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Abstract

Objective: Previous studies suggest hope may protect against stress and burnout. Hope has also been associated with higher levels of job satisfaction for individuals across professions. However, no research has yet explored the relationships among school counselors’ hope, stress, and job satisfaction. Method: We conducted a hierarchical regression with a sample of school counselors (N = 450) to examine whether hope would predict school counselors’ job satisfaction, even in the presence of stress. We sought to examine the extent to which the subscales of hope (pathways and agency) predict school counselors’ reported job satisfaction and to what extent hope pathways and agency continue to predict school counselors’ reported job satisfaction when stress is added to the model. Results: Our findings indicated that hope predicted job satisfaction, suggesting that participants who reported overall hope were also more satisfied with their jobs. When we added stress to the model, the pathways subscale of hope remained a significant predictor of job satisfaction. Conclusions: These findings provide new insights into the usefulness of hope as it relates to school counselors’ job satisfaction and stress. We offer implications for practice, training, and future research.

Keywords

hope job satisfaction school counselors stress

Introduction

School counselors encounter rewards and challenges in their work with students and school communities. The ASCA National Model from the American School Counselor Association (ASCA, 2019) calls for school counselors to support all students’ academic, career, and social/emotional development through comprehensive school counseling programs. It is well documented in the literature that the professional expectations of school counselors create unique complexities, such as job strain, role confusion, and threats of burnout (Bardhoshi & Um, 2021; Fye et al., 2020; Gunduz, 2012; Kim & Lambie, 2018). With the growing mental health needs of students prior to and following the COVID-19 pandemic (Zolopa et al., 2022), greater attention has been paid in the literature to the importance of school counselors as frontline mental health service providers for youth (Lambie et al., 2019). Concurrently, scholars have sought to understand school counselors’ experiences of burnout, self-efficacy, stress, and job satisfaction (Bardhoshi & Um, 2021; Fye et al., 2020; Limberg et al., 2021; Mullen et al., 2021), with the assumption that an increased understanding of the contributors to school counselors’ adverse experiences in their role may lead to better training and support for their well-being and, subsequently, improved service delivery.

Job satisfaction has been conceptualized as how one feels about one’s job or elements of one’s job; specifically, it is defined as the extent to which an individual holds positive affect and attitudes about their work, including job tasks, values, and demands (Judge et al., 2017; Judge & Klinger, 2008; Spector, 1985). Within the context of school counseling, scholars have examined school counselors’ level of job satisfaction with varying occupational elements including, but not limited to, professional activities (Pyne, 2011), role conflict and ambiguity (Cervoni & DeLucia-Waack, 2011), principal–school counselor relationships (Clemens et al., 2009), experiences of stress and burnout (Mullen et al., 2017), student caseload (Mullen et al., 2021), and ASCA National Model implementation (Fye et al., 2022). Scholars have often investigated the potential threats to school counselors’ job satisfaction, examining the elements that may make them unhappy in their work. Fewer studies have evaluated the elements that promote school counselors’ job satisfaction (e.g., Mullen et al., 2023). With this in mind, we perceived an opportunity to expand the literature regarding potential protective factors with positive correlations to school counselors’ job satisfaction.

Hope and Burnout

Hope may be an influential factor in relation to school counselors’ job satisfaction. Hope is conceptualized as a goal-directed process that includes pathways and agency (Snyder, 2002; Snyder et al., 1991, 2002). Pathways involve one’s ability to visualize possible routes to achieving a goal, and agency is an individual’s self-belief about their ability to pursue a goal (Snyder et al., 1991). In general, higher levels of hope relate to higher levels of job satisfaction (Smith et al., 2014) and may protect against maladaptive behaviors (Gutierrez, 2019) while also promoting indicators of well-being (Munoz et al., 2020). For example, in a sample of 500 nurses, Hu et al. (2022) found that higher levels of hope were related to higher job satisfaction and lower turnover intention. In a sample of child welfare workers, higher hope was related to higher resiliency and lower burnout (Pharris et al., 2022). Scholars have found that an individual’s hope supports job satisfaction, even when that person faced potentially negative factors, such as cynicism about work (Kudo et al., 2016), job stress, or turnover intention (Lee & Jang, 2018). In the school counseling literature, the relationship between school counselors’ hope and job satisfaction has not yet been examined. However, researchers have found that school counselors’ hope may be connected to other work-related factors, such as self-efficacy and burnout (Ender et al., 2019).

