ROLE OF SCHOOL COUNSELLER, HEAD MASTER AND STAFF
A school
student is constantly in a state of interaction with his/her peers, the school
staff members and his family and community. These personalities all have an
important impact upon the life of the students. The school student needs this
guidance in the formative years in all the aspects of his personality. He is
developing physically, intellectually and emotionally into what our culture
intends, a well adjusted member of society. Thus one of deep underlying reasons
for adequate and well trained personnel in guidance is basically the dependence
of the young rather than the adult.
School counsellors are key
members of guidance and student services teams. Within the context of a
collaborative, interdisciplinary team approach, school counsellors play a
leadership role in the development and implementation of a comprehensive
guidance and counselling program.
Myrick (2003) grouped counselor
functions into six categories that focus mainly on the development of the
student:
1. Individual counseling with at-risk or high
priority students.
2. Small group counseling, preferably with four to
five members that meet a minimum of once per week.
3. Large group classroom guidance.
4. Peer facilitator programs.
5. Consultation, with teachers, administration,
school personnel, and parents.
6. Coordination of guidance services, including
testing, career information,
Gibson and Mitchell (2003) defined
counselor functions as guidance activities, and comprised a list of ten
activities that serve as a guideline for the overall function of guidance
counselors:
1. Individual assessment 2. Individual counseling 3. Group counseling and guidance
4. Career assistance 5. Placement and follow-up 6. Referral 7. Consultation
8. Research 9. Evaluation and accountability 10. Prevention
The three areas of student development are:
a. Academic development
b. Career development
c. Personal/social development
A
counselor is a person selected by virtue of interest, training and ability to
carry on the delegated responsibilities of counseling. Counselor is needed in
helping students plan for future, solve their problem, develop healthy
attitudes and in other words prepare them for life.
In
the process of counseling a counselor plays a significant role. The
effectiveness of counseling programme depends on the efficiency of the
counselor. The counselor job is relatively difficult. A counselor should have
the training awareness, skill and devotion in his job.
The
role of a counselor can be seen through the functions he performs in the
guidance and counseling programme.
Frame guidance policies- The counselor
has to frame guidance policies in the school and see to it that they are put
into practice.
Guidance to needy students- It is the
main duty of the counselor to give guidance to all students who are in need of
it.
Collection and interpretation
of data- He collects all information data about the students and interprets them
in the right way. He conveys all the information data to the headmaster and
parents of the students.
Achieving life ambitions of
pupils- The counselor try to find the ambitions of students and help them in
their achievement.
Giving training – The counselor
trains other staff member for guidance work. He organizes short courses of
training for this purpose.
Helps teachers- He helps the
teacher in knowing their individual differences in interests, tastes and
aptitudes.
Contact with employers- He keeps
contact with employers, employing agencies and institutions, so that he may be
able to help the students in getting proper employment.
Co-operation between staff and
community- The counselor creates co-operation between the staff members of the
school and community. He should be expert in behavioral science in order to
perform the duty efficiently.
Helps students in becoming
mature- He tries to make students mature by enabling them to solve their own
problems and remove their own difficulties.
Conducting group guidance- The counselor
conducts group guidance for pupils regarding problem of educational and vocational
guidance.
Assisting teachers - To assist
teachers with pupil problems which the teachers find difficult.
Placement - To assist
youth employment services in the placement of pupils in various jobs.
Follow-up – To take up
follow- up work with a view to assessing the outcome of guidance services in
regard to students who have received guidance.
Familiarization – To assist in
familiarizing new classroom teachers and other school personnel with guidance
services available.
School records- To explain
school records with which the are not familiar.
Knowledge of home -To obtain
knowledge of the relevant aspects of a student’s home environment, economic
status and personality.
Contact with parents- To confer
with parents and arrange group meeting of parents as needs arise.
Emotional crisis - To be
constantly alert to signs of emotional difficulties.
Specialists - To refer
difficulties to available specialists.
Educational guidance - To provide
counseling for a pupil relative to educational problems or plans.
Career conferences - To arrange
career conferences when considered appropriate.
Personal guidance- To arrange
case conferences about an individual student who is experiencing some type of
difficulty.
Self direction -To assist
pupils to develop initiative and independence so that they may progress in
self- direction.
