Considering the Challenges of Counselling Practice in Schools

Abstract

School counselling is developing rapidly in many countries around the World. As with any practice in a secondary setting, challenges and special issues are often identified, discussed, and managed. These can be categorized into four distinct domains: 1) Internal challenges, which include issues related to clientele groups, teachers' attitudes towards counselling, and students' willingness to seek counseling; 2) External challenges, which refer to social-economic changes beyond the school. These include popular culture, globalization and societal trends of more families and students moving across borders; 3) Systems challenges, which are those within the guidance programmes implemented by ministries, schools or counselling bodies. These issues may reside in the guidelines for practice in schools, referral procedures, and resource planning; 4) Personal challenges, which relate to the needs as well as the skills of the counsellor. Some examples here are training, supervision, and attitudes towards school systems. The four domains and interactions among them are discussed in this paper.

The Practice and Perceptions of School Counsellors: A View from Urban China

“…In addition, several findings in this study confirm others' (Corbin Dwyer and McNaughton 2004;Jiang 2005;Thomason and Qiong 2008) descriptions of challenges facing school counsellors in China. Further study of these issues, coupled with comparison with current and past challenges encountered by school counsellors around the world (Inman et al 2009;Gysbers 2001;Low 2009) may provide some direction and structure to the future of school counselling in China and inform counsellors outside of China about innovative practices developing there. Several of the themes will be familiar to many professional school counsellors, especially in countries where school counselling is in a preliminary development stage.…”

“…The government has outlined some guidelines (Ministry of Education, PRC 2002) but the participants in this study as well as other authors (e.g., Jiang 2005;Tang 2006) have articulated a need for more specific direction in the provision and deployment of a national comprehensive school counselling program in China. It is possible that the Chinese will be able to draw upon the lessons and experiences of counselling associations and government ministries in other countries (Israelashvili 1993;Low 2009;Nazli 2006) to create a school counselling framework for China. The need for additional training is consistent with Jiang's (2005) comment that training has historically been lacking.…”

“…The articulation of appropriate and inappropriate activities (ASCA 2005) allows counsellors in the U.S. to point to the national organization as articulating expectations or standards of practice. Low (2009) summarized school counselling across the world and presented a model for the profession that included the development of standards and a counselling framework as one of three key components for the advancement of the profession. An effort in China to create a national model, similar to one from ASCA (2005) and Low (2009), would more clearly articulate the roles and duties that are most likely to benefit students and bring more consistency to the practice across the country.…”

The application of systems theory framework in understanding school communities’ cultural values towards guidance and counselling services

“…Throughout recent history, emphasis has been placed largely by school guidance and counselling in Malaysia as well as across the globe on the importance of individualizing problems as a response to individual suffering and individual needs. However, as we are now living in a complex social system, there is a need to understand school counselling on a systemic level (Low, 2009). According to McLeod (2003), there is a need to understand the principles by which systems operate and the types of intervention that can bring about change on a systemic level.…”

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“…Then there is a three-year High School (Lyceum) (16-18 years old), of which there are seven types, and then tertiary level education. The teacher is recognized as an important stakeholder in the counseling process, either directly as state-authorized individuals or bodies who can access and provide targeted counseling services, or indirectly, through a referral process for a student to receive counseling support (Low, 2009).…”