Comprehensive Guidance Programs That Work II

Norman Gysbers and Patricia Henderson

A Model Comprehensive Guidance Program

Chapter 1

Norman C. Gysbers

The Comprehensive Guidance Program Model described in this chapter had its
genesis in the early 1970s. In 1972, the staff of a federally funded project at the
University of Missouri-Columbia conducted a national conference on guidance and
developed a manual to be used by state guidance leaders as a guide to developing their
own manuals for state and local school district use. The manual was published in early
1974 and provided the original description of the Comprehensive Guidance Program
Model.
From the 1940s to the 1970s, the position orientation to guidance dominated
professional training and practice in our schools. The focus was on a position (counselor)
and a process (counseling), not on a program (guidance). Administratively, guidance,
with its position orientation, was included in pupil personnel services along with other
such services as attendance, social work, psychological, psychiatric, speech and hearing,
nursing, and medical (Eckerson & Smith, 1966).
The position orientation had its beginnings when guidance was first introduced in
the schools as vocational guidance. As early as 1910, vocational counselors had been
appointed in the elementary and secondary schools of Boston, and by 1915 a central
office Department of Vocational Guidance had been established with a director, Susan J .
Ginn. The vocational counselors in Boston were teachers who took on the work with no
financial return and often no relief from other duties (Ginn, 1924). What were the duties
of vocational counselors?
The Duties of a Vocational Counselor:
1. To be the representative of the Department of Vocational Guidance in the district;
2. To attend all meetings of counselors called by the director of Vocational Guidance;
3. To be responsible for all material sent out to the school by the Vocational Guidance
Department;
4. To gather and keep on file occupational information;
5. To arrange with the local branch librarians about shelves of books bearing upon
educational and vocational guidance;
6. To arrange for some lessons in occupations in connection with classes in Oral English
and Vocational Civics, or wherever principal and counselor deem it wise;
7. To recommend that teachers show the relationship of their work to occupational
problems;
8. To interview pupils in grades 6 and above who are failing, attempt to find the reason,
and suggest remedy.
9. To make use of the cumulative record card when advising children;
10. To consult records of intelligence tests when advising children;
11. To make a careful study with grade 7 and grade 8 of the bulletin A Guide to the
Choice of Secondary School;
12. To urge children to remain in school;
13. To recommend conferences with parents of children who are failing or leaving
school;
14. To interview and check cards of all children leaving school, making clear to them the
requirements for obtaining working certificates;
15. To be responsible for the filling in of Blank 249 and communicate with
recommendations to the Department of Vocational Guidance when children are in
need of employment. (Ginn, 1924, pp. 5-7)
As more and more positions titled vocational counselor were filled in schools
across the country, concern was expressed about the lack of centralization, the lack of a
unified program. In a review of the Boston system, Brewer (1922) stated that work was
commendable and promising (p.36). At the same time, however, he expressed concern
about the lack of effective centralization:
In most schools two or more teachers are allowed part-time for counseling
individuals, but there seems to be no committee of cooperation between the several
schools, and no attempt to supervise the work. It is well done or indifferently done,
apparently according to the interest and enthusiasm of the individual principal or
counselor. (p.35)
Myers (1923) made the same point when he stated that a centralized, unified
program of vocational guidance for the entire school of a city is essential to the most
effective work (p.139).
The lack of a centralized and unified program of guidance in the schools to define
and focus the work of vocational counselors presented a serious problem. If there was no
agreed-upon, centralized structure to organize and direct the work of building-level
vocational counselors, then other duties as assigned could become a problem. As early
as 1923 this problem was recognized by Myers (1923).
Another tendency dangerous to the cause of vocational guidance is the tendency
to load the vocational counselor with so many duties foreign to the office that little real
counseling can be done. The principal, and often the counselor himself, has a very
indefinite idea of the proper duties of this new office. The counselors time is more free
from definite assignments with groups or classes of pupils than is that of the ordinary
teacher. If well chosen he has administrative ability. It is perfectly natural, therefore, for
the principal to assign one administrative duty after another to the counselor until he
becomes practically assistant principal, with little time for the real work of a counselor.
(p. 141)
During the 1920s and 1930s, as formal education was being shaped and reshaped
as to its role in society, a broader mission for education emerged. Added to the
educational mission was a vocational mission. How did education respond to these
additional tasks and challenges? One response was to add pupil personnel work to the
education system. What was pupil personnel work? According to Myers (1935), pupil
personnel work is a sort of handmaiden of organized education. It is concerned primarily
with bringing the pupils of the community into the educational environment of the
schools in such condition and under circumstances as will enable them to obtain the
maximum of the desired development (p. 804).
In his article, Myers (1935) contrasted pupil personnel work and personnel work
in industry. He then listed eight activities he would include in pupil personnel work and
the personnel who would be involved, including attendance officers, visiting teachers,
school nurses, school physicians, as well as vocational counselors. In his discussion of
all the activities involved in pupil personnel work and the personnel involved, he stated
that Probably no activity in the entire list suffers so much from lack of a coordinated
programs as does guidance, and especially the counseling part of it (p.807).
In the late 1920s, in response to the lack of an organized approach to guidance,
the services model of guidance was initiated to guide the work of individuals designated
as counselors. Various services were identified as necessary to provide to students,
including the individual inventory service, information service, counseling service,
placement service, and follow-up service (Smith, 1951). By this time too, the traditional
way of describing guidance as having three aspects vocational, educational, and
personal-social was well established. Vocational guidance, instead of being guidance,
had become only one part of guidance. By the 1940s and 1950s, guidance was firmly
established as a part of pupil personnel services with its emphasis on the position of
counselor.
Beginning in the 1960s, but particularly in the 1970s, the concept of guidance for
development emerged. During this period, the call came to re-orient guidance from what
