Course Title: School Counseling

Name of the Content Writer: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar

Name of the Video Presenter: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar Module 01

SCHOOL COUNSELING - MEANING AND CONCEPT, NEED AND SCOPE

Introduction

Technological transformations have made a major impact on the lives of people

and their work. Social and vocational mobility has drastically increased due to
urbanization and industrialization. This has affected child rearing practices as well.
Children, today need guidance and counseling to cope with this rapidly changing world
around them. Well being of children in their growing years is the first concern of the
important stakeholders in children’s life - parents and family, school and teachers.

Counselling children in their growing up years is great. It is during this stage that
there is tremendous all round development in them. It is unfortunate that, at this age
only physical development is given most importance, but it is essential to know that their
emotions are equally important and they should not be emotionally crippled. Every child
at school have their own individualistic ideas, interests and emotions. They are keen to
express them and they expect recognition and encouragement. It is important on part of
the school and teachers to give due recognition and encouragement they require for
their fruitful future endeavors.

Learning Objectives
 Recognize the concept of school counseling and the importance of school
counseling in student’s life.
 Comprehend the capacities of school counseling in academic, career, personal
and social development of children.
 Review the need for school counseling for holistic development of children.
 Analyze the benefits of school counseling in prevention, promotion and
intervention services for holistic development of children.
 Construct a school counseling program design to support students and school to
ensure wellbeing of the children for a flourishing overall development.

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Course Title: School Counseling
Name of the Content Writer: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar
Name of the Video Presenter: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar Module 01

School - Its Importance

School as home is a first line factor for the development of children. It is a place
where children spend most of their active part of the day. Hence, it is important to have
a feasible atmosphere that supports over all development of children to the optimum.
The very purpose of school is to make every student competent.

A school is a place where children are educated, a place where children are
disciplined, a place where children are protected from the corrupted influences. Schools
have a unique responsibility in producing a society with the best human beings. Schools
provide the best condition that stimulates innovation and brings about a change in the
child’s life by offering varied experiences that can have a greater impact on the future
performances and achievement of the child.

Meaning and Concept

Counseling is always been a product of educational system. Counseling has

concern for individual’s worth as human beings. Counselling in school has the ultimate
goal of making every individual pupil a responsible individual. School counseling imparts
skills to smooth the progress of learning prospects in lively and active way. School
counseling ensures each and every student to achieve school success through
academic/educational, career/occupational, personal and social development skill.
School counseling program convene the personal, social, educational, and career
development needs of all students. This program establishes goals, expectations,
support systems and experiences for all students. If the school environment is
unpleasant that would be most unfortunate for a student. School counseling
involveshelping students in their learning problems and school counselling works
towards making the experiences at school enjoyable and engaging to children.
School counseling intends to support students in their achievement, improve
performance and behavior, increase attendance and help them develop socially.Public
and private schools carry out school counseling in their setting to support students who
are facing personal problems and academic challenges as well as be of assistance to

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Course Title: School Counseling
Name of the Content Writer: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar
Name of the Video Presenter: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar Module 01

students to prepare for their future education and map their careers. School counseling
intervenes when students face behavioural, physical and mental healthproblems.

School counseling prepares students to accomplish the following significant

developments

Academic Development
Attain attitudes, knowledge and skills – school counseling will help students to gain
attitudes, knowledge and skills that promote effective learning at school and contribute
for a successful living across life span

Encompass essential academic preparation–school counseling facilitates students to

complete their schooling with essential academic preparation choosing from a broad
array of academic options.

Realize relationship of academic, work and life – school counseling helps students to
understand the association of academics to work and their life, life with family at home
and in the society and community.

Career Development

Knowledge for career choices – school counseling helps students to acquire abilities to
examine and explore the world of vocation, and not only enhances knowledge about
varied careers but to make proper learned career choices.
Strategies for future career achievement – school counseling will help students to use
tactics or strategize to accomplish success and satisfaction in the future career.

Understand self, qualities, education, training and work – school counseling helps
students to understand self and comprehend the relationship between qualities,
capacities and abilities of self, education, training and work.

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Course Title: School Counseling
Name of the Content Writer: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar
Name of the Video Presenter: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar Module 01

Personal and Social Development

Self actualization - school counseling will help students to realize their talents and
potentialities. Through self actualization students will understand and respect
themselves and others as well.

Decision making – school counseling helps students to develop decision making skills
and motivates them to set goals and achieve them.

Skill development –school counseling helps students to develop skills to smoothly and
adaptively carry out the activities and functions. School counseling develops safety and
survival skills among students.

Need
Indian society has undergone a drastic change in the recent past especially with
regard to family system, education and career development. The declining trend of joint
family system in fact has deprived children of the family bonds that once used to be in
Indian families. The competitiveness has made life very mechanical where all are into
race as the condition is survival of the fittest and children are no exceptions. The
technological advances had decreased sociability. The pressures from peers and
parents are resulting in anxiety and stressfor the children. School counseling is one of
the best things that have happened to children in today’s world. Though, school
counseling is a profession new to Indian context and still does not exist in some of the
schools.

