Career Counseling

with Students Living

in Poverty
Vicki Kenney, Kristy Walter, and Ilana Malone
Seattle University
COUN 516

Presentation Outline
Background Information
Academic and Psychological
Challenges
Problems, Concerns, and Goals
Suggestions for Career
Counselors

Some Background Information...

In 2010, 15.1% of all persons in the United States lived
below the poverty line. This is the highest its been since
1993.

Over 16 million children in America (1

in every 5) lived in poverty in 2010,
which is an increase of 4 million since
2000.

Government Involvement
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
required the federal government to provide funding to
children and school districts in low SES areas.
No Child Left Behind (NCLB): Signed into law in 2002;
federal funding is used to administer standardized tests to
all schools, with steps taken to improve schools with
continually low scores.
However, NCLB has been seen as a band-aid thats not
really fixing the problem.

Academic Challenges

Childrens reading competence is correlated with the home literacy

environment, number of books owned, and parent distress.
Children living in poverty have less access to early childhood education
opportunities, which have been shown to be linked to future academic
success.
Children from low-SES environments acquire language skills more slowly,
exhibit delayed letter recognition and phonological awareness, and are at risk
for reading difficulties.
Children from lower SES households are about twice as likely as those from
high-SES households to display learning-related behavior problems.
A mothers SES was also related to her childs inattention, disinterest, and
lack of cooperation in school.

In a nationwide study of
American kindergarten
children, 36% of parents in
the lowest-income
quintile read to their
children on a daily basis,
compared with 62% of
parents from the highestincome quintile.

There is a bidirectional
relationship between
poverty and mental
health: poverty often
leads to mental illness
and mental illness often
reinforces poverty

Psychological Challenges

Poverty is linked to an increased risk of behavioral and learning

disorders
Kids who must cope with the chronic stress of poverty often feel
as though they cant concentrate on anything else- they are too
focused on simply getting from one day to the next
The stress surrounding living in poverty has been shown to lead to
an increased risk of depression and other mental health issues.
Childhood poverty has been shown to be a significant predictor of
future delinquency and criminal behavior.
Economic pressure creates feelings of emotional distress, which
can lower the parents sense of self-efficacy regarding what they
believed to be their influence over their children.

Bottom Line...
If these factors can lead to a greater risk of
under-employment later in life, how can
school counselors help ensure that students
are adequately prepared for choosing a
future career? How can we help stop the
cycle?

Problems.Concerns.Goals

Lack of Enrichment (Family Dynamic)

Inequality of Educational Opportunity
Counselor Perceptions - Bias and Discrimination
High Risk Students/Foster Youth
Student-To-School-Counselor Ratios
Psychological Disorders and Low Self-Esteem
Drop-Out Rates and Grade Retention

Inequality in Labor Market Earnings

Lack of Enrichment
Enrichment:

Books, computers
Literacy activities
Summer camps
Private schooling
Music lessons
High-quality child care
Travel
Differential access may explain the gaps in background knowledge
between children from high-income to those from low-income
families

Inequality of Educational Opportunity

Problem:
Concentration in low-performing schools
Inadequate school resources and poorly skilled teachers
Concern:
Likely to leave school without the necessary skills
Inequality in Educational attainment
Inequality in mathematics and reading skills
Inequality in labor market earnings/families
Goals:
Emphasize growth in a childs skills
Amending NCLB

Bias And Discrimination

Problem:
Counselor Perceptions
Concern:
Less promising futures & lower math abilities
Males as having less potential in language arts
Female students seen as having lower ability in mathematics than male
students.
Unintentionally use social status to classify students as college bound
Goals:
Recommend: School counselors get training to reduce bias and
discrimination

High Risk Students/Foster Youth

Problem:
Foster youth - Most at Risk Students
Concern:
90% re-enroll in the following school year
Graduation rate for youth in foster care was between 35 and
55% compared to non-foster youth was between 70 and 75%
Experience a lack of residential stability
Goal:
Intervene early

On-Time Graduation Rate by Student Sub-Population

Student-To-School-Counselor Ratios
Problem:
Higher ratios Student-to-school-counselor ratios
Concern:
Attendance & graduation rates go down
Strong connections were evident in high-poverty schools
Schools with large percentage free and reduced-price-lunch suffer
Goal:
Establish 201 to 250 students per school counselor

Student-To-School-Counselor Ratios

Psychological Disorders and Low Self-Esteem

Problem:
Greater exposure to stressful life events
Concern:
SES and health begins at the earliest stages of the life
Low SES predicts higher levels of depressive and anxiety
symptoms
Low SES and poor mental health outcomes
Goals:
Examine these factors early

Low SES and College Graduation Rates

Problem:
Drop-out rates and school retention
Concern:
Only 28% are enrolled in college preparatory curriculum
Educational system performs poorly
Teacher and principal quality
Goal:
3 secondary school requirements
a) high expectations & rigorous instruction
b) equal access to rigorous coursework
c) adequate support for student success

Poverty devastates
families,
communities and
nations.
It causes instability and
political unrest and
fuels conflict.
-Kofi Annan

Theories for Counseling Students of Low SES

Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT)
SCCT was based on Banduras (1986) Social Cognitive
Theory
How do students make career choices?
What builds our interests over time?
Students career expectations based on two factors:
SELF-EFFICACY
OUTCOME EXPECTATIONS

Social Cognitive Career Theory and Low SES

Students
Students may limit their career options because of
their false assumptions
Low SES students are less confident overall about their
academic future than MSES or HSES students
There are many actual and perceived barriers that
affect Low SES students
Ex: Financial barriers, geographical location,
internalized stereotypes

Suggestions for Career Counselors

Consider unique needs of each student
Examine the student within the context of their
environment
Do not make assumptions about a student based on
their culture, gender or financial status
Increase awareness about post secondary education
opportunities and different career paths
Decrease and clarify both actual and perceived
barriers

Learning Experience Interventions

Provide learning materials and necessary items for the
school day
Resilience is directly linked to self-efficacy
Encourage teachers to maintain high standards and
then help students meet them
Create clear goals for student that are Specific,
Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound
Foster leadership opportunities

Increasing Knowledge Interventions

Psychoeducational Group Counseling for career
exploration
Career counseling interventions beginning in
elementary school
Career counseling should continue throughout a
students educational career, building on previous
ideas
Educating students on career options and postsecondary Education opportunities eases the transition
out of high school

Minimizing Barrier Interventions

Combat internalized stereotypes
Connect students with mentors outside of their school
Examine both real and perceived barriers using
education and a reality focused approach
Discuss perceived supports
Understand the level of severity of each barrier before
attempting to minimize

Additional Considerations for Counselors

Comprehensive school counseling models directly
relate to student success rates
Examining ones biases as a school counselor
Promoting opportunities past high school graduating
Providing resources outside of the school for
students and families

Video
Why Low Income Students Drop Out of High School

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