The Reflective School Counselor's Guide to Practitioner Research

Vicki Brooks-McNamara received her Ph.D. in counselor education from the University of Wyoming. She taught all K-12 levels before becoming a school counselor and counselor educator. Under Vicki's leadership, the school counseling program at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon transformed into a premier program preparing school counselors to be leaders and advocates who are guided by data to facilitate systemic change. Vicki currently is a Senior Consultant with The Education Trust. She coordinates and facilitates district and state-wide school counseling workshops to assist practitioners in essential skill development necessary in today's school reform. She is on the editorial board of the Profession School Counseling journal and a Senior Fulbright Recipient. Additionally, she is a consultant and advisory member for The College Board's National Office of School Counselor Advocacy. Vicki resides in Portland with her husband Mike. Danielle Torres earned a B.A. and M.A. from Pepperdine University, and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Oregon. She is currently a faculty member of the School Counseling Program at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Her teaching includes courses in action research, diversity issues in education, and the professional development of school counselors. She has experience as a counselor in schools at all grade levels and with various school-based research projects. Dr. Torres resides in Portland, Oregon.

Acknowledgments About the Authors Introduction School Counselors Collaborating for High Student Achievement School Culture in the Time of School Reform Tips for Using the Book 1. Launching Inquiry: Developing Your Question How We Arrived at This Point Moving Into Inquiry Data Sources Thinking About Thinking Formulating Questions Exploring Your Question Strategies for Success Meet Dianne: An Ongoing Case Study 2. Discovering the Territory: Exploring Others' Expertise Why Gather Supporting Information? Exploring Others' Expertise Keeping It Simple Components of the Summary Dianne's Journey Begins 3. Getting It Together: Gathering Your Data Ethical Considerations What Data Is Needed? Avenues for Gathering Data School Artifacts The Last Tip: How to Navigate Dead Ends Dianne's Hunch Pays Off 4. Sorting It Out: Making Sense of Your Data Descriptive Data as a Powerful Tool Ways to Look at Data Dianne Makes Sense of It All 5. Stepping Up: Sharing What You Now Know The Fundamentals Know Your Audience Know Your End Product Inquiry Support Groups Routines The Block Deadlines It's All in the Details Dianne Seeks Support From Key People 6. Building Your Learning Community Learning Communities Practitioner Inquiry Suport Team Dianne Brings Parents Into the Learning Community 7. Review and Can-Do: Putting It All Together Where's Dianne Now? References Index

"It is critical that professional school counselors join the ranks of other educators in becoming accountable. This book will help school counselors learn how to use data to both help students better navigate the educational system, and, more importantly, help the school change to better meet the needs of students." -- Peggy Hines, Director "Kudos to Brooks-McNamara and Torres for writing a text about inquiry for aspiring school counselors! Now more than ever, school counselors must be ready and able to participate in determining and documenting how school initiatives, large and small, impact student performance. My students will be thankful to enter the profession ready to ask questions, collect and analyze data, and challenge practices that may not be serving students well." -- Chris Jensen, Associate Professor "This text can help any school counselor develop the observation and analytical skills to become a practitioner-inquirer. However, this book is much more than a collection of research techniques-it is a celebration of what is possible when school counselors pursue answers to their own questions about the students with whom they work. I predict this groundbreaking book will become a classic." -- Ruth Shagoury "Provides a much needed resource and guide for those in the midst of school reform. Brooks-McNamara and Torres present an action research framework that enables school counselors to be central in school decision making to improve the learning and community for all students." -- Nancy G. Nagel, Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor of Education "Provides a practical and valuable tool for all school counseling professionals trying to align their school counseling program with the ASCA standards." -- Todd E. Ryan, Director of Guidance & Counseling "Offers a means by which school counselor practices can better support and be more clearly aligned with the educational community and greater schoolwide efforts. A very vital and useful publication." -- Stephanie A. Bierman, School Counselor "Like the little train that said 'I think I can, I think I can,' this book tells school counselors, 'You can, you can' do research. This book encourages and guides school counselors who have very little time and resources to do research, enabling them to show and tell the differences that result from their programs." -- Angie Stansell, School Counselor "An excellent outline of skills and strategies for underserved students and their counselors. Chapters provide a framework for gathering data and authenticating results to foster schoolwide change." -- The Bookwatch, December 2007