PERCEPTIONS OF SINGAPORE ADOLESCENTS ON THE ROLES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF SCHOOL COUNSELLORS
Keywords:
Singapore School Counselling; Counsellors’ Roles; Counsellors’ CharacteristicsAbstract
School counselling has been implemented in all Singapore public schools for more than a decade. This study sought the perceptions of Singapore adolescents on the roles and characteristics of school counsellors. A survey was administered to 135 students from Nanyang Polytechnic. This research was largely descriptive in nature with one open-ended question. The results showed that adolescents had some misconceptions on the roles of school counsellors. An unanticipated finding revealed that adolescents who had not experienced the counselling process had better perceptions of the characteristics of a school counsellor. These results imply that school counsellors need to take on a more proactive role in reaching out to students, in terms of information sharing and creating awareness. Recommendations have been made for enhancing the school counselling landscape.
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