ERIC Identifier: ED328824
Publication Date: 1991-01-31
Author: Gerler, Edwin R., Jr.
Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Counseling and Personnel Services
Ann Arbor MI.
The Changing World of the Elementary School Counselor.
Elementary school counselors face changing demands as education and
society move rapidly toward a new century (Gerler, Ciechalski, & Parker,
1990). Counselors must set clear priorities in the face of changing expectations.
This digest summarizes various educational and societal demands that confront
elementary counselors and suggests possible roles counselors may select
relative to these demands.
A CULTURALLY DIVERSE WORLD
Our society faces challenges in accepting and benefiting from cultural
diversity. Problems emanating from racism exist despite efforts aimed at
educational reform. Elementary school counselors must be aware of transmitting
their own cultural values to children and of drawing erroneous conclusions
about children's emotional and social well-being based on cultural differences.
Moreover, because counseling theories and techniques are not always applicable
across cultures, counselors must often look to new and creative ways to
work effectively in multicultural settings (Pedersen, 1988). Elementary
school counselors should advocate for educational programs that include
counselors, teachers, parents, and students working together for increased
cultural understanding through role playing and other awareness activities.
A WORLD OF CHANGING FAMILIES
The so-called traditional family has virtually disappeared in America.
Divorce and single-parent homes are a fact of life confronting children.
Elementary school counselors must understand the effects of changing family
structures and find ways to promote child growth and development within
the context of family change. These ways will include divorce groups, training
groups for single parents, guidance for latchkey children, and a variety
of other important strategies. Elementary school counselors need to develop
innovative approaches to help children and parents develop in a healthy
fashion in spite of the ambiguity created by divorce and single-parent
families. Counselors should assume a proactive stance by collaborating
with teachers in developing and implementing family education programs.
A WORLD OF DRUG ABUSE
Students often begin to experiment with drugs in elementary school and
early experimentation frequently leads to abuse and addiction in adolescence.
Moreover, educators are aware of problems coming from families made dysfunctional
by alcoholism and drug addiction. Elementary school counselors must understand
the scope and implications of substance abuse and implement drug education
programs that are designed to prevent drug abuse and to help children overcome
the effects of substance abuse in their families. Elementary school counselors
also need to recognize the serious effects of parents' alcoholism on children's
development and implement compassionate approaches to helping these young
victims receive help whether or not their parents are willing to accept
A WORLD OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT
Child abuse and neglect are rampant in our society. Elementary school
counselors can build a positive school environment for youngsters who suffer
from abuse and neglect by implementing such programs as parent support
groups to prevent physical abuse of children, programs that help identify
potential child abusers, and preventive sexual abuse programs. Elementary
school counselors cannot work alone in preventing and treating child abuse.
They need to develop close working relationships with social services and
other community agencies that frequently advocate for victims of abuse
and neglect. Counselors also need to work closely with teachers to help
them thoroughly understand signs of abuse and to acquaint them with correct
referral procedures. The elementary school classroom may be the most stable
setting neglected and abused children experience and may provide the empathy
and positive regard needed to help children cope with their ordeal. Elementary
school counselors must, therefore, become increasingly sensitive to the
victims of abuse and to the need for effective counseling programs in this
A WORLD OF EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN
Many children in our schools are labeled exceptional and find it difficult
to accept that they are "simply human." These children need to feel accepted
and to use their exceptional characteristics in extraordinary ways. Children
who are not so labeled need to learn ways of benefiting from those who
are exceptional. The parents and teachers of exceptional children also
need to find ways to understand and assist these youngsters. Elementary
school counselors should work to build a supportive learning environment
for exceptional children. There is a need for strong ties between counseling
and special education. Counselors should develop programs for parents of
exceptional children. Parents of gifted youngsters, for example, have unique
needs resulting from misunderstandings created by myths, stereotypes, and
the small number of gifted children in the population. Counselors should
also develop strategies to help teachers work more effectively with parents
of handicapped children because the teacher is in a position to develop
an active, ongoing relationship with parents but may lack the training
to provide effective counseling support.
A TECHNOLOGICAL WORLD
Technological advances have changed education, work, and leisure in
our society. Although most people experience the benefits of these advances,
most also know the anxiety and frustration that accompany rapid technological
change as well as the alienation generated by impersonal aspects of technology.
Elementary school counselors need to help children develop emotionally
and socially in the context of rapid technological change. Counselors often
need to deal first with their own concerns about technology before helping
children understand the benefits and limitations of technology. Elementary
school counselors especially need to acquire competencies with computers,
to overcome anxieties about using the technology, and to integrate computer
technology into counseling programs (Bleuer & Walz, 1983).
