school counselors to non-guidance related positions. Based on above findings, this research offered suggestions for middle school counselors, middle schools, departments of education administration, and school counselors training institutions. Further research suggestions were also provided. Hopefully this research could offer some benefits in helping the middle school counselors finding their role identity and enhancing their job performance.