Critical Social Justice Qualitative Research: A Tool for Evidence-Based School Counseling

In recent years, Zyromski and Dimmitt (2022) proposed a revised definition of evidence-based school counseling, with a greater emphasis on antiracism, anti-oppression, and a grounding in culture, context, and systemic change. Similarly, qualitative research can be used as a tool for advocacy and systemic change, eliciting a thick, rich, contextual understanding ( Hays & Singh, 2023 ). Despite the parallels between qualitative research and Zyromski and Dimmit’s expanded definition of evidence-based school counseling, literature making an explicit connection is lacking. The purpose of this article is to conceptualize critical social justice qualitative research as an innovative approach to evidence-based school counseling. As such, we define critical social justice qualitative research and then apply this lens to Goodman-Scott’s (2019) Qualitative Planning Guide to provide school counseling practitioners and scholars with concrete steps for conducting critical social justice qualitative research as part of evidence-based school counseling.