Ender and colleagues (2019) examined the mediating effects of hope and burnout on the relationship between mindfulness and self-efficacy in a sample of 243 school counselors in Turkey. The researchers found hope to mediate between mindfulness and self-efficacy, with statistically significant positive correlations between mindfulness and hope and between hope and self-efficacy. Ender and colleagues’ findings suggest that the relationship between an individual’s mindfulness and self-efficacy is influenced by hope and that higher rates of mindfulness and hope lead to a higher sense of self-efficacy. Further, Ender and colleagues also found a statistically significant negative correlation between hope and school counselor burnout, suggesting that burnout decreases as hope increases. The findings of Ender et al. indicate that hope may be a significant protective factor for school counselors. Because the study was conducted in Turkey, these findings may be limited in application for practitioners in the United States. However, it provides an initial understanding of the relationship between hope and school counselors’ work-related variables and beckons scholars to explore the relevance of hope with a different population of school counselors. Outside of Ender and colleagues’ study of hope with school counselors in Turkey, school counselor hope has not been examined empirically despite its potential utility in understanding protective factors for school counselors. Further, hope has not yet been examined as a predictor of school counselors’ job satisfaction. We believe that investigating hope as a predictor of school counselors’ job satisfaction would be beneficial when considering the impact of stress.

Although hope has theoretical similarities to self-efficacy, hope is a distinct construct. Hope is defined as “a cognitive set that is based on a reciprocally derived sense of successful (a) agency (goal-directed determination) and (b) pathways (planning of ways to meet goals)” (Snyder et al., 1991, p. 571). Self-efficacy is a person’s belief in achieving an identified goal (Bandura, 1978), which does not directly speak to the interplay between their agency and pathways for achieving it. In fact, Rand (2017) noted that hope (a) can be generalized across multiple goals, tasks, and situations and (b) includes a sense of determination to achieve defied or yet-unrealized goals, while self-efficacy does neither. A person can have hope if they believe their goal is attainable, regardless of whether they have personally achieved the identified goal in the past (Tong et al., 2010); conversely, previous performance accomplishments hold primary influence over an individual’s self-efficacy beliefs (Bandura, 1978). In an earlier study, Magaletta and Oliver (1999) examined self-efficacy and hope pathways and agency. They found through a factor analysis that these concepts are statistically distinct. The distinctions identified in extant literature help to explain the differences between the constructs of hope and self-efficacy. Although researchers have explored school counselors’ self-efficacy in various ways (e.g., Gunduz, 2012; Mullen & Gutierrez, 2016; Perry et al., 2020), literature regarding school counselors’ hope is minimal, and nonexistent in its relationship to school counselors’ job satisfaction and stress.

Stress and Burnout

Scholars have suggested that stress is a common experience for practicing school counselors (Kim & Lambie, 2018; Mullen & Gutierrez, 2016). Further, scholars have found a statistically significant relationship between school counselors’ stress and burnout, subsequently impacting their direct services to students (Mullen & Gutierrez, 2016). In earlier writings, Olson and Dilley (1988) proposed that potential factors of school counselors’ stress may include (a) role conflict and ambiguity, (b) a perceived inability to meet job demands, and (c) job demands that are new, unfamiliar, or outside the scope of school counseling. More recently, school counselor literature has echoed Olson and Dilley’s assertion that environmental demands and role conflict or ambiguity contribute to school counselors’ stress (Culbreth et al., 2005; Maor & Hemi, 2021). For example, when school counselors have lower, more manageable caseload ratios, they report lower levels of job stress; those with higher caseloads report higher levels of stress (Bardhoshi et al., 2014; Moyer, 2011; Mullen et al., 2021; Wilkerson & Bellini, 2006). With extant knowledge of school counselors’ stress compounded with students’ increased mental health needs following the COVID-19 pandemic (Zolopa et al., 2022), we make the logical inference that stress has continued to be a pervasive experience for practicing school counselors.

