School Counsellors' Perceptions of School Justice and Awareness of Advocacy Duties

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine school counsellors' awareness of their advocacy responsibilities in relation to distributive, procedural, and interactional justice. The participants in this case study were 14 school counsellors working in secondary schools. They were selected using criterion sampling and maximum variation. Research data were collected using a semi-structured interview form and analyzed using content analysis. According to the findings, school counsellors described their school environments as fair considering the democratic attitudes of principals and teachers. Participating counsellors reported that students complain about various issues regarding favoritism, discriminatory attitudes, problematic communication, and unfair grading. They also reported that when students experience injustice at school, they show emotional reactions such as anger, unhappiness, and helplessness, in addition to aggression towards teachers, school objects, or themselves. School counsellors stated that they encourage such students to share their feelings, claim their rights, and talk to their teachers. However, school counsellors who encouraged students to claim their rights rarely talked to teachers to solve such problems. It can be said that school counsellors who strive to prevent student victimization have played a mediating role rather than being an advocate. Future studies can explore the advocacy practices at private and public schools.