had become an ancillary set of services delivered by a person in a position (the counselor)
to a comprehensive, developmental program. The call for reorientation came from
diverse sources, including a renewed interest in vocational-career guidance (and its
theoretical base, career development), a renewed interest in developmental guidance,
concern about the efficacy of the prevailing approach to guidance in the school, and
concern about accountability and evaluation.
The work of putting comprehensive guidance programs into place in the schools
continued in the 1980s. Increasingly, sophisticated models began to be translated into
practical, workable programs to be implemented in the schools. As we near the close of
the 1990s, comprehensive guidance programs are rapidly encompassing the position
orientation to guidance. Comprehensive guidance programs are becoming the major way
of organizing and managing guidance in the schools across the country.
This chapter begins with a brief review of traditional organizational patterns for
guidance. Next, the development of a Comprehensive Guidance Program Model that had
its genesis in the early 1970s is presented. The content of the model is described,
followed by a presentation of the structure of the program, the processes used in the
program, and the time allocations of staff required to carry out the program. Finally,
there is discussion of the program resources required for the model if it is to function
effectively.
Traditional Organizational Patterns
By the 1960s, the evolution of guidance in the schools had reached a peak. The
guidance provisions of the National Defense Education Act of 1958 (Public Law 85-864)
caused the number of secondary counselors in schools to increase substantially. Later,
due to an expansion of the guidance provisions of the act, elementary guidance was
supported and as a result, the number of elementary counselors in schools increased
rapidly.
Counselors put their expertise to work in schools where three traditional
organizational patterns for guidance were prevalent, often under the administrative
structure called pupil personnel services or student services; the services model, the
process model, or the duties model. In many schools, combinations of these three
approaches were used.
Services
The services model had its origins in the 1920s and consists of organizing the
activities of counselors around major services including assessment, information,
counseling, placement and follow-up. Although the activities that are usually listed under
each of these services are important and useful, it is a limited model for three reasons.
First, it is primarily oriented to secondary schools. Second, it does not lend itself easily
to the identification of student outcomes. And third, it does not specify how the time of
counselors should be allocated.
Processes
The process model had its origins in the 1940s. It emphasizes the clinical and
therapeutic aspects of counseling, particularly the processes of counseling, consulting,
and coordinating. This model is appealing because it is equally applicable to elementary
and secondary counselors. However, the process model has some of the same limitations
as the services model: It does not lend itself easily to the identification of student
outcomes and it does not specify allocations of counselor time.
Duties
Often, instead of describing some organizational pattern such as the services
model or the process model, counselor duties are simply listed (duties model).
Sometimes these lists contain as many as 20-30 duties and the last duty is often and
perform other duties as assigned from time to time. Although equally applicable to
elementary school and secondary school counselors, student outcomes are difficult to
identify and counselor time is almost impossible to allocate effectively.
Position Oriented Rather Than Program Focused
One result of these traditional organizational patterns has been to emphasize the
position of the counselor, not the program of guidance. Over the years, as guidance
evolved in the schools, it became position oriented rather than program focused. As a
result, guidance was an ancillary support service in the eyes of many people. This pattern
placed counselors mainly in a remedial-reactive role a role that is not seen as
mainstream in education. What was worse, this pattern reinforced the practice of
counselors performing many administrative-clerical duties because these duties could be
defended as being of service to somebody.
Because of the lack of an adequate organization framework, guidance had become
an undefined program. Guidance had become the add-on profession, while counselors
were seen as the you-might-as-well group (While you are doing this task, you might
as well do this one too). Because of the absence of a clear organizational framework for
guidance, it was easy to assign counselors new duties. Counselors had flexible schedules.
And, since time was not a consideration, why worry about removing current duties when
new ones were added?
Origin of the Comprehensive Guidance Program Model
In October of 1969, the University of Missouri-Columbia conducted a national
conference on career guidance, counseling and placement that led to regional conferences
held across the country during the spring of 1970. Then in 1971, the University of
Missouri-Columbia was awarded a U.S. Office of Education grant under the direction of
Norman C. Gysbers to assist each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in
developing models or guides for implementing career guidance, counseling and
placement programs in their local schools. Project staff in Missouri conducted a national
conference in St. Louis in J anuary of 1972 and developed a manual (Gysbers & Moore,
1974) to be used by the states as they developed their own guides.
The manual that was published in February of 1974 provided the first description
of an organizational framework for the Comprehensive Guidance Program Model that
was to be refined in later work (Gysbers, 1978; Gysbers & Henderson, 1994; Gysbers &
Moore, 1981; Hargens & Gysbers, 1984). The original organizational framework for the
Comprehensive Guidance Program Model contained three interrelated categories of
functions, and on-call functions. The curriculum-based category brought together those
guidance activities which took place primarily in the context of regularly scheduled
courses of study in an educational setting. These activities were a part of regular school
subjects or were organized around special topics in the form of units, mini courses, or
modules. They were based on need statements and translated into goals and objectives
and activities necessary for the development of all students. Typical topics focused on
self-understanding, interpersonal relationships, decision making, and information about
the education, work, and leisure worlds. School counselors were involved directly with
students through class instruction, group processes, or individual discussions. In other
instances, school counselors worked directly and cooperatively with teachers, providing
resources and consultation.
Individual facilitation functions included those systematic activities of the
comprehensive guidance program designed to assist students in monitoring and
understanding their development in regard to their personal, educational, and
occupational goals, values, abilities, aptitudes, and interests. School counselors served in
the capacity of advisers, learner managers, or development specialists.
