Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 113 ( 2014 ) 36

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 113 ( 2014 ) 36 –
43
1877-0428 © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of Cognitive-
counselling, research and conference services (c-crcs).
doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.008
ScienceDirect
2013 International Congress on Clinical and Counselling
Psychology (CPSYC)
The need for guidance and counselling training for teachers
Susanna Wai Ching LAI-YEUNG*
The Open University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Abstract
Teachers have multiple roles to perform nowadays. To fulfil
their roles professionally, teachers need to be
competent in their responsibilities towards their students inside
and outside the classroom. One important teacher
role inside and outside the classroom is to provide guidance and
counselling to students. This paper has two aims.
First, it discusses the importance of guidance and counselling
training for teachers. The second aim of this paper
is to investigate guidance and counselling training needs for
teachers through students taking an innovative
guidance and counselling component in a pre-service

undergraduate teacher preparation program. This course
component has been tried out with four cohorts of English
Language Studies and English Language Teaching
double-honours degree students. Using qualitative analysis of
students’ responses in a personal reflection activity
in the latest cohort, the present study found that students have
various training needs, and perceived strengths and
impeding issues in relation to carrying out the guidance and
counselling role at school. The paper ends with
discussions on directions for future teacher training and
research.
© 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of Dr. Zafer
Bekirogullari.
Keywords: guidance and counselling; training needs; teacher
education programme; undergraduate course
1. Introduction
Apart from subject teaching, teachers are entrusted with many
responsibilities nowadays. Guidance and
counseling are some of their major duties. In the guidance and
counseling literature, these two words generally
take on different meanings. The former refers to helping
students’ whole-person development, while the latter is
frequently targeted at helping students with problems. In other
words, guidance work is preventive and
developmental in nature whereas counseling is more of
supportive, remedial work. The global trend seems to
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 852-2768 5811; fax: 852-2395
4235.

E-mail address: [email protected]
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
© 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of Cognitive-
counselling, research and conference services (c-crcs).
Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
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37 Susanna Wai Ching Lai-Yeung / Procedia - Social and
Behavioral Sciences 113 ( 2014 ) 36 – 43
have moved from a casework and remedial approach to a
preventive, developmental approach in providing
guidance and counselling (Gysbers & Henderson, 1994; Yuen,
2002).
In Hong Kong, guidance and counselling work in schools have
undergone many changes. In line with the
global trend, Hong Kong has adopted a preventive approach to
guidance since 1986 (Hong Kong Education
Department, 2001). In its official guide “Guidance Work in
Secondary Schools – A Suggested Guide for
Principals and Teachers”, the Hong Kong Education Department
provided guidelines for guidance teachers, who
are full-time teaching staff, to deliver student guidance at
school on top of their teaching duties. The document
also discussed the importance of a cooperative, teamwork
approach in the delivery of student guidance. This laid

the groundwork for a whole school approach to guidance, which
was implemented in the 1990s with the
recommendation of the Education Commission report No.4
(Hong Kong Education Commission, 1990). This
approach emphasizes the involvement of all school personnel to
create a caring and inviting environment for
students to grow and realize their potentials for whole-person
development (Hong Kong Education Commission,
1990). The whole-school approach is further explained and
promoted through subsequent guidelines and
resources provided by the government (Hong Kong Education
Department, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2001). In
2002, the government has further extended the whole school
approach to encourage comprehensive student
guidance service as an integral part of education. This means
that schools have to integrate their various sub-
systems and all staff members need to work collaboratively at
schools and with parents and the community at
large to help students achieve all-round development and life-
long learning (Hong Kong Education Department,
2012). The government has stepped up resources to promote
comprehensive student guidance service in recent
years. This includes improving guidance personnel in primary
schools starting from 2006, and provision of an
additional top-up student guidance service grant to primary
schools from 2012 onwards (Hong Kong Education
Department, 2012).
Since all teachers are involved in student guidance and
counselling at school to varying degrees, there is a
definite and important need for guidance and counselling
training for all teachers. Some guidance teachers have
indeed demanded such training for all teachers. They even
thought this was “the basic requirement of a teacher”

(Yuen, 2002, p.175). However, a search in the literature about
teachers’ training needs in guidance and
counselling showed a scarcity of research in this topic. Most
studies focused on peripheral topics such as
qualifications and mode of training for guidance personnel
(McCarthy, 2001), or the training needs of career
guidance personnel (Patton & Burton, 1997; Patton, 2000).
Against this background, the present study seeks to investigate
the following questions:
Do teachers perceive a need for training in carrying out their
guidance and counselling responsibilities at
school?
If they do perceive such a need, what are their training needs
specifically?
Do they perceive any personal issues that might impede their
guidance and counselling role?
Do they perceive any personal strengths or resources that that
might facilitate their guidance and
counselling role?
2. Method and Findings
2.1 Background of the study
An innovative guidance and counselling component was
included in a compulsory core course in Professional
Issues for School Teachers in an undergraduate English
Language Studies and English Language Teaching
double honours degree programme offered by the School of

Education and Languages at the Open University of
Hong Kong. It aimed to give learners a brief introduction of the
theories and issues related to student guidance
and counselling, particularly in the Hong Kong context. The
component has been introduced to four cohorts of
students. Students enrolled in this course were pre-service
student teachers in their final year of study.
2.2 Method
The present study was carried out in its latest presentation in
the 2012/13 academic year. Thirty-one students
participated in the study. All students were Chinese aged 21 –
25, with mean age being 22.8. In this sample,
64.5% of these students were females. These students completed
a personal reflection activity at the beginning of
the course. They were asked to indicate their views to three
questions which asked about their training needs,
impeding issues and facilitating personal strengths or resources
in relation to performing their guidance and
counselling role at school. Boyatzis’ (1998) and Graneheim and
Lundaman’s (2004) procedures were followed in
doing qualitative analysis of students’ responses. The author
and a second coder familiar with counselling
theories and research analysis independently read through the
data thoroughly. Then, each attempted to derive
categories and possible sub-categories for the data, followed by
discussion to decide on the categories and sub-
categories and response examples for data analysis. Both
observed the mutually agreed principles for coding and

no student response would be double coded. Then the author
and the second coder independently categorised
students’ responses and compared results. Afterwards, necessary
coding adjustments were made. These steps
were repeated till both agreed on the coding of the responses to
ensure inter-rater reliability.
2.3 Results
The analysis yielded 10 categories for training needs, 7
categories for impeding issues, and 6 categories for
personal strengths or resources which could facilitate their
guidance and counselling work.
2.3.1 Training needs
All participants considered that there was a need for training.
The number of training needs identified by each
participant ranged from 1 to 9, with the mean number of
training needs being 3.9. Twenty-seven students (87.1%)
mentioned 1 to 5 training needs.
In terms of their perceived needs for training, participants saw
the need for training in communication skills,
counselling skills, skills in handling cases, interpersonal skills,
knowledge related to guidance and counselling,
and ways to deal with their own issues as most important (See
Table 1). Here are some examples:
Communication skills:
“Communication skills with different students (different
students with different background.)”
(Subject number 4)

Counselling skills
“Strategies for responding to students so as not to discourage
them and stimulate students’ emotion.”
(Subject number 1)
Skills in handling cases
“To learn how to act professionally to deal with students’
problems.” (Subject number 9)
“How to deal with different kinds of problems, e.g. family,
personal problems.” (Subject number 20)
Interpersonal skills
“How to develop good relationship with students.” (Subject
number 20)
“Interpersonal skills” (Subject numbers 10, 15, 18, 28)
Table 1. Training needs
Rank Area of training needs Total no. of
responses
1 Communication skills 23

2 Counselling skills (e.g. questioning skills) 17
3 Case studies/ skills in handling cases 13
3 Interpersonal skills 13
4 Knowledge related to guidance and counseling (e.g. therapy
theories) 11
5 Ways to deal with own issues (e.g. time management,
emotional
intelligence, to be more objective)
9
6 Role of teacher 8
7 Knowledge about practical issues (e.g. school policy) 5
8 Collaboration skills (e.g. with stakeholders) 4
9 Others 5
2.3.2 Impeding issues
Twenty-nine participants (93.5%) cited 1 to 3 issues perceived
to impede their guidance and counseling work
at school. Among these issues, their personal qualities,
prejudgment or bias against students, lack of experience,
and workload and time pressures were the top concerns raised
(see Table 2). The following are some examples of
students’ responses in these categories:
Personal qualities

