Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School

College for Community Health

Department/Program

Counseling

Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair

Leslie Kooyman

Committee Member

Angela I. Sheely-Moore

Committee Member

Jeremy N. Price

Abstract

To make a difference in Black and Brown students' educational experiences, school counselor advocacy is crucial. A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted to explore the practices urban school counselors incorporate to engage as social justice leaders, advocates, and change agents to empower and support Black and Brown students. The goal was to identify practices urban school counselors utilized to create greater equity for Black and Brown students. Also, from school counselors’ lived experiences, the goal was to learn how they engaged key-school stakeholders in advocacy. In addition, the hope was to bring to the forefront how the intersecting cultural identities of a school counselor may impact advocacy work. Five Black and Brown urban school counselors participated in this study to share their experiences. Five main themes and eight sub-themes emerged regarding this study’s main research question: how do urban school counselors engage as advocacy leaders and change agents to empower and support Black and Brown students? There were also two sub-research questions in this study, and one overall theme emerged for each. The two sub-research questions were: 1) how do urban school counselors engage their principals and/or key-school community stakeholders in this process and in their work as advocacy leaders and change agents; and 2) how does the cultural identity of the school counselor (e.g., age, gender, gender identity, race, cultural, and ethnic background) impact their advocacy and change agent work. Suggestions for future research and implications for school counselor education and training were discussed.

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