School Counseling: A Comparative Study in 12 Countries

34 Educational Reforms Worldwide BCES Conference Books, 2020, Volume 18. Sofia: Bulgarian Comparative Education Society ISSN 1314-4693 (print), ISSN 2534-8426 (online), ISBN 978-619-7326-09-3 (print), ISBN 978-619-7326-10-9 (online) Nikolay Popov & Vera Spasenović School Counseling: A Comparative Study in 12 Countries Abstract This paper presents results of a comparative international study on some aspects of school counseling in the following 12 countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Ireland, Malta, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, UK, and USA. The authors explain the multifunctional character of school counseling, give an idea of establishing a research field that could be called ‘comparative school counseling studies’, show the original terms in individual countries, and compare six aspects of school counseling: 1) legislative framework; 2) position requirements; 3) role of school counselors; 4) functions of school counselors; 5) interaction; and 6) ratio. The paper concludes with a long list of qualities school counselors are expected to possess. This is a document study chiefly based on examining, systematizing and comparing national documents (laws, reports, instructions, advices, position requirements, ministerial orders, recommendations, strategies, and statistics) on school counseling. Keywords: school counseling, comparative school counseling study, school counselors’ position requirements, role and functions of school counselors Introduction Advisor, advocate, agent, believer, collaborator, conductor, consultant, coordinator, diplomat, educator, enthusiast, expert, explorer, guide, initiator, leader, listener, mediator, mentor, navigator, negotiator, observer, pedagogue, professional, psychologist, researcher, specialist, supporter, teacher – these are just a part of most frequently used words in national documents, job requirements, school forums, and professional platforms about what a school counselor is expected to be. It could be said that school counseling is the most multifunctional position in the school system, with too many variable tasks, with a huge number of functions and a large circle of contacts. There is no other position in the school system that is given so many roles. A school counselor is expected to care about the mental, emotional, social and academic development of students; to prevent them from various risks; to discover, diagnose and understand the essence of problems students face. At the same time, a school counselor should be loyal to the school authority, to be collegial to school teachers, to intermediate between students, parents and teachers in case of conflicts, to propose problem solving decisions, to define strategies for improving the school organization and climate, to organize individual and group consultations for all participants in school life, and to look for support from social and psycho-medical institutions, and to even contact police and court offices when necessary. This paper is a revised, shortened and updated version of a coauthored study by N. Popov and V. Spasenović that was performed and published in 2018 in two languages – Bulgarian and Serbian (Popov & Spasenović, 2018a, 2018b). These editions serve as teaching manuals to students in Bachelor and Master’s programs and in-service teacher training programs. © 2020 Bulgarian Comparative Education Society (BCES) Nikolay Popov & Vera Spasenovic 35 The study examines school counseling in the following 12 countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Ireland, Malta, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Comparative school counseling studies The mission of the above cited books and the purpose of this paper is to put the beginning of a process of establishing a comparative research field that could be called ‘comparative school counseling studies’. Firstly, such a research field could contribute to a better understanding of common features, similarities and differences in school counseling worldwide. Secondly, it could support transferring best school counseling practices and innovations between countries. Thirdly, it could help improving school counseling training programs at colleges and universities, especially in countries where such programs are not well developed. Every comparative international study of school counseling usually faces many difficulties, including:  the position of school counselor, although being similar across the world, often has different role, functions and tasks;  in the school systems, in parallel with school counselors, there are many other school or out-of-school based specialists (such as school psychologist or psychotherapist, guidance teacher, speech therapist, social worker, career adviser, professional orientation consultant, etc.) whose functions are often mixed with those of school counselors; and  in most cases, finding all actual national documentation that regulates school counseling is a very difficult process. The term The term ‘school counselor’ has different names in the national school systems: student or education counselor (Austria), pedagogical counselor (Bulgaria), pedagogical-psychological counselor (Denmark), pedagogue-psychologist (Russia), expert associate (Croatia, North Macedonia, Serbia), school counselor (Malta, Slovenia, UK, USA), and guidance counselor (Ireland). In this paper, the term ‘school counselor / school counseling’ is