“My being quiet might lead to weaknesses in self expression.”
(Subject number 10)
Prejudgment or bias against students
“Prejudgment or bias of some students – students from wealthy
families may be spoiled.” (Subject number 14)
Lack of experience
“Not experienced in providing guidance and couselling; not sure
my suggestions are really good for the
students.” (Subject number 20)
Workload or time pressures
“Time is also a problem for me; too busy, not enough time to
use.” (Subject number 7)
“Heavy work load means no time to talk to students.” (Subject
number 8)
Table 2. Impeding issues
Rank Area of impeding issues Total no. of responses
1 Personal qualities 20
2 Prejudgment or bias against students 11

3 Lack of experience 8
4 Workload or time pressures 7
5 Lack of knowledge 5
6 School policies 3
7 Others 4
2.3.3 Facilitating personal strengths or resources
In terms of personal strengths or resources which students
perceived that could facilitate their guidance and
counseling, twenty-eight students (90.3%) could name 1 to 3
categories of such factors. Among these facilitating
categories, work at school, students’ personal qualities, social
networks, their skills or abilities and working
experience were most frequently mentioned (see Table 3).
Some examples of their responses are listed below:
Personal qualities
“I’m patient and I’m a listener. I respect others’ privacy.”
(Subject number 5)
“I’m myself an optimistic person and I hope I can guide my
counselees to think more positively when I talk to
them.” (Subject number 11)
Social networks

“I have a broad social network, which makes it easier for me to
get different resources of information from my
friends.” (Subject number 14)
Skills or abilities
“Skills: good communication skills enable me to talk to students
easily and make them understand.” (Subject
number 13)
Working experience
“I have a part-time job since I was 17. I’ve met many different
people, and have learnt from their stories.”
(Subject number 20)
Table 3. Facilitating personal strengths or resources
Rank Area of strengths or resources Total no. of responses
1 Personal qualities 19
2 Social networks 14
3 Skills or abilities 12
4 Working experience 8
5 Knowledge 5
5 Others 5

3. Discussion and conclusion
3.1 Implications for training
Respondents were found to unanimously indicate a clear need
for training. Their perceived training needs
included not only knowledge and skills related to guidance and
counseling, but also life skills. They demanded
training in communication skills, interpersonal skills and ways
to deal with their own issues. This information is
important because if training programmes are to be a satisfying
experience, the training contents should match
trainees’ needs. Day (2002) argued that teacher development
programmes which do not match teachers’ needs
were unlikely to arouse their motivation. In Law’s (2000) in-
depth interviews with teachers about their views
towards guidance training, five out of eight interviewees gave
negative comments about the training courses
offered by the government. They criticized the training as being
too general, imparting only fundamental
guidance knowledge and could not arouse their interest.
Besides training needs, results from the present study also
found several areas and issues which participants
considered could impede their guidance and counseling work.
These should be taken into consideration in
designing training programmes so that the effects of such
barriers could be minimized. For example, training
programmes can include experiential, reflective exercises and
in-class discussions for trainees to examine and
work on issues of personal qualities and prejudgment which
they consider most hindering. These strategies have

found some support in the literature. One such example can be
seen in Heppner and O’Brien’s (1994) work. In
evaluating a multicultural counseling course, they found that an
increased awareness and interpersonal exchanges
in class were most helpful in facilitating change.
One should also note that respondents in the present study also
identified several perceived personal strengths
and resources. These should be taken into consideration when
designing training programmes so as to motivate
and engage participants in the training process.
3.2 Limitations
The present study has limitations. First, it is a small sample of
pre-service undergraduates in a teacher
education programme. Results obtained may not be generalized
to other populations, such as in-service teachers
or teachers in postgraduate teacher education programmes. As
Fok, Chan, Sin, Ng and Yeung (2005) have
suggested, teachers at different stages of professional
development, or with different competencies might have
different training needs. Second, the study was qualitative in
nature. Though every caution was used to ensure the
reliability and accuracy in coding the data, the author
recognizes the interpretive nature of all qualitative analyses.

3.3 Conclusion and recommendations
The present study has yielded useful information to enrich the
literature on the guidance and counseling
training needs for teachers. It sheds light on topics and issues to
consider for designing teacher training or
education programmes. Training approaches which are
experiential, reflective and interactive are recommended
to match teachers’ training needs and enhance trainees’
motivation and interest in training. More research using
larger samples of teachers with different backgrounds to study
teacher training needs in guidance and counseling
are also recommended. Future research can also investigate
training needs in terms of their different roles and
experience in guidance and counselling service, and their level
of competencies. Another line of research is to
examine the effectiveness of various training programmes and
their relationship with participants’ training needs.
Acknowledgements
The author thanks Ms Henrietta Yan Yu LAI for serving as a
second coder in qualitative analysis. Her gifts in
reading the fine details in the data and her constructive
comments are much appreciated.
References
Boyatzis, R. E. (1998). Transforming qualitative information:
Thematic analysis and code development. Thousand Oaks,
California: Sage.
Day, C. (2002). The challenge to be the best: Reckless curiosity

and mischievous motivation. Teachers and Teaching: Theory
and Practice, 8,
421 – 434.
Fok, S.C., Chan, K.W., Sin, K.F., Ng, A.H.S. & Yeung, A.S.
(2005). In-service teacher training needs in Hong Kong. Paper
presented at the
Annual Conference of the Australian Association for Research
in Education, Sydney, Australia.
Graneheim, U. H., & Lundman, B. (2004). Qualitative content
analysis in nursing research: concepts, procedures and measures
to achieve
trustworthiness. Nurse Education Today, 24, 105 – 112.
Gysbers, N.C., & Henderson, P. (1994). Developing and
managing your school guidance program. Alexandria, V. A.:
American Counselling
Association.
Heppner, M. J., & O’Brien, K.M. (1994). Multicultural
counselor training: Students’ perceptions of helpful and
hindering events. Counselor
Education and Supervision, 34 (1), 4 – 18.
Hong Kong Education Commission (1990). Education
commission report no. 4. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government
Printer.
Hong Kong Education Department (1986). Guidance work in
secondary schools: A suggested guide for principals and
teachers. Hong Kong:
Hong Kong Government Printer.
Hong Kong Education Department (1991). Guidance - A
resource book containing handy and easy-to-follow guidance

materials and
worksheets on basic guidance skills. Hong Kong: Hong Kong
Education Department.
Hong Kong Education Department (1993). Guidelines on whole
school approach to guidance (for secondary schools), part 1.
Hong Kong:
Hong Kong Education Department.
Hong Kong Education Department (1995). Guidelines on whole
school approach to guidance (for secondary schools), part 2.
Hong Kong:
Hong Kong Education Department Services Division.
Hong Kong Education Department (1996). A video tape on How
Some Schools Organize Their Guidance Work. Hong Kong:
Hong Kong
Education Department
Hong Kong Education Department (2001). Guidance work in
secondary schools. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Education
Department.
Hong Kong Education Department (2012). Student guidance
service: Implementation of Comprehensive Student Guidance
Service. Hong
Kong: Hong Kong Education Department.
Law, L.M.T.(2000). Guidance training needs and support.

Unpublished master’s thesis. Hong Kong: the University of
Hong Kong.
McCarthy, J. (2001). The skills, training and qualification of
guidance workers.
Retrieved from http://www.OECD.org on 3 February, 2013.
Patton,W., & Burton, T. (1997). Training needs of career
guidance personnel in Australia and Hong Kong: A comparative
study.
International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 19,
361 – 372.
Patton, W. (2000). Perceptions of training needs of career
guidance personnel before and after a university program,
Journal of Career
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RAY: International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, E-
ISSN: 2456-3064
Volume I, No. 2, October, 2016, pp. 36-48.
The Role of Guidance and Counselling in Effective Teaching
and

Learning in Schools
Ebizie Elizabeth Nkechi
Assistant Research Fellow,
Institute of Education,
University of Nigeria,
Nigeria.
[email protected]
Enajedu Esther Ewomaoghene
Lecturer II & Head,
Department of Guidance and Counselling,
School of General Studies,
Delta State School of Marine Technology,
Nigeria.
Nkechi Egenti
Principal Executive Officer,
Department of Physiology,
University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus,
Nigeria.