Personalized contact and involvement were stressed instead of superficial contact with
each student once a year to fill out a schedule. The functions in this category provided
for the accountability needed in an educational setting to ensure that students uniqueness
remained intact and that educational resources were used to facilitate their life career
development.
On-call functions focused on direct, immediate responses to students needs such
as information seeking, crisis counseling, and teacher/parent/specialist consultation. In
addition, on-call functions were supportive of the curriculum-based and individual
facilitation functions. Adjunct guidance staff (peers, paraprofessionals, and
volunteers/support staff) aided school counselors in carrying out on-call functions. Peers
were involved in tutorial programs, orientation activities, ombudsman centers, and (with
special training) cross-age counseling and leadership in informal dialogue centers.
Paraprofessionals and volunteers provided meaningful services in placement and follow-
up activities, community liaison, career information centers, and club leadership
activities.
The 1974 version of the model focused on the importance of counselor time usage
by featuring time distribution wheels to show how counselors time could be
distributed to carry out a developmental guidance program. A chart was provided to
show how counselors time could be distributed across a typical school week using the
three categories as organizers.
REFINEMENTS TO THE
COMPREHENSIVE GUIDANCE PROGRAM MODEL
In 1978, Gysbers described refinements that had been made to the model since
1974. By 1978, the focus was on a total comprehensive, developmental guidance
program. It included the following elements: definition, rationale, assumptions, content
model, and process model. The content model described the knowledge and skills that
students would acquire with the help of activities in the guidance program. The process
model grouped the guidance activities and processes used in the program into four
interrelated categories: curriculum-based processes, individual-development processes,
on-call responsive processes, and systems support processes.
It is interesting to note the changes that had been made between 1974 and 1978 in
the model. The concepts of definition, rationale, and assumptions had been added. The
model itself was now organized into two parts. The first part listed the content to be
learned by students, while the second part organized into four categories the guidance
activities and processes needed in a program. The category of individual facilitation was
changed to individual development, the word responsive was added to on-call, and a new
category systems support was added. Also in 1978, Gysbers described seven steps
required to remodel a guidance program while living in it:
1. Decide you want to change.
2. Form work groups.
3. Assess current programs.
4. Select program model.
5. Compare current program with program model.
6. Establish transition timetable.
7. Evaluate.
Between 1978 and 1981, further refinements were made in the model. These
refinements appeared in Improving Guidance Programs by Gysbers and Moore (1981).
By then, the basic structure of the model was established. The terms content model
and process model had been dropped. Also, the steps for remodeling a guidance
program, first delineated in 1978, formed the basis for the organization the chapters in
Improving Guidance Programs and were described in detail.
Between 1981 and 1988, the model was being used by state departments of
education and local school districts with increasing frequency. During these years, two
school districts in particular became involved: St. J oseph School District, St. J oseph,
Missouri and Northside Independent School District, San Antonio, Texas. Hargens and
Gysbers (1984), writing in The School Counselor, presented a case study of how the
model was implemented in the St. J oseph School District. The work in the Northside
Independent School District became the basis for much of the most recent description of
the model (Gysbers & Henderson, 1994). As the 1980s progressed, a number of states
and a number of additional school districts across the country began to adapt the model to
fit their needs.
In 1988, the first edition of Gysbers and Hendersons book Developing and
Managing Your School Guidance Program was published by the American Association
for Counseling and Development, AACD (now the American Counseling Association,
ACA). Using the framework of the model presented in 1981, Gysbers and Henderson
expanded and extended the model substantially. Building upon the experiences of a
number of local school districts and states and with particular emphasis on the
experiences of the Northside Independent School District, the planning, design,
implementation, and evaluation phases of the model were elaborated upon in much more
detail. Sample forms, procedures, and methods, particularly those from Northside, were
used extensively to illustrate the model and its implementation. The second edition of the
book Developing and Managing Your School Guidance Program by Gysbers and
Henderson was published in 1994.
DESCRIPTION OF THE
COMPREHENSIVE GUIDANCE PROGRAM MODEL
Conceptual Foundation
The perspective of human development that serves as the foundation for the
model and as a basis for identifying the guidance knowledge, skills, and attitudes
(competencies) that students need to master is called life career development. Life career
development is defined as self-development over a persons life span through the
integration of the roles, setting, and events in a persons life. The word life in the
definition indicates that the focus of this conception of human development is on the total
person the human career. The word career identifies and relates the many often varied
roles that individuals assume (student, worker, consumer, citizen, parent); the settings in
which individuals find themselves (home, school, community); and the events that occur
over their lifetimes (entry job, marriage, divorce, retirement). The word development is
used to indicate that individuals are always in the process of becoming. When used in
sequence, the words life career development bring these separate meaning words
together, but at the same time a greater meaning evolves. Life career development
describes total individuals unique individuals, with their own lifestyles (Gysbers &
Moore, 1974, 1975, 1981).
The meaning of the word career in the phrase life career development differs
substantially from the usual definition of the term. Career focuses on all aspects of life as
interrelated parts of the whole person. The term career, when viewed from this broad
perspective, is not a synonym for occupation. People have careers; the marketplace has
occupations. Unfortunately, too many people use the word career when they should use
the word occupation. All people have careers their lives are their careers. Finally, the
words, life career development do not delineate and describe only one part of human
growth and development. Although it is useful to focus at times on different areas (e.g.,
physical, emotional, and intellectual), it is also necessary to integrate these areas. Life
career development is an organizing and integrating concept for understanding and
facilitating human development.
Wolfe and Kolb (1980) summed up the life view of career development as
follows:

