Functions of the Major Stakeholders in Guidance and Counselling

There are some people whose interest and participation in guidance and counselling services in the school setting are very important. These are stakeholders in Guidance and Counselling services in school. These people’s participation help determine the success or failure of the guidance programme in the school.

The guidance programme will only be useful if the key persons play their roles individually and collectively for the success of the guidance programme. In this unit, you will be reading about some of the responsibilities of these key persons. The key persons include the principal, teachers, the pupils or students, the parents and even the entire community.

The school-principal, classroom teacher, school-guidance counsellors, parents and guardians of pupils and the pupils themselves are major stakeholders in school-guidance services. These major-stakeholders have specific roles and responsibilities for the success and effectiveness of school guidance programme. It should, however, be restated that only through the team- approach could the guidance programme yield the best results. Perhaps, it is important at this junction to examine the functions of each of these major stakeholders.

Guidance Functions of School-Principals

The school-principal is the chief executive within the secondary school-system. He is by virtue of this position expected to provide leadership for all school-based programme, including school-guidance. The following, however, are some of the specific functions of the principal in school-guidance practice.

1. The principal should recognise and appreciate the need for and the importance of a comprehensive school guidance programme for all pupils.
2. The principals should make provision in terms of budgetary allocations and physical plant planning for effective delivery of school-guidance services.
3. Provide the needed facilities, equipment, supplies and clerical and administrative support-systems for effective school guidance.
4. Direct and coordinate school guidance programme cooperatively with other members of staff within the school.
5. Take responsibility for setting-up the school guidance committee after consultation with the counsellor and other staff in the school.
6. Take responsibility for consulting with members of staff to arrive at unanimous decisions on such matters pertaining to organizational structure, individuals’ roles and functions of all personnel involved in school-guidance programme.
7. Plan, initiate and develop a tradition of in-service training for school counsellors.
8. Plan, coordinate and mobilize community based- resources to enhance school guidance programme.
9. The most important guidance role of the school principal is perhaps to ensure that the whole school climate becomes a growth-promoting environment where pupils and teachers are free to be themselves even while still in teaching-learning contexts.

Guidance Functions of Teachers

According to Zeran and Riccion (1962), the following are the guidance functions of school teachers:

1. Know and use the basic principles of human behaviour.
2. Develop skills in observing and analysing student behaviour in order to ascertain when an incident is significant, and, also to be sure that it will not be reported out of context.
3. Provide the student with facts about himself and his environment as a basic framework for thinking logically about his goals and then relating them to his abilities.
4. Place emphasis on self-understanding, self-direction, utilisation of potentials, and acceptance of responsibilities for actions by the student.
5. Express to the principal the need for an organised programme of guidance services.
6. Cooperate with the principal in the evaluation of existing guidance services and in the inventory to staff competencies useful in the guidance service.
7. Accept the opportunity to participate in the planning and development stages of the programme.
8. Recognise the need for specialised guidance personnel and understand the relationships so necessary between the guidance personnel and the classroom teacher.
9. Assist in providing data for the students’ cumulative record folder and utilize these data in a professional manner.
10. Develop home and classroom activity materials.
11. Integrate occupational, educational, and personal-social information into the respective subjects.
12. Review constantly course content and curricular offerings to meet student needs.
13. Realise the necessity of becoming concerned with all phases of the student’s developmental patterns, rather than just with his intellectual achievements.
14. Participate in case conferences.
15. Assist students whenever possible and refer those whose needs are beyond their competencies.
16. Request in-service assistance in the further development of old, and the acquiring of new competencies useful in performing the guidance activities.

On the whole, teachers must realise that classroom teaching and learning is indeed a therapeutic exercise. Every teacher therefore needs to have a guidance orientation to his/her teaching-learning activities. Classroom teaching must be interesting, it must be interactive, it must be animating; it has to have a personal touch. All these involve that the classroom teacher must develop guidance competencies.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
Differentiate between the principal’s and teacher’s responsibilities in the guidance programme? List five.