[email protected]
Structured Abstract:
Purpose: Guidance and counselling plays an role of in schools
for the child
future success of the child. The study recognises the fact that
counselling is a
transformative process of helping people to learn all that are to
be learnt both
in and outside the School.
Design / Methodology / Approach: The study adopted the use of
review
research techniques because is an opinion paper.
Findings: The paper acknowledge the fact that it is necessary
for counsellors
to build confidence of the child to trust him / her to be able to
give him/her the
rightful information needed in helping the child (students).
Practical implications: The guidance counsellors should
encourage students
to under the therapy session to be able to help the child in their
future success
Originality / Value: This paper deals with the role of guidance
and

counselling in effective teaching and learning in schools for the
child future
success.
Keywords: Guidance & Counselling, Teaching & Learning,
Schools, Child.
Paper Type: Theoretical Research Paper.
and Learning in Schools
RAY: International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies 37
Introduction
Guidance and counselling is an important educational tool in
shaping the orientation in a
child from negative ideas that is planted in the child by his/her
peers. Hence the need school
for the counsellor to assist the child in moulding their future
through counselling therapy. The
school counsellor is seen as a role model and highly respected
by students. The counsellors
by their training are expected to be friends with the school

child, listen to the child’s
complains, short comings and proffer guidance to the child in a
quest of moulding the child in
the right part to take in their life pursuit.
Egbo (2013) stated that “the total development of a child can
only take place in an
environment conducive for teaching and learning”. It is in
realization of the above that all
educational services which can promote teaching and learning in
schools are given prominent
attention by educational planners. Counselling services are
among the school educational
services. It is believed that guidance and counselling services in
school shall develop, assess
and improve educational programmes; enhance teaching and
improve the competence of the
teacher and reduce cost for the children.
The school children are undergoing some of the most difficult
periods of life. The transition
from childhood to adulthood is a difficult one, even for the most
balanced child. Apart from
the influence of the family, the other major influence on the
young person’s life is the school

and the school environment. The most that other influences can
attempt to do is to help each
young person to cope with the changes and wrought associate
with adolescence, to develop a
sense of responsibility, to make definite and considerable
personal decisions. In short,
families and schools have a duty to assist young people in their
self-growth towards
becoming a self-fulfilled and well adjusted adult.
Counselling and guidance can provide a good basis for a
broader education for life. While
being non-medical and non-psychiatric, it can be used as
therapy for individuals with specific
personal problems, or it can be the foundation of a more general
“life skills training
programme” for the student who, though not suffering from any
particular problem, should
be assisted in building up his/her personal resources in order to
cope effectively with their
future lives (Stokes, 1986). Hence, the Role of Guidance and
Counselling in Effective
Teaching and Learning in Schools for the Child Future Success.

Review of Related Literature
In guidance and counselling, these two words generally take on
different meanings. The
former refers to helping students’ whole-person development,
while the latter is frequently
targeted at helping students with problems. In other words,
guidance work is preventive and
developmental in nature whereas counselling is more of
supportive, remedial work (Lai-
Yeung, 2014). The global trend seems to have moved from a
casework and remedial
approach to a preventive, developmental approach in providing
guidance and counselling
(Gysbers & Henderson, 1994; Yuen, 2002; Lai-Yeung, 2014).
Hence guidance and
counselling is a very necessary therapy to school children.
Guidance in schools is that area of the schools provision that is
specifically directed towards

helping pupils realise their full potential in preparing for a dult
and working life,
(O’Concubhair, 1981). Akinade (2012) defines guidance and
counselling as a process of
helping an individual become fully aware of his/her self and the
ways in which he is
responding to the influences of his/her environment. It further
assists him to establish some
personal meaning for this behaviour and to develop and classify
a set of goals and values for
future behaviour.
According to Oviogbodu (2015) counselling can be defined as a
number of procedures in
assisting an individual to solve his problems. Counselling is
more involved emotionally in the
affective realm personalized learning, that is, emotions and
feelings, values, attitudes.
Counselling is an interaction or relationship between two or few
individuals, the client
counsellor relationship of trust (Geshinde 1991; Adebowale,
2012; cited in Oviogbodu,
2015).
Counselling is a learning process in which a counsellor helps an

individual or individuals
learn, understand themselves and their environment and be in a
position to choose the right
type of behaviours that will help them develop, grow, progress,
ascend, mature and step up,
educationally, vocationally and socio personally, (Egbo, 2013).
In other words, counselling is
a transformative process of helping people to learn all that are
to be learnt both in and outside
the School.
Counselling is a person-to-person process in which one person
is helped by another to
develop, increase in understanding and ability to solve his or
her problems. Sometimes it
could involve a group of two or more persons. Consequent on
the discussion it is important to
highlight the benefits of Guidance and Counselling to students
in the school programme.

Objective of the study
• To study the benefits of the school counseling program for
students
• To study the school guidance counsellors areas of work
• To study the aims of guidance and Counseling in schools
• To study the role of guidance and counselling in schools
• To study the effective teaching and learning: guidance and
counselling perspective
Research Question
1. What are the benefits of the school counseling program for
students?
2. What are the school guidance counsellors’ areas of work?
3. What are the aims of guidance and counseling in schools?
4. What are the role of guidance and counselling in schools?
5. What are effective teaching and learning, guidance and
counselling perspective?
Methodology
The study is mainly analytical in nature. The secondary
information has been collected from
various publications, reports, Periodicals, books, journals and
newspaper etc. Internet source

and websites were also consulted for the purpose of the study.
Discussion
What Are the Benefits of the School Counseling Program for
Students?
The following are benefit of counselling to students in schools
1. Prepare students for the challenges of the 21
st
century through academic, career, and
personal / social development.
2. Relates educational program to future success.
3. Facilitates career exploration and development.
4. Develops decision-making and problem solving skills.
5. Assists in acquiring knowledge of self and others.
6. Enhances personal development.
7. Assists in developing effective interpersonal relationship
skills.

8. Broadens knowledge of our changing world.
9. Provides advocacy for students.
10. Encourages facilitative, co-operative peer interactions.
11. Fosters resiliency factors for students.
12. Assures equitable access to educational opportunities.
What Are the School Guidance Counsellors’ Areas of Work?
In 1981 the Cork branch of the Institute of Guidance
Counsellors produced a job description
for school Guidance Counsellors listing their areas of work. The
School Guidance
Counsellor;
1. Counsels individual students and provides group education
and vocational guidance.
2. Assists individual students with personal problems; social,
emotional etc.
3. Assists with personal development.
4. Advises on study techniques.
5. Advises on job applications and interviews.
6. May engage in psychological testing and other testing.