Purpose of This Study

The relationships between school counselors’ hope, stress, and job satisfaction have yet to be explored. However, based on previous research identifying hope as a protective factor, examining the relevance of hope is germane for practicing school counselors. Further, considering the many possible stressors a school counselor faces, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, understanding school counselors’ hope and job satisfaction in the face of stress is warranted. Therefore, we aimed to examine hope and stress as predictors of school counselors’ reported job satisfaction. Specifically, we sought to understand the predictive power of hope pathways and agency on school counselors’ job satisfaction. Through hierarchical regression, we examined whether the predictive power of hope’s pathways and agency would sustain school counselors’ job satisfaction when incorporating stress into the model. The research questions guiding this study were:

1. To what extent do the subscales of hope (pathways and agency) predict school counselors’ reported job satisfaction?

2. To what extent do hope pathways and agency continue to predict school counselors’ reported job satisfaction when stress is added to the model?

Method

Procedures

Prior to beginning the study, we obtained approval from the institutional review board of the first author’s university at that time. We used survey data collection procedures to gather cross-sectional data for hierarchical regression analysis. Prior to initiating the study, we conducted an a priori power analysis. For a linear multiple regression with three predictors, 90% power, a .05 alpha, and a medium effect, a sample size of 77 was required. We recruited a convenience sample through multiple state-level school counseling associations across the United States. Using each state association’s online directory, we identified professional members and collected their names and contact email addresses as listed in the directories. Following identification of potential participants, we sent emails using the tailored design method (Dillman et al., 2014). First, we sent an invitational email inviting participants to complete the survey and included a link to the Qualtrics survey website. We then sent two follow-up emails to participants who did not respond to the initial invitation. Participants could opt out of the study at any time in the recruitment and survey completion process. At the start of the survey, participants were required to review a consent form and indicate whether they agreed or did not agree to participate. We included multiple validity checks throughout the survey to screen out false responses. In total, we invited 4626 school counselors to complete the survey, and 450 participants completed the survey entirely, resulting in a 9.7% response rate.

Participants

The sample of participants comprised 450 practicing school counselors. The average age of participants was 44.83 years (SD = 11.3, Mdn = 45). The majority of participants identified as female (n = 382, 84.9%), followed by male (n = 53, 11.8%), transgender/nonbinary (n = 4, 0.9%), and gender expansive/gender nonconforming (n = 2, 0.4%); nine participants (2.0%) declined to answer. Participants reported racial identities including White (n = 377, 83.8%), Black or African American (n = 41, 9.1%), American Indian or Alaska Native (n = 14, 3.1%), Asian (n = 12, 2.7%), and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (n = 2, 0.4%); 12 participants (2.7%) indicated a preference to self-describe. Of the participants in the sample, 90% (n = 405) identified as non-Hispanic, 8.2% (n = 37) as Hispanic, and 1.8% (n = 8) did not provide an answer.

Participants’ years of experience as a school counselor ranged from a minimum of 1 year to a maximum of 35 years, with an average of 11.80 (SD = 8.4, Mdn = 10) years of experience as a school counselor. Participants’ student caseloads ranged from 13 to 4500 students, with an average total of 368.26 students (SD = 293.7, Mdn = 325). More than half of participants reported working in a Title I school (n = 240, 53.3%), with 161 (35.8%) reporting that they did not, 43 (9.6%) stating that they were unsure, and six (1.3%) not disclosing. Participants’ work settings included high school (n = 154, 34.2%), elementary school (n = 136, 30.2%), middle school/junior high school (n = 88, 19.6%), Grades 6–12 settings (n = 17, 3.8%), Grades K–8 settings (n = 14, 3.1%), and other grade level combinations (n = 37, 8.2%); four participants (0.9%) did not report their work setting grade level. Geographically, most participants worked in suburban areas (n = 209, 46.4%), followed by rural (n = 158, 35.1%) and urban areas (n = 78, 17.3%); five participants (1.1%) did not report their general location. Table 1 summarizes the participants’ characteristics.

Table 1.

Participant Characteristics.

