Page 1 of 9
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 06 Issue 12
December 2018
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 332
E-Age School Counseling: A Retrospective Study
Dr. Reema Bansal Mehta (Ph.D)
ABSTRACT
The purpose of the present study is to look into various channels by which students reach a school counselor,
hence determining how the school counseling services can be maximally utilized. 1302 students from three
different schools were retrospectively analyzed via the counseling records maintained over a span of 5 years.
Results show that a school counselor has to be highly pro-active in his/her discharge of duties, and not just
provide with responsive or curative measures, but preventive as well. Many other suggestions are made on
the basis of results, regarding effective implementation of a school counseling program.
INTRODUCTION
Few years back CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) made it mandatory for every school to have a
school counselor. It was one of the most positive steps in Indian education history.The development of a
separate specialty of counseling in schools has in part resulted from the decline of the traditional pastoral
roles that teachers used to take on(Bor et al). They often find little time to undertake the extracurricular
activities – including counseling - which in many countries were the normal expectation for all teachers.
Moreover, students have become more aware of their ‘rights’ and are often the ones asking for counseling
support to help them face the emotional hazards of growing up as well as academic issues. The parents of
young adults and children are keen to have a supportive adult in school with whom their children can share
problems (Bor et al).
School counseling has a long and proud history, and the story of professional school counseling, itsinfluences,
and major players are key components of the collective professional identity that unites allthose within school
counseling (Paisley et al).School counseling in India has apparently been an enigmatic area for application,
research and analysis. Just as counseling has evolved and is evolving, society has also evolved tremendously
over the last few decades and more so because of the introduction of e-age that we are living in. The
increasing importance of school counseling has brought us to a stage where we have to re-orient ourselves to
the newer needs and aspirations. Having been a school counselor for around 5 years, a retrospective analysis
of my work will shed new light in this area.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
These were three different schools with different ethnic managements. Incidentally, even the religious
orientations of these 3 schools were different. The students belonged to different socio-economic strata, even
within a given school.
Page 2 of 9
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 06 Issue 12
December 2018
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 333
SCHOOL NAME TIME PERIOD DURATION (approx.)
Sant Nischal Singh Public School (SNSPS) Jan ’13 – Jul ’13 6 months
Sacred Heart Convent School (SHCS) Jul ’13 – Oct ’17 4 years 3 months
Dyal Singh Public School (DSPS) Oct ’17 – Mar ’18 5 months
In all three schools, it was observed that students reach school counselor through different channels.
1. Self-referral: Identifying areas in self that need attention or counseling, a student approaches the
counselor on his/her own.
2. Parents: Parents (or guardians) request counseling for their ward.
3. Via teachers/non-teaching staff/principal: School personnel notice something amiss in the student and
direct him/her to the counselor.
4. Peer referral
5. Teacher-as-parent referral: Teachers refer their own wards for counseling.
6. General Calls - Keeping in mind the status of counseling in India, and the taboo(s) associated with it, I
added a 6th source so that more number of students could know about my counseling services, plus,
benefit from it. In these ‘General Calls’ I would call students from 6th class onwards, roll number wise,
to assess for any potential problematic areas. A general conversation would usually ensue between the
student and myself, during these calls.
The students who availed of my school counseling services (total = 1302) from 3 different schools formed my
sample.
RESULTS
An analysis of data was undertaken whereby cases presented in counselor’s office were categorized according
to the channel via which a particular student reached the office.
Tables presented show the numbers and percentages of students in each category for all three schools. Two
separate tables have been made for school referral of SHCS and DSPS since sub-categories of the school
referral require a separate mention for these two schools. This breakup for SNSPS is not available.
Table 1
Page 3 of 9
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 06 Issue 12
December 2018
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 334
Categories Number table
SNSPS SHCS DSPS
General Calls 130 459 0
Self Referral 17 274 30
Parental referral 0 78 28
School referral 109 78 97
Came to accompany a friend 0 2 0
Total students counseled 256 891 155
Table 2
Categories Percentage table
SNSPS SHCS DSPS
Total 100% 100% 100%
General Calls 50.78% 51.52% 0%
Self Referral 6.64% 30.75% 19.36%
Parental referral 0% 8.75% 18.06%
School referral 42.58% 8.75% 62.58%
Came to accompany a friend 0% 0.23% 0%
Table 3
School Referral table of SHCS Numbers %
Total 78 100%
Teacher as parent referral 16 20.51%
Teacher referral 38 48.72%
Peer referral 10 12.82%
Principal referral 8 10.26%
Non teaching staff referral 6 7.69%
Table 4
School Referral table of DSPS Numbers %
Total 97 100%
Teacher as parent referral 9 9.28%
Teacher referral 72 74.23%
Non teaching staff referral 1 1.03%
Principal referred board classes students 12 12.37%
Caught counsellor's notice during class 3 3.09%
