The impact of True Goals as a Tier 1 intervention on student hope and sense of school belonging

There is a need for evidence-based practices for school counselors to use, which provide students with critical promotive factors that buffer against the impact of trauma. This study evaluates the impact of the True Goals School Counseling Curriculum as a Tier 1 intervention for junior high students according to two valuable student assets: hope and sense of school belonging. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the impact of the intervention. Results indicated that students who received the True Goals School Counseling Curriculum had nonsignificant increases in their hope and sense of school belonging. However, the mediation analysis indicated a significant relationship between their hope and sense of school belonging. Implications for school counseling, counselor education, and social justice are discussed, and the authors offer suggestions for future research.