Help to dropouts - To aid
potential dropouts to make the school experience as profitable as possible.
A
counselor is expert from the field of education. It is more expected from
counselor to run the guidance activities smoothly as compared to the other
staff members. In Indian conditions the counselor can be full time counselor,
teacher- counselor, visiting counselor.
The following specific
functions can be included in the responsibilities of a counselor as a guidance
worker.
1. Diagnostic
2. Therapeutic
3. Evaluation
4. Research
The each type of specific
field including various specific services and skills. A counselor functions may
vary systematically after planning the school guidance programme very
carefully. For this the counselor surveys the needs of the pupils, collects
physical and other sources and ensures co-operation from administration
authorities.
The guidance department curriculum includes a number
of activities and services such as:
• New student registration
• Schedule development
• Course selection and course registration
• Monitoring student academic progress
• Facilitate Instructional Support Team meetings
• Attend parent/teacher conferences
• Consultations with teachers, administrators,
parents and students
• Provide mediations for students to help resolve
conflicts
• Curriculum development aligned with National and
State Standards
• Individual counseling and small group counseling
• Academic counseling
• Personal counseling
• Communications between school and home
• Peer Counseling
• Orientation programs
• Parent information programs
Individual Planning: Counsellors
participate, collaborate, and consult as members of the interdisciplinary team
to provide support for students' individual planning.
Responsive Services: Counsellors
provide services to students in need through individual and small group
guidance and counselling interventions, crisis intervention, parent
out-reach, consultation, referral, and multi-systemic interventions.
Systems Support: Counsellors
perform various activities intended to support the school's guidance function.
Examples include conducting workshops for parents and staff, student placement,
research, data collection, community outreach, and program administration.
Counsellors are also in a
key position to play a vital role in threat assessment teams, student support
teams and safe school teams. They often also play an advocacy role for students
with staff, families, and outside agencies.
The School Counselling Program :
Comprehensive
guidance and counselling programs and services support student learning in
areas of personal/social, educational and career development.
Comprehensive
guidance and counselling programs and services are inclusive; they respond to
the unique and special needs of all students from Kindergarten to Senior
Comprehensive guidance and
counselling programs and services provide a range of guidance/counselling
services from a developmental/preventive focus to a responsive/remedial focus
School Division Plans,
Student Services Plans, and School Plans include guidance and counselling
services and programs. Plans for a comprehensive guidance and counselling
program include provisions for regular, systematic identification of needs and
priorities, specification of expected outcomes, descriptions of activities, and
identification of success indicators. Guidance programs and services should be
evaluated on a regular basis.
The
provision of comprehensive guidance and counselling programs and services is
the shared responsibility of all staff. A team approach should be employed,
wherein all staff members have specified roles to play. School counsellors play
a key role in planning and implementing programs and services.
ROLE OF HEADMASTERS
The
whole working of the school depends on the abilities, insight and
administrative capacity of the headmaster. Since the guidance has been
considered as a part of an education, the headmaster should also be loaded with
the responsibility of guidance program. In this field too, the headmaster
should be assigned leasers. It is essential for the headmaster to take over the
administration of the guidance service along with that of school. To share this
burden, he can seek the help of one of his competent teachers, but he cannot
delegate his own powers. In this way, we see that there are certain special
responsibilities of the headmaster which are as follows.
1. Ethical
role: The head is expected to develop a faith in the worth whileness in the
guidance programme. This requires a time-bound drawing up of plan of guidance
service, keeping in view the conditions and resources available in the school.
2. Administrative role: It is his main
role. As an administrator, he is expected to perform the following functions:
Leadership; He has the responsibility for providing
constructive leadership in developing better guidance service.
Appointments; He recommends to the authorities the employing of
competent counselor.
Understanding;; He helps the members of the staff concentrate their
attention on the problems, needs and characteristics of the students.
Facilities; He arranges for the facilities and the teaching
schedule of the counselor and the non-teaching duties of the counselor so that
adequate time, space and acceptance are provided to him.
Specific tasks; He assigns specific tasks to the members of the
faculty regarding guidance programme.
Shared responsibility; He has the responsibility of helping the
members of the staff, understand and the importance of the ‘shared
responsibility’ for pupil growth.