used as a common term for all countries. The original terms in the 12 countries are listed below. Note: for Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Russia the Cyrillic letters are replaced with their Latin equivalents. Austria Schüler- und Bildungsberater Bulgaria Pedagogicheski savetnik Croatia Stručni suradnik Denmark Psykologer / Konsulenter / Uddannelsesvejleder Ireland Guidance counsellor Malta School counsellor BCES Conference Books, 2020, Volume 18 | Part 1: Comparative and International Education & History of Education 36 School Counseling: A Comparative Study in 12 Countries North Macedonia Struchen sorabotnik Russia Pedagog-psiholog Serbia Stručni saradnik Slovenia Svetovalni delavec UK School counsellor USA School counselor Comparisons of school counseling aspects The following six aspects of school counseling are compared: 1) legislative framework; 2) position requirements; 3) role of school counselors; 4) functions of school counselors; 5) interaction; and 6) ratio. Legislative framework In Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia the governance of the school systems is generally centralized. Croatia, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia apply stronger centralization, which means that job requirements, professional activities and duties of school counselors are defined at the national (ministerial) level. The centralization in Bulgaria is soft, which means that school counseling details are decided on both national and school level. In Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Malta, Russia, UK, and USA the governance of the school systems is decentralized. These countries can be divided into 3 groups:  Countries with decentralized school system governance and centralized regulation of school counseling. Such countries are Austria, Malta, and Russia. School counseling is regulated by the ministries of education of these countries.  Countries with decentralized school system governance and decentralized regulation of school counseling. Such countries are Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The ministries/departments of education of these countries regularly publish documents on school counseling that are frameworks and give general recommendations, while the concrete regulation is performed by municipalities and local authorities. In the United Kingdom, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy offers training and accreditation of school counselors. In Ireland, these functions are performed by the National Centre for Guidance in Education.  A country with decentralized school system governance and national nongovernmental regulation of school counseling. Such a country is the United States, where the American School Counselor Association has created its ASCA National Model that should be followed by all American school counselors (ASCA, n. d.). Position requirements Regarding the academic degree applicants for school counselors must have, the countries can be grouped as follows: Educational Reforms Worldwide Nikolay Popov & Vera Spasenovic 37  Countries where applicants may have both Bachelor and Master’s degree. These countries are Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, North Macedonia, the United Kingdom, and Russia. The United States can also be included in this group because 45 states require a Master’s degree, while in 5 states a Bachelor degree is enough (ASCA, n. d.).  Countries where applicants should have a Master’s degree. Such countries are Croatia, Ireland, Malta, Serbia, and Slovenia. Regarding any specialization (additional qualification) applicants must have, the countries can be grouped as follows:  Countries where applicants for school counselors must have any additional qualification for school counselors in addition to their academic degrees. It happens in Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Malta, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Various models of obtaining additional qualification can be seen – specializations in Bachelor and Master’s programs, in-service training programs, etc.  Countries where no additional qualification for school counselors is required. It happens in Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, and Slovenia. Regarding licensing (also met as certification or accreditation) of school counselors, the countries can again be divided into 2 groups:  Countries with no licensing – Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, North Macedonia, Malta, Russia, Serbia, and Slovenia.  Countries with licensing required – Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Regarding the required type of higher education (specialty) applicants for school counselors must have, the countries can be divided into 3 groups:  Countries where a degree in Education (or Pedagogy) is required. It is observed in Austria, Ireland, and Malta. The United States can also be included in this group due to the fact that the school counseling programs are often organized at faculties/colleges of education.  Countries where a degree in Psychology (as a main or additional specialty) is required. Such countries are Russia and the United Kingdom.  