7 School Counselling Need and Scope

Tania Ruby M Thomas

World is changing, society is changing, lifestyle is changing, everyday life has become challenging and stressful even for children. Children face a lot of pressure from school, family, society, friends etc. Competitiveness, family problems, family pressure, bullying, sibling rivalry, phobia, abuse, are few of the problems faced by the students. As homes, schools are also considered as a prime factor for the nourishment, holistic development, and educational development in children. Schools serve as the second home for children. It is crucial that a favourable atmosphere is maintained for the overall development of the child.

What is School?

A school is an institution for educating children. Like families they have a unique role in reproducing human societies and in providing the conditions which enable them to innovate and change. Schools can provide children with varied experiences, which can mould them for their future endeavours.

Activities in school

The main aim of a school is to holistically develop the child. One of the most important duties a school does is to impart knowledge to children. It is tasked with the responsibility of passing the information gathered through the centuries by mankind in a comprehensive and systematic way. Without schools it would have be difficult if not impossible to ensure that the young generation would have all the necessary understanding of the world around them.

Schools train children in important aspects like problem solving skills, interpersonal and intra personal skills etc. Essential skills which help children interact and understand day to day objects are developed in the schools. Moreover, schools lay a foundation for future career for the child.

Though major part of the pupils’ time in school is spent on academics, co-curricular activities like sports, fine arts etc. also form part of the curriculum. These help the children explore their talents and hone their strengths. For example, sports builds interpersonal skills, leadership qualities and well-being of the child.

Interactions in school

A school is a place where children are exposed to a large number of people. Various individuals from various parts of the society come together. They share a common platform and a common aim. Often, a child’s first interactions other than their family would be from the school in which they belong. The child’s primary interaction would be with other children in the school and his teachers. To this end, the interactions with fellow students influence a lot in the overall development of the child as they would be coming from different socio-economic backgrounds.

The personalities of the teachers also play and important part of the child’s development in the school. Auxiliary staff also interact with the students, for example the helpers, the office staff etc.

It is very important to have a controlled and stress free environment for each student in the school when he has to go through such interactions.

School counselling

The primary goal of school guidance and counselling services is to enhance and promote student learning. These services are designed to provide supports and resources to students at all levels, to their families, and to educators. They are intended to facilitate the educational, personal, social, emotional, and career development of students in schools and in the community.

Counselling as a profession is definitely a child of the western countries. The Indian society with its strong family bonds and a warm community feeling and spiritual essence has been providing the shock absorbers in times of crisisandas upport system to deal with the various psychosocialissues. Perhaps, thisisonereas onforthes low growth of the profession of counselling in India.

In the recent years the Indian society seems to have undergone a total metamorphosis withch angin grolesofwomen,a breakdown of the joint family system, increasedcompetitivenessinschools,increased sociability of the children,immense technological advances,peer and parentalp ressures resulting in anenvironmentl adenwithstres sandstra in for thec hildren.School counsellors seem to have appeared like a blessing to the students and the parents to cope with the increased stress and strain and contribute towards maintaining the mental health of the younger generation.

The area of school guidance and counselling has changed to meet the needs of society over the years. School counselling in India is a relatively young profession. An attempt is made here to trace the history of school counselling in India.

In 1954, the Ministry of Education, Government of India established the Central Bureau of Education and Vocational Guidance. This laid down the seeds of present day counselling. After the third Five Year Plan came into effect in 1961, guidance programmes where started in schools. By the end of this Five Year Plan in 1966 there were around 3000 schools offering counselling services in one way or the other

From year 2000, the Central Bureau of Educational and Vocational Guidance has delegated the work of guidance professionals’ training to the Regional institutes of Guidance at Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar and Mysore. Its main objective is to help students in suitable curriculum and career options.

Guidance and counselling services have merged in the twenty-first century. The information-giving capacity of guidance services has been consolidated with the personal development opportunities offered by counselling approaches at all grade levels. This has been done to augment student learning, decision making, and self-awareness and to address specific needs. Infusing the guidance component of service delivery into regular curriculum programming has become more common.