	M (SD)	n (%)
Participant age	44.83 (11.3)
Years in school counseling practice	11.90 (8.4)
Caseload size	368.26 (293.7)
Gender
Female		382 (84.9%)
Male		53 (11.8%)
Transgender/nonbinary		4 (0.9%)
Gender expansive/gender nonconforming		2 (0.4%)
Race/ethnicity
Asian		12 (2.7%)
American Indian/Alaska Native		14 (3.1%)
Black/African American		41 (9.1%)
Hispanic/Latino		37 (8.2%)
Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander		2 (0.4%)
White		377 (83.8%)
Did not disclose		8 (1.8%)
Geographic location
Suburban		209 (46.4%)
Rural		158 (35.1%)
Urban		78 (17.3%)
Did not disclose		5 (1.1%)
School setting
Elementary		136 (30.2%)
Middle		88 (19.6%)
High		154 (34.2%)
Grades K-8		14 (3.1%)
Grades 6–12		17 (3.8%)
Other grade level combinations		37 (8.2%)
Did not disclose		4 (0.9%)
Title I funding
Yes		240 (53.3%)
No		161 (35.8%)
Unsure		43 (9.6%)
Did not disclose		6 (1.3%)

Measures

We developed a questionnaire to collect participants’ demographic information, including race, ethnicity, age, and gender identity. We also gathered data regarding participants’ experience and setting in school counseling, including years of experience, geographic location, caseload size, school level, and Title I designation.

Stress in General

To measure participants’ reported levels of stress, we implemented the Stress in General (SIG) scale (Stanton et al., 2001). The SIG scale is an 8-item self-report measure that asks participants to reflect upon their work environment and indicate how well each descriptive word or phrase describes their environment. Participants responded to each word or phrase by selecting 1 (yes) if the item was descriptive of their work environment, 2 (no) if it was not, or 3 (question mark) if they could not decide. Items included terms such as demanding, pressured, hassled, and calm (reverse coded), with higher scores indicating greater levels of reported stress in the work environment. In a previous study of student affairs professionals’ job satisfaction (Mullen et al., 2017), the SIG scale demonstrated good internal consistency with Cronbach’s α = .88. The SIG scale also has demonstrated good internal consistency with a sample of school counseling participants (α = .87; Mullen et al., 2021). In the current study, the SIG scale showed similar internal consistency with Cronbach’s α = .82.

Job Satisfaction

We employed the Overall Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (OJSQ; Andrews & Withey, 1976), a 5-item self-report questionnaire designed to evaluate participants’ reported levels of job satisfaction. Items include statements such as “How do you feel about your job?” and “How do you feel about the work you do on your job – the work itself?” Participants indicated their level of satisfaction on a Likert-type scale by selecting a response from 1 (delighted) to 7 (terrible) in response to each statement. In previous studies, the OJSQ has demonstrated good internal consistency with samples of therapists and school counselors, with Cronbach’s α scores ranging from α = .81 (Winburn et al., 2023) to α = .85 (Mullen et al., 2023). The OJSQ demonstrated similar reliability with our sample in the present study, with Cronbach’s α = .83.

Adult Hope Scale

We used the Adult Hope Scale (AHS; Snyder et al., 1991) to measure participants’ reported levels of hope. The AHS includes 12 items and consists of two subscales: Agency and Pathways. We chose to examine agency and pathways as separate hope variables in our model. The Agency subscale assesses an individual’s goal-directed energy, including statements such as “I meet the goals that I set for myself.” The Pathways subscale evaluates an individual’s plans for pursuing and accomplishing goals, and items include statements such as “I can think of many ways to get the things in life that are important to me.” Participants reported their level of agreement with each item using a Likert-type scale with responses from 1 (definitely false) to 8 (definitely true). In past literature with adult samples, Cronbach’s α scores have indicated levels of internal consistency ranging from acceptable for Agency (α = .75) and Pathways (α = .68; Ferrari et al., 2012) to good for Agency (α = .91) and Pathways (α = .86; Gutierrez et al., 2020). In our study, the Agency subscale α was .84, and the Pathways subscale α was .82, indicating good internal consistency with the present sample for both subscales.

