Counsellors can bridge the gap and address behavioural challenges

What many have failed to notice in the Education Review Office’s classroom behavioural findings is a small line that reveals a systemic issue: “not all schools have a dedicated counsellor”.

NZAC President Sarah Maindonald believes properly resourcing counsellors, described by ERO’s Time to Focus: Behaviour in our Classrooms report as important interventions, would be a step change in addressing students’ behaviour, attendance, and academic achievement.

The report highlights New Zealand’s classrooms have consistently had worse behaviour compared to most other OECD countries.

However, ERO’s companion good practice report for teachers and leaders to help manage challenging classrooms shows counsellors are a key part of an evidence-based solution.

“Guidance counsellors are indispensable in supporting students and managing behavioural challenges, yet their presence is not uniform across all schools,” Maindonald says.

“Research we co-funded with the Ministry of Education in 2019 into the effectiveness of counselling showed that it has a significant and positive impact on students, similar to that found in studies undertaken in secondary schools overseas.

“Yet schools’ counsellors are consistently under-resourced and under pressure to help an ever-increasing number of students who are presenting with more complex issues.”

While schools have access to various behaviour support services, including resources like the interim response fund and Te Kahu Tōi: Intensive Wraparound Service, the absence of counsellors in some schools remains a significant gap in student support systems.

A greater ratio of school counsellors to students would go a long way to addressing the key contributors of behavioural problems and help schools reengage our youth, Maindonald says.

When school counsellors are employed with a 1:400 ratio (NZAC recommendation) – or the even more favourable 1:250 (American Association of Counsellors) – effective interventions can be put in place for students who have disengaged with schooling.

“The lack of guidance counsellors limits the support available to students in managing their behaviour effectively,” Maindonald says.

“But by investing in guidance counsellors, you are investing in interventions that are integral to assisting not just students but whānau too in school and the community.

“Awhi Mai, Awhi Atu - Counselling in Schools is a positive investment in youth mental health. As per ERO’s evaluation, the initiative is having a positive impact on the wellbeing and engagement of students in participating schools.”