A Narrative Study on School Counselors' Counseling Experiences with Immigrant Students

This study aims to explore the counseling experiences of school counselors working with immigrant students who entered Korea midway through their schooling. To gain an in-depth understanding of the challenges faced by school counselors, as well as the efforts and coping strategies they employ when working with immigrant students, a narrative research methodology was adopted. Four school counselors working at elementary, middle, and high schools within G Metropolitan City, where a significant number of immigrant students reside, were selected as research participants. Data were collected through in-depth interviews. Based on the individual narratives and the common themes that emerged across the cases, the analysis was organized into five thematic categories: struggling to support immigrant students, facing difficulties in communication due to language barriers and cultural differences, encountering significant challenges in collaborating with parents, experiencing dilemmas in relationships with bilingual instructors, and making efforts to overcome limitations yet still feeling insufficient. The narrative was analyzed through a retelling of their stories. The study provides practical implications and recommendations for enhancing counseling support and establishing effective approaches to working with immigrant students. The study also discusses its limitations and proposes directions for future research.