Guidance Functions of the School Counsellor

As discussed earlier, school counsellors perform functions that are very germane to both the academic and personality well-being of school students.

1. Evaluate his professional preparation and strengthen areas of deficiency.
2. Ascertain that his understandings coincide with those of the principal relative to his role and responsibilities as well as line and staff relationships in the organisational pattern.
3. Obtain the cooperative participation of the staff.
4. Demonstrate a desire to have a built-in system of evaluation as part of the programme.
5. Recommend to the principal areas for research and study as well as those supplementary competencies, which should be considered when employing new personnel.
6. Assist in the development of in-service programmes and participate in those areas of special competence.
7. Encourage teachers to identify students needing assistance and also those that have special talents.
8. Identify the potential drop-out and seek to meet his specific needs in an effort to salvage him so that he may complete his formal education.
9. Encourage students to accept the responsibility for full utilization of their potentials.
10. Provide help in developing and carrying on case conferences.
11. Stimulate teachers to provide materials for the student’s individual cummulative record folders and to use them in a professional manner.
12. Confer with parents.
13. Refer students needing assistance beyond their competency.
14. Maintain good public relations with community, country and stage agencies.
15. Assist the school librarian in obtaining and keeping current materials on occupational, educational, and personal- social information.
16. Help teachers obtain materials in the area of the informational services.
17. Demonstrate his professional competency.

On the whole, the school counsellor is expected to provide technical leadership for school guidance programme. Most of the functions highlighted above reinforce the role of the school counsellor as the technical and professional leader of all guidance activities in the school.

Functions of Parents or Guardians

Parents and guardians are expected to cooperate with the school in the education and guidance of their children. Cooperation is the best word that summarises the functions of parents and guardians (Zeran & Riccio, 1962). The following are some of the specific cooperative functions of parents in the school guidance programme.

1. Parents should provide information. Parents have responsibility for providing information which would be useful in providing proper guidance for their children.
2. Parents should also encourage their children to make use of guidance services.
3. Parents should also utilize guidance services in the school to learn more about their children.
4. Parents should also examine their own home lives to determine if their children are operating from a home environment that is conducive to learning.
5. Parents should ensure that they help the school by teaching their children proper attitudes such as those of self-discipline, self- improvement, dignity of labour, acceptance of responsibility, and honesty.

Guidance Responsibilities of Pupils

The pupils, students or clients are expected to discharge their
responsibilities too. Among them are:

(1) To cooperate with teachers and school administration when they are sent to the counsellor for guidance.
(2) To recognize and accept the counsellor as a professional.
(3) To go for counselling as the need arises for them.
(4) To make use of educational and occupational materials provided for them by the school guidance services.
(5) They are to open up i.e. ready to give the counsellor any information needed to help them in the counselling process.
(6) Pupils or clients are also to help create awareness for others of the importance of guidance and counselling in the school.

In so doing, they will strengthen the programme.
(7) They are to assist the guidance programme by informing their parents of the material, and other needs of the school guidance programme so that they can provide.

The Community and the School Guidance Programme

Several authorities in guidance such as Makinde (1984), Ipaye (1980), Brammer (1996), Makinde & Alao (1987) and others have advocated that the school counsellor must perform his functions in such a way as to carry along the whole school environment where they are operating. While going through these functions of a counsellor, it should be realized that the functions should be carried out cooperatively with other professional members of the school system. Zeran & Riccio (1962) beautifully spelt out the functions of the school counsellor as follows:

The attitude of the community affects the tone of the school. It must therefore, relate closely with the school. The school guidance counsellor should tap from the pool of resources in the community in providing effective guidance services to students. The following are some of the areas of where the community could be useful for school guidance services:

1. The community comprises a referral resource base for the school guidance programme.
2. The community should show interest in the school guidance activities organised for them and their children.
3. The community provides avenues or opportunities for work-study programme for the students.
4. Organisation of field trips to places of occupational interest must involve community participation.
5. Placement services must be based on the good understanding of occupational and educational opportunities in the community.
6. The community can provide resource persons for career talks and information needed for counselling.