Module I - Introduction to School Counselling

History of School Counseling

 Early 1900s— School counseling in history began as vocational guidance. Frank
Parsons, social and political reformer, is known as the father of vocational guidance
movement. The educational reforms were brought about by factors such as
industrialization, immigration and urbanization. His work with the Civic Service
House led to the development of the Boston Vocation Bureau, which outlined a
system of vocational guidance in Boston public schools. Their work began to bring
light to the influence and need for vocational guidance in the USA and other
countries. Early vocational guidance counsellors were teachers with extra work duties
in addition to their regular teaching responsibilities.
 1920s— Focus of guidance and counselling shifted from economical to psychological
issues, where counselling was used for personal adjustment, with a focus on mental
hygiene, psychometric and child study movements, i.e., a more clinical approach was
taken. Overall counselling roles shifted from beyond vocational concerns to include
social, personal and educational aspects of students’ lives.
 1930s— Pupil personnel services were created, i.e., guidance services where school
counselling moved from a position with duties to a position with duties that were
organized by guidance services that were all under the overall structure of pupil
personnel services.
 1940s— The Vocational Educational Act in 1948 added support to the selection and
training of counsellors.
 1950s— The American School Counsellor Association (ASCA) formed in 1952
provided credibility, training and ethical behavior standards for school counsellors.
The National Defense Education Act (NDEA) of 1958 provided funds to school
systems for the development of counselling services and to universities and colleges
for the training of school counsellors.
 1960s— Many new programs emerged with newly added focus on education of drug
abuse, decision making and problem-solving methods, and information about self-
development. Group counselling and counselling youth at risk became major goals of
school counsellors in secondary schools. In 1964, NDEA amended funding the
elementary school counsellors who were set apart from secondary school counsellors
by their distinct training and procedures.
 1970s— A definite concept of a program for school counselling began to take shape,
which paid attention to student diversity and students with special needs.
 1980s— the Council for the Accreditation of Counselling and Related Educational
Programs (CACREP) was developed in 1981, to safeguard the standards of school
counselling training programs.
 1990s— The development of a comprehensive developmental program of school
counselling began to have a central unifying focus, which were based on the
social/personal, educational and career development of students. With the progression
 of the 1990s the required teacher background for school counsellors began to
disappear.
 2000s and 2010s— The American School Counsellor Association (ASCA) National
Model for school counsellors was published in 2003, which focused on the role and
activities of practicing school counsellors. The 2nd edition was published in 2005, the
3rd edition was published in 2013 and the 4th edition was published in 2019. Other
recent initiatives include the Transforming School Counselling Initiative (TSCI)
which focuses on the graduate level training of school counsellors in US colleges and
Universities.

Current Issues of School Counselling

 School counsellors may not have received adequate training before functioning as
professionals within the school: the requirement of a certification or license as
classroom teachers was dropped in most US states as it is not seen as a necessary
prerequisite. The required training of school counsellors includes a two-year post-
baccalaureate degree where school counsellors receive training as a classroom
teacher. However, this delays entry into profession and limits the number of people
interested in the field. Nevertheless, adequate training is required which includes
knowledge about school systems, counselling theory and practice, youth development,
research and evaluation, and understanding of the range of cross-cultural issues
impacting students and communities.
 The work and activities of school counsellors may not be proportionate with their
level of training and skills: School counsellors, despite their professional duties may
often be used for administrative and clerical tasks (e.g., monitoring recess, filing, etc.)
which reduces their efficacy and efficiency at assisting students. school counselors
must spend their time engaged in activities appropriate to their training. To do
otherwise is inefficient and expensive. School counsellors may not be given the
support and recognition in terms of appropriate work responsibilities, career
advancement and salary.
 School administrators may not understand the roles and functions of school
counsellors: school administrators may not have the knowledge or understanding
about the necessity and functions of school counsellors, so in-service training of
school administrators and ministry officials is important to understand the school
counselling profession and the professional in the field.
 It may be believed that school counsellors are not needed throughout the
educational levels, elementary through secondary school: In the US, many
communities have eliminated school counselors at the elementary school level for
budgetary reasons. While the work of the school counselor is different at the
elementary level compared to high school, elementary school counselors are
important. In the elementary school, the counselor will consult with classroom
teachers, parents, and other professionals to assist students, and work less directly
with individual students. The counselor will also deliver classroom guidance lessons
to enhance the personal and social development of students.
  School counsellors may not develop multicultural competencies to effectively serve
students from diverse ethnic groups: Given the racial and ethnic diversity in the Asia-
Pacific countries and in other parts of the globe, school counselors with adequate
training are well positioned to promote cross cultural understanding among students
and in the community. Increasingly, schools are enrolling students from different
ethnic minority groups. School counselors must become knowledgeable about
different cultural groups and how best to serve them. Also, since female teachers,
counselors, and staff are overly represented in most schools, school counselors and
other school personnel may want to assess the extent to which the educational needs
of male students are being met.

