Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education (PhD)

Department

Education

First Advisor/Committee Member

Cher N. Edwards, Ph.D.

Second Advisor/Committee Member

Jung H. Hyun, Ph.D.

Third Advisor/Committee Member

Eunhui Yoon, Ph.D.

Keywords

Mentoring, Novice, Phenomenological, School Counselor

Abstract

As novice school counselors [NSCs] begin their careers, they transition from receiving supervision in their preparation programs to being on their own. This transition, or induction period, can be fraught with challenges as there are often discrepancies between the anticipated and actual role of school counselors. To extend and enrich the school counseling program, it has been recommended by numerous studies that continued supportive relationships, such as mentoring, can help first year school counselors transition into their profession. Mentoring is a way to help guide novices towards success, as it emphasizes an ongoing guiding and caring relationship between a mentor and a mentee. Through semi-structured interviews, this phenomenological study explores experiences and perceptions of Washington State novice school counselors in connection to their formal and informal mentoring relationships. The NSCs in this study identified a need to grow into their positions and accessed formal and informal mentoring supports to help them navigate their first years as school counselors. These mentoring supports provided consultation, collaboration, counseling, and technical support. While these themes of mentoring support and the lived experiences of the participating NSCs are not generalizable to all NSCs, they align with results of other studies. In combination with these previous studies’ findings, recommendations are provided for supporting NSCs during their induction period

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