School Counseling Standards 30HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
III
Accomplished school counselors understand that developmental assets are the
internal and external building blocks for the healthy development of well-adjusted,
productive adults.
1
For example, they know the roles in students’ development
of family support, other adult relationships, service to others, creative activities,
school engagement, integrity, sense of purpose, positive view of personal future,
and interpersonal competence. They know that assets such as these help students
to be caring, responsible, and resilient individuals and to avoid high-risk behaviors,
such as alcohol and drug use, sexual activity, and violence. Accomplished school
counselors know strategies for helping students build developmental assets, and
they understand the importance of focusing on student strengths, fostering student
expression, and conveying optimism about the potential of every student. School
counselors also help other adults in their school community accept the role of
strengthening protective factors for students, and they facilitate planning to increase
the likelihood of every student becoming a well-adjusted individual.
Accomplished school counselors are knowledgeable about the developmental
needs of students with exceptionalities. They know about federal and state laws
related to students with exceptional needs, such as the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act.
2
They know about the special needs of gifted and talented children.
They understand the support that is needed when acquiring English as a new
language. They know how to encourage learning for children who may be at risk
because of such factors as the environment in which they live, learning difficulties,
and poverty. They serve as advocates for children with special needs in all stages of
their development and work collaboratively with teachers and with school specialists,
such as school psychologists, social workers, and speech therapists. School
counselors are prepared to provide individual and group interventions to assist
students with particular needs, and they use the most effective strategies to meet the
varied learning needs of children.
Possessing a strong background in educational practice, accomplished school
counselors know an array of specific teaching and classroom-management techniques
that are relevant to the developmental level of every student. They implement
developmentally appropriate guidance lessons for students across developmental
levels. For example, when helping students new to a school with transitions, they
might offer a four-year-old an orientation at the school without a parent, help set
up a buddy system for a middle childhood student, establish a small support group
of new students for early adolescents, or provide a formal orientation program for
students at the adolescence and young adulthood level. School counselors also
employ appropriate strategies for specific student needs, such as proximity control,
seating arrangements, lighting, and grouping strategies.
In the school setting, school counselors are expert on theories, research, and
related information that affect student learning in school, community, and family
environments. School counselors provide curriculum design and instructional
1
Search Institute. “Developmental Assets: An Overview.” 2002. <http://www.searchinstitute.org/
assets> (29 August 2002).
2
Public Law 105-17, 105th Cong., 1st session (4 June 1997).