Data Analytic Plan

We downloaded the data from the Qualtrics survey website and transferred it into SPSS (Version 29). We cleaned the data and used listwise deletion to remove participants who did not complete the surveys. Using a two-step hierarchical regression, we examined how hope and stress incrementally accounted for variance in school counselors’ job satisfaction. The first step consisted of hope’s subscales of pathways and agency on job satisfaction. The second step included stress in the model. Table 2 provides an overview of the descriptive statistics and correlations within the data.

Table 2.

Correlations Between Hope Agency Subscale, Hope Pathways Subscale, Stress in General, and Job Satisfaction.

	1	2	3	4	M	SD	Cronbach’s α
1. Job satisfaction	1.00	−	−	−	28.80	9.96	.83
2. Hope pathways	.37*	1.00	−	−	689.81	176.72	.84
3. Hope agency	.34*	.71*	1.00	−	738.73	178.60	.82
4. Stress in general	−.53*	−.19*	−.19*	1.00	267.60	180.78	.82

* = p < .001.

Results

Preliminary Analyses

We conducted preliminary analyses to examine responses for the existence of outliers and for violations of normality, linearity, multicollinearity, and homoscedasticity. We calculated standardized scores for each measure in the study, resulting in seven cases with one or more scores above the 2.8 critical value. For the identified cases, we applied Winsorized means to address this issue. A visual inspection of the histograms, skewness, and kurtosis revealed a negative skew for each variable. We applied a power transformation (Osborne, 2013) to address this issue. Power transformation resulted in a normal distribution of the data. Examination of Mahalanobis distances indicated two cases with values greater than 13.82; however, when we excluded these variables from the analysis, we saw no variation in the findings. Therefore, we kept the two cases. Box’s test of equality of variances and Levene’s test of equality of error variances resulted in nonsignificant values for the variables, ensuring that we did not violate these assumptions. Normal P-P plot demonstrated the normal distribution of residuals. Tolerance values (>.1) confirmed an absence of multicollinearity.

Main Analyses

We conducted a hierarchical multiple regression to evaluate the extent to which stress predicted school counselors’ job satisfaction after controlling for the subscales of hope (pathways and agency). First, we entered pathways and agency into Step 1 of the model, which explained 15%, F (2, 443) = 37.56, p < .001, of the variance in school counselors’ job satisfaction. In Step 2, we entered stress into the model, which explained an additional 22% of the variance in job satisfaction scores after controlling for pathways and agency, R² change = .22, F change (1, 442) = 150.45, p < .001. The total variance the model explained was 36%, F (1, 442) = 83.66, p < .001. In the final model, stress was statistically significant with a semipartial correlation value of sr = −.46 (p < .001). The pathways subscale of hope was also statistically significant in the final model, with a semipartial correlation value of sr = .15 (p < .001). The agency subscale of hope did not statistically significantly contribute to the full model as a predictor of job satisfaction. Table 3 illustrates the predictive values of participants’ hope pathways, hope agency, and stress on job satisfaction.

Table 3.

Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analysis Summary Predicting Job Satisfaction With Hope Pathways, Hope Agency, and Stress in General.

Step and predictor variable	B	SE B	β	sr	R ² change	R ²
Step 1					.15*	.15
Constant	12.54	1.96
Hope pathways	.02	.00	.26*	.18
Hope agency	.01	.00	.15	.11
Step 2
Constant		1.92			.22*	.36
Hope pathways	.01	.00	.21*	.16
Hope agency	.01	.00	.10	.07
Stress in general	−.03	.00	−.48*	−.47

Note. sr = semipartial correlation coefficient. * = p < .001.

Discussion

School counselors hold important positions within schools. Recruiting and retaining school counselors is critical, particularly considering students’ growing mental health needs that may impact their academic and career development (Zolopa et al., 2022). In our study, we sought to test the extent to which hope predicts job satisfaction (Research Question 1) and how hope predicts job satisfaction despite job-related stress. Job satisfaction is related to school counselor turnover, with more satisfied school counselors less likely to want to leave their position (Greenham et al., 2019; Mullen et al., 2020). Based on prior research and the theory of hope, we expected that school counselors with greater levels of hope would also be more satisfied in their work.

