School Counselors’ Role in Supporting College and Career Readiness: Does Disability Status Matter?

Abstract

This study surveyed 225 school counselors to investigate the college and career readiness (CCR) supports they provide, with a focus on whether these supports vary based on students’ disability status. The results reveal that school counselors deliver CCR supports related to resource coordination, life-readiness instruction, and career assessment and planning services more frequently than supports for entering employment and college. Moreover, school counselors reported providing a greater number and frequency of CCR supports to students without disabilities compared to those with disabilities across all CCR domains and offered explanations for these differences. These results suggest a need for better preparation of school counselors to support the college and career readiness of students with disabilities.