7. May refer students to other agencies.
8. May co-ordinate a school system of pastoral care.
9. Is responsible for the compilation and availability of
occupational information.
10. Enjoys freedom and flexibility in the organisation of
counselling activities according
to the needs of the school.
Further to this the report designated four major work areas for
the School Counsellor ;
Individual Counselling; Group Guidance; Occupational
Information; Psychological Testing,
(I.G.C. Journal, Spring 1981).
What Are the Aims of Guidance and Counselling in Schools?
The aims of guidance and counseling service in schools is to
assist the student in
fulfilling his / her basic physiological needs, understanding
themselves and developing
associations with peers, balancing between permissiveness and
controls in the school setting,
realizing successful achievement, and providing opportunities to
gain independence (Heyden,
2011). The purpose of guidance and counselling therefore
provides emphasis and strength to

educational programs. Some specific aims of the school
guidance and counselling program
includes the following (Gibson, 2009 cited in Lunenburg, 2010):
a. To Provide for the Realization of Student Potentialities: To
all students, the school
offers a wide choice of courses and co-curricular activities. A
significant function of
education is to help students identify and develop their
potentialities. The counsellor’s
role is to assist students to distribute their energies into the
many learning
opportunities available to them. Every student needs help in
planning his major course
of study and pattern of co-curricular activities.
b. To Help Children with Developing Problems: Even those
students who have
chosen an appropriate educational program for themselves may

have problems that
require help. A teacher may need to spend from one fifth to one-
third of his time with
a few pupils who require a great deal of help, which depr ives
the rest of the class from
the teacher's full attention to their needs. The counsellor, by
helping these youngsters
to resolve their difficulties, frees the classroom teacher to use
his time more
efficiently.
c. To Contribute to the Development of the School's
Curriculum: Counsellors, in
working with individual students, know their personal problems
and aspirations, their
talents and abilities, as well as the social pressures confronting
them. Counsellors,
therefore, can provide data that serve as a basis for curriculum
development, and they
can help curriculum developers shape courses of study that
more accurately reflect the
needs of students. Too often, counsellors are not included in
curriculum development
efforts.

d. To Provide Teachers with Technical Assistance: Pre-service
teacher training
institutions typically provide very limited experience with the
more technical aspects
of guidance work. Thus, a need exists in most schools for
assistance with guidance
and counselling functions essential to the educational program.
Specifically, the
guidance counsellor is qualified to assist teachers with
selecting, administering, and
interpreting tests; selecting and using cumulative, anecdotal,
and other types of
records; providing help and suggestions relative to counselling
techniques, which
teachers can use in counselling their students; and providing
leadership in developing
and conducting professional development of teachers in
guidance functions.
e. To Contribute to the Mutual Adjustment of Students and the
School: Guidance
has a responsibility for developing and maintaining a
cooperative relationship
between students and the school. Teachers and counsellors must
be cognizant of

students’ needs. Students also must make adjustments to the
school. They have a
responsibility to contribute something to the school. A major
contribution of students
is that of making appropriate use of the school's resources and
working toward
accomplishments. Such mutual adjustment of students and
school is facilitated by
providing suggestions for program improvements, conducting
research for
educational improvements, contributing to students' adjustment
through counselling,
and fostering wholesome school-home attitudes.
What Are the Role of Guidance and Counselling in Schools?
The roles of guidance and counselling programme is to bring
about the maximum
development and self-realization of human potential for the
benefit of the individual and

society. Makinde (1984) observes that the school counsellor is
concerned with facilitating the
optimum development of students. This is supported by Bennars
(1994); Mutie and
Ndambuki (2000) and Ndirangu (2007) who argue that the
programme is supposed to
develop the learner’s intellectual abilities, develop a balanced
personality and to have a
complete person intellectually, spiritually, morally and socially.
Guidance and counselling
programme is therefore aimed at assisting students to harmonize
their abilities, interests and
values, thereby enabling them to develop their potential fully.
Self-knowledge helps one to
formulate life goals and plans which are realistic.
In schools, there is need for students to make proper subject and
career choices after the four
year course in the Universities, Six education programs in both
Primary and Secondary as it
relates to Nigeria education system. Borrow (1983) observes
that it is the role of guidance
and counselling programme to provide the students with the
necessary information about the

courses availability and the qualifications required for each
course. Such information will
assist students develop realistic self-concept according to their
academic capabilities.
Most secondary school students are in the adolescent stage.
According to Robert and
Elizabeth (1983), during this time, adolescent experience
alienation which is a syndrome
comprising of distrust, anxiety, pessimism, egocentrism,
meaninglessness, normlessness and
powerlessness. They observe that guidance and counselling is
therefore needed during this
adolescence stage to assist them understand their developmental
stage and adjust to school
life. Guidance and counselling programme also help students
choose and pursue achievable
careers. According to Borrow (1983) the world is highly
complex and dynamic which makes
career choice very difficult. He reckons that time change,
people change, technology

progresses and these challenges everyone to change to new
ways of living and working. The
students need guidance and counselling programs to inform
them about various jobs and
openings available, the qualification required plus the
responsibilities involved and the nature
of the work so that they can decide and have clear occupational
goals.
The programme also plays the role of intercepting and assisting
disadvantaged students and
also checks on school drop-out. Makinde (1984) observes that
one of the roles for school
counsellor is to help students who are experiencing difficulties.
Students from disadvantaged
families of the society have many problems and needs which,
are to be dealt with in guidance
and counselling programme. Lindsay (1983) argues that such
students may experience
difficulty in adjustment with peers, teachers and the
environment thus guidance programme
helps such students to adjust and utilize the guidance facilities
available fully. Majority of the

disadvantaged students later acquire low qualifications for the
world of work. This poor
achievement may even marginalize them more if guidance
programme does not intervene;
some may even drop out of school, thus the guidance
programme is well suited for assisting
the students (Ndirangu, 2007).
What are Effective Teaching and Learning, Guidance and
Counselling Perspective?
Teaching is a common phenomenon in school; it is aimed at
bringing about a positive change
in the life of an individual. In the context of guidance and
counselling the counsellor listens
to the child’s problem, extra the issue before him/her and tries
as much as possible to help the
child’s in overcoming the problem through proper advise and
continues engagement/follow
up to see if the child is applying the therapy.
Teacher effectiveness in use of instructional resources is
considered important to enable them
master the requisite knowledge of the subject matter content and
enhance their teaching
capabilities (Orodho, 2013, 2014). To retain efficient and
experienced workforce in an

organization such as a school set up is very crucial to the
standard organization. Hammon
(2006) found that teachers subject matter knowledge, teaching
capability among others are
leading factors in teaching effectiveness. Effective teacher s
understand and are able to apply
strategies to help students increase not only the academic
achievement of students but also
help learners cope with other life skills (Goodstein, Nolan, &
Pfeiffer, 2006).
According to Abolade (2000) cited in Egbo, (2013) teaching is
describes as a set of activities
that are designed to bring about changes in the behaviour of
learners. Popham (2010) sees
teaching as explaining, demonstrating, guiding and counselling
by the teacher in order to
effect a change in the learner. Okoye (2010) stated that the main
aim of teaching is to help

someone acquire or change some skills, attitude, knowledge,
idea or appreciation. In other
words, it is to bring about some desirable changes in the
learners, she also noted that teaching
is said to be effective only when the learners have been able to
achieve the set behavioural
objectives. Nnabuike, (2012) believes that a teacher is also a
learner because there is no end
to learning.
Okoye (2010), views learning as the mental activity by which
knowledge and skills, habits
and attitudes, virtues and ideas are acquired, retained and
utilized resulting in the progressive
adoption and modification of conduct and behaviour. Oketch
(2012) sees learning as the
acquisition of new behaviour or a change in behaviour whether
positive or negative change. It
also includes acquisition of knowledge, information, skills and
cultures. He therefore noted
that learning definitely will lead to change in one’s thought,
patterns and feeling. Learning
also involves cognitive process especially mental reasoning.
Thus teaching and learning go

together; it is like buying and selling. If nobody learns it
follows that nobody teaches.
Nnabuike (2012) noted that the work of the teacher is to help
students to learn through
deliberate and conscious manipulation of information,
knowledge, skill, values, attitudes and
habits of the learners in order to bring about learning, leading to
desirable changes in
character. Based on the above, no effective teaching could be
said to have taken place if
learning has not occurred.
The teacher in a classroom condition act as a counsellor in the
form of Teaching Advisory
Programme (TAP); in the light of this situation the teacher
counsel the students in the right
direction to take using life instance and experience to act of a
guide since the students already
see him/her as a role model.
Effective teachers have a thorough knowledge of their subject
content and skill. Through this,
they inspire in their students a love of learning. They also
understand how students’ best learn
concepts, content and skills. Effective teachers use their
knowledge of learning processes to

determine which will be most effective to help the particular
students in their classes to learn
successfully.
Effective teachers provide a safe and orderly environment, both
physically and emotionally,
so students can achieve their potential. They know students
learn best if they are in a class
room where they feel safe and confident to attempt new tasks
even if at first they are unsure
about how to tackle them. Effective teachers are in the habit of
constantly reflecting on how
well they are getting through to their students and searching for
better ways of teaching those
who are not responding as well as extending those who are
achieving well.
The implication for guidance and counselling is that the teacher
observes the students during

