Postsecondary Education Exploration and Decision Making: Public High School Counselor Identification of Key Topics for Traditional High School Students and Their Parents

K-12 educators cite problems with preparing traditional high school students and their parents for postsecondary education exploration and decision making. These problems include inadequate college resources and materials, inequitable college advising by counselors and teachers, and inequitable college preparatory curricula (National High School Summit, 2004). Overwhelmed counselors struggle with getting information disseminated (NACAC, 2007). There has been a helter-skelter approach to nonacademic preparation programs on both the K-12 and postsecondary side of education, with no comprehensive or quality performance standards to guide them (U.S. Department of Education, 2006). The researcher suggests one solution: a systematic curricular approach. This study surveyed counselors (N=62) from several public school districts in the south asking them: if a semester length elective course on the postsecondary education exploration and decision making process was available, would it be important to them, and what nonacademic topics should be included? Results were significantly positive.