This school counseling involves the whole school community to put together
academic, career, personal and social development of students. It mainly aims at
students to complete school with the good academic preparation as well as
performance and achievement, to create career awareness and understanding to make
proper choices for their future educational and career advancement. It also aims at
personal and social growth so as to successfully contribute to society.

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Course Title: School Counseling
Name of the Content Writer: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar
Name of the Video Presenter: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar Module 01

School counseling is concerned with both student’s well being and school outcome,
hence the need for school counseling may vary depending on the individual student’s
conditions and necessities as well as the school prerequisites. The needs are as follows

1. Academic standards and academic success – maintaining the standards and

setting goals for success is a major responsibility and an important need, so
achieving both students and school’s outcome is essential.
2. Improve study habits – developing abilities to organize and manage the studies
as well as time is the need of every student for better learning
3. Adjustment to personal problems – it is very important to assist students to tune
and toil in course of their personal problems so that it will not affect their
academics and other relationships
4. Social skills – communication is a significant tool for socialization. Improving
social skills will help in developing effective communication which is again very
important for a good interpersonal relationship.
5. Cope with school related violence, accidents and trauma – coping is a biggest
tool to adjust in any given situation. Coping with stress and emotion is a life skill
which enables students to navigate through the rough phase of their life. Any
violence, accidents or trauma in school will directly affect the academic
performance of the student or a child. So counseling helps in curbing the severity
of the impact that would be caused in the path of healthy and positive
development
6. Identify interests, strengths and aptitudes – the identification of interests,
strengths and aptitude of the students or a child is done through assessments. In
school every child varies in their capacities, abilities and potentials from each
other. The primary focus of school counseling is to support encourage and
motivate students to function to the fullest of their capacities and abilities towards
achievement and learning.

In addition, school counseling helps students and children individually to resolve their
problems both personal and interpersonal problems.

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Course Title: School Counseling
Name of the Content Writer: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar
Name of the Video Presenter: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar Module 01

 School counseling promotes healthy peer relationships

 School counseling helps students to inculcate good listening skills
 School counseling helps students to develop empathy
 School counseling strives to imbibe positive mental health among students
 School counseling assists other staff members in school in classroom
management techniques
 School counseling helps school administrators and teachers in
development of programs to improve mental health and school safety.
 School counseling helps developing or setting up of good, healthy and
stimulating learning environment for students as well as intervenes in
disturbed learning environment to ensure the students well being
 School counseling plays an important role in identification of conditions of
learning difficulty and ADHD among schoolchildren and provides early
intervention to reduce the risk and as well as provide referral services.

Scope

School counseling functions with an objective of prevention of damage and intervention

service.

Counseling services – school counseling provides services to deal with physical,

psychological and social issues

 Being responsive towards emotional, social, cognitive, physical and health

needs along with academic, career and safety needs of the students in a
developmentally appropriate manner.
 Promotes students to become self-actualizing, attain self-realization and
become a fully functioning person.
 Encourage students towards self-exploration to become aware about self
and identify personal uniqueness
 Promote developmentally appropriate personal and social development

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Course Title: School Counseling
Name of the Content Writer: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar
Name of the Video Presenter: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar Module 01

 Help students to develop proper decision making and problem solving

skills
 Help students to grow as a responsible individual and have better self-
concept and a higher self esteem
 Assist students in making good social relationships and interpersonal
relationships with family and friends as well as community.
 Support students to enhance their academic performance by developing
proper study habits, having activities for self-assessment, goal setting and
organizational skills.
 Sensitizing students about personal safety through sex education classes
andsharing information about bullying

Educational and Vocational guidance– school counseling helps students to prepare

for their future education and career.

 Skill development – school counseling provides instructions and training

about skill development like social skills, conflict resolution, peer
assistance necessary for education and career of students.
 Information about how to explore career apt for one’s interest, abilities,
capacities and potentials.
 Give awareness about healthy life choices and healthy life styles for
improving students physical, emotional and social well being
 Improving school climate for an optimum growth and development of
students at school
 School counselling program is a resource for students to get complete and
authentic updates and information about education and career trends
 School counselling plays an educational role through spreading
information not only to students but also to the whole educational
community and other professionals, a resource for learning, mental health
and safety issues and participation in learning.

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Course Title: School Counseling
Name of the Content Writer: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar
Name of the Video Presenter: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar Module 01

Promotion and prevention - school counselling paves way for promotion of healthy
and positive mental health and prevention of risks and problems.