Career development involves ones whole life, not just occupation. As such,
it concerns the whole person, needs and wants, capacities and potentials,
excitements and anxieties, insights and blind spots, warts and all. More than
that, it concerns his/her life. The environment pressures and constraints, the
bonds that tie him/her to significant others, responsibilities to children and
aging parents, the total structure of ones circumstances are also factors that
must be understood and reckoned with, in these terms, career development
and personal development converge. Self and circumstances evolving,
changing, unfolding in mutual interaction constitute the focus and the
drama of career development. (pp. 1-2)
COMPREHENSIVE GUIDANCE PROGRAM MODEL ELEMENTS
The model program (see Figure 1.1) consists of three elements: content, organizational
framework, and resources.
CONTENT
There are many examples today of content (student knowledge and skills) for
guidance. The content is generally organized around areas or domains such as career,
educational, and personal-social. Most often, the content is stated in a student
competency format. For purposes of this chapter, the three domains of human
development that are featured in the life career development concept are presented here:
self-knowledge and interpersonal skills; life roles, setting and events; and life career
planning (Gysbers & Henderson, 1994; Gysbers & Moore, 1974, 1981). Student
competencies are generated from these domains to provide example program content for
the model.
Self-knowledge and Interpersonal Skills
In the self-knowledge and interpersonal skills domain of life career development,
the focus is on helping students understand themselves and others. The main concepts of
this domain focus on students awareness and acceptance of themselves, their awareness
and acceptance of others, and their development of interpersonal skills. Within this
domain, students begin to develop an awareness of their interpersonal characteristics
interests, aspirations, and abilities. Students learn techniques for self-appraisal and the
analysis of their personal characteristics in terms of a real-ideal self-continuum. They
begin to formulate plans for self-improvement in such areas as physical and mental
health. Individuals become knowledgeable about the interactive relationship of self and
environment in such a way that they develop personal standards and a sense of purpose in
life. Students learn how to create and maintain relationships and develop skills that allow
for beneficial interaction within those relationships. They can use self-knowledge in life
career planning. They have positive interpersonal relations and are self-directed in that
they accept responsibility for their own behavior.

