School Guidance and
Counselling – definitions.
The
guidance and counselling of students is an integral component of the
educational mission of the school. Guidance and counselling services and
programs promote the personal or social, educational, and career development of
all students.
School
counselors help to make learning a positive experience for every student. They
are sensitive to individual differences. They know that a classroom environment
that is good for one child is not necessarily good for another. Counselors
facilitate communication among teachers, parents, administrators, and students
to adapt the school's environment in the best interests of each individual
student. They help individual students make the most of their school
experiences and prepare them for the future.
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 Guidance Counsellor:
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 and 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 and 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.
Counselling skills
Counselling
is central to the work of the Guidance Counsellor. Guidance and counselling is an interactive
process between counsellor and client, which can involve working with the
individual in a one-to-one or group setting.
The skills
of empathy, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard facilitate clients
in identifying options, making decisions, and resolving difficulties. These skills also include: active listening,
clarifying, paraphrasing, setting boundaries, contracting, challenging,
focusing, motivating, utilising non verbal communications, probing,
questioning, reflecting feelings, prioritising issues, structuring and
summarising a session and reviewing progress.
The
school guidance and counseling in the different country:
España
http://www.scribd.com/doc/62052931/Fundamentos-Teoricos-de-La-Orientacion-y-La-Accion-Tutorial
England
Poland
Lithuania
Portugal
