Summary

School counselors conducting qualitative research is not a novel idea. Indeed, school counselors are required to use data to develop and incorporate counseling programs to meet the needs of all students. However, large caseloads and school counselors’ involvement in non-counseling-oriented tasks leave little time for involvement in research. However, by collaborating with school, family, and community stakeholders, school counselors could incorporate qualitative research into their roles, which would then enable them to be more effective in their jobs. Participatory action research (PAR) is a research paradigm that allows school counselors to collect data to pinpoint the needs of the school, collaborate with key stakeholders to address the identified needs, and then use that data to develop and implement data-based programs. In essence, school counselors, using this qualitative research method, could be better informed on how to best address these issues in their schools. By the nature of their training, school counselors are adept at the qualitative techniques of in-depth interviewing, observing, analyzing the data, and making informed decisions from the data, which is why collective qualitative research could be a natural extension of their job duties.