See Figure 1.1 Below
The model program consists of three elements: content, organizational framework, and
resources.
Comprehensive Guidance Program Elements
Content Organizational Framework, Activities, Time Resources


SUGGESTED DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL COUNSELOR TIME

Elementary School Middle/J unior School High School
Guidance Curriculum 35-45% 25-35% 15-25%
Individual Planning 5-10% 15-25% 25-35%
Responsive Services 30-40% 30-40% 25-35%
System Support 10-15% 10-15% 15-20%
STRUCTURAL
COMPONENTS
Definition
Assumptions
Rational
PROGRAM COMPONENTS
SAMPLE PROCESSES

Guidance Curriculum
Structured Groups
Classroom presentations

COMPETENCIES

Student
Competencies
Grouped by
domains
RESOURCES
Human
Financial
Political
Individual Planning
Advisement
Assessment
Placement & Follow-up

Responsive Services
Individual counseling
Small group counseling
Consultation
Referral

System Support
Management activities
Consultation
Community outreach
Public relations

Life Roles, Settings, and Events
The emphasis in this domain of life career development is on the interrelatedness
of various life roles (learner, citizen, consumer), settings (home, school, work, and
community), and events (job entry, marriage, retirement) in which students participate
over the life span. Emphasis is given to the knowledge and understanding of the
sociological, psychological, and economic dimensions and structure of their worlds. As
students explore the different aspects of their roles, they learn how stereotypes affect their
own lives and others lives. The implications of futuristic concerns is examined and
related to their current lives. Students learn the potential impact of change in modern
society and the necessity of being able to project themselves into the future. In this way,
they begin to predict the future, foresee alternatives they may choose, and plan to meet
the requirements of the life career alternatives they may choose. As a result of learning
about the multiple options and dimensions of their worlds, students understand the
reciprocal influences of life roles, settings, and events, and they can consider various
lifestyle patterns.
Life Career Planning
The life career planning domain in life career development is designed to help
students understand that decision making and planning are important tasks in everyday
life and to recognize the need for life career planning. Students learn about the many
occupations and industries in the work world and of their groupings according to
occupational requirements and characteristics, as well as learning about their own
personal skills, interests, values, and aspirations. Emphasis is placed on students
learning of various rights and responsibilities associated with their involvement in a life
career.
The central focus of this domain is on the mastery of decision-making skills as a
part of life career planning. Students develop skills in this area by learning the elements
of the decision-making process. They develop skills in gathering information from
relevant sources, both external and internal, and learn to use the collected information in
making informed and reasoned decisions. A major aspect of this process involves the
appraisal of personal values as they may relate to prospective plans and decisions.
Students engage in planning activities and begin to understand that they can influence
their future by applying such skill. They accept responsibility for making their own
choices, for managing their own resources, and for directing the future course of their
own lives.