A CHANGING WORLD OF WORK
Elementary school counselors face major challenges as they work with
parents and teachers to introduce children to an ever-changing world of
work (Hoyt & Shylo, 1987). The emphasis on career education, however,
seems to have diminished from its peak in the 1970s when the United States
Office of Education demanded high visibility for career education programs
in schools. This decline in career education at the elementary school level
is unfortunate because economic, political, and social changes have brought
women and minorities into the work force in large numbers and have altered
how children must be prepared to enter the world of work. Elementary school
counselors need to enhance children's career awareness, prevent sex-role
stereotyping through career exploration programs, and use role models to
expand children's occupational aspirations.
PROMOTING LEARNING IN A CHANGING WORLD
American society has placed increasing emphasis on the need for children
to learn basic academic skills. Parents throughout the country complain
that children are not learning to read, write, and perform basic mathematics.
Governmental and private commissions have studied the poor academic achievement
of children and are asking educators to account for the failure of our
schools in this important area. If elementary school counselors are to
fulfill their mission in schools, they must collaborate with teachers,
parents, and school administrators in an effort to improve children's achievement.
Elementary school counselors can positively effect children's achievement
(Costar, 1980; West, Sonstegard, Hagerman, 1980). Counselors, for example,
can implement and evaluate a ten-session program called "Succeeding in
School" (Gerler, 1990). Counselors can also consult with parents on matters
related to children's academic progress, implement classroom programs that
improve the work habits of children who procrastinate with school work,
and use group counseling as a means of motivating children to attend school.
SHAPING CHILDREN'S BEHAVIOR IN A CHANGING WORLD
Children's behavior, both in and out of school, is an important concern
of parents and educators. The popular media has documented seemingly wide-spread
school absenteeism and delinquency among our nation's youth. How to change
children's misbehavior and to foster productive behavior are concerns of
elementary school counselors. The techniques available to parents, teachers,
and elementary school counselors for managing children's behavior are numerous
and include modeling, positive reinforcement, behavior contracting, and
desensitization. These behavioral change procedures have been thoroughly
tested. Although the application of these methods is often difficult, the
collaborative efforts of elementary school counselors, teachers, and parents
in applying behavioral techniques eases some of the difficulties and increases
the chances of success.
Counseling interventions to improve behavior include classroom guidance
sessions, small group counseling sessions, and consultation with teachers.
Students who receive a combination of these treatment procedures are likely
to behave well in the classroom and elsewhere.
HUMAN RELATIONS IN A CHANGING WORLD
Children need to support each other in a world filled with conflict.
They must learn and practice the interpersonal skills necessary for their
present lives and also for the demands of peer pressure in adolescence.
Elementary school counselors must find ways both to challenge and support
youngsters in the area of human relations.
Counselors can build positive relationships among children and between
children and adults through affective education programs in the classroom
and through innovative approaches to peer counseling. Elementary school
counselors play a major part in developing and maintaining a healthy social
climate for children. This aspect of counselors' work is important in part
because children's relations with teachers, peers, and family affect learning
and achievement. In addition, counselors who strive to improve children's
interpersonal skills are helping to ensure that the 1990s and beyond will
be years in which society will move forward on the basis of cooperative
efforts among the nation's citizens. Finally, the work of elementary school
counselors in this area will likely help to produce citizens who strive
for productive relations across cultures and nations.
Bleuer, J. C., & Walz, G. R. (1983). Counselors and computers. Ann
Arbor: ERIC/CAPS, The University of Michigan.
Costar, E. (1980). Scoring high in reading: The effectiveness of teaching
achievement test-taking behaviors. Elementary School Guidance and Counseling,
Gerler, E. R. (1990). Children's success in school: Collaborative research
among counselors, supervisors, and counselor educators. Elementary School
Guidance and Counseling, 25, 64-71.
Gerler, E. R., Ciechalski, J. C., & Parker, L. D. (1990). Elementary
school counseling in a changing world. Ann Arbor, MI: ERIC/CAPS and The
American School Counselor Association.
Hoyt, K. B., & Shylo, K. R. (1987). Career education in transition:
Trends and implications for the future. Columbus: ERIC Clearinghouse on
Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, The Ohio State University.
Pedersen, P. (1988). A handbook for developing multicultural awareness.
Alexandria, VA: American Association for Counseling and Development.
West, J., Sonstegard, M., & Hagerman, H. (1980). A study of counseling
and consulting in Appalachia. Elementary School Guidance and Counseling,