and after the class. The teacher also evaluate the students to
know their knowledge of
assimilation and if there is need for counselling, the teacher
may which to invite the
counsellor to the class for general class discussion of refer a
particular students that is
deficient to the counsellor for guidance section.
Conclusion
Inclusion guidance and counselling is tinted toward preventing
the child from indulging in
negative vices and helping the child to choose the right parts in
life to be successful in the
pursuit of future ambition. It is necessary that the counsellor
build the confidence of the child
to trust him/her to be able to give him/her the rightful
information needed in helping its client
(students). This is so, because, client that trust counsellors
normally open up with vital
information to their counsellors which may enable the client to
introduce any other person
with counselling need to the counsellor.
Counselling also help students in career choice to vying to their
appropriate area that they are

good at instead of following their peers in choosing a wrong
career part. The education of a
child needs constant mentoring hence guidance is inimical to
their growth and development
in a complex society that we are today.
Recommendations
The study recommended that:
1. School children should constantly visit the guidance
counsellor for therapy if they are
any issue that is of burden to them.
2. The guidance counsellor should see the school child as his /
her child, friend, and
someone that needs helps as in a medical doctor patient
relationship.
3. Schools should have evaluated the school counsellor from the
feedback of the
students that they counsel from time to time with the objective
of encouraging them to
do better job of guiding the students.

4. The guidance counsellor should be made to attend his/her
professional conferences to
learn new ideas of therapies with clients.
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Elementary School

Counselors and
Teachers:
Collaborators for
Higher Student
Achievement
Christopher A. Sink
Seattle Pacific University
Abstract
In this article I contend that elementary school
teachers need to work more closely with school
counselors to enhance student learning and ac-
ademic performance and to narrow the achieve-
ment gap among student groups. Research
showing the influence that counselors can exert
on the educational process is summarized. Us-
ing the American School Counselor Associa-
tion’s organization framework for structuring
counseling and guidance programs, I also illus-
trate where the educative roles of teachers and
school counselors overlap and give examples of
how they can form more effective educational
partnerships. Finally, I provide school-based ex-
amples of this team approach.
In recent years, with the passage of the high-
stakes No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2001)
legislation, academic testing has clearly been
on the minds of K–12 educators, including
elementary school counselors (Blacher,
Murray-Ward, & Uellendahl, 2005; Thorn
& Mulvenon, 2002). Because schooling is a
community endeavor, it seems unfair that
the onus has fallen largely on teachers to

ensure that children begin their academic
lives on a solid foundation. Scores on state-
wide accountability tests are scrutinized by
the public to determine whether schools and
districts are academically successful and by
educators to identify children at risk for sig-
nificant academic difficulties. Many elemen-
tary school teachers feel they are educating
students in isolation without much support
from the children’s caregivers or, in some
cases, other school personnel (i.e., counselors,
administrators, etc.). Over the last 10 years or
so, elementary school counselors have been
educated to be associates in the process of
raising student achievement and closing the
The Elementary School Journal
Volume 108, Number 5
© 2008 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.
0013-5984/2008/10805-0008$10.00
gap between the well educated and the chil-
dren “left behind” (Dahir, 2004; Gysbers,
2004).
In fact, the American School Counselor
Association’s (ASCA, 2003, 2005) recent pub-
lications, and key leaders in the school coun-
seling profession (e.g., Gysbers & Henderson,
2005; Paisley & McMahon, 2001), encourage
elementary school counselors to help in ac-
complishing their schools’ educational mis-
sions and to become more involved with
teachers as they assist students in meeting

their academic goals. The school counseling
accountability movement is also rooted in
ASCA’s (2004b) role statement. For example,
elementary school counselors are assumed to
“use data to show the impact of the school
counseling program on school improvement
and student achievement” (italics added).
Moreover, school counselors’ ethical stan-
dards insist that these professionals ap-
praise the effectiveness of their programs,
activities, and services in terms of fostering
“students’ academic, career and personal/
social development through accountability
measures especially examining efforts to
close achievement, opportunity and attain-
ment gaps” (ASCA, 2004a; see sect. A.9;
Evaluation, Assessment and Interpreta-
tion). In short, ethically minded school
counselors have moved off the educational
sidelines and now play a more pivotal role
in helping teachers promote student aca-
demic success (Dahir & Stone, 2003; Gys-
bers, 2003; Sink, 2005; Webb & Brigman,
2006).
In this article I explore the ways elemen-
tary school counselors and teachers can
work together more effectively to promote
student achievement. To accomplish this, I
review the salient research literature that
supports the elementary school counselor’s
role in fostering educational outcomes, sum-
marize the key areas for these partnerships
within the educational framework of com-
prehensive school counseling programs
(CSCPs), and practically illustrate how school

counselor-teacher academic teams can best
function within elementary school settings.
School Counselors Contribute to
Educational Outcomes
Because it is beyond the scope of this article
to review all the research documenting the
valuable contributions elementary school
counselors make to the teacher-learning
process, I summarize here only the most
important research conclusions. First, there
is now sufficient evidence to suggest that
school counselors are helping other educa-
tors (i.e., teachers, administrators, etc.) pro-
mote academic-educational outcomes on
four levels: school, classroom, small group,
and one-to-one. To underscore this conclu-
sion, an American Psychological Associa-
tion (2002) policy briefing statement on the
importance of elementary and secondary
school counseling programs argued that
“over 20 years of research demonstrates
that school counseling and mental health
services can significantly improve student
achievement and school attendance, and
reduce disruptive behavior.” More re-
cently, the American Counseling Associa-
tion’s (2007) policy statement based on de-
cades of research on the effectiveness of
school counseling–related educational in-
terventions further documented this asser-
tion. Below, I elaborate on this research
base by providing evidence that elemen-
tary school counselors promote healthy
learning environments as well as aug-
ment the educational-academic progress

of schoolchildren.
Although the research base is not de-
finitive, it reveals that school counselors
enhance school and classroom learning
environments by partnering with other
educators to create culturally sensitive,
positive, warm, and caring milieus—
places where children (and their caregiv-
ers) want to invest themselves academi-
cally (see Hernández & Seem [2004] and
Sink & Spencer [2005] for reviews). For
instance, early on, Gerler (1985) demon-
strated the value of elementary school
counselors and their role in facilitating a
positive classroom environment and one
446 THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL JOURNAL
MAY 2008
that is more academically focused. Subse-
quently, an in-depth ethnographic school
counseling study showed that an elemen-
tary school counselor in collaboration
with other building educators was able to
improve the overall school climate and
move the school toward a healthier learn-
ing environment (Littrell & Peterson,
2001). Similarly, a school improvement
evaluation study conducted in an ethni-
cally diverse, inner-city Atlanta elemen-
tary school (Reed & Holton, 2002–2003)
indicated that the school counselor’s ac-

tivities were promoting a positive learn-
ing climate.
Again, more research needs to be con-
ducted, but initial findings across a variety of
elementary school counseling studies suggest
that counselors are also positively influenc-
ing student academic outcomes. For instance,
a large-scale study conducted across Wash-
ington state’s elementary schools showed
that early elementary-age students enrolled
for several years in the same school with
well-established comprehensive school coun-
seling programs (CSCPs) produced higher
achievement test scores than students en-
rolled for the same length of time in non-
CSCP elementary schools (Sink & Stroh,
2003; see below and Gysbers & Henderson,
2005, for extensive discussion of CSCPs and
this body of research).
Smaller-scale investigations conducted
in elementary schools using educational
and counseling-related activities and inter-
ventions (e.g., consultation, one-to-one and
small-group counseling, and classroom
guidance lessons aimed at improving study
skills, behavior, attitudes toward school,
homework completion, and academic self-
efficacy) showed that student academic/
educational performances (e.g., reading,
grades, test scores) could be, in part, im-
proved (see Borders & Drury, 1992; Gys-
bers, 2004; Lapan, 2005; McGannon, Carey,
& Dimmitt, 2005; Webb, Brigman, & Camp-
bell, 2005; Whiston, 2003; Whiston & Sex-