ORGANIZATIONAL FRAMEWORK
The model program (see Figure 1.1) contains seven components organized around
two major categories: structural components and program components (Gysbers &
Henderson, 1994; Gysbers & Moore, 1981).
The three structural components describe the student focus of the program and
how the program connects to other educational programs (definition), offer reasons why
the program is important and needed (rational), and provide the premises upon which the
program rests (assumptions). The four program components delineate the major
activities and the roles and responsibilities of personnel involved in carrying out the
guidance program. These four program elements are as follows: guidance curriculum,
individual planning, responsive services, and system support.
Structural Components
Definition
The program definition includes the mission statement of the guidance program
and its centrality within the school districts total educational program. It delineates the
competencies that individuals will possess as a result of their involvement in the program,
summarizes the components, and identifies the programs clientele.
Rational
The rationale discusses the importance of guidance as an equal partner in the
educational system and provides reasons why students need to acquire the competencies
that will accrue as a result of their involvement in a comprehensive guidance program.
Included are conclusions drawn from student and community needs assessments and
statements of the goals of the local school district.
Assumptions
Assumptions are the principles that shape and guide the program. They include
statements regarding the contributions that school counselors and guidance programs
make to students development, the premises that undergird the comprehensiveness and
the balanced nature of the program, and the relationships between the guidance program
and the other educational programs.
Program Components
An examination of the needs of students, the variety of guidance methods,
techniques, and resources available, and the increases expectations of policy-makers and
consumers indicates that a new structure for guidance programs in the schools is needed.
The position orientation organized around the traditional services (information,
assessment, counseling, placement, and follow-up) and three aspects (educational,
personal-social, and vocational) of guidance is no longer adequate to carry the needed
guidance activities in todays schools.
When cast as a position and organized around services, guidance is often seen as
ancillary and only supportive to instruction, rather than equal and complementary. The
three aspects view of guidance frequently has resulted in fragmented and event-
oriented activities and, in some instances, the creation of separate kinds of counselors.
For example, educational guidance is stressed by academic-college counselors, personal-
social guidance becomes the territory of mental health counselors, and vocational
guidance is the focus of vocational counselors.
If the traditional structures for guidance in the schools are no longer adequate,
what structure is needed? One way to answer this question is to ask and answer the
following questions: Are all students in need of specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes
that are the instructional province of guidance programs? Do all students need assistance
with their personal, educational, and occupational plans? Do some students require
special assistance in dealing with developmental problems and immediate crises? Do
educational programs in the school and the staff involved require support that can be best
supplied by school counselors?
An affirmative answer to these four questions implies a structure that is different
from the traditional position model. A review of the variety of guidance methods,
techniques, and resources available today and an understanding of the expectations of
national and state policy-makers and consumers of guidance also suggests the needs for a
different model. The structure suggested by an affirmative answer to the four questions
and by a review of the literature is a program model of guidance techniques, methods,
and resources organized around four interactive program components: guidance
curriculum, individual planning, responsive services, and system support (Gysbers &
Henderson, 1994; Gysbers & Moore, 1981).
The curriculum component was chosen because a curriculum provides a vehicle
to impart guidance content to all students in a systematic way. Individual planning was
included as a part of the model because of the increasing need for all students to
systematically plan, monitor, and manager their development and to consider and take
action on their next steps personally, educationally, and occupationally. The responsive
services component was included because of the need to respond to the direct, immediate
concerns of students, whether these concerns involve crisis counseling, referral, or
consultation with parents, teachers, or other specialists. Finally, the system support
component was included because, if the other guidance processes are to be effective, a
variety of support activities such as staff development, research, and curriculum
development are required. Also, system support encompasses the need for the guidance
program to provide appropriate support to other programs in including assuming fair
share responsibilities in operating the school.
These components, then, serve as organizers for the many guidance methods,
techniques, and resources required in a comprehensive guidance program. In addition,
they also serve as a check on the comprehensiveness of the program. A program is not
comprehensive unless counselors are providing activities to students, parents, and staff in
all four program components.
Guidance Curriculum
This model of guidance is based on the assumption that guidance programs
include content that all students should learn in a systematic, sequential way. In order for
this to happen, counselors must be involved in teaching, team teaching, or serving as a
resource for those who teach a guidance curriculum. This is not a new idea; the notion of
guidance curriculum has deep, historical roots. What is new however, is the array of
guidance and counseling techniques, methods, and resources currently available that
work best as part of a curriculum. Also new is the concept that a comprehensive
guidance program has an organized and sequential curriculum. The guidance curriculum
typically consists of student competencies (organized by domain) and structured activities
presented systematically through such strategies as the following:
Classroom Activities
Counselors teach, team teach, or support the teaching of guidance curriculum
learning activities or unites in classrooms. Teachers also may teach such units. The
guidance curriculum is not limited to being part of only one or two subjects but should be
included in as many subjects as possible throughout the total school curriculum. These
activities may be conducted in the classroom, guidance center, or other school facilities.
Group Activities
Counselors organize large-group sessions such as career days and
educational/college/vocational days. Other members of the guidance team, including
teachers and administrators, may be involved in organizing and conducting such sessions.
Although counselors responsibilities include organizing and implementing the
guidance curriculum, the cooperation and support of the entire faculty are necessary for
its successful implementation.
Individual Planning
Concern for individual student development in a complex society has been a cornerstone
of the guidance movement since the days of Frank Parsons. In recent years the concern
for individual student development has intensified as society has become more complex.
This concern is manifested in many ways, but perhaps is expressed most succinctly in a
frequently stated guidance goal: Helping all students become the persons they are
capable of becoming.
To accomplish the purposes of this component of the Model, activities and procedures are
provided to assist students in understanding and periodically monitoring their
