School counselors are urged to create systemic change within a school system by working as an advocate, leader, and collaborator within the school. Each of these roles requires a school counselor to be skilled in micropolitics and micropolitical literacy. This article explores the main concepts of micropolitical theory and its application to the school counseling profession. We also discuss the limitations and implications of this position.
AchinsteinB. (2002). Conflict amid community: The micropolitics of teacher collaboration. Teachers College Record, 104(3), 421–455.
2.
American School Counselor Association. (2019). ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs (4th ed.). American School Counselor Association.
3.
BallS. J. (1987). The micro-politics of the school: Towards a theory of school organization. Methune.
4.
BlaseJ. (1991a). Analysis and discussion: Some concluding remarks. In BlaseJ. (Ed.), The politics of life in schools (pp. 237–255). Sage.
5.
BlaseJ. (1991b). The micropolitical perspective. In BlaseJ. (Ed.), The politics of life in schools (pp. 1–18). Sage.
6.
BrigmanG.WebbL. (2007). Student success skills: Impacting achievement through large and small group work. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 11(4), 283–292. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2699.11.4.283
7.
BroskyD. (2011). Micropolitics in the school: Teacher leaders’ use of political skill and influence tactics. The International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 6(1), 1–11.
8.
CarusoL. F. (2013). The micropolitics of educational change experienced by novice public middle school principals. NASSP Bulletin, 97(3), 218–252. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192636513483355
9.
ChristensenE. (2013). Micropolitical staffroom stories: Beginning health and physical education teachers’ experiences of the staffroom. Teaching and Teacher Education, 30(1), 74–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2012.11.001
10.
CurryM.JaxonK.RussellJ. L.CallahanM. A.BicaisJ. (2008). Examining the practice of beginning teachers’ micropolitical literacy within professional inquiry communities. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(3), 660–673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2006.10.007
11.
DollarhideC. T. (2003). School counselors as program leaders: Applying leadership contexts to school counseling. Professional School Counseling, 6(5), 304–308.
HatchT. A. (2008). Professional challenges in school counseling: Organizational, institutional, and political. Journal of School Counseling, 6(22). http://www.jsc.montana.edu/articles/v6n22.pdf
14.
HoyleE. (1986). The politics of school management. Hodder & Stoughton.
15.
IannacconeL. (1975). Education policy systems: A study guide for educational administrators. Nova University Press.
16.
IannacconeL. (1991). Micropolitics of education: What and why. Education and Urban Society, 23(4), 465–471.
17.
KelchtermansG.BalletK. (2002a). Micropolitical literacy: Reconstructing a neglected dimension in teacher development. International Journal of Educational Research, 37(8), 755–767. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-0355(03)00069-7
18.
KelchtermansG.BalletK. (2002b). The micropolitics of teacher induction. A narrative-biographical study on teacher socialization. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(1), 105–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(01)00053-1
19.
LeChasseurK.MayerA.WeltonA.DonaldsonM. (2016). Situating teacher inquiry: A micropolitical perspective. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 27(2), 255–274. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2015.1021818
20.
MalenB.CochranM. V. (2015). Beyond pluralistic patterns of power: Research on the micropolitics of schools. In CooperB. S.CibulkaJ. G.FusarelliL. D. (Eds.), Handbook of education politics and policy (2nd ed., pp. 3–36). Routledge.
21.
MarshJ. (2012). The micropolitics of implementing a school-based bonus policy: The case of New York City’s compensation committees. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 34(2), 164–184. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373711428354
22.
McMahanE. H.SinghA. A.UrbanoA.HastonM. (2010). The personal is political: School counselors’ use of self in social justice advocacy work. Journal of School Counseling, 8(18). http://www.jsc.montana.edu/articles/v8n18.pdf
23.
SchulzL. L.HurtK.LindoN. (2014). My name is not Michael: Strategies for promoting cultural responsiveness in schools. Journal of School Counseling, 12(2). http://jsc.montana.edu/articles/v12n2.pdf
24.
SinghA. A.UrbanoA.HastonM.McMahonE. (2010). School counselors’ strategies for social justice change: A grounded theory of what works in the real world. Professional School Counseling, 13(3). 135–145. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X1001300301
25.
VillaresE.FrainM.BrigmanG.WebbL.PelusoP. (2012). The impact of student success skills on standardized test scores: A meta-analysis. Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation, 3(1), 3–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/2150137811434041
