Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
8-2025
Document Type
Manuscript
Department
Organizational Leadership
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Melinda Carver
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Laura A. Perry
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Jason Ward
Abstract
This descriptive, exploratory, qualitative study examined urban, public U.S. high school counselors’ perceptions of job-related stress, autonomy, and administrative support within urban school environments. Seven current high school counselors working in urban public schools were recruited through convenience sampling in educator forums on Facebook, followed by snowball sampling to expand the participant pool. Counselors participated in semistructured interviews conducted via Zoom or asynchronous online focus groups hosted on Padlet, depending on the participant’s preference. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s six-step thematic analysis process, supported by Dedoose software for coding and data management. The analysis revealed four major themes: administrative social-emotional, autonomy, and work responsibilities support; job control impacted by additional duties, administrative practices, and mentorship; collegial support during transition, within the profession, and system-wide; and work–life balance through resources, practices, and emotional conflict. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of counselor well-being and retention in urban schools and offers insights for educational leaders, policymakers, and counselor preparation programs. Keywords: school counselor burnout, urban education, job demand-control theory, qualitative research, counselor attrition, high school mental health, asynchronous focus groups, educational leadership, counselor retention
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Hall, Alexandria L., "An Exploratory Descriptive Study of Urban Professional High School Counselors' Work Culture, Burnout, and Mental Well-Being" (2025). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 934.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/934