development. Students come to terms with their goals, values, abilities, aptitudes, and
interests (competencies) so they can continue to progress educationally and
occupationally. Counselors become person-development-and-placement specialists.
Individual planning consists of activities that help students to plan, monitor, and manage
their own learning and their personal and career development. The focus is on assisting
students, in close collaboration with parents, to develop, analyze, and evaluate their
educational, occupational, and personal goals and plans. Individual planning is
implemented through such strategies as:
Individual Appraisal
Counselors assist students to assess and interpret their abilities, interests, skills, and
achievement. The use of test information and other data about students is an important
part of helping them develop immediate and long-range goals and plans.
Individual Advisement
Counselors assist students to use self-appraisal information along with personal-social,
educational, career, and labor market information to help them plan and realize their
personal, educational, and occupational goals.
Placement
Counselors and other educational personnel assist students to make the transition from
school to work or to additional education and training.
Responsive Services
Problems relating to academic learning, personal identity issues, drugs, and peer and
family relationships are increasingly a part of the educational scene. Crisis counseling,
diagnostic and remediation activities, and consultation and referral must continue to be
included as an ongoing part of a comprehensive guidance program. In addition, a
continuing need exists for the guidance program to respond to the immediate
information-seeking needs of students, parents, and teachers. The responsive services
component organizes guidance techniques and methods to respond to these concerns and
needs as they occur; it is supportive of the guidance curriculum and individual planning
components as well. Responsive services consist of activities to meet the immediate
needs and concerns of students, teachers, and parents, whether these needs or concerns
require counseling, consultation, referral, or information. Although counselors have
special training and possess skills to respond to immediate needs and concerns, the
cooperation and support of the entire faculty are necessary for this components
successful implementation.
Responsive services are implemented through such strategies as:
Consultation
Counselors consult with parents, teachers, other educators, and community agencies
regarding strategies to help students deal with and resolve personal, educational, and
career concerns.
Personal Counseling
Counseling is provided on a small-group and individual basis for students who have
problems or difficulties dealing with relationships, personal concerns, or normal
developmental tasks. The focus is on assisting students to identify problems and causes,
alternatives, possible consequences, and to take action when appropriate.
Crisis Counseling
Counseling and support are provided to students or their families facing emergency
situations. Such counseling is normally short term and temporary in nature. When
necessary, appropriate referral sources are used.
Referral
Counselors use other professional resources of the school and community to refer
students when appropriate. These referral sources may include:
mental health agencies
employment and training programs
vocational rehabilitation
juvenile services
social services
special school programs (special or compensatory education)
The responsive services component also provides for small-group counseling. Small
groups of students with similar concerns can be helped by intensive small-group
counseling. All students may not need such assistance, but it is available in a
comprehensive program.
Adjunct guidance staffpeers, paraprofessionals, volunteerscan aid counselors in
carrying out their responsive activities. Peers can be involved in tutorial programs,
orientation activities, ombudsman functions and, with special training, cross-age
counseling and leadership in informal dialog. Paraprofessionals and volunteers can
provide assistance in such areas as placement, follow-up, and community-school-home
liaison activities.
System Support
The administration and management of a comprehensive guidance program require an
ongoing support system. That is why system support is a major program component.
Unfortunately, it is often overlooked or only minimally appreciated. And yet, the system
support component is as important as the other three components. Without continuing
support, the other three components of the guidance program are ineffective.
This component is implemented and carried out through such activities as the following:
Research and Development
Guidance program evaluation, follow-up studies, and the continued development and
updating of guidance learning activities are some examples of the research and
development work of counselors.
Staff/Community Public Relations
The orientation of staff and the community to the comprehensive guidance program
through the use of newsletters, local media, and school and community presentations are
examples of public relations work.
Professional Development
Counselors must regularly update their professional knowledge and skills. This may
include participation in school inservice training, attendance at professional meetings,
completion of postgraduate course work, and contributions to the professional literature.
Committee/Advisory Boards
Serving on departmental curriculum committees and community committees or advisory
boards are examples of activities in this area.
Community Outreach
Included in this area are activities designed to help counselors become knowledgeable
about community resources, employment opportunities, and the local labor market. This
may involve counselors visiting local businesses and industries and social services
agencies.
Program Management and Operations
This area includes the planning and management tasks needed to support the activities of
a comprehensive guidance program.
Also included in the system support component are activities that support programs other
than guidance. These activities may include counselors being involved in helping
interpret student test results to teachers, parents, and administrators, serving on
departmental curriculum committees (helping interpret student needs data for curriculum
revision), and working with school administrators (helping interpret student needs and
behaviors). Care must be taken, however, to watch the time given to these duties because
the primary focus for counselors is their work in the first three components of the
comprehensive guidance program. It is important to realize that if the guidance program
is well run, focusing heavily on the first three components, it will provide substantial
support for other programs and personnel in the school and the community.
Program Time
Counselors professional time is a critical element in the Model. How should professional
certified counselors spend their time? How should this time be spread across the total
program?
In this Model, the four program components provide the structure for making judgments
about appropriate allocations of counselors time. One criterion to be used in making
such judgments is the concept of program balance. The assumption is that counselor time
should be spread across all program components, but particularly the first three. Another
criterion is that different grade levels require different allocations of counselor time
across the program components. For example, at the elementary level, more counselor
time is spent working in the curriculum with less time spent in individual planning. In the
high school, these time allocations are reversed.
How counselors in a school district or school building plan and allocate their time
depends on the needs of their students and their community. Once chosen, time
allocations are not fixed forever. The purpose for making them is to provide direction to
the program and to the administrators and counselors involved.