For our first research question, we found that hope pathways and hope agency collectively predicted job satisfaction, indicating statistically that the participants who reported greater overall hope were also more satisfied with their jobs. This finding echoes existing literature showing that higher hope relates to higher job satisfaction across work settings (Hu et al., 2022; Kudo et al., 2016) and that school counselors’ hope positively correlates with work-related factors (e.g., self-efficacy; Ender et al., 2019). We built upon the existing understanding of school counselor hope by examining the subscales of hope and their predictive value on job satisfaction. Of the two predictors, hope pathways produced statistical significance and significantly contributed to job satisfaction. Stated differently, the participants who had a greater ability to see a way forward to achieving their goals also found their jobs more enjoyable. This finding underscores the importance of pathways as an element of hope and relates to previous research in which individuals who generated multiple pathways toward a goal also demonstrated higher levels of hope (Cheavens et al., 2019).

We were surprised to find that participants’ hope agency did not produce a significant individual relationship with job satisfaction. Participants’ belief in their ability, when considered a composite variable of hope, did not relate to the extent to which they enjoyed their job. This finding differs from some existing studies of the subscales of hope in which hope agency was found to have significantly stronger relationships than hope pathways to psychological and wellness-related constructs (e.g., Belen et al., 2020; Li et al., 2021; Mathis et al., 2009). A consideration related to our finding for Research Question 1 is that we found hope agency correlated with job satisfaction when examined through bivariate correlations. This latter finding leads us to believe that hope pathways accounted for more of the shared variance when considered collectively as hope, which is why hope agency did not result as a significant predictor within the composite model. Therefore, we found school counselors’ ability to visualize a means to reach a goal to be a more important factor in their job satisfaction than their motivation to achieve the goal.

Research Question 2 tested the same model as Research Question 1, but included job stress as another predictor. We included stress as a predictor because prior research (Mullen et al., 2018) found that stress is related to job satisfaction. Moreover, school counselors likely experience stress in their jobs that may be problematic for their self-care efforts (Fye et al., 2020). After adding stress as a predictor of job satisfaction, hope pathways remained a significant predictor. We infer from these findings that despite the stress experienced by the participants, hope pathways served as a predictor of job satisfaction. Stated differently, the stress reported by participants did not mediate the relationship between their hope and job satisfaction. Our findings also replicated prior research (Mullen et al., 2018) that found stress in general to be a strong predictor of job satisfaction. In our model, stress was again a significant predictor of job satisfaction. However, our study builds upon prior research by illustrating the significance of hope to job satisfaction despite the significant presence of stress. We discuss the implications of these findings in the subsequent sections.

Implications for Practice

School counselors inevitably encounter stressful days in their work. Identifying ways school counselors can enjoy their work despite these challenging days may help curb the difficulties they experience. Our study highlights the potential benefits of building and maintaining hope, which may serve as an approach to thriving amid challenging circumstances. Although our study was not experimental, we did find some preliminary evidence that hope may be a factor in supporting school counselors’ job satisfaction. Thus, school counselors can incorporate hope into their toolbox of strategies for personal and professional development. In particular, school counselors can focus on pathways needed to achieve their goals to cope with the challenges on the job. Pathways represent the different approaches school counselors can identify or create to achieve their goals. For example, school counselors can set goals for their comprehensive school counseling programs, school communities, and professional development and then create a plan for achieving them. The method they identify to achieve their goals may be a protective factor for the stress and challenges they will face. Agency is their belief that they can achieve their goals. Pathways and agency are reciprocal elements of hope (Snyder, 2002; Snyder et al., 2002); therefore, having a clear plan to achieve a goal in conjunction with maintaining the belief that one can achieve the goal may be a source of strength for school counselors. Snyder et al. (2002) suggested that one can achieve a strengthened sense of hope by engaging in brainstorming activities and experiencing social reassurance throughout the process. Thus, creating a network of fellow school counselors in which they can discuss shared challenges and develop effective strategies toward goals may help foster a sense of hope. For novice school counselors, connecting individually with an experienced school counselor for mentoring may also help instill hope in the early years of a school counselor’s career.

