Exploration of the role and needs of high school counselors in supporting broader participation within engineering fields

The Engineering 4 Us All (e4usa) is broadening participation within engineering through implementation of a high school curriculum which emphasizes that engineering is for everyone. The program works with students and teachers, while seeking to engage additional stakeholders in the discussion of how to support all learners in engineering. One such stakeholder group is high school counselors. The purpose of engaging school counselors was to introduce this stakeholder group to the tenets of the project and to create a bigger network to support students at the schools in which the project curriculum is being taught. A small focus group was conducted with two school counselors from two different e4usa schools in Spring 2022. Participants reported constraints in how the counseling process occurs as a barrier to informing students and others about the course. This suggests a need for further support of counselors to effect systemic change and to address common barriers within counseling systems. These findings suggest that enhancing the understanding of engineering careers and capacity building of school counselors could be an effective approach towards broader participation. The engineering education community needs to recognize the often-neglected stakeholder group of school counselors and the pivotal role counselors play in students’ career pathways.