A phenomenological study of students' challenges and expectations from school counselors

Introduction: School counseling is one of the important pillars of the education and learning system in schools, and if it can give accurate and favorable answers to students' demands and expectations, it can play an important role in the all-round growth and academic progress of students. . The purpose of this research is to identify the challenges and expectations of students from school counselors.
Method: In order to achieve the goal of this research, qualitative research approach and phenomenological method have been used. The participants of the research are 10 second-year students of public schools in Tehran, who were selected by available sampling method. A semi-structured interview was used to collect information, and qualitative content analysis method was used to analyze the data.
Findings: Based on the findings of the research in relation to the challenges of school counseling, there are cases such as not providing practical counseling, partial and ineffective counseling, insufficient knowledge and skills in relation to educational issues, and insufficient attention to issues related to the identification entrance exam is identified. Expectations and demands in two parts of "educational" expectations include: skill in correcting or referring learning problems, coordination between learning style and study style, coordination of study styles with the subject, academic and professional planning, promotion Students' skills to succeed in the exam, and provide practical solutions; Also, "general" expectations including support and follow-up, creating and maintaining motivation, teaching emotion management methods, and establishing effective communication were identified.
Discussion and conclusion: School counseling should be redefined according to the changes and developments of the society and accurate identification of the challenges and demands of the students. Solving the mentioned challenges and responding favorably to the expectations of the learners will make the school counseling more effective and will lead to more satisfaction of the students.