Communicating Crisis to Youth: The role of caregiver crisis communication in youth sensemaking and recovery

A qualitative study was conducted of the response to student deaths by the administrators of two rural high schools. The events are looked at in the dual context of incident management and communication processes, using Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) theory. Interviews were conducted with administrators and with members of a student support team that responded to these and similar events. The study finds that negotiation of meaning that takes place between students, and between students and caregivers, is key in students’ processing of the event that they are experiencing. It can also equip them to be more resilient to traumatic events in the future.

Tipping Points: Teachers’ Reported Reasons for Referring Primary School Children for Excessive Anxiety

The current study explored the reasons that primary school teachers reported were tipping points for them in deciding whether or not and when to refer a child to the school student support team for excessive anxiety. Twenty teachers in two Queensland primary schools were interviewed. Content analysis of interview transcripts revealed six themes reflecting teachers’ perceived reasons for deciding to refer anxious children: (1) impact on learning; (2) atypical child behaviour; (3) repeated difficulties that do not improve over time; (4) poor response to strategies; (5) teachers’ need for support; and (6) information from parents/carers. Teachers considered different combinations of reasons and had many different tipping points for making a referral. Both teacher- and system-level influences impacted referral decisions. Implications and future research are discussed.

Advocacy in the IEP Process: Strengths-Based School Counseling in Action

As the number of students in schools receiving special education services rises, the need for advocacy for these students increases as well. Because school counselors already possess specialized training beneficial to all stakeholders in the special education process, the potential for school counselors’ role in the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) process is quickly increasing. This article addresses how school counselors can collaborate with teachers and special education teams in the IEP, 504 plan, and other student support team processes. School counselors can model positive communication and assist the team in identifying student and environmental strengths while also increasing family involvement. Specific ways that school counselors can collaborate with planning teams are discussed and direct links are made to Strength-Based School Counseling (Galassi & Akos, 2007) and the ASCA National Model® (American School Counselor Association, 2005).