 School counselling from the beginning plan and implement programs that
may help students to evade risks and problems.
 The primary focus is on the promotion of positive school climate and
prevention the occurrence of problems in school
 The secondary focus is on deriving indicators to identify the emergence of
the problems and risks so as to prevent the severity of the impact of the
problem
 One of the important aim of the school counseling is to prevent emotional
breakdown, as early identification and elimination of emotional problem
ensures healthy development of children
 The third focus is on to concentrate on minimizing the consequence of the
existing problem and prevent resurfacing of the same problem that may
have severe consequences. School counselling strives to gain control
over the problem situation to lessen the after effect of the problem.
 To ensure the promotion and prevention activity, school counselling will
bring through whole school divisions so as to plan the assistance for this
promotion and prevention through co-operative and collaborative work.
Mediation, helping each other through solving of problems and sharing of
information and consultation process.

The important areas that are concerned with this are safe and secure school climate
which includes classrooms, effective monitoring to avoid bullying, positive behavior
promotion like having code of conduct and diversified approach through whole school
community.

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Course Title: School Counseling
Name of the Content Writer: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar
Name of the Video Presenter: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar Module 01

Early intervention – school counselling plays a significant role in early identification

and intervention of developmental delays and other risky behaviours among students.

 School counselling provides referrals, recommendations, provide

education programs to enrich knowledge and awareness among parents
and teachers on learning difficulties and psychological concerns that are
noticeable in children and also about mental health concerns.

Special needs services – school counselling offers help to students in need of special
services through inclusion and integration criteria.

 School counselling oversees the programs that address the essentials of

students with special needs.
 School counselling helps these students to integrate into classrooms
through proper guidance and interventions needed.

School counselling program holds a responsible position as it works with the community
with coordination, collaboration and cooperation between school community, students
and teachers, students and authorities, school and parents, school and society so as to
make proper referral services, interventions and transitions.

School Counselling as a Profession

School counselors are as essential as other educational staff of a school. School

counselor performs important tasks of providing support, serve as advocates and work
in partnership with other significant members only in an effort to come up with finest
prospects for their students. School counselors have a vital role in the education of the
students as their main purpose is to ensure success of their students. They tend to help
and assist students in multiple ways to see that what the student needs is fulfilled. With
this school counselor takes up four important responsibilities other than counselling
students

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Course Title: School Counseling
Name of the Content Writer: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar
Name of the Video Presenter: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar Module 01

Bridge with teachers and parents

School counselors do not work with students alone; it may be needed that counseling
process may involve a student’s teachers or parents. For example, a student with
learning difficulty, here counselor may mediate between parents and teachers to
develop a strategy to assist the student to perform better. Likewise,for students with
emotional problems, adjustment problems, behavior problems and any other mental
health problems school counselor may have to involve parents and teachers in the
process of counselling for a better outcome when environment at home and school are
feasible.

1. Referral services
In some extreme cases, when the student cannot be dealt at school level
school counselor may refer to organizations that are well fitted to deal with
students. For example, referral for clinical psychologist for a psychological
testing, cases of child abuse or neglect are referred to suitable institutions.

2. Active participation in student’s welfare and support committee

School counselor’s important part of work is student welfare and support.
Hence school counselors form committee as to take up the role of advocating
for students and their welfare. Counselors collect, share and discuss the
matters related to student’s support, welfare and learning among significant
authorities to promote and improve students learning outcomes by
coordinating and initiating measures to support students for their welfare.

3. Examine and expand school counseling program

School counsellors strive to make their counselling process as best it can be.
School counselors critically evaluate their own practices andidentify their
areas that need improvement. Then take it to the concerned authorities at
school for expansion of the program with proper changes that would really

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Course Title: School Counseling
Name of the Content Writer: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar
Name of the Video Presenter: Dr. Ramya Bhaskar Module 01

make a difference among the students and their parents as well as benefit the
school and the staff.

Counseling students is the prime responsibility of a school counselor, it is said

that school counselors spend most of their time about 80% with students in counseling
either directly or indirectly. School counseling constantly work in collaboration with
students and significant others like parents and teachers in helping students to
overcome their difficulties, challenges and problems. Constantly, school counselors are
working on improving student’s outcome through helping them to manage their time,
cultivating good study habits, improving their skills, setting up goals both academic and
career, reaching them through strategic planning. Assisting them to solve their personal
and interpersonal problems. Ensuring their achievements and keeping them updated
with information on changing trends in the field of education and career, identifying
opportunities for students and motiving them for achievements. The job of a school
counselor requires a specialized skill that needs to be tapped to prevent problems and
promote healthy holistic development among students.

Conclusion
School counselling is relatively new concept in Indian context. Though, the emerging
need of school counseling is very vast. School counselling caters to the needs of the
whole school community viz, students, teachers, and significant others who are the
major stakeholders in school including parents and families. Students in school are
under heavy stress due to changing trends in the society. School counseling provides
support to the students to emerge out of the stressful situation successfully as well as
helps other stakeholders like teachers and parents to deal effectively with problems.
School counselling programs should be initiated in schools with a skilled school
counselor to prevent risks and problems andpromote positive mental health and
behavior for a flourishing holistic development among students.

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