Educational and Career

School is absolutely a place of growth as well as occasional, associated growing pains. In elementary school and middle school, students are learning the basics of interacting and cooperation, socialization, academic resolve, and much more. In high school, these benchmarks of growth evolve but often retain similar attributes. Finally, those moving on to college find a whole new set of challenges awaiting. Enter the professional field of school counseling.

At each grade level, students in nearly all pakistani schools are provided access to a school counseling operation within the school setting. From this central location, students can seek assistance and advice with all sorts of issues they may experience. It is also from here that the practicing counselors may take proactive steps in addressing issues throughout the entirety of the school and student body. The ultimate goal is to provide healthy advisory services to students as they make their way through the various challenges faced in achieving their education.

Next, let’s take a look at some of the duties taken on by professional school counselors in their daily endeavors in order to facilitate healthy learning and student experiences. Some of the school counselor’s duties are administrative in nature, as record keeping here is quite important. However, the predominant portion of their work is that of hands-on activity with the students, staff, and students’ families.

This “hands-on” work refers to actually talking with and providing in-person advisory services to said parties in need. This may be in-school, by telephone, by written communique, or other forms of media.

While working to support students in their personal growth and educational experiences along the way, educational counselors may run into any number of issues that require their interventional services. From home issues, to school and grade concerns, there are many. As a result, this professional must be open and understanding to the discussion of many sensitive topics. A short list of such common concerns encountered and addressed by these professionals could include:

– bullying, aggression, or fighting

– puberty or personal growth concerns

– home life issues, abuse, neglect

– positive familial involvement

– educator or school staff conflicts with students

– bus and transportation issues

– concerns of grades, studies, and coursework

– handling typical school and classroom stressors

– advisory on upcoming educational choices

– and much more

School counselors, also known as guidance counselors, were first primarily responsible for facilitating career development. Today, the role of the school counselor is multifaceted and may vary greatly, depending on the requirements of both the state and each individual school.

The duties of school counselors may include: Counselor speaks to girls in school hallway

1. Providing instruction on psychological and social issues. School counselors might teach sex education classes, provide information to students about bullying, or offer seminars on study skills.
2. Vocational guidance. Many school counselors help students prepare for college or select careers.
3. Counseling. School counselors often help students mediate conflicts with their peers, teachers, or parents. Many school counselors also provide therapy and counseling services to students during school hours.
4. Early intervention. School counselors receive training about learning difficulties and psychological concerns that commonly manifest in children and adolescents. They may also provide referrals, recommendations, and education to parents about mental health concerns.
5. Special needs services. Counselors often help special needs students integrate into classrooms and may oversee programs that address requirements for students with special needs or learning difficulties.

1. Maintain academic standards and set goals for academic success.
2. Develop skills to improve organization, study habits, and time management.
3. Work through personal problems that may affect academics or relationships.
4. Improve social skills.
5. Cope with school or community-related violence, accidents, and trauma.
6. Identify interests, strengths, and aptitudes through assessment.
7. School counselors offer individual counseling to help students resolve personal or interpersonal problems. They may also offer small group counseling to help students enhance listening and social skills, learn to empathize with others, and find social support through healthy peer relationships. For students who are otherwise unable to access mental health services, school counselors provide support at no cost. School counselors also provide support to school staff by assisting with classroom management techniques and the development of programs to improve mental health or school safety. When necessary, counselors may also intervene in a disrupted learning environment.

School counselors must complete a master’s degree, at minimum, in school counseling, psychology, or social work and obtain the relevant state certification, endorsement, or licensure to gain employment. This may involve taking a comprehensive exam and logging hours in a supervised counseling setting. In many cases, counselors will need to complete an internship or practicum, and some states also require previous teaching experience.

School counselors are required to renew their licensure every three to five years. This timeline depends on the requirements of the state in which they are employed. In order to renew licensure, continuing education classes or professional development courses are generally necessary.