Countries where applicants may have a degree in Education (Pedagogy) or Psychology. It can be seen in Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia. Role of school counselors Examining this aspect, it can definitely be said that the role of school counselors has many common characteristics in all countries. The role usually includes:  supporting students in their psychological, academic and social development;  consulting students, parents, and teachers;  resolving conflicts between teachers and students;  helping students to identify their abilities, capacities and interests;  preventing dropout;  supporting the school organization and the teaching/learning process;  advising students about their career orientation and decisions; BCES Conference Books, 2020, Volume 18 | Part 1: Comparative and International Education & History of Education 38 School Counseling: A Comparative Study in 12 Countries  collaborating with school staff (principals, teachers, other specialists); and  maintaining school counseling documentation. Functions of school counselors The comparative review of a large body of documents (ASCA, n. d.; BACP, n. d.; Bundesministerium für Bildung…, 2017; Danish Agency…, 2014; Jurić et al, 2001; Ministarstvo prosvete i nauke, 2012; Ministry of Education, 2003; Ministry for Education and Employment, n. d.; Ministry of Education and Science, 2019; Ministry of Education and Science, 2016; Mrvar Gregorčič & Mažgon, 2016; National Centre for Guidance..., n. d.) shows that the following functions can be outlined as common for all or most countries:  identification function – diagnosing psychological, learning and social difficulties students have, and identifying gifted students and students with special needs;  information function – giving information to all school actors according to their needs;  support function – supporting personal development of students;  consultation function – organizing individual and group consultations with students, parents, teachers and other school members;  orientation function – helping students to get a better orientation about next level of education, vocational qualification or work market;  prevention function – preventing students from possible risks and dropout;  correction function – working with students who need additional help in coordination with other teachers and specialists;  mediation function – solving problems between students, teachers, parents and principals;  assessment function – monitoring the school process and assessing the quality of school work;  development function – creating tools for optimizing the school work; and  research function – getting knowledge of changes, best practices and innovations for improving the school work. It should be clarified that this list of functions is rather relative. In some countries, these functions are subordinated – some are main, while others are subfunctions or activities/tasks. It was our intention here to outline the big scope of functions of school counseling. Interaction It is clear that school counselors need to interact with a large circle of persons and organizations, such as: students, parents, teachers, principals, other school based or out-of-school based specialists (social workers, psychologists, speech therapists, doctors, etc.), municipal and state institutions, non-governmental youth and children organizations, centers for professional information, police and court authorities. In Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States school counselors are expected to contact universities and colleges, representatives of local business, and members of the local church. A specific feature in the United Kingdom is the cooperation between school counselors and the school pastoral system (BACP, n. d.). Educational Reforms Worldwide Nikolay Popov & Vera Spasenovic 39 Ratio The number of students at school per one school counselor ratio averagely varies between 250 and 500 students. The best standard (i.e. the lowest ratio) is announced in Croatia – schools with about 180 students must have 2 school counselors, schools with 180 to 500 students must have 3 school counselors, and schools with more than 500 students must have 4 school counselors. In the United States, the average standard is 250 students per one school counselor. In Malta, the standard is 300 students. In Ireland, schools having up to 500 students must appoint at least one school counselor, while schools with more than 500 students must have one school counselor per every 250 students. In Bulgaria, Russia and the other countries the usual standard is 500 students. However, in Bulgaria, the Ministry of Education and Science plans to decrease this number up to 400. Conclusion The paper shortly and comparatively presented some aspects of school counseling in 12 countries (11 European countries and the United States). It is clearly declared in national documents (laws, strategies, reports, regulations, instructions, advices, ministerial orders, recommendations, etc.) of all countries that school counseling is a very important position at schools that will play a more and more significant role in the development of education. According to the United States Department of Labor (2018) the number of school counselors in USA will increase with 13% until 2026, which is the highest increase among all professions. It could be summarized that in the countries included in this study the school counselor is considered the specialist who shall: 1) support the psychological, academic and social development of students; 2) try to resolve conflicts between all actors in school life; 3) help students to face personal problems; 4) consult students, parents, teachers and principals; and 5) act as a coordinator of various school activities. It was mentioned