The School Counselor in Israel: An Agent of Social Justice?

In recent years, leaders in the school counseling profession worldwide have been calling on their colleagues to re-examine their role as "agents of social justice" in schools, with a view to promoting equal educational opportunities for all students. This research examines counselors' perceptions of the role, role behaviors, personal justice sensitivity, the school's justice sensitivity and the interrelations among these variables. Two hundred and six Israeli school counselors responded to a questionnaire. Findings show that the majority of counselors perceived their role as promoting social justice, and indeed engaged in activities meant to increase disadvantaged students' chances of success. The variable of role perception was found to mediate between personal sensitivity to justice (justice sensitivity) and counselors' actual behaviors. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for the professional socialization of counselors as agents of social justice.