Principals' Use of Counselling Skills Dr Geoffrey Wango.ppt

Child or student counselling is a process in which the counsellor attempts to understand and helps to clarify those feelings in a child or student that may, and can impede growth, maturation, and overall well-being. The counsellor in the school has to regularly confront sensitive issues in the lives of a pupil or student, families and members of teaching and support staff. Issues include love relationships, depression, suicidal attempts, alcohol and drug abuse, sexual activity, parent-child relationships and self-injurious behaviours. The manner in which these issues are handled has profound effects on the well-being of pupils and students, their relationship with teachers and family, the school’s relationships with families, school culture, and on learning and general achievement. It must be emphasized that the school principal as the chief executive bears the ultimate responsibility for all school programmes including the school guidance and counselling programmes. To fulfil the academic and other responsibilities, principals must understand the counselling programmes, procedures and work with the counsellor in the school to ensure the series maximally benefits pupils and students within their jurisdiction. In particular, principals and counsellors maintain amicable relationships with pupils and students, teachers, parents and support staff. Principals consult with the counsellor about the handling of cases which present particular difficulties and others that touch upon the school’s interests. This includes acute cases of emotional disturbance, illness, indiscipline, crime, violence and drug abuse. This paper advances that while both the principal and counsellor require training in counselling, principals should make use of counselling skills to function within counselling professional ethical and legal guidelines.

1. GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING IN
SCHOOLS IN KENYA
PRINCIPALS’ USE OF COUNSELLING SKILLS
Dr. Geoffrey Wango Dr. Geoffrey Wango
Psychology PsychologistPsychology Psychologist
Psychology DepartmentPsychology Department
University of NairobiUniversity of Nairobi

2. 2 AFRICE
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
18
th
- 19
th
JUNE, 2015
EDUCATION IN AFRICA: REFLECTIONS BEYOND
2015 MDGs-COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES
University of Nairobi

3. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
GLOBAL WORLD

4. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
PAPER OUTLINE
Preamble
The Principal in the School
School Issue: Pupils and Student Needs
Rationale for Guidance and Counselling
Counselling and Use of Counselling Skills
The Counsellor in the School
Counselling Role
Aspects of Counselling: Confidentiality, Code of
Conduct and Ethics
Conclusion

5. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
Areas of Offering Help in
Counselling Psychology
-Educational Counselling // School
Counselling // Educational Guidance and
Counselling
-Marriage and Family Therapy // Family
Therapy
-Clinical Counselling
-Pastoral Care // Pastoral Counselling
-Child and // Adolescence Counselling
-Palliative Care
-Community, Health and Rehabilitation
Counselling

6. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
Areas of Offering Help
We can merge and come up with a few features to
avoid overcrowding :
(1)Educational Counselling // School Counselling
(2)Marriage and Family Therapy // Family Therapy
(3)Child and Adolescence Counselling // Child and
Adolescent Counselling // Child and Adolescence
Therapy // Counselling Children and Young People
// Children and Youth
(4)Trauma and Disaster // Crisis Counselling
(5)Drug Addiction and Rehabilitation Counselling

7. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
The Principal in the School
School effectiveness through effective school leadership
must go beyond administration and management to bring
about desirable positive changes.
Principals as school leaders must offer more than the
traditional role of school administration and management
thus shape the organizational conditions for successful
and sustained implementation of school programmes and
incorporate best practices
These include: collaborative networks and alliances,
providing directions, consulting widely with heads of
departments and staff, empowering and mobilising others.

8. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
The Principal in the School
Principals must understand the complexities of education
and schooling and ultimately translate strategy into the
school through shared vision evident in strategic planning.
Strategic planning includes enhanced communication that
can be enhanced through use of counselling skills.
This includes astute management of school resources to
incorporate all programmes such as guidance and
counselling.
This is because part of the effectiveness of the counselling
programme is to amass the synergy among teaching and
support staff, parents and students
 Principal involvement is quite essential.

9. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
School Issues: Pupils’ and
Students’ Needs
Child or student counselling is a process in which
the counsellor attempts to understand and helps
to clarify those feelings in a child or student that
may, and can impede growth, maturation, and
overall well-being.
Counselling in the school deals with sensitive
issues in the lives of a pupil or student, families
and members of teaching and support staff.
Issues include: academic performance, career,
love relationships, depression (mood, suicidal
attempts), alcohol and drug abuse, sexual
activity, parent-child relationships, illness (HIV
and AIDS, cancer), emotional disturbance,
trauma and self injurious behaviours.

10. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
Rationale for Guidance and
Counselling
Pupils and students in school face various challenges
These include: academic demands to perform well, peer
pressure, finances, attempts to identify one-self
including self-esteem and maintaining personal
relationship with peers, teachers, parents and other
siblings.
Difficulties especially in the school tender years can
have profound effects on child experience and may
affect academic performance, emotional development,
ability to progress, decision to remain in school, personal
relations and other effects such as taking tobacco,
alcohol and other drugs.

11. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
Rationale for Guidance and
Counselling
Guidance – guide, direct, counsel, Professional to ..
Counselling – process, skills and techniques, theoretical
framework
Psychology – study of the human mind and behaviour
Guidance and counselling – embraces concept of
guiding and counselling pupils and students
Guidance and counselling: individual and group
(individual guidance, group guidance; individual
counselling, group counselling)
Teacher counsellor, counsellor in the school, chaplain –
personnel who provide and coordinate guidance and
counselling services including spiritualism

12. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
Counselling and Use of
Counselling Skills
-There is a distinction between formal counselling and
use of counselling skills
-Counselling is a process in which a practitioner with
knowledge and skills is involved in a formal
relationship of assisting a client who is in situational
difficulty.
-Counselling skills are a collection of techniques and
strategies that are used to enhance communication in
the counselling process and relationship, and these
skills can greatly be extended in other contexts.

13. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
Counselling and Use of
Counselling Skills
Core conditions -Empathy
-Genuineness
-Unconditional positive regard
Attending skills -Listening
-Silence
-Observation
Facilitating or responding skills-Minimal prompts
-Paraphrasing
-Reflection of feeling
-Questioning
Challenging and confrontation
skills
-Summarising
-Focusing
-Clarification
-Concreteness
-Confrontation
-Self disclosure
-Disengagement / termination

14. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
Counselling and Use of Counselling
Skills: Principal Needs to ‘put away’
the Table Gap

15. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
Counselling and Use of Counselling
Skills: Principal Needs to ‘put away’
the Table Gap

16. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
Counselling and Use of
Counselling Skills
-Pupils and students are likely to share their concerns
including fears, frustrations, disappointments, anxieties
and worries with a person they can easily identify with
including the teacher and of course the school principal.
-The principal may need to find out why a student is
performing poorly or is accused of misconduct only to
find that they are providing emotional support.
-Similarly, the extension of using counselling skills
among the population increases the number of people in
the population receiving necessary help in times of need
(Kirkwood, 2000; McLeod, 2003).

17. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
Counselling and Use of
Counselling Skills
-This includes para-professionals such as in health,
social workers and other professionals.
- It should be noted that the study carried out by
Kirkwood (2000) was in a community where
counselling had been recently introduced and hence
the school context and Kenya are significant.
-Use of counselling skills includes professionalism and
use of counselling ethics including confidentiality
-This is why training in counselling is a major
component for professional competence and enhanced
performance.

18. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
The Counsellor in the
School
•Individual counselling. Counsellor works privately with individual
student usually on one or more aspects such as problem solving,
decision making, career aspirations and discovering personal
meaning related to learning and development.
•Group guidance. Counsellor works with larger groups of students or
classes on academic, career or life skills promotion.
•Group counselling. Counsellor works with a small group of students
on personal or academic issues.
•Consultation. Counsellor assists peer counsellors, teachers, support
staff, parents, chaplain and other adults become more effective at
working with students.
•Coordination. Counsellor manages services such as parent or
community meetings. The meetings indirectly address the
counselling needs of diverse students.

19. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
Counselling and a Code of
Professional Ethics
Counselling is a profession guided by a Code of ethics
Counselling is confidential and must safeguard all
information obtained in the counselling relationship.
The counsellors must walk the tightrope between
being a counsellor or a school informer and the
implications are obvious; students will trust a
counsellor but will certainly stay away from the
school informer.
It is the assurance of confidentiality that generates the
trust necessary for communication between the
student and the counsellor.

20. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
Counselling and a Code of
Professional Ethics
The codes of ethics for counsellors recognize FOUR
clear exceptions to strict confidentiality:
(a)Student freely waives the right of confidentiality;
(b)Disclosure of confidences is required by statute or
court order;
(c)Student condition indicates clear and imminent
danger to self or others; and,
(d)It is necessary for the counsellor to consult with
other professionals about the student’s case.

21. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
Counselling and a Code of
Professional Ethics
 In the absence of these exceptions, counsellors
are legally justified and ethically required to
withhold information in confidences even from
inquiring parents, principal or other teachers.
It is therefore important that the counsellor in the
school while working closely with the principal
are well acquainted with the general guidelines
and make their own decision based on set
procedures and adhere to professional ethics.

22. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
Conclusion
-Various policy documents have recommended a
coherent guidance and counselling programme
-The delivery of quality whole school approach to
all pupils and students in schools must involves all
stakeholders, including the school management,
principals, regular teachers, and the school
counsellor.
-Counsellors and chaplains are validated for their
services but must also be curtailed in providing
quality services to pupils and students.

23. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
Conclusion
-There must be policy change to school
management, particularly guidance and
counselling in schools with greater commitment of
the government, school management and teachers
to support various additional endeavours.
-This paper outlined suggestions that may impact
on provision of guidance and counselling services
through enhanced skills among principals in use of
counselling skills.

24. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
References
Several references have been included in
the main paper. They include policy
documents on guidance and counselling
particularly in Kenya.

25. Dr. Geoffrey Wango, Psychology Dept. University of Nairobi
Dr. Geoffrey Wango
Senior Lecturer
Psychology Department
Faculty of Arts
University of Nairobi
Tel. [phone]
[email protected]
[email protected]