Counselor educators and supervisors can also integrate the findings from our study into their training and supervision of school counselor trainees and practicing school counselors. For example, counselor educators can teach models of hope and hope-based approaches to performing school counseling services. Counselor educators can also create assignments with trainees reflecting on their levels of hope and how they can apply the concepts within their self-care plans and daily practices. For example, counselor educators could implement a hope scale (e.g., AHS) for self-reflective purposes with school counselor trainees to gather insight into their levels of hope, facilitate conversations about hope-instilling practices, ask students to engage in self-care plans outside of the classroom, and invite school counselor trainees to journal about their level of hope prior to and following self-care plans and practices. School counselor trainees may also benefit from building relationships with practicing school counselors or seeing school counselors at work. Counselor educators can facilitate relationships between trainees and local school counselors, invite panels of school counselors to school counseling courses, or have school counselor trainees interview school counselors about their day-to-day practices. Supervisors can use hope-focused supervision interventions. This may include identifying potential support networks that supervisees can rely on in addition to the supervisory relationship. Supervisors may also include creative elements to foster visioning and self-reflection to help school counselor supervisees reflect upon their growth thus far and develop goals for the future.

Limitations and Future Research

Our study includes limitations. First, the sampling procedure was a convenient method, resulting in nongeneralizable findings. The sample mostly included participants who identified as White and female, which may contribute to a systematic biased perspective on the topic we studied. Thus, readers should contextualize the results within these sampling limitations. Another limitation of the study is that it is cross-sectional, and we cannot infer cause-and-effect relationships between the variables under consideration. However, we offer an initial look at hope’s role in school counselor job satisfaction, justifying more research on the topic.

More research is needed on hope’s role in school counselor job satisfaction. Due to our sampling limitations, we recommend future research that replicates our study, perhaps with strategies offering more comprehensive recruitment strategies. Researchers might also consider other instruments for measuring the factor of hope beyond the AHS (Snyder et al., 1991). Although Snyder and colleagues (1991) developed some initial theories and measurements of hope, the construct of hope has evolved. Thus, future research may include additional or alternative measurements to evaluate school counselors’ reported levels of hope. Once the current findings are replicated, future research could benefit the profession by exploring ways to increase school counselor hope, which could lead to greater job satisfaction. For example, researchers could develop professional development activities to increase school counselors’ hope and measure outcomes related to hope, job satisfaction, and stress. Further, although hope and self-efficacy are distinct constructs, they may share theoretical similarities; thus, future research could explore self-efficacy as it relates to the variables examined in this study. Finally, exploring school counselors’ sense of hope qualitatively may also contribute to more detailed descriptions of school counselors’ experiences of hope in relation to their work.

Conclusion

The present study contributes to the growing research regarding school counselors’ intrapersonal resources, specifically hope, in relation to school counseling work-related factors. As the school counseling profession continues to evolve, support for school counselors and school counselors in training becomes critical. The findings of this study suggest that hope may be a key factor related to school counselors’ job satisfaction, even in the presence of stress. Therefore, school counselors, educators, and supervisors should consider possible avenues for strengthening hope for practicing and future school counselors. Further examination of school counselors’ hope may contribute to a better understanding of school counselors’ experiences of their work. It may ultimately aid in promoting the career longevity of school counselors in the profession.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iDs

Jennifer K. Niles

Patrick R. Mullen

Emily Kitching

Author Biographies

Jennifer K. Niles, Ph.D. (ORCID ), is an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling and Educational Development at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Email: jknilesoref@uncg.edu.

Patrick R. Mullen, Ph.D. (ORCID ), is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Counseling and Special Education at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA.

Emily Kitching (ORCID ) is a doctoral student at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Kyle Schofield is a school counseling student at William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA. At the time of this study, Jennifer K. Niles and Patrick R. Mullen were with William & Mary.

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School Counselors’ Hope,Stress,and Job Satisfaction

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Hope and Burnout

Stress and Burnout

Purpose of This Study

Method

Procedures

Participants

Measures

Stress in General

Job Satisfaction

Adult Hope Scale

Data Analytic Plan

Results

Preliminary Analyses

Main Analyses

Discussion

Implications for Practice

Limitations and Future Research

Conclusion

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

Funding

ORCID iDs

Author Biographies

References