The Perceptions of Mississippi Secondary School Counselors and School Administrators Regarding the Role of School Counselors in Dropout Prevention

The purpose of the study was to investigate the perceptions of high school administrators and professional high school counselors regarding the primary role of professional school counselors in dropout prevention and the most appropriate way to assess professional school counselors’ effectiveness in dropout prevention. The modified Counselor Role Survey instrument was used to survey high school administrators and professional high school counselors. The study used a descriptive causal-comparative quantitative design. Hypotheses were tested using independent t-tests. The results of the study indicated there was no statistically significant difference between the perceptions of Mississippi high school administrators and professional high school counselors on the primary role of professional school counselors in dropout prevention. There was also no statistically significant difference between Mississippi high school administrators and professional high school counselors on the most appropriate way to assess professional school counselors’ effectiveness in dropout prevention. Group statistics were calculated on each individual item to see if there would be any differences. The group statistics suggested that high school administrators perceived that professional school counselors should serve more as school leaders or coordinators for school initiatives in dropout prevention. The findings also indicated that high school administrators perceived that professional school counselors should be identifying and proposing more evidenced-based, national dropout prevention interventions that could be adopted by the school/school system