in the Introduction of this paper that school counseling is the most multifunctional position in the school system. The huge diversity of functions listed above shows an abnormal spectrum of problems school counselors should try to solve. There are also certain differences in school counselors’ work. While in some countries the focus is on supporting students in their personal development and learning (Denmark, Ireland, UK), in others the equal attention is paid to the successful realization of teaching and school work and the improvement of the overall functioning of the school as an institution (Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia). In addition, the dominant functions or duties of school counselors vary across the countries – in some cases it is mental health care (United Kingdom), elsewhere academic and career guidance and counseling (Austria, Ireland), prevention (Russia), etc. It is evident in position requirements, ministerial instructions, school forums, and associations’ advices used in the 12 countries that national education policy makers, principals, students, parents, and inspectors expect from school counselors to be: active, balancing, careful, communicative, competent, complex, confident, creative, curious, defending, discreet, educative, experienced, exact, flexible, honest, inspiring, interesting, kind, learning, loyal, moral, motivating, multifunctional, BCES Conference Books, 2020, Volume 18 | Part 1: Comparative and International Education & History of Education 40 School Counseling: A Comparative Study in 12 Countries objective, open, original, patient, positive, reliable, searching, seeing, sensitive, smiling, social, supportive, sympathetic, tolerant, understanding, useful, variable. Acknowledgements Special thanks to Prof. Dr. James Ogunleye (UK), Dr. Gillian Hilton (UK), Prof. Dr. Klara Skubic Ermenc (Slovenia), Prof. Dr. Gordana Stankovska (North Macedonia), Prof. Dr. Karen L. Biraimah (USA), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Susan M. Yelich Biniecki (USA), Prof. Dr. Kenneth F. Hughey (USA), Prof. Dr. Peter L. Schneller (USA), Dr. Victor Martinelli (Malta), Assist. Prof. Dr. Gordana Djigić (Serbia), Prof. Dr. Tatyana Korsakova (Russia), Maria Popova (Bulgaria/Germany), Dr. Siniša Kušić (Croatia), and Melika Illim (Denmark) for providing information and sources on school counseling in their countries. References American School Counselor Association (ASCA) (n. d.): https://www.schoolcounselor.org/ (Accessed 28 January 2020). British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) (n. d.): https://www.bacp.co.uk/ (Accessed 30 January 2020). Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung (2017): Grundsatzerlass für Schüler- und Bildungsberatung. Rundschreiben Nr. 22/2017 des Bundesministeriums für Bildung. https://bildung.bmbwf.gv.at/ministerium/rs/ 2017_22.pdf?68k0bf (Accessed 15 September 2018). Danish Agency for Higher Education (2014): Guidance in Education – the educational guidance system in Denmark. Copenhagen: Euroguidance Denmark. Jurić, V., Mušanović, M., Staničić, S. & Vrgoč, H. (2001): Koncepcija razvojne pedagoške djelatnosti stručnih suradnika ‒ prijedlog. Zagreb: Ministarstvo prosvjete i športa. Ministarstvo prosvete i nauke [of Serbia] (2012): Pravilnik o programu svih oblika rada stručnih saradnika. Službeni glasnik - Prosvetni glasnik, br. 5/2012. Ministry for Education and Employment [of Malta] (n. d.): Counselling Services in Schools. https://education.gov.mt/en/education/student-services/Pages/PsychoSocial_Services/Counselling_Services_in_Schools.aspx (Accessed 28 January 2020). Ministry of Education [of Russia] (2003): Letter of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation of 27.06.2003, № 28-51-513/16 on methodological recommendations on psychological-pedagogical support to students. Moscow: Ministry of Education. [In Russian] Ministry of Education and Science [of Bulgaria] (2019): Instruction No 15 on the status and professional development of teachers, principals and other education specialists. State Gazette, No 61 / 02.08.2019. [In Bulgarian] Ministry of Education and Science [of North Macedonia] (2016): Regulations on basic professional competences of school counselors. http://mon.gov.mk/images/Osnovni_ profesionalni_kompetencii_MON.pdf [In Macedonian] (Accessed 22 September 2018). Mrvar Gregorčič, P. & Mažgon, J. (2016): Sodelovanje šolske svetovalne službe s posamezniki in institucijami v skupnosti. Sodobna pedagogika, No 1, 38-57. National Centre for Guidance in Education (n. d.): Becoming a Guidance Counsellor. https://www.ncge.ie/ncge/becoming-guidance-counsellor (Accessed 9 March 2019). Educational Reforms Worldwide Nikolay Popov & Vera Spasenovic 41 Popov, N. & Spasenović, V. (2018a): The school counselor: a comparative review in 12 countries. Sofia: Bulgarian Comparative Education Society. [In Bulgarian] Popov, N. & Spasenović, V. (2018b): Stručni saradnik u školi: komparativni pregled za 12 zemalja. Sofija: Bugarsko društvo za komparativnu pedagogiju. United States Department of Labor (2018): School and career counselors: Summary. Bureau of Labor Statistic. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/school-andcareer-counselors.htm (Accessed 15 September 2018). Prof. Dr.habil. Nikolay Popov, Sofia University, Bulgaria Prof. Dr. Vera Spasenović, University of Belgrade, Serbia BCES Conference Books, 2020, Volume 18 | Part 1: Comparative and International Education & History of Education