In-service training; He arranges in-service training facilities
to the teachers and cousellors to acquire greater skill and security.
Organizing guidance; He has the
responsibility of helping the staff organize the guidance programme.
Information; He keeps the parents informed about the guidance
activities available in the school.
3. Committee role: principal is
the captain of the team of guidance workers which comprises of the counselor,
the teacher, the specialists and career masters etc.
Responsibilities:
1. The headmaster can help at least teachers of his
own school regarding the guidance programme and in understanding various
problems.
2. The supervision of guidance processs is the first
step towards the success of guidance process.
3. The headmaster should spare sufficient time for
the guidance work. Only then this programme will gain success. Once a week
guidance programme is not sufficient. This may reduce confidence of the pupils
towards guidance programme.
4. The headmaster has fincncial powers. Hence, it is
his responsibility to make fincncial provisions for guidance programme.
5. It is also the duty of the headmaster to arrange
proper building for the counseling service.
6. The headmaster should help the pupils by
evaluating the effects or results of the guidance programme with the help of
his fellow teachers.
7.. It is the responsibility of the headmaster to
make all types of facilities available for the guidance programme, such as,
sufficient furniture, guidance office, sufficient funds to purchase all types
of materials.
8. It is the moral duty of the head master that he should
explain the guidance services to the school and the society.
“The
teacher counselor is the first pivot of guidance” says V.B.Taneja. EsStoops say
that “Every teacher is a guidance worker and every guidance worker is a
teacher. The two titles are not mutually exclusive, but rather are two aspects
of the same educational process”.
The
teachers is directly and indirectly involved in all the class-room activities
and guidance. According to Bojkin, “the principal are of student personnel work
is teacher student relationship, not occasional interviews and specialized
counselors”. In a school, that has a small guidance unit; one or more teachers
would act as counselors. The teacher-counselor is the first pivot of guidance.
He unifies the guidance services.
Responsibilities
Teacher-counsellor’s
Teacher-counselor’s responsibilities could be
divided in to four area, viz.
1. Study the
pupils and their problems by day-to-day observation.
2. Assess the
capacities and achievements of the pupils.
3. Maintenance of anecdotal records and cumulative
records.
4. Sending information to the principal and parents.
5. Providing special programme for gifted and
backward children.
6. Providing case histories of problem children.
7. Helping the pupils to solve their problems.
8. Helping the pupils to secure occupational and
educational information of all sorts.
9. Helping the pupils score better personal and
social adjustment by detecting frustrations, conflicts and complexes of
students and helping them overcome these problems.
10. Helping the pupils in making educational and
vocational plans according to their abilities, capacities and aptitudes.
12. To help the students in building healthy
relationships.
13. To help the students in making effective use of
library and taking notes.
14. To help the students in maintaining discipline.
15. To help the students in concentrating on studies
and using effective methods of learning and memorization.
16. To collect facts about the students.
17. He is responsible for the development of the students,
also for the development of a wide range of interests, punctuality etc.
18. The average teacher cannot ordinary give
guidance successfully regarding choice of occupation or further education after
school because he has little knowledge about the occupations or college courses
but as said above, he can help the workers who seek guidance.
A teacher’s qualities for being effective counselor
1. He should not be rigid in his method of approach.
He should approach the problem from various angles and should be willing to
change the method if he finds appropriate to do so.
2. He should have patience. He should listen
patiently to what the students has to say. Patient hearing will create
confidence in the student.
3. He should give due credit and commendation for
the work done by the pupils.
4. He should show equanimity when mistakes are made
by the students. He should not show surprise at any behavior.
5. He should have adequate up-to-date knowledge of
educational and vocational hnp Page 10 10/11/2015A teacher’s duties
A teacher’s job involves four main duties.
Þ Teachers must
prepare their classes.
Þ They must
guide, or assist the learning of the students.
Þ They must check
the student’s progress’
Þ Teachers must
set a good example for their students.
CONCLUSION
Next
to parents, the teacher knows the students best. In some cases his knowledge is
more than the knowledge of parents as he is in a position to be objective and
also to manipulate the circumstances for the advantage of the student. A class
room teacher who practices good mental health and who is willing to contribute
to the specific services of guidance programme is an invaluable member of a
guidance team.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment