School counselors’ and school principals’ perceptions in preventing, assessing, and intervening into student high-risk behaviors in Lebanon -

Abstract

This is an exploratory-descriptive study that uses a mixed-method design method to examine school counselors’ and school principals’ perceptions in preventing, assessing, and intervening into student high-risk behaviors. The study focuses on the following five high-risk behaviors: Bullying, eating disorders, school vandalism, self-injurious behaviors, and stealing. It explores (1) counselors’ perceptions of their preparation, motivation, and effectiveness in dealing with student high-risk behaviors, (2) the most common responses and roles of counselors in dealing with student high-risk behaviors, (3) current prevention, assessment, and intervention strategies and barriers of principals and counselors, (4) and training experience and internship opportunities of principals and counselors. The study targeted working school counselors and school principals in private schools in Lebanon, in two cities: Beirut and Saida. Thirteen participating school counselors-psychologists received a counselor-psychologist’s questionnaire whereas fifteen participating school principals received a principal’s questionnaire. The counselor-psychologist’s questionnaire includes four appendices including a demographic section, four scales and four open-ended questions adopted from Gregory E. Harris and Gary Jeffery’s study (2010). The principal’s questionnaire includes two appendices containing a demographic section and the same open-ended questions as in the counselor-psychologist’s questionnaire. Since no similar study was implemented in Lebanon, the study expands our limited understanding of school counselors’ and school principals’ perceptions on working with certain student high-risk behaviors in private schools in the Lebanon. The main findings of the study revealed a need to enhance counselors’ and principals’ preparation to deal with high-risk behaviors. Some of the needs counselors and principals called for are providing more pre-service and in-service