Career Guidance in Lebanon: The Role of Counselors between Family Expectations, Youth Aspirations, and Institutional Gaps

Abstract

This article examines the role of school guidance counselors in Lebanon through doctoral research conducted in two private Catholic schools in the Metn region. Using a mixed-methods design that combined a survey of 197 parents with separate focus groups for parents and students, the study highlights the gap between the strong demand for personalized guidance and the weak institutional provisions in place. Parents emphasize motivation, confidence-building, and informed decision-making, while young people stress autonomy, exploration, and being listened to without judgment. Still, the counselor’s role remains fragmented, poorly defined, and often invisible. Drawing on Social Cognitive Career Theory, Bronfenbrenner’s ecosystemic model, and Savickas’ career construction theory, the article argues that counselors can serve as mediators between families, students, and schools, and as bridges to the labor market. It concludes with a call for national education policies that formally recognize and professionalize guidance services to better equip Lebanese youth for uncertain futures. This study contributes to filling the gap in research on school guidance in Lebanon and offers policy recommendations for integrating counselors into the national education system. It is also one of the first studies to explore the role of counselors in Lebanon using both quantitative and qualitative evidence, providing an original contribution to international debates on career guidance in fragile contexts.