Creating a Comprehensive Guidance Program

A Model that Makes a Difference

NAESP: Middle Matters Spring 2001 page(s) 1-3, 7 by Norman C. Gysbers The direction of school guidance programs has undergone a slow but significant transformation during the last two decades. In the past, students met briefly with their counselor once or twice a year to discuss problems or review progress. Many of the responsibilities assigned to the guidance office and to school counselors had little to do with counseling at all. Today, guidance programs are becoming an integral part of the overall educational program. Where school counselors once dealt with isolated incidents they are now providing a comprehensive range of programs that address the developmental needs of students from prekindergarten through twelfth grade. They are involved in classroom instruction, individual and small-group counseling, consultation, and community-based outreach activities. And, according to a recent study of more than 22,000 seventh-grade students in 184 middle schools in Missouri (Lapan, Gysbers, and Petroski, in press), the more closely a school follows the Missouri Comprehensive Guidance Program Model, the more the students benefit. (The Missouri Model is based on a generic model described in Gysbers and Henderson (2000) that has helped to reshape guidance programs in schools across the country.) The comprehensive guidance model is based on the following assumptions: 1. All students are in need of specific knowledge and skills that are the instructional responsibility of guidance programs. 2. All students need assistance with their personal, educational, and career planning. 3. Some students require special assistance in dealing with developmental problems and immediate crises. 4. Other educational programs in the schooland the staff involved with these programs require support that can best be supplied by the guidance program. A District-Wide Structure How does the model work? First, there is a district-wide structure, or comprehensive guidance program. School counselors understand that they are part of a pre-K-12 team. Middle school counselors recognize that, as they respond to the specific developmental needs of middle school students, they are continuing the work that began in elementary schools. And, they know the work they do will provide the foundation for the work of school counselors at the high school level and, possibly, beyond. There are three major components in the comprehensive guidance program. Those components are content, organizational framework, and resources (Gysbers and Henderson, 2000). The content includes the knowledge and skills (competencies) students must master in order to prepare themselves for a complex and rapidly changing world. This content generally is organized according to domains' career, educational, and personal-social. The organizational framework for the program contains seven structural and program

components. The structural components (definition, rationale, and assumptions) provide the ideological foundation for the program. The program components (guidance curriculum, individual planning, responsive services, and system support) provide the organizers and the delivery system. Structural Components Definition. Definition includes the mission statement of the guidance program and describes its centrality within the district's educational programs. It delineates the competencies that students will acquire as a result of their involvement in the guidance program, summarizes the program components, and identifies the specific population the program serves. Rationale. Rationale describes the importance of guidance as an equal partner with other educational programs in the school district. It explains why students need to acquire the competencies they will master as a result of their involvement in the school's comprehensive guidance program. Assumptions. Assumptions are the principles that shape and guide the program. They include statements about the contributions that guidance programs make to students' development, the premises that under-gird the comprehensiveness and balanced nature of the program, and the relationships between the guidance program and the school's other educational programs. Program Components Guidance curriculum. The guidance curriculum links the school to the economic and social systems of the community, the needs of students to the needs of the wider society, and the present situations of students to their future plans. Guidance counselors work collaboratively with teachers to deliver the program through stand-alone and integrated units in the classroom as well as through school-wide events such as career days. Individual planning. The individual planning component involves raising the consciousness of young people concerning themselves and their potential. Individual planning begins in middle school and continues through the high school years. Planning devices such as career portfolios are used extensively. Responsive services. The responsive services component includes prevention programs for students who may be at risk of making unhealthy or inappropriate choices. It also includes remedial programs for students who may already have made unwise choices. Responsive services include individual and small-group counseling, consultation with staff and parents, and referral to specialists. System support. Support for the guidance program includes staff development, community resource development, policy development, budget, and facilities. Support for other programs includes individual planning activities, linkage with special education programs, and guidancerelated administrative work. Positive Results Research has demonstrated that, when middle school counselors have the time, the resources, and the structure of a comprehensive guidance program in which to work, they contribute to positive academic, personal-social, and career development as well as the development of positive and safe learning climates in schools.

References Gysbers, N. C. and Henderson, P. Developing and Managing Your School Guidance Program, 3rd Edition. Alexandria, Va.: American Counseling Association, 2000. Lapan, R. T.; Gysbers, N. C.; and Petroski, G. "Helping 7th Graders Be Safe and Academically Successful: A Statewide Study of the Impact of Comprehensive Guidance Programs." Journal of Counseling and Development, in press. The Special Role of the Middle-Level Counselor In addition to preparing youngsters for the increased independence they will experience in high school, school counselors at the middle level face the challenge of developing programs that meet the unique needs of young adolescents. School counselors at the middle level must: Implement practical strategies to help students move toward self-understanding. Be prepared to help youngsters and their parents understand one another and work together in making the difficult choices that occur during adolescence. Understand the relationship between peer pressure and substance abuse and develop counseling strategies designed to help young adolescents deal with this pressure. Provide programs that help young adolescents manage stress and develop confidence and hope for the future. Implement programs that take into account the impact of physical and sexual maturation on students' lives. Collaborate with teachers to implement programs that help youngsters develop a strong work ethic. Promote career exploration activities. Impact on Students Seventh-grade students attending middle schools with more fully implemented comprehensive guidance programs reported: Feeling safer attending their schools. Having better relationships with teachers. Believing that their education was more relevant and important to their futures. Being more satisfied with the quality of education available to them in their schools. Having fewer problems related to the physical and interpersonal environments in their schools. Earning higher grades. -------------------Norman C. Gysbers is professor of educational and counseling psychology at the University of Missouri, Columbia.