ton, 1998, for reviews). A series of quasi-
experimental studies, for example, by
Brigman and colleagues (Brigman & Camp-
bell, 2003; Brigman & Webb, 2003; Camp-
bell & Brigman, 2005; Webb et al., 2005)
conducted with elementary and middle
school students indicated that counselor-
led academically focused small groups can
improve academic achievement and social
competence. Presumably the Student Suc-
cess Skills curriculum developed and used
in these small groups is an effective tool for
assisting elementary school students in
gaining the necessary academic skills to
achieve on school-based measures (Webb
et al., 2005; Webb & Brigman, 2006). Fi-
nally, school counselors in general are hav-
ing a constructive influence on school
behaviors associated with improved aca-
demic achievement, including, for exam-
ple, decreased test anxiety (Cheek, Bradley,
Reynolds, & Coy, 2002) and enhanced so-
cial skills (Boutwell & Myrick, 1992; Omizo,
Hershberger, & Omizo, 1988).
In summary, elementary school coun-
selors make a significant difference in stu-
dents’ academic lives. In addition, research
underscores the need for closer counselor-
teacher partnerships to more effectively ac-
complish common educational goals. Areas
of mutual concern for teachers and coun-
selors that affect student learning and
achievement are addressed in the following
section.

A Framework for Effective
Counselor-Teacher Collaboration
Academic success involves not only helpful
and supportive collaborative relationships
among key school constituency groups (i.e.,
children, caregivers, and school personnel;
Amatea, Daniels, Bringman, & Vandiver,
2004; Overton, 2004) but also addressing
important educationally related dimen-
sions that are specific to each group (see
Fig. 1 for a visual overview). The educa-
tional psychology literature indicates that
for children to be academically successful
in schools, counselors and teachers must be
allied to help students (a) kindle their mo-
ACHIEVEMENT 447
tivation to achieve, (b) reach their academic
potential, (c) maximize their academic self-
efficacy, and (d) develop and maintain sup-
portive peer relationships (John-Steiner &
Mahn, 2003; Pintrich, 2003; Schunk & Zim-
merman, 2003; Stroh & Sink, 2002). Care-
givers must be actively engaged in their
children’s education at the school, in the
classroom, and at home. Especially within
the last 2 decades or so, research has also
strongly suggested that school personnel
need to provide students (and their care-
FIG. 1.—Key dimensions for elementary teacher–school

counselor collaboration to promote academic
achievement. These key dimensions are situated within the
context of the Developmental Systems Theory
(Lerner et al., 2005) and the American School Counselor
Association’s (2005) National Model for Comprehensive
School Counseling Programs.
MAY 2008
givers) a caring and inviting community
that encourages learning, quality instruc-
tion, effective student support services
(e.g., counseling, special education), as well
as friendly caregiver–school personnel re-
lationships (Baker, Terry, Bridger, & Win-
sor, 1997; Noddings, 1988).
Given that school counselors are inti-
mately involved in the educational process,
ASCA (2005) has recently produced an or-
ganizational framework, the National
Model for Comprehensive School Counsel-
ing Programs, to guide their professional
practices (see also Gysbers & Henderson,
2005). Because these comprehensive pro-
grams infuse notions underlying holistic
views of human development (see Lerner,
2002, for a review), including developmen-
tal contextualism (Lerner, 2004), dynamic
systems approach (Thelen & Smith, 1994),
and Bronfrenner’s (Bronfenbrenner, 2005;
Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998) bioecologi-

cal model, other building educators such as
teachers and administrators who are key
contributors to schoolchildren’s “educa-
tional subsystem” are encouraged to work
with elementary school counselors to help
children achieve educational competencies,
assist caregivers in navigating the school-
ing process, and facilitate the develop-
ment of caring communities of learning
(Sink, 2000). Figure 1 illustrates how ele-
mentary school counselor-teacher part-
nerships need to be situated within the
context of comprehensive school counsel-
ing programs. ASCA’s website (www.
schoolcounselor.org) has a useful sum-
mary of how the national school
counseling model functions in schools
and school districts.
Because of the model’s (ASCA, 2005)
widespread publicity and distribution, many
elementary school counselors, and perhaps
some teachers, should now be familiar with
it. The model emphasizes accountability
(results-based), systems thinking, and sup-
port to all students. Comprehensive-program
school counselors assist the educational sys-
tem to function more collaboratively and to
realize student competences in several devel-
opmental domains (academic, career, and
personal-social). Perhaps most important for
teachers, elementary school counselors are to
actively support student achievement.
The national model provides a research-

based structure to facilitate these elemen-
tary school counselor-teacher partnerships.
It has four interconnected elements: (a)
foundation (e.g., the program’s underlying
beliefs, philosophy, and mission; and stu-
dent competencies); (b) delivery system
(e.g., the activities, interactions, and meth-
ods to deliver the program); (c) manage-
ment systems (e.g., the organizational pro-
cesses, procedures, and tools to make
certain the program is well organized, con-
gruent with the actual learning milieu,
clearly outlined, and responsive to the
school’s needs); and (d) accountability (e.g.,
the processes and procedures to evaluate
the program’s effectiveness across multiple
areas). Embedded in a comprehensive ap-
proach to elementary school counseling are
these school counselor qualities: profession-
alism, leadership, advocacy, and collabora-
tion. According to the framers of the national
model, these characteristics help facilitate
systemic change in elementary schools (e.g.,
revising attendance or discipline policies).
On a practical level, the national model
ultimately guides most collaborative work
between counselors and teachers as they
assist schoolchildren and their caregivers. It
should be used, for instance, to develop
relevant student competencies, to create
useful classroom guidance curriculum and
evaluation tools, as well as to help students
transition into middle/junior high school.
In short, the model helps support and di-
rect the vital relationship between elemen-

tary school counselors and teachers.
Having outlined the educational areas
for school counselor-teacher collaborations
and the organizational structure to direct
their efforts, I now discuss an assortment of
practical ways elementary school counsel-
ors support classroom teachers in fostering
academic achievement.
ACHIEVEMENT 449
Counselor-Teacher Educational
Partnerships in Action
Research has demonstrated the value of
closer teacher-counselor partnerships as the
two groups collaborate to foster children’s
educational development and achievement
(e.g., Amatea et al., 2004; Beesley, 2004;
Griggs, 1990; Margolis, McCabe, & Alber,
2004; Otwell & Mullis, 1997; Paisley & Hayes,
2003; Stringer, Reynolds, & Simpson, 2003).
For example, over 15 years ago, Griggs (1990)
addressed the helpfulness of school counsel-
or-teacher cooperation in promoting study
skills; subsequently, researchers have ex-
plored the use of consultation and coordina-
tion (e.g., Campbell, 1992; Cashwell, Cash-
well, & Skinner, 2001; Christensen, 1997;
Frye, 2005; Idol & Baran, 1992; Shure, Mo-
rocco, DiGisi, & Yenkin, 1999), small-group
counseling programs (e.g., Boutwell & Myr-
ick, 1992; Campbell & Bowman, 1993; Webb
et al., 2005), and classroom guidance lessons

(e.g., Campbell, 1991; Lee, 1993; Sears, 2005)
to promote children’s academic developmen-
tal (Dahir & Stone, 2003). Other innovative
school counseling specialists, for instance,
have recommended counselor-teacher part-
nerships that focus on improving student lit-
eracy through literature circles (Stringer et al.,
2003), using film to support gifted students’
learning (Hebert & Sergent, 2005), and in-
creasing homework completion rates with
less competent learners (Margolis et al.,
2004). Finally, Beesley’s (2004) investigation
provides evidence that elementary teachers
view their elementary school counselors as
effective and helpful to them. Specifically, el-
ementary school teachers reported signifi-
cantly greater satisfaction with school coun-
seling services than their counterparts in
middle/junior high and high schools (F �
4.90, p � .003). The top four service areas
rated by teachers as school counselor
strengths that can contribute to higher stu-
dent academic performance were (1) class-
room guidance (80%), (2) individual/group
counseling (53%), (3) consultation (50%), and
(4) coordination of special education services
(45%). Taken together, these publications in-
dicate that the teacher-counselor educational
partnerships I propose in this article are
workable.
Borrowing from the positive youth de-
velopment perspective that is associated
with developmental systems theory (Ler-
ner, Almerigi, Theokoas, & Lerner, 2005), in