Since the Model is a 100 percent program, 100 % of counselors time must be spread
across the four program components. Time allocations are changed as new needs arise,
but nothing new can be added unless something else is removed. The assumption is that
professional counselors spend 100 % of their time on task, implementing the guidance
program.
What are some suggested percentages? As an example, the state of Missouri (Starr &
Gysbers, 1997) has adopted suggested percentages of counselor time to be spent on each
program component. These suggested percentages were recommended by Missouri
counselors and administrators who had participated in the field-testing of the Missouri
adaptation of the Comprehensive Guidance Program Model:
Percent
ES M/J H HS
Guidance Curriculum 35-45 25-35 15-25
Individual Planning 05-10 15-25 25-35
Responsive Services 30-40 30-40 25-35
System Support 10-15 10-15 15-20
Resources
Human
Human resources for the guidance program include such individuals as counselors,
teachers, administrators, parents, students, community members, and business and labor
personnel. All have roles to play in the guidance program. While counselors are the main
providers of guidance and counseling services and coordinators of the program, the
involvement, cooperation, and support of teachers and administrators is necessary for the
program to be successful. The involvement, cooperation, and support of parents,
community members, and business and labor personnel also is critical. A School-
Community Advisory Committee is recommended to bring together the talent and energy
of school and community personnel.
The School-Community Advisory Committee acts as a liaison between the school and
community and provides recommendations concerning the needs of students and the
community. A primary duty of this committee is to advise those involved in the guidance
program. The committee is not a policy- or decision-making body; rather, it is a source of
advice, counsel, and support and is a communication link between those involved in the
guidance program and the school and community. The committee is a permanent part of
the guidance program. A community person should be the chairperson.
The use and involvement of an advisory committee will vary according to the program
and the community. It is important, however, that membership be more than in name
only. Members will be particularly helpful in developing and implementing the public
relations plan for the community.
Financial
The financial resources of a comprehensive guidance program are crucial to its success.
Examples of financial resources include budget, material, equipment, and facilities. The
Model highlights the need for these resources through its focus on the physical space and
equipment required to conduct a comprehensive program in a school district. To make the
guidance curriculum, individual planning, responsive services, and system support
components function effectively, adequate guidance facilities are required.
Traditionally, guidance facilities have consisted of an office or suite of offices designed
primarily to provide one-to-one counseling or consultation assistance. Such arrangements
have frequently included reception or waiting areas that serve as browsing rooms where
students have access to displays or files of educational and occupational information.
Also, this space has typically been placed in the administrative wing of the school so that
the counseling staff can be near the records and the administration.
The need for individual offices is obvious because of the continuing need to carry on
individual counseling sessions. A need also exists, however, to open up guidance
facilities and make them more accessible to all students, teachers, parents, and
community members. One way to make guidance facilities more usable and accessible is
to reorganize traditional space into a guidance center.
A guidance center brings together available guidance information and resources and
makes them easily accessible to students. The center is used for such activities as group
sessions, student self-exploration, and personalized research and planning. At the high
school level, students receive assistance in areas such as occupational planning, job entry
and placement, financial aid information and postsecondary educational opportunities. At
the elementary school level, students and their parents receive information about the
school, the community, and parenting skills; they also read books about personal growth
and development. An area for play therapy can be provided in the guidance center.
Although the center is available for use to school staff and community members, it is
student centered, and many of the center activities are student planned as well as student
directed. At the same time, the center is a valuable resource for teachers in their program
planning and implementation. Employers, too, will find the center useful when seeking
part-time or full-time workers. Clearly, the impact of the center on school and community
can be substantial.
If community members and parents are involved in the planning and implementation of
the center and its activities, their interest could provide an impetus for the involvement of
other community members. When parents and community members become involved in
programs housed in the center, they experience the guidance program firsthand.
Through these experiences, new support for the program may develop.
The guidance center is furnished as comfortably as possible for all users. Provision is
made for group as well as individual activities. Coordinating the operation of the
guidance center is the responsibility of the guidance staff, but all school staff can be
involved. It is recommended that at least one paraprofessional be a part of the staff to
ensure that clerical tasks are carried out in a consistent and ongoing manner.
Political
Education is not simply influenced by politics, it is politics. The mobilization of political
resources is key to a successful guidance program. Full endorsement of the guidance
program by the Board of Education as a program of studies of the district is one
example of mobilizing political resources. Another example is a clear and concise school
district policy statement that highlights the integral and central nature of the school
districts comprehensive guidance program to other programs in the school district.
Putting It All Together
What does the Program Model look like when all of the Models elements are brought
together? Figure 1 (see page 12) presents the Model on one page so that the three
program elements can be seen in relationship to each other.
Notice that the three program elements (program content, program structure, processes,
and time, and program resources) represent the means of the program. Without these
means in place, it is impossible to achieve the full results of the program and to fully
evaluate the impact of the program on the students, the school, and the community.
Some Final Thoughts
The Program Model, by definition, leads to guidance activities and structured group
experiences for all students. It de-emphasizes administrative and clerical tasks, one-to-
one counseling only, and limited accountability. It is proactive rather than reactive.
Counselors are busy and unavailable for unrelated administrative and clerical duties
because they have a guidance program to implement. Counselors are expected to do
personal and crisis counseling as well as provide structured activities to all students.
To fully implement the Program Model it is important that the program be as follows:
1. Understood as student-development oriented, not school maintenance-administrative-
oriented.
2. Operated as a 100 % program; the four program components constitute the total
program; there are no add-ons.
3. Started the first day of school and ended on the last day of school; not started in the
middle of October with an ending time in April so that administrative, nonguidance tasks
can be completed.
4. Understood as program focused, not position focused.
5. Understood as education-based, not agency or clinic based.

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