Need of School Counselling

School children face a barrage of complex events and processes that have temporary and
permanent impacts on them. Substance use and abuse; changing family patterns; poor self-
esteem; hopelessness; crime and violence; child abuse; and the explosion of knowledge have
negative influence on these children regardless of their age or environment. That is where
school counsellors come in as a helpful person, a friend and a guide to the child. One, who
understands in depth the feelings of the child and what exactly he/she means. The counsellor
respects the person in the child and his/her right to freedom of choice. She not only
understands the strengths in the child but also has the ability to solve his or her problems,
when faced in favorable conditions.
 Need to provide help in choices of Subjects
 Need to provide help in choices in career options
 Need to develop readiness among students to face challenges and adapt new situations
 To identity and help students in need of special help
 To develop insight among students for proper utilization of time spent outside the
classrooms
 Help children cope with examination anxieties
 Need for behavioral changes as many homes now breed social changes
 Need to construct alternate behavior
 Equip students with problem solving and decision-making skills
 Enable children develop positive self-image

Scope of School Counselling

School counsellors and comprehensive guidance and counselling programs help children and
adolescent become better adjusted academically, developmentally and socially while feeling
safer, having better relationships with teachers, believing their education is relevant and
coping better with problems at school and outside. The scope of school counselling is too
wide. School Counselling touches every aspect of a student’s personality- physical, mental,
emotional, social and educational. It is concerned with all aspects of an individual’s attitudes
and behavior patterns. It seeks to help the individual to integrate all of his activities in terms
of his basic potentialities and environmental opportunities.
  Help to make a satisfactory transition from home to the school.
 To diagnose the difficulties in the learning of basic skills.
 To help to avoid potential dropouts to study in schools.
 To help them understand the purpose and meaning of life.
 To plan for further education.

Roles and Responsibilities of School Counsellor

 The counsellor is a professional who through diagnosing, planning, predicting,
interpreting and evaluating provides educational, personal, social and vocational
assistance to the clients in such a way that it would reflect their interests, objectives,
potentialities and needs for effective adjustment
 The counsellor as a trained expert who is exposed to enough psychology, test
instruction and administration, practicum as well as theories needed to understand
clients’ problems and give assistance. His main function is to supervise the
psychological development and adjustment of the clients at any level. He is a
professional and an accurate record keeper with which he carries out the daily roles
and functions of instituting meaningfulness into individual clients without coercion.
 A School Counsellor is someone who helps students throughout their education. This
may include counselling in areas of academic achievement, career choices or personal
and social development. These professionals work with students of all ages, from
primary schools through college.

Following are the roles and responsibilities of a School Counsellor:

1. Enable children to be productive, reify their potential and overall well-being.
2. Should follow the published code of ethics- respect for autonomy, beneficence, non
malfeasance, justice and fidelity.
3. Should be professionally qualified fulfilling either of the following:
a. Graduate in Psychology from a recognized university with minimum 5 years of
b. experience working with children.
c. Post-Graduate in Psychology/ Child Psychology/ Applied Psychology/ Counselling
d. Psychology/ Clinical Psychology/ Child Development from a recognized university.
e. Advance Diploma in Child Guidance and Counselling from RCI recognized institute.
f. M.Phil.- Clinical Psychology or Ph.D specialized in child development.
4. Should spend most of their time in direct service to and contact with students.
5. Help all students in the areas of academic achievement, personal/social development and
career development.
6. Facilitate behavior change, enhancing coping skills and life skills.
8. Crisis Intervention for students and their teachers and parents for any physical or emotional
trauma experienced in school and/or outside.
9. Regular interaction with students through classroom or activity observation.
10. Regular interaction with parents during Parent-Teacher Meetings.
11. Regular interaction with teachers and coordinating with them regarding behavioral
management plan and classroom guidance activities.
12. Conduct Psychological Tests, inventories and checklist for objective measurement and
interpretation of aptitude, interest, adjustment, study habits and problem areas.
13. Referring students and their family to RCI recognized and licensed Clinical Psychologist
(M.Phil. Clinical Psychology) for clinical assessment and diagnosis (of intellectual ability,
learning difficulty/disability, personality issues, behavioral disorders and other psychological
disorders) and therapeutic interventions.
14. Records - The counsellor is expected to maintain complete record of work done
• Psychological test result register
• Circular file
• Class talks files
• Counselling case file
• Workshops conducted
• File for correspondence with office or various agencies related to counselling
• Special programs/ project file
• File of questionnaires to be used
• File of check lists to be used
• File for all the Learning Disability cases
15. Awareness programs for students, teacher and parents regarding various issues at all child
developmental stages and Legal Acts related to the welfare of children such as POCSO Act,
Juvenile Justice Act etc.
16. Organizing Workshops in-house or with professionals on various important topics i.e.,
Time Management, Effective Study Techniques, Improving Concentration and Memory,
Handling Exam Stress, self-awareness, social skill training, confidence building, empathy
Building (bullying and sibling rivalry), self-purification and anger management, Career
counselling workshops for senior students.
17. Tasks a school counsellor DOESN’T DO:
a. Clinical Assessment or diagnosing
b. Provide therapy unless you are an RCI recognized and licensed Clinical Psychologist
c. Coerce a student to participate in individual or group counselling
d. Handle discipline issues
e. Substitute for absent teachers
f. Teaching psychology for senior students
Transformations of the Roles, Responsibilities & skills:
Professional and Ethical Codes of conduct in school counseling:
Ethical codes are designed to provide some guidelines for the professional behavior of
members. Ethical standards exist for many reasons:
 Ethical standards protect the profession from government. They allow the profession
to regulate itself and to function autonomously instead of being controlled by
legislation.
 Ethical standard help control internal disagreement and promoting stability within the
profession.
 Ethical standard protects practitioners from public, especially in regard to malpractice
suits. If professionals behave according to ethical guidelines, the behavior is judged
to be in compliance with accepted standards.
Ethics in school counselling:
 Respect for the rights and dignity of the Clients
 Privacy and Confidentiality
 Identify the potential issues
 Take all reasonable steps to ensure that clients give valid consent to proposed
interventions (consent of parents/guardians may also be required if the client is a
minor; established policy of the school/workplace may also be relevant).
 Competence
 Act in the best interests of the students at all times. Act in good faith and in the
absence of malice
 Appropriate referrals
 Do not stigma or labelling
 A commitment to promoting the client’s wellbeing.
 Responsible to Society

Unethical Behaviour:
 Unethical behaviour can take many forms:
 Violation of confidentiality
 Negligent practice
 Claiming expertise, one does not posses
 Imposing one’s values on a client
 Creating a dependency in a client
  Sexual activity with client
 Certain conflicts of interest
 Questionable financial arrangement, such as charging excessive fees
 Improper Advertising

Skills of a School Counsellor

 Curiosity and inquisitiveness
 Possess natural interest in people
 An ability to listen
 Empathy and understanding
 Emotional insightfulness
 Critical Thinking
 Reflective Thinking
 Can set aside your needs in order to listen
 Ability to laugh
 Intellectual competence
 Energy
 Flexibility
 Readiness to support
 Self-awareness
 Unconditional Positive Regard
 Retaining an attitude of hope

