Sociocultural and Sociopolitical Elements of School Counselling Professional Identity: A Qualitative Analysis of Palestinian School Counselling Identity

Abstract

This study addresses the impact of sociocultural and sociopolitical contexts on the construction of School Counselling Professional Identity (SCPI) among Palestinian school counsellors. SCPI reflects how professionals perceive their jobs and understand their roles (Erhard, 2014; Remley & Herlihy, 2014). School counselling is a mental health profession that operates within educational settings to foster students’ socioemotional, career, and academic development (ASCA, 2012; Foxx et al., 2016). However, counsellors worldwide find forming a coherent professional identity difficult. Previous studies have primarily focused on the professional components of a coherent SCPI, overlooking sociopolitical and sociocultural factors such as values and beliefs, gender, and consultees’ needs (e.g., Gibson et al., Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy, 2(2), 113–130 2015; Heled & Davidovich, Journal of Education and Learning, 10(3), 64–82 2021; Woo et al., Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation, 8(1), 15–30 2017). To explore these sociocultural and sociopolitical forces that shape SCPI, the present study applied a thematic analysis to data from semi-structured interviews with 18 Palestinian school counsellors. The main results showed that Palestinian SCPI is largely formed by the counsellors’ social and political backgrounds including religious values, social traditions, and political principles, which also inform their counselling interventions. The results also indicated a relationship between counsellors’ personal and professional identities. These findings highlight the limitations of Western individualistic counselling theories and practices, while challenging the universality of SCPI and ultimately revealing the need for culturally responsive approaches to research and practice for mental health professionals.