Looking in from the outside: community counsellors’ opinions and attitudes to school counselling in Singapore

Abstract

Over the last decade, the movement towards the permanent presence of counsellors within schools has gathered pace in Singapore. As counsellors were introduced into more schools, there were opportunities for their community-based counterparts such as social workers, youth workers and other counselling practitioners to work with them. Through semi-structured interviews, this study explored the experiences and perceptions of counselling practitioners in community-based agencies, specifically Family Service Centres, on school counselling. Community counsellors were found to be supportive of the initiative but concerned about how the service was implemented, especially in relation to professional and ethical standards and maintenance of confidentiality standards. Community counsellors felt that their counterparts in schools lacked knowledge about community resources and that family work seemed beyond their capability, they also thought that former teachers or principals perhaps needed more help with the transition to a counselling role. These findings are discussed and it is recommended that community counsellors could be more involved in developing the new school counselling services.The influence of sociocultural factors on child development was established in the classic studies of Bronfenbrenner (1979), andSuper andHarkness (1986). Evidence for the importance of the relationship between psychological and sociocultural factors is accumulating, and further research is needed to improve our understanding of human development in different sociocultural contexts (Hwang, 2005). Hendrick's (1997) study of how changes in the UK's education system influenced child development in that country showed how investigating changes in school environments and their effects on stakeholders can help to improve our understanding of child development. This paper describes qualitative research on community counsellors' attitudes and opinions of counselling practice in Singapore schools.Many Asian countries-including the southeast Asian country of Singapore-are already investing or face calls to invest more, in the psychosocial care of children and young adults in the school system (

Stakeholders’ Perceptions of School Counselling in Singapore

“…Polat and Jenkins (2005) examined the local education authorities in England and Wales, and much earlier, Maguire (1975) noted that other mental health professionals had concerns about the role of school counsellors in providing therapeutic services. While there is much interest in learning about teachers', school counsellors', and students' perceptions about school counselling, a gap remains in our insights of other stakeholders, such as community counsellors who worked in the communities where schools are situated (Low, 2014). The current study included this group of stakeholders to add richness to the current available data on stakeholders' perceptions on school counselling.…”

The professional identity of school counsellors in East and Southeast Asia

“…Participation in a professional community of practice can involve a wide range of activities, including training and development, conducting research, supervision, networking, working with community professionals, and mentoring (Low, 2014;Woo et al, 2014).…”

“…Counsellors in the region, however, are often seen as taking on a supporting role, having poor skills and limited experience compared to counsellors in community settings (Low, 2014). Their professional development may not be taken as seriously as that of teachers, and so access to these activities is often limited.…”

“…Participation in a professional community of practice can involve a wide range of activities, including training and development, conducting research, supervision, networking, working with community professionals, and mentoring (Low, 2014; Woo et al, 2014). Counsellors in the region, however, are often seen as taking on a supporting role, having poor skills and limited experience compared to counsellors in community settings (Low, 2014). Their professional development may not be taken as seriously as that of teachers, and so access to these activities is often limited.…”

A self-report assessment of the measures of school counselors’ dimensions

“…They also help the students and families adjust to the education environment, so they get as much out of their experience as personally possible. (Low, 2014). The school counselor s must guide the students in an path for their future career plans so that they can achieve the grades required of their goals.…”