Nowadays, it is common to see schools counsellors as an integral part of the school staff. More and more schools are opting for permanent staff positions for counsellors where it was earlier only temporary. Students as well as parents are also aware of such arrangements and prefer schools those have full – time counsellors on panel.

Aims of counselling

Aims of the counselling should be evident and appropriate and appropriate for the situation. Counselling goals can be achieved when the counselling session aims at being evident, appropriate and evident. Student counselling not only provides support for the students but also for the parents and educators.

Self-learning should be tweaked into every child’s mind. Self-learning makes students become more independent. The primary aim of school counselling service is to enhance and promote self-learning in students and help them top become independent.
Student counselling not only aims to promote self-learning, but triggers on the core functions such as planning, consultation, prevention, education etc.
Student counselling aims at eliciting information and giving required suggestions for the information.
School counsellors have a professional responsibility is to explore the problem faced by the student and explore its implications on the student and his/her surroundings.
School counselling should help students identify the helps of the problem, and help them to curb the beliefs.
School counselling should benefit students identify the problems according to their severity and rate their concerns accordingly.
Assessment, summarization should be planned towards end of the session to help students understand the effect of counselling and to help them realise their potentials.

Need for school counselling

Academic Related

In a school, students vary in different ways. Their capabilities differ from each other. Often the teacher is not able to provide individual attention to each child based on his or her capabilities. Thus, children with lesser academic capabilities need help.

Academics of a child can be influenced by multiple factors. For example, behavioural issues: where the behaviour of the child directly affects his academic performance. Here, counselling helps in identifying and correcting the cause for the behavioural problems in the child. Counselling also helps in finding the root cause of the behavioural issues.

Neurological issues: A child may suffer from learning disabilities like dyslexia etc. These conditions are not very obvious to the untrained and can go undetected. Such conditions can be wrongly concluded as being behavioural which could cause a lot of stress to the child. A counsellor is well trained in identifying these conditions and provides necessary aid as required.

Physical disability: Physically disabled children need higher amount of counselling. They are more prone to having low self-esteem and need more help. They would also need help in basic day to day activities.

Family related: A child’s family plays a large part in moulding his behaviour which would directly affect his conduct at school. Problems at home stress the child and this show directly on his academic performance. For example, parents going through divorce, child facing abuse at home. Such negative incidents can affect children in a very bad way. A counsellor can help in identifying such issues and provide the necessary help.

The student’s interactions with others are also largely influenced by the situations at his house. It is important that a favourable atmosphere is maintained at home which would help in the upbringing of the child.

Resolving Psychosocial Problems:

Stress, loneliness, bullying, ragging, peer adjustments, parental and teacher pressure are some of the possible psychosocial problems of students which can be resolved by a school counsellor. In extreme cases, the counsellor may refer the students to a psychologist, psychiatrist or other specialized personnel.

Counselling for the parents:

A very important revelation is that the parents also need to be counselled. The student counsellor may provide counselling to the parents on the following issues:

i. The necessity to accept the child a she is with his strengths and weaknesses.

ii. The ill effects of undue pressure and stress on the child to excel academically

iii.The interests and aptitude of the child and his suitability and choice of career.

iv.Learning disabilities of the child, if any and the coping strategies.

v.The psychosocial problems of the child, if any and the coping strategies.

vi.Removing the stigma attached to counselling.

Counselling for the teachers and the school staff:

The teachers and the school staff also need counselling to deal effectively with the huge number of students coming from diverse backgrounds and holding unique individualities. The counsellor should focus on the following issues:

i.An understanding of the futility of the Corporal Punishment.

ii.Understanding the teach child is unique and accepting every student as he is.

iii.Identifying learning disabilities of the students.

iv.Identifying psychosocial / adjustment problems of the child.

v.Ways to bring the best out of each student.

vi.Overall development of the students

Scope of school counselling

1. Counselling

School counselling functions may include individual, group, and class work to provide both an intervention and prevention service. The intention of the counselling service is to

respond to emotional, social, intellectual, academic, career, physical, safety, and health needs in a developmentally appropriate manner
provide an environment that is conducive to self-exploration in order to develop an awareness of personal uniqueness
promote personal and social development appropriate to developmental stages
help students, through their families and their community, grow in areas such as self-esteem and individual responsibility, and in skills such as decision making and social relationships
Support and enhance a student’s academic progress through a variety of activities, which may include individual assessments, goal setting, instruction in study habits and organizational skills, and assisting with the development of individual education plans (IEPs), which include behaviour intervention plans (BIPs) and individual transition plans(ITPs).

