The Web and School Counseling

Abstract

The Web and related technologies are creating a revolution in the practice of school counseling. This paper describes emerging trends and identifies critical issues that need to be addressed to facilitate increased use. The article summarizes current uses and identifies ways the Web can be used to improve practice and professional competence. To make full use of the potential of Web-based technology, we believe that the school counseling profession needs to (a) develop a research base that identifies best practices in technology use for promoting both effective school counseling practice and professional development education; (b) develop and disseminate standards for ethical and professional technology use in school counseling practices that are based on both professional judgment and research; (c) conduct a national study that describes current uses of Web-based technology, identifies current school counselor competencies, and determines the most important ways technology can enhance professional practice; and (d) develop an extensive Web-based professional development initiative to support standards-based reform efforts in school counseling and to initiate school counselors into e-learning technologies.

Key Words:

• School counseling
• Internet
• professional development
• counselor
• technology
• education
• Web-based technology
• standards-based