The contribution of school counselors and its barriers

Abstract

There are 9905 government schools in Sri Lanka in 2012. There are 4000000 students studying under these schools. Schooling is compulsory for children from 5 to 13 years of age. Education is state funded and offered free of charge at all levels, including the university level. School education of Sri Lanka has become very competitive from grade one to Advanced Level. There are three benchmark examinations as grade 5 scholarship examination, GCE O/L examination and GCE A/L examination. School counseling is an integral part of the education system in many countries. School counselors help to make learning a positive experience for every student. They are sensitive to individual differences. Counselors facilitate communication among teachers, parents, administrators, and students to adapt the school's environment in the best interests of each individual student. School counselors tend to have more direct involvement with more children; there is a great need to explore the factors that affect career path of students to guide them towards a better future through the success in education. Research problem: What is the main role of school counselors in Sri Lanka schools?? Research questions: 1. What is the role of student counselor? 2. What are the perceived barriers to facilitators for an effective service? Objectives: The main purpose is to identify the way of school counselor’s contribution to the students’ efficiency in their mental inconvenience to their education. Theoretical perspective: I focused on symbolic interactionism perspective to understand this complex situation and Sigmund Freud's iceberg theory model to identify the mind. Research methods: The survey method and case study method have been used as research methods. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and semi structured interviews. Sample: There are three samples in the research as school counselors, teachers and students. In here, I have interviewed three school counselors, 30 teachers in boy’s school, girl’s school and mixed school in Gampaha district. Results and Discussion: There are no proper school counselors. They all are teachers and they do this job as extra responsibility. No extra earning. No proper physical place in the school. No proper training and guidelines. Lack of awareness programs. Low student enrollment. Lack of trust on counseling are the main issues relevant to school counseling programmes. Preparation of proper school counseling program is essential.