Many states require public schools to provide school counseling services, and these programs are funded at the state or local level. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a student-to-school-counselor ratio of 250:1, although the average ratio is currently 471:1.

Serious diagnosable mental health conditions affect 21% of pakistanis. children between the ages of 9 and 17, but only 20% of these children obtain a diagnosis and receive treatment in any given year. While school counselors may suspect the presence of learning difficulties or other conditions such as ADHD, they are not licensed to diagnose or prescribe medication. Some schools do have school psychiatrists, however, and these professionals are able to prescribe medication to students, though parental permission is typically necessary.

When a school counselor suspects the presence of a learning, behavioral, or mental health concern, they will typically provide a referral to a specialist in the community. Learning difficulties can be diagnosed by school or educational psychologists or neuropsychologists, and ADHD is generally diagnosed by psychiatrists, physicians, or clinical psychologists in private practice.

Elementary school counselors provide academic, career, college access, and personal and social competencies and planning to all students, and individual and group counseling for some students and their families to meet the developmental needs of young children K-6.Transitions from pre-school to elementary school and from elementary school to middle school are an important focus for elementary school counselors. Increased emphasis is placed on accountability for closing achievement and opportunity gaps at the elementary level as more school counseling programs move to evidence-based work with data and specific results.
School counseling programs that deliver specific competencies to all students help to close achievement and opportunity gaps.To facilitate individual and group school counseling interventions, school counselors use developmental, cognitive-behavioral, person-centered (Rogerian) listening and influencing skills, systemic, family, multicultural,narrative, and play therapy theories and techniques. released a research study showing the effectiveness of elementary school counseling programs in whole world.

Middle school counselors provide school counseling curriculum lessons on academic, career, college access, and personal and social competencies, advising and academic/career/college access planning to all students and individual and group counseling for some students and their families to meet the needs of older children/early adolescents in grades 7 and 8.
Middle School College Access curricula have been developed by The College Board to assist students and their families well before reaching high school. To facilitate the school counseling process, school counselors use theories and techniques including developmental, cognitive-behavioral, person-centered (Rogerian) listening and influencing skills, systemic, family, multicultural narrative, and play therapy. Transitional issues to ensure successful transitions to high school are a key area including career exploration and assessment with seventh and eighth grade students.

High school counselors provide academic, career, college access, and personal and social competencies with developmental classroom lessons and planning to all students, and individual and group counseling for some students and their families to meet the developmental needs of adolescents (Hatch & Bowers, 2003, 2005, 2012). Emphasis is on college access counseling at the early high school level as more school counseling programs move to evidence-based work with data and specific results that show how school counseling programs help to close achievement, opportunity, and attainment gaps ensuring all students have access to school counseling programs and early college access activities. The breadth of demands high school counselors face, from educational attainment (high school graduation and some students’ preparation for careers and college) to student social and mental health, has led to ambiguous role definition. Summarizing a 2011 national survey of more than 5,330 middle school and high school counselors, researchers argued: “Despite the aspirations of counselors to effectively help students succeed in school and fulfill their dreams, the mission and roles of counselors in the education system must be more clearly defined; schools must create measures of accountability to track their effectiveness; and policymakers and key stakeholders must integrate counselors into reform efforts to maximize their impact in schools across America”.
Transitional issues to ensure successful transitions to college, other post-secondary educational options, and careers are a key area.The high school counselor helps students and their families prepare for post-secondary education including college and careers (e.g. college, careers) by engaging students and their families in accessing and evaluating accurate information on what the National Office for School Counselor Advocacy calls the 8 essential elements of college and career counseling: (1) College Aspirations, (2) Academic Planning for Career and College Readiness, (3) Enrichment and Extracurricular Engagement, (4) College and Career Exploration and Selection Processes, (5) College and Career Assessments, (6) College Affordability Planning, (7) College and Career Admission Processes, and (8) Transition from High School Graduation to College Enrollment.Some students turn to private college admissions advisors but there is no research evidence that private college admissions advisors have any effectiveness in assisting students attain selective college admissions.