5. Guidance and Counselling in Schools
One of the key principles of good education also stated clearly in NEP 2020 is that care is central
to learning.
Care is demonstrated by detailed attention to the content, pedagogy, structure, and processes used in teaching and learning. It is visible in the way Teachers and students interact with and amongst each other, the way tasks are constructed and organised, the physical accessibility of learning resources, the organisation of the timetable, the distribution of responsibilities, and the participation of students in a host of arrangements and actions that schools undertake for student learning.
In addition, individual students or cohorts of students may have particular needs which the school may meet through a system of Guidance and Counselling provided by the school.
Section 5.1 - Defining Guidance and Counselling
Guidance can be broadly defined as the process of assisting individuals to enable themselves. It is a supportive engagement that enables a person to find direction for making their own decisions and take actions — all with the objective of moving towards personal well-being and useful social participation. Often, it involves a trustful relationship where the person guiding is in some position of trustworthiness, seniority, or authority or is deemed insightful or knowledgeable.
Counselling as a process involves an individual consulting another for advice. Much like the process of guidance, it involves helping individuals understand and act upon their attitudes and decisions. Except that, here, this change-seeking aspect takes a more central feature and often requires a skilful (and well-trained) individual to engage and challenge individual patterns of belief and behaviour.
In the school environment, Guidance and Counselling can be seen as paired activities and not separate ones. Here, it refers to the process of supporting the learning and maturation of students and not as a standalone or a separate part of the school curriculum. It must be seen as complementary to the overall curriculum. Another important point to note is that the school curriculum is almost wholly designed for student groups. The pointed focus of Guidance and Counselling is on an individual student’s needs of learning, health, and well-being.
Having a system of Guidance and Counselling would also help Teachers, parents, and administrators meet the academic and psycho-social well-being needs of different students, e.g., difficulties in learning, career and higher education choices, maturation-related issues (adolescence, autonomy, social cohesion), and mental health and well-being.
Section 5.2 - Approach to Guidance and Counselling in Schools
In schools, Guidance and Counselling can be seen as supporting the attainment of educational aims. It contributes to creating an ethos of overall well-being, teaching individuals an ethic of care and mutual respect.
The scope of Guidance and Counselling support in schools may be seen as follows:
a. Health and well-being for members of the school community: Providing basic Guidance and Counselling to students, parents, and administrators in the context of the school community in the following areas:
i. Physical health and wellness: This is one of the most crucial needs of growing up that requires careful addressing by schools. Designing programmes that contribute to good health and physical fitness for all students across the Stages of their school life is a central goal.
ii. Psychological health and wellness: With a primary focus on students, Guidance and Counselling work must teach strategies for emotional regulation and positive motivation. While mild to moderate challenges with mental health can receive counselling support within the school, it would be necessary to direct students and families to more qualified professionals outside the school system for clinical diagnosis and support.
iii. Social participation and cohesion: This would involve teaching strategies for healthy adherence to social norms, expectations, and valuable social participation in the school. Schools would need to be equipped to meet the challenges of resistance, aggression, isolation, and bullying.
iv. Cognitive health and growth: Identifying students who are struggling to meet cognitive developmental milestones, advising their parents with supportive strategies, and planning for additional teaching support.
v. Learning needs and diversity: Identifying challenges of attention and learning, attending to challenges that arise from any disability in students, and creating Individualised Education Plans (IEPs).
b. Academic and Career counselling: Helping students make choices across Stages of their school life whenever newer Curricular Areas are introduced and also helping with making decisions about academic and career choices after the Secondary Stage.
c. Providing support for administrative and systemic improvements: Individuals involved in Guidance and Counselling support must also be consulted while making decisions about the school’s functioning, policies, programmes, and activities. Enabling systemic improvements in schools such that these are cognizant of the diversity of learning needs and support required by all members of the school.
Section 5.3 - Who Can Guide and Counsel in School
In formal and informal ways, School Teachers and School Principals have long been naturally vested with the responsibility of guiding and counselling students and families. These members of the school community are best placed to do this because of their continuous contact and connection with students.
Considering the ground realities of a vast majority of schools across the country, it is important and reasonable to acknowledge that school systems will have their limitations in addressing many challenges that come up concerning Guidance and Counselling. A successful plan for such support would require an understanding of what kinds of challenges Teachers and Principals can manage to address and the kinds of events or issues they cannot manage themselves but must direct to professionals outside the ambit of the school.
While Teachers and Principals will continue playing the role of guides and counsellors and should get basic capacity building in this regard so that they have the required skills and capacities, a professional/specialist at the cluster or school complex level must be appointed as soon as possible, as suggested by NEP 2020. Schools that have the resources and access to professionals can simply take the lead and follow what NEP 2020 suggests.
Section 5.4 - Expected Outcomes of Quality Guidance and Counselling
A good quality Guidance and Counselling support process in schools over time will ensure that the following outcomes are achieved.
a. Students are physically and mentally healthy as individuals and comfortably practise positive learning habits.
b. Students are retained in school and the number of school dropouts in all Stages of schooling is lowered significantly.
c. Students with diverse learning needs find equitable opportunities for support and growth.
d. Individual students are able to make good subject, vocational, and career choices based on the advice they receive during Guidance and Counselling.
e. Teachers and parents are able to meaningfully communicate and support student learning.
f. Administrative policies and practices keep students’ achievement of Knowledge, Capacities, and Values and Dispositions at the heart of all decision-making processes.
g. The school environment is experienced as safe, and all members of the school are protected.
h. The school environment is seen as a space that allows for creative expression.
i. The school year is well-planned and designed with good-quality learning processes that demand rigour and discipline in students.
j. The school receives adequate support and respect from the local community. Guidance and Counselling in school help students recognise and understand their own abilities, enhance their coping skills, promote better decision making, improve their relationships, and help them become self-directed in adapting to life and its challenges.