Exploring the Supervisory Needs of School Counselors in Refugee School Settings

Jordan continues to be one of the leading host countries globally, accommodating an unprecedented number of refugee schoolchildren in its schools in refugee camps. In order to address the diverse educational, psychological, and social needs of these children, school counselors (SCs) strive to develop and implement comprehensive counseling programs. This qualitative study aimed to examine the specific supervisory needs encountered by SCs working in primary schools within the Al Za'atari refugee camp. Through the utilization of interpretive phenomenological analysis, researchers interviewed 10 school counselors to explore the supervisory needs of school counselors in Al Za’atari. Five main supervisory themes were found: specialized interventions for the refugee schoolchildren, multicultural challenges, the dynamics of the counseling relationship, diagnosis of childhood psychological disorders, and self-care and anti-burnout interventions. The findings provided valuable insights for supporting SCs in refugee camp by continues training, supervision, and suggested potential directions for future research in this domain.