2. Prevention

School counsellors may develop and implement plans and programs tofacilitate student success in three ways:

as part of a school team process
as part of a student support team process
as part of an individual counselling process

The primary prevention level focuses on preventing a problem from occurring. The emphasis is on enhancing positive school climate. One example may be a school program to facilitate a safe school environment.

The secondary level of prevention focuses on early indicators of problems. The goal is to intervene to shorten the duration or lessen the impact of a problem. Examples may include intervening with a student at risk of not graduating, supporting students new to the school, and helping a student apply conflict resolution skills.

The tertiary level focuses on minimizing the immediate consequences of an existing severe problem. The emphasis is on intervening to regain control over a situation so remediation and prevention strategies can be developed, implemented, and assessed. Examples may include transitional counselling and planning for a student facing suspension from school and the re-integration of the student following suspension, stabilizing a student who is suicidal, and de-escalating a student exhibiting explosive behaviour.

The whole area of prevention and preventive planning responds to a range of complexity or severity. This planning often involves consultation with others and referral to school division clinicians or external agencies. In addition to counselling skills, helpful specialized skill sets that assist in prevention planning may include

effective communication skills
conflict resolution
data collection
collaboration
mediation
helping others recognize professional limitations to the scope of activities of school counsellors
helping others to solve their own problems and make informed decisions
specialized knowledge and skills for a consultation process

A major focus of prevention is related to safe, caring, effective school environments. Areas related to this focus include

classroom profiles and differentiated instruction
effective transitional planning among pre – primary, primary, and secondary schooling
safe schools initiatives, including bullying awareness programming,
positive behaviour systems, codes of conduct, and emergency preparedness planning
promoting diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the school community

3. Guidance Education

School counsellors may provide direct instruction to students in areas such as peer helping, conflict resolution, social skills, career exploration, and healthy lifestyle choices. As well, school counsellors provide support to other educators in implementing personal planning, promoting positive school climates, and enhancing the emotional/social well-being of students.

School counsellors’ educational role may also include:

disseminating information to students, parents, the educational community, and other professionals
acting as a resource for professional learning and curriculum delivery, particularly in areas related to mental health, personal safety, and sensitive issues
speaking publicly at school and/or to community groups
participating in professional learning

Coordination

School counsellors consult and plan collaboratively with students, other educators, the school-based student services team, parents, and other community agencies and external professionals in planning goals and effective strategies to promote the emotional, intellectual, social, academic, and career development of students. Consultation may focus on students’ individual needs or on school, division, or community programs or services. Special meetings and sessions can also be arranged to educate parents and teachers.

Counsellors in schools also work with the community. Spreading awareness to the school community about the services provided through school guidance is an vital role of the school counsellor. Working together with community resource persons to increase opportunities for students and making appropriate referrals to community agencies assists students with lifelong learning, transitions, appropriate care and treatment, and success.

Conclusion

The area of school counselling in India is here to stay. Though still in its infancy, it has great potential for growth. It can cater to the emerging needs of the student community with globalization, drastic changes in family structures, changing social values leading to immense stress and strain on the students. The specialized skills of the school counsellor need to be tapped to prevent, and treat increasing psychosocial problems of the students and to provide a holistic development to the students.

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References

Robert Bor, Jo Ebner-Landy, Sheila Gill and Chris Brace (2002) Counselling in School, Sage Publications, New Delhi.
Michael Young, (2015)What are schools for?, Taylor and Francis.
Dennis Lines, (2011), Brief Counselling in Schools, Sage Publications, New Delhi.