At the beginning I look for a
lot information about school guidance and counseling. I can hear and learn
about this in my class but I also have to read the information on my on. I like
this methods because it encourages students to develop their knowledge.
Many-sided view:
Guidance and counseling,
concept that institutions, especially schools, should promote the efficient and
happy lives of individuals by helping them adjust to social realities. The
disruption of community and family life by industrial civilization convinced
many that guidance experts should be trained to handle problems of individual adjustment.
Though the need for attention to the whole individual had been recognized by
educators since the time of Socrates, it was only during the 20th century that
researchers actually began to study and accumulate information about guidance.
This development, occurring
largely in the United States, was the result of two influences: John Dewey
and others insisted that the object of education should be to stimulate the fullest possible growth of the individual and that the unique qualities of personality require individual handling for adequate development; also in the early 20th century social and economic conditions stimulated a great increase in school enrollment. These two forces encouraged a reexamination of the curricula and methods of secondary schools, with special reference to the needs of students who did not plan to enter college. The academic curriculum was revised to embrace these alternative cultural and vocational requirements.
and others insisted that the object of education should be to stimulate the fullest possible growth of the individual and that the unique qualities of personality require individual handling for adequate development; also in the early 20th century social and economic conditions stimulated a great increase in school enrollment. These two forces encouraged a reexamination of the curricula and methods of secondary schools, with special reference to the needs of students who did not plan to enter college. The academic curriculum was revised to embrace these alternative cultural and vocational requirements.
Early guidance programs dealt
with the immediate problem of vocational placement. The complexities of the
industrial economy and the unrealistic ambitions of many young people made it
essential that machinery for bringing together jobs and workers be set up;
vocational guidance became that machinery. At the same time, counseling
organizations were established to help people understand their potentialities
and liabilities and make intelligent personal and vocational decisions. The
first vocational counseling service was the Boston Vocational Bureau,
established by Frank Parsons, a pioneer in the field of guidance. His model was
soon copied by many schools, municipalities, states, and private organizations.
With the development of
aptitude and interest tests, such as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test and
the Strong Vocational Interest Blank, commercial organizations were formed to
analyze people's abilities and furnish career advice. Schools organized testing
and placement services, many of them in cooperation with federal and state
agencies. Under the provisions of the National Defense Education Act (1958),
the federal government provided assistance for guidance and counseling programs
in the public secondary schools and established a testing procedure to identify
students with outstanding abilities. The U.S. Dept. of Labor has been an active
force in establishing standards and methods of vocational guidance, helping
states to form their own vocational guidance and counseling services. The
personnel departments of many large corporations have also instituted systems
of guidance to promote better utilization of their employees.
Modern high school guidance
programs also include academic counseling for those students planning to attend
college. In recent years, school guidance counselors have also been recognized
as the primary source for psychological counseling for high school students;
this sometimes includes counseling in such areas as drug abuse and teenage
pregnancy and referrals to other professionals (e.g., psychologists, social
workers, and learning-disability specialists). Virtually all teachers colleges
offer major courses in guidance, and graduate schools of education grant
advanced degrees in the field.
Aims of School Guidance and Counseling
The aims of the guidance and counseling service are similar to the purposes
of education in general to assist the student in fulfilling her basic
physiological needs, understanding herself and acceptance of others, developing
associations with peers, balancing between permissiveness and controls in the
educational setting, realizing successful achievement, and providing
opportunities to gain independence.
The purposes of guidance and
counseling provide emphasis and strength to the educational program. Some
specific aims of the school guidance and counseling program include the
following:
To Provide for the Realization of Student
Potentialities
To all students, the school offers a wide choice of courses and
co-curricular activities. A significant function of education is to help
students identify and develop their potentialities. The counselor's role is to
assist students to distribute their energies into the many learning
opportunities available to them. Every student needs help in planning his major
course of study and pattern of co-curricular activities.
To Help Children with Developing Problems
Even those students who have chosen an appropriate educational program
for themselves may have problems that require help. A teacher may need to spend
from one-fifth to one-third of his time with a few pupils who require a great
deal of help, which deprives the rest of the class from the teacher's full
attention to their needs. The counselor, by helping these youngsters to resolve
their difficulties, frees the classroom teacher to use his time more
efficiently.
To Contribute to the Development of the
School's Curriculum
Counselors, in working with individual students, know their personal
problems and aspirations, their talents and abilities, as well as the social
pressures confronting them. Counselors, therefore, can provide data that serve
as a basis for curriculum development, and they can help curriculum developers
shape courses of study that more accurately reflect the needs of students. Too
often, counselors are not included in curriculum development efforts.
To Provide Teachers with Technical Assistance
Pre-service teacher training institutions typically provide very limited
experience with the more technical aspects of guidance work. Thus, a need
exists in most schools for assistance with guidance and counseling functions
essential to the educational program. Specifically, the guidance counselor is
qualified to assist teachers with selecting, administering, and interpreting
tests; selecting and using cumulative, anecdotal, and other types of records;
providing help and suggestions relative to counseling techniques, which
teachers can use in counseling their students; and providing leadership in
developing and conducting professional development of teachers in guidance
functions.
To Contribute to the Mutual Adjustment of
Students and the School
Guidance has a responsibility for developing and maintaining a
cooperative relationship between students and the school. Teachers and
counselors must be cognizant of
students' needs. Students also must make adjustments to the school. They have a
responsibility to contribute something to the school. A major contribution of
students is that of making appropriate use of the school's resources and
working toward accomplishments. Such mutual adjustment of students and school
is facilitated by providing suggestions for program improvements, conducting
research for educational improvements, contributing to students' adjustment
through counseling, and fostering wholesome school-home attitudes.
The Role
of the Counselor
The major
goals of counseling are to promote personal growth and to prepare students to
become motivated workers and responsible citizens. Educators recognize that in
addition to intellectual challenges, students encounter personal/social,
educational, and career challenges. School guidance and counseling programs
need to address these challenges and to promote educational success.
The guidance
and counseling program is an integral part of a school's total educational
program; it is developmental by design, focusing on needs, interests, and
issues related to various stages of student growth. The scope of the
developmental guidance and counseling program in today's school include the following
components:
Personal/social - In addition to
providing guidance services for all students, counselors are expected to do
personal and crisis counseling. Problems such as dropping out, substance abuse,
suicide, irresponsible sexual behavior, eating disorders, and pregnancy must be
addressed.
Educational -
Students must develop skills that will assist them as they learn. The
counselor, through classroom guidance activities and individual and group
counseling, can assist students in applying effective study skills, setting
goals, learning effectively, and gaining test-taking skills. Counselors also
may focus on note taking, time management, memory techniques, relaxation
techniques, overcoming test anxiety, and developing listening skills.
Career - Planning for the future, combating career
stereotyping, and analyzing skills and interests are some of the goals students
must develop in school. Career information must be available to students, and
representatives from business and industry must work closely with the school
and the counselor in preparing students for the world of work.
