The Shortage of Guidance Counsellors in Elementary and Secondary Schools

Imagine you are a 13-year old student learning a new math concept that is very hard to understand. You try to figure it out but instead find yourself feeling out of breath, and feeling like the world is collapsing in and not knowing what is happening. You know that you need to talk to someone, but as you approach the guidance counselor’s office, there is no one there or they have too many students already booked for appointments that you can’t talk to someone.

Unfortunately, this has become a reality for many students in elementary or secondary schools. In both elementary and secondary schools, students need more support than just through their general classroom teachers. Mental health awareness has increased in schools over the last decade, and as a result, students need more emotional support and helpful resources than ever. The role of guidance counsellors is a widening scope, yet guidance counsellors are in short supply. Many schools don’t have the proper amount of counsellors to students, “…only 14 per cent of elementary schools have guidance counsellors. And of those that have them, the counsellors are available only for about 1.5 days a week”. Due to the amount of students diagnosed with mental health issues, guidance counsellors should be available on a daily basis in order to address every student.

In a secondary school setting there are often multiple guidance counsellors however, in an elementary school, guidance counsellors are most likely not a part of any resource for the students. There should be more guidance available to students in elementary schools as a way to show them, at a young age, how to deal with hard emotions and stress in school. If young students are given more tools and knowledge about dealing with their emotions, they may be able to handle harder life stressors when they grow up. This is what we call, emotional intelligence—a very important skill that constantly needs to be developed. “Only 20 per cent of schools with grades 7 and 8 have guidance staff either full or part-time”, which shows that students who are going through a tough transitional year are often lost as to who to talk to in their school.

The job of a guidance counsellor is not an easy one, especially since they are the first resource that many students in the school will turn to for assistance and advice. As a guidance counsellor one must be fully prepared to answer different forms of questions pertaining to issues that the students may come to you with. Therefore, a guidance counsellor is often left with too many students to look after, due to this they may be more susceptible to teacher burnout. Guidance counsellors are also trying to meet the demands for mental health support in schools. It seems that many guidance counsellor roles are being stretched to fill in the gaps of what many high school students require at their age. Students often feel comfortable going to their guidance counsellor for help, but sometimes the student may also turn to a familiar teacher for advice. Andrea Gordon points out that, “...while guidance counsellors are key, other teachers can also be mentors and sources of support and guidance for students needing help”. I disagree with this statement, because some teachers may not be fully prepared or qualified to deal with certain issues that students may bring to them. As a teacher, if a student comes to you talking about an illness that you are not familiar with giving them false information on the subject may lead them down the wrong path. That is why the first thing a teacher should do is ask for advice from the guidance counsellor. However, with the guidance counsellor position being either in short supply or over worked, finding the time to meet with general teachers about student health issues may not be feasible in a 6-hour day span. So why don’t teacher education programs offer a course in guidance and mental health, since it is something that all teachers will face at some point in their careers? All teachers entering any school should have the knowledge to help guide students to the right resources or people to help them address their problem.

If mental health in students continues to increase, there needs to be a resource for students at their school that is reachable during school hours. By having a guidance teacher students will be provided with tools and advice to help them through any tough situation they may be going through. The role of guidance counsellor should no longer be overlooked, and should be a top priority for many schools to insure the mental health and academic success of all students.