A Study on Characteristics of a ‘good school counselor’ as perceived by school counselors through text network analysis

The purpose of this study is to understand the perception of ‘good school-counselors’ in school counseling. For this purpose, data were collected through open-ended questions about 'good school counselors' from 146 school counselors who agreed to participate in the study. Text network analysis method was used to analyze the collected data. As a result of the study, the most central words in school counselors' perception of a 'good school counselor' were 'client', 'counseling', and 'understanding'. As a result of analyzing the substructure of 'good school counselors', five communities emerged. The five communities were named ‘self-improvement as an expert’, ‘systematic application ability’, ‘ability to solve clients' problem’, excellent collaboration ability as a school member’, ‘student centered and permissive counseling attitudes’, and ‘attitude to realize a positive influence through counseling’. In this regard, the discussion revealed the implications of the research results and the limitations of the research.