Difference between School Counsellor and School Psychologist

 School counselors promote academic performance and achievement, personal and
social development, and overall career planning and development.
 School psychologists support students, families, and teachers in academic and
emotional success. They utilize their professional knowledge in human development
and mental health to both identify issues potentially impeding a student’s overall
success and find appropriate, working solutions.
 Similarity - Both careers require an advanced understanding of human behavior, child
and adolescent development, and mental health. Both professions value student
wellness, academic performance, and increased emotional well-being. Furthermore,
both professions often entail providing collaborative care in conjunction with other
school personnel, outside professionals, and relevant family members. They are both
available for counseling, crisis intervention, and professional expertise.
 Difference - With that said, the central area of focus and intervention differs between
both careers. School counselors focus more on improving mental health and
 behavioral symptoms through individual and group counseling and education.
Typically, they serve the entire school population. School psychologists focus on
understanding behavioral symptoms and academic issues via testing, researching, and
assessing. They may work with a few select students with specific, targeted issues.
School Psychologist v/s Educational Psychologist
 Educational psychology deals with the psychology of educating humans, how
educational teaching and materials affect humans, evaluation of methods of
teaching and these teaching materials, and school organization effectiveness.
School psychology, on the other hand, deals with the treatment of learning
dilemmas of children and adolescents. They are also responsible in diagnosing
such conditions present in them.
 Educational psychology deals primarily with teaching methods, educational
materials, its effect on children and adolescents, and the evaluation of these while
school psychology involves diagnosis and treatment of certain childhood
behavioural, developmental, and learning problems.

 Educational psychologists may be focused on the same mission as school

psychologists, but their perspective is more large-scale and community-oriented
than school psychologists working directly with children. The job of an
educational psychologist entails a lot of research to support educational advocacy,
assess existing pedagogy and to generate innovative methods of educating diverse
populations. The training includes mastering research methods, assessment
administration and designing interventions for classroom and school district
issues.
 The educational psychologist may be an educator and a policy advocate with
advanced credentials, but they may not be in a position to provide diagnostic
services to schoolchildren. However, they may be tasked with examining the data
generated from individual assessments to generate a report about the school or the
school district’s performance. Educational psychologists may find a career niche
as psychometricians, research specialists, faculty and expert advisors in
educational policy.
 The school psychologist works directly with students in various capacities,
including counseling, test administration, behavior modification and ability
testing. School psychologists are often expected to act as a liaison between
students and their families, extending supportive services to families to ensure that
students can thrive in the educational system.

Guidance and Counselling

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/social, educational, and career development of all students.
Guidance and Counselling recognizes the worth and dignity of the individual and is designed
to enhance, the total development of mental, vocational, emotional, intellectual and socio
personal aspects of the students.
Guidance:
 Guidance comes from the root word, guide which means to direct, protect, steer and
lead. It is therefore a process and procedure for achieving a helping relationship.
 Guidance as a process, developmental in nature, by which an individual is assisted to
understand, accept and utilize own abilities, aptitudes, interests and attitudinal
patterns in relation to the aspirations.
Counselling:
 Counselling is a process through which a counsellor help his or her client in many
ways like:
 Counsellor listen his or her client empathetically

 Counsellor develop insight within the client

 Counsellor psycho educate his or her client

 Counsellor enable his or her client to take their decisions

 Counselling is a process in which clients learn how to make decisions and formulate
new ways of thinking, feeling and behaving.
 Counselling deals with personal, Social, Vocational and educational concern
 Counselling is conducted with those persons considered within the normal range of
functioning
 Counselling is theory based and takes place in a structured setting.
Key Difference: Guidance focused on helping individuals make important choices, whereas
counselling focused on helping individuals make changes.

Needs and Importance of Guidance and Counselling in Schools

Guidance and Counselling Programmes need to be introduced in all schools to meet the
varied needs of educational system and students.
 Need to help in the overall development of students
 Need to develop life skills among students
 Need to provide the child with a sound foundation for future, academic,
psychological and personal growth
 Guidance and counselling service is needed to help students deal effectively with
the normal developmental tasks of adolescence and face life situations boldly
 To help the students in their period of turmoil and confusion
 Need to identify and nurture gifted and talented children
 Encourage children to develop good interpersonal relationship
 Assist in smooth transitions from one educational level to another
 Assist school administration in improving educational opportunities and
programmes
 Mobilize all the available resources of the school, home and community for the
satisfaction of children's educational vocational and psychological needs.
 Assist the teachers, other school staff members and parents in understanding the
needs and problems of the school children. Assist students develop adequate time
management skills