Table 1 I attempt to systematize these
areas for educational collaboration into
four overlapping levels. At the broadest
level—whole-school collaboration— elemen-
tary school counselors and teachers work to-
gether on educationally related activities that
are aimed at preventing children from falling
into the “at risk for school failure” category.
These include, for instance, implementing
ASCA’s (2005) national model, conducting
student assemblies, faculty in-service train-
ing, parent/caregiver presentations, as well
as co-coordinating peer and adult academic
tutoring and grade-level transition activi-
ties. Within the classroom, counselors and
teachers would co-lead educationally fo-
cused lessons (see below for an example),
as well as consult and co-coordinate pre-
vention activities and interventions focused
on improving the learning environment
and meeting student academic competen-
cies. The next collaboration level involves
elementary school counselors and teachers
helping children in small groups with ed-
ucational tasks that range from prevention
to remediation of academic deficiencies. If
work at the previous levels does not foster
academic success, counselors and teachers
then partner to identify and assist children
who are at risk for school failure and re-
quire substantial one-to-one counseling
and/or educational remediation.
Sample Counselor and Teacher
Collaboration Activities to Foster
Academic Outcomes

Although the popular and scientific litera-
ture considered above is profitable to re-
view, and Table 1 and Figure 1 provide
MAY 2008
useful depictions of the intersecting areas
for educational partnerships, the following
two examples illustrate how teacher-
counselor collaborations can function in el-
ementary schools.
Helping to Resolve Students’
Homework Troubles
It is no surprise to elementary school
teachers that children with learning diffi-
culties find completion and timely submis-
TABLE 1. Sample Teacher–School Counselor Collaboration
Activities to Foster Academic Outcomes
Level (and Focus) Description
Sample Cooperative
Activities/Interventions/Services
School (prevention of
academic problems)
School counselors and teachers work
together to create a school climate

that reflects a caring community
of learners. Partnership that
promotes student learning,
particularly for those children at
risk of academic difficulties.
• Implementation of ASCA’s
national model
• Assemblies related to learning
• Faculty in-service programs on
educational issues
• PTA presentations
• Field trips
• Service learning
• Coordination of peer tutoring and
adult volunteer tutoring
• Consultation and referral
• Multidisciplinary team meetings
• After-school academic support
groups
• Program to ease K to first grade
and elementary to middle school
transitions
Classroom (prevention
and intervention)
School counselors and teachers
collaborate to foster a classroom
climate that supports caring,
learning, and student mastery of

academic developmental
competencies.
• Co-teaching of classroom (whole
group) guidance lessons on topics
like study skills, test-taking,
cognitive strategies
• Closing-the-gap interventions
from, e.g., the ASCA national
model
• Consultation and coordination on
improving learning
Small groups (prevention,
intervention, and
remediation)
School counselors and teachers work
together to identify and intervene
with individual students,
especially those who need
educational assistance within a
small-group setting.
• School counselor-teacher
collaboration on small-group goal
setting, especially as goals relate
to educational outcomes
• School counselor conducts small
groups on education-related
topics and teacher reinforces
learning in the classroom

Individual (remediation) School counselors and teachers work
together to identify and remediate
individual students’ academic
challenges, especially those who
need individual assistance.
• School counselor-teacher
collaboration on goal setting
within individual counseling,
especially as goals relate to
educational outcomes
• School counselor conducts one-to-
one sessions with students on
education-related topics and
teacher reinforces learning in the
classroom
• School counselor and teacher
collaborate to find an appropriate
peer tutor for students at risk
• Interpreting results of
achievement testing
ACHIEVEMENT 451
sion of their out-of-class assignments chal-
lenging (e.g., Bryan, Burstein, & Bryan,
2001). But some teachers may not know
that elementary school counselors are
trained to help ameliorate this problem. Al-
though the evidence linking homework
completion and higher achievement at the

elementary level remains equivocal (Coo-
per, 2006; Trautwein & Köller, 2003), Mar-
golis et al. (2004) provided a useful blue-
print for teachers and school counselors to
follow in which the counseling profession-
als team with instructors, serving as educa-
tional consultants and co-teachers. Initially,
counselors confer with teachers on possible
assessment strategies to use with students
needing more focused interventions and re-
mediation. Counselors are well trained to
help diagnose children’s learning and
homework needs and challenges, looking,
for example, at how students approach
their assignments, how often they make
mistakes, how they cope with seemingly
intractable learning problems, how they
use learning strategies, how they react to
positive and negative consequences, and
how they self-evaluate their school prob-
lems. Moreover, counselors can assist
teachers in assessing school-classroom en-
vironmental obstacles to students’ educa-
tional progress (Overton, 2004). For exam-
ple, elementary school counselors can help
teachers appraise students’ learning envi-
ronments as they may relate to their emo-
tional health as well as their academic self-
concept and self-efficacy. If the classroom
climate fails to promote affective and aca-
demic well-being, homework completion
may become a low priority for children.
Finally, counselors play a vital role in as-
sisting teachers to make better use of as-
sessment data, both large scale (e.g., stan-
dardized testing) and classroom-level (e.g.,

functional behavior analysis), to identify
instructional weaknesses and individual
student learning problems (Brown, Galassi,
& Akos, 2004; Sugai, Lewis-Palmer, &
Hagan-Burke, 2000).
Further steps are often taken as well.
Elementary school counselors partner with
teachers to enlist additional parent/care-
giver support and involvement. Next, these
professionals assist teachers with planning
and implementing homework interven-
tions (e.g., in the classroom school counsel-
ors, with guidance from teachers, work 10
minutes three times a week with a small
group of struggling learners on acquiring
relevant study strategies, particularly re-
garding homework completion). Finally, if
short-term classroom interventions do not
produce the desired results, counselors can
assist teachers in developing and institut-
ing more intensive educational support
(e.g., ongoing behavior adjustment plans,
cross-age peer coaching programs, one-
to-one tutoring/counseling). If need be,
school counselors can also aid in creating
relevant evaluation tools and making refer-
rals to internal or external learning special-
ists. Naturally, readers will want to review
the Margolis et al. (2004) publication for
additional ideas.
Co-Teaching a Math-Interpersonal
Skills Lesson
To briefly show how elementary school

counselors and teachers can forge closer
links to promote academic achievement in
the classroom, I summarize here a sample
mathematics/guidance lesson (a blended
and dual-purpose lesson) that would be co-
facilitated to upper elementary-age chil-
dren. Similar to the elementary math cur-
riculum discussed in Everyday Math (Bell,
2001), the lesson plan I overview in the
appendix integrates the mathematical
properties of number categories (e.g.,
whole, rational, and real numbers and in-
tegers) and number lines with important
psychosocial concepts. The plan includes
sample performance-based outcomes, dif-
ferentiated classroom responsibilities, ma-
terials needed, sample procedures and pro-
cesses, and evaluation methods.
Teacher-counselor preparation and close
collaboration are obviously necessary. As
MAY 2008
such, logistics are vital to discuss early on.
Counselors should contact teachers at the
start of the school year. Discussion needs to
focus on when these types of blended les-
sons would best fit into the instructor’s cur-
ricular scope and sequence. Then, they are
added to the teachers’ and counselors’ mas-

ter planning schedules. At least 1 week
prior to the co-teaching experience, coun-
selors and teachers should meet to finalize
the lesson plan and coordinate the teaching
activities and procedures.
During the class period, the teacher
works with students on mathematical con-
cepts, and the counselor helps children think
through the interpersonal-psychosocial is-
sues embedded and experienced in the les-
son. The counselor explores with students
these sample issues: (a) the importance of
cooperation and negotiation to accomplish a
common task; (b) the power of labeling
(“You’re a zero,” “You’re way out there”); (c)
the use of “I” statements; (d) how to appro-
priately express feelings within a group set-
ting; and (e) who are the class’s natural lead-
ers and who are the followers and why
(ASCA, 2005; Wittmer, Thompson, & Loesch,
1997). Both educators share responsibilities
for preparation, using a variety of relevant
methods of teaching, classroom manage-
ment, and student evaluation.
To illustrate how this might look during
the actual lesson, consider this example.
When the children are sitting on the num-
ber line after they have positioned them-
selves “correctly” based on earlier instruc-
tions (see lesson plan in the Appendix), the
counselor discusses with the children their
experiences of finding their place on the
number line as well as how they cooper-
ated with each other and negotiated their

position. (The teacher is helping to main-
tain classroom decorum.) The counselor
might ask such open-ended questions as (a)
What ways did you use to find your spot
on the line? (The counselor and teacher
may provide some hints based on their ob-
servations.) (b) What was hard about find-
ing your place on the number line? (c) How
did you help each other? (Again, the
teacher and counselor may provide some
cues.) (d) Did you notice that some of you
took charge and helped others, while some
of you followed others’ directions? Raise
your hand if you helped others get where
they needed to be on the number line. How
does it feel to help others? (e) Did any of
you have numbers you did not like? Why?
Who liked their number? Why? (The
teacher and counselor, for example, discuss
with the children how sometimes labels
like being called a “zero” or being associ-
ated with something negative can hurt oth-
ers’ feelings.) (f) Now, think about when
you started school this year with your new
classroom teacher. How did you feel walk-
ing into a brand new room with a new
teacher? (Here, the teacher first models
how to appropriately share personal feel-
ings using “I” statements as she speaks
about starting school with a new group of
schoolchildren. The school counselor will
assist with classroom management.) (g)
How might we help new children who en-
ter our classroom or school to feel more
accepted and cared for? Throughout this

discussion, the counselor and teacher re-
mind the children to use “I” statements.
Subsequently, the teacher and counselor
cluster children who are in close proximity
into small groups, giving students a brief
assignment to apply what they learned to a
relevant classroom scenario (e.g., a new
boy from another country comes to class).
While maintaining classroom discipline,
the teacher and school counselor rotate to
each group, helping them develop a couple
of ideas that they can share with the class.
Of course, these blended lessons can be
developed across a variety of other subjects
such as art, physical education, language
arts, and science. The key is that counselors
and teachers work together, infusing aca-
demic objectives with more counseling-
related outcomes. It is incumbent on school
counselors to work with teachers to make
the time academically useful and not sim-
ply a “dog and pony show,” where their
ACHIEVEMENT 453
classroom guidance lessons are divorced
from serious academic goals.
Conclusion and Summary
For the near future at least, the public’s call
for measurable achievement gains will not
disappear like a passing fad. School coun-
selors and classroom teachers are keenly

aware of this fact and have been doing their
best to respond adequately to this high-
stakes challenge. Though there is substantial
value in promoting richer academic collabo-
ration among building educators (and with
parents), regrettably, some schools have yet
to see productive teacher-counselor partner-
ships as described in this article. Evidence
suggests that school counselors and other ed-
ucators who operate out of a comprehensive
program will find they can be more effective
in promoting general learning skills and rais-
ing test scores (Sink & Stroh, 2003). Some
interdepartmental conflict is bound to occur,
requiring constructive problem solving and
patience. From my experience, the mainstays
of flourishing partnerships are good commu-
nication, openness to alternatives/personal
flexibility, and professional respect.
Research reviewed in this article pro-
vides some evidence that effective collabo-
rative relationships focused on supporting
children’s learning are associated with pos-
itive academic outcomes. Other important
members of the school community should
benefit as well. Caregivers/parents will ap-
preciate seeing teachers and school coun-
selors working closely together to support
their children’s academic success. Counsel-
ing and teaching professionals who shoul-
der the heavy academic load together
should find the task far less burdensome.
In summary, in this article I address the
importance of academic collaboration be-

tween elementary school teachers and
school counselors. They share the responsi-
bility for educating children, and, to do so
effectively, they must form mutually sup-
portive partnerships that enhance learning
and academic outcomes at the whole-
school level, in classrooms, in small student
groups, and with individual children. For-
tunately, the literature is replete with ex-
amples of how to accomplish this end.
Appendix
Summary of Mathematics/Guidance
Lesson Plan
Title: Understanding Number Categories and
Number-Line Properties
Developmental domains: Academic (mathemat-
ics) and psychosocial (interpersonal)
Grade level: Upper-elementary grades
Time required: �45 minutes
Sample performance-based objectives/compe-
tencies:
Mathematics:
• Demonstrate knowledge of number
categories (e.g., integers, counting,
whole, rational numbers, and real
numbers)
• Demonstrate understanding of num-
ber line
Psychosocial:

• Show how to make an “I” statement
• Show cooperation and negotiation
• Share the experience—what it feels
like to be labeled
• Vocalize empathetic statements
• Classroom responsibilities
Teacher (T) general roles:
• Conducts overview of whole, inte-
gers, and real numbers as they relate
to the properties of a number line
• Assists with class management
• Assists with organizing and manag-
ing cooperative learning groups
• Collects and helps evaluate home-
work assignment the following day
School counselor (SC) general roles:
• Leads discussion of psychosocial as-
pects of lesson
• Assists with class management
• Assists with organizing and manag-
ing cooperative learning groups
• Helps evaluate homework assignment
the following day

MAY 2008
Materials needed:
• Masking tape
• Overhead projector, white board, or
chalkboard
• Transparencies, dry-eraser markers,
or chalk
• 40 3" by 5" cards with a zero card and
various negative and positive num-
bers on them (e.g., negative end of
number line � �20, and positive
end � 20; multiple cards in between
with positive and negative whole and
decimal numbers, and include several
cards with same number on them)
• Number categories and number-line
homework sheet (available upon re-
quest) as evaluation measure. The
sheet could also ask about psychoso-
cial concepts explored.
Sample procedures and processes:
Prior to day’s lesson:
T & SC: Create a homework sheet that asks
children to practice concepts explored in class
T: Makes number cards (3 � 5)
T: Writes on transparency these words: whole,

counting, real numbers, integers, and number
line
SC: Makes a single line across the entire class-
room (corner to corner) with masking tape,
moving the desks as needed
Lesson:
T: Introduces SC and the topic of numbers and
number lines; using the transparency asks chil-
dren what they remember about types of num-
bers and properties of number lines and writes
down their ideas on transparency (10 min.)
SC: Passes one number card to each student,
telling them to keep their number “secret” (1
min.)
T: Asks children to (a) arrange themselves, using
their secret number cards, quietly (nonverbal
negotiation and cooperation), without talking
and using only hand signals, on the masking
tape number line (T & SC monitor nonverbally
and assist children as needed) (allow 3–5 min.);
(b) to sit once they have settled onto their spot
on the line; (c) talk about how they ended up
where they are, and T processes the characteris-
tics of a number line; (d) raise their hands if they
are, e.g., whole, rational, or real numbers, inte-
gers, and T clarifies misunderstandings, etc. (10
min.)
SC: Processes with children (a) how they nego-
tiated and worked together to get on the number
line and value of doing this; (b) who took lead-
ership vs. follower roles and why; (c) the under-
lying “meanings” people in the real world use to
categorize others (e.g., what it means to be a
“zero,” a negative vs. a positive person, how it
feels to be close to a zero vs. being on the ends

of the number line, less than a person [.5]); (d)
the labels/categories (�/�) they use with their
peers, how it might feel to be one of those labels,
and why it’s important not categorize others
(10 –15 min.)
T: As a check for understanding, breaks children
into small groups along the number line and
asks each group to come up with an example of
each type of number, writing each with its label
on one of the number cards and children’s
names on it. SC collects them for evaluation (5
min.)
SC: Reads a relevant short story (e.g., about la-
beling or leadership, and summarizes key no-
tions) out of, perhaps Chicken Soup for the Kid’s
Soul 2 (Canfield, Hansen, Hansen, & Dunlap,
2006) (5 min.)
T: Distributes homework sheet
Evaluation:
Students will be evaluated by performance (a) in
class activities and (b) on homework assignment
(available upon request)
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