Elementary School Counseling and Peer Relations

It was the purpose of this study to compare the effects of counseling and selected guidance techniques upon 5th and 6th grade elementary school students' peer relationships. Sociometric status and teacher ratings of their students' social skills were selected as criteria. Subjects were selected from students who were in the lower half of their classes in sociometric status and who indicated that they wanted to get along better with their peers. From each of 7 classrooms an equal number of subjects was randomly assigned to each of 3 treatment conditions: (1) counseling, (2) teacher-guidance, and (3) control. When the treatment conditions were compared, no statistically significant differences were found among them.     

Physical Facilities for Elementary School Counseling

This article describes 3 desirable counseling centers for elementary schools with student populations of four to eight hundred. Adaptations for schools outside these population limits will readily be seen. 4 assumptions about the counseling setting are discussed: that it should (1) be attractive, (2) permit group as well as individual counseling, (3) encourage the use of play media in counseling, and (4) permit observation of counseling. Functional aspects of the counseling setting are presented in diagram and outline form. It is hoped that this presentation will encourage dialogue relative to the setting for elementary counseling, and that some direction may be found by those who are planning counseling offices or centers.     

Developmental Counseling in the Elementary School

Some of the fundamentals basic to a theory and practice of developmental counseling with the elementary school child are set forth. Pertinent child development research is cited that implies the need for developmental counseling with normal children. The value of this counseling in the elementary school setting is in facilitating the total learning process. Unique factors of this counseling, including short-term service, focus on developmental problems, and the establishment of goals, are described. Principles for working with children in the counseling process are discussed.     

Counseling Disruptive Black Elementary School Boys

The assignment was to counsel the 10 worst behaved boys at an inner-city elementary school. This case study illuminates the interplay between theory, practice, and values by describing effective techniques of intervention in a situation that reflects social pathology. Traditional African values and certain principles of character provide a set of reliable standards for improving behavior.     

Counseling with Elementary School Children: An Experimental Study

An attempt was made to assess results of counseling with fourth-grade students, using sociometric status as the criterion. A sociometric device was administered to four fourth-grade classrooms. Students of low sociometric status were randomly assigned by classrooms to one of three treatment conditions: (1) counseling, (2) teacher guidance, and (3) control. When treatment conditions were compared, the evidence seemed to indicate significant differences in the relative frequency with which subjects increased or decreased in sociometric status, that the differences favored the counseling condition, and that these differences persisted over a period of seven months. The possibility of a temporary teacher influence on the sociometric criterion was indicated.     

Model Reinforcement in Group Counseling with Elementary School Children

This study investigated the effectiveness of model reinforcement and reinforcement group counseling with elementary school children using sociometric status as a criterion. Eighteen low sociometric students experienced group counseling with sociometric stars included as models (six groups); 18 others experienced group counseling with all low sociometric students (three groups); and a control group met for an activity period. An analysis of co-variance was computed to measure the difference of change in social acceptance among the three treatments. The findings indicated that low sociometric students in the model reinforcement groups made significantly more gain in social acceptance than either those receiving counseling without models or the control group. A two-month follow-up showed the sociometric gains were retained.     

Grief Counseling for Muslim Preschool and Elementary School Children

This article describes Sunni Muslims' view of death, mourning and burial rituals, and accepted healing practices. Interventions for addressing death with Muslim children, group counseling, play therapy, and community outreach are discussed. A case study of interventions for coping with a preschool Muslim boy's death is provided. Este artículo describe la perspectiva sobre la muerte, el luto y los rituales de enterramiento, así como las prácticas de curación aceptadas de los musulmanes suníes. Se discuten intervenciones para tratar de la muerte con niños musulmanes, consejería de grupo, terapia de juego y vinculación con la comunidad. Se incluye un estudio de caso de intervenciones para el afrontamiento de la muerte de un niño musulman en edad preescolar.     

Status of Guidance and Counseling in the Elementary School

This study investigated some aspects of elementary school guidance and counseling in the 50 states and the 4 American territories. Specifically, such matters as the number of counselors employed, their professional background, certification, and state standards were examined. Results of this study were as follows: 3,837 counselors are now working in elementary schools in 48 states; the majority of these counselors are former elementary school teachers. Over 70 per cent are supported in part by federal funds. To date, 14 states have developed certification requirements for elementary counselors that are discernibly different from secondary certification. For the most part, state standards for elementary school guidance lack specificity; in some cases such standards are non-existent     

Career Counseling for the Elementary School Child: Grades K-5

The field of occupational psychology relies heavily on the idea that vocational behavior is a developmental process (Vondracek & Kirchner, 1974). This article describes first the general characteristics of the elementary school child, followed by pragmatic activities and strategies for counselors to use at this level.     

Guidance and Counseling in the Elementary School: Its Theoretical Base

Although many proponents of elementary counseling and guidance have stressed the preventive, developmental approach, an examination of job practices shows some inconsistency between the approach as stated and its implementation. This discrepancy is traced to the failure of elementary counseling and guidance to develop a theoretical base that relates guidance and counseling processes to the process of child development in the early childhood years. This research-based article attempts to identify the problem further, to examine its origins, and to find a solution to it. The author shows how a communication-theory approach could bridge this gap and offers some suggestions for its implementation and use.     

The Legitimacy of Elementary School Counseling: Some Unresolved Issues and Conflicts

The increased expansion of counseling services at the elementary school level has had few critics, for the services are long overdue and desperately needed. Three factors seem to have escaped close scrutiny by most members of the guidance profession. First, all too often the training, preparation, and models of elementary counselors are those originally devised for secondary school pupils and seem grossly inadequate for elementary age children. Second, there is a serious lack of both theory and research at the elementary level and this raises serious questions as to direction and methodology. Third, the problem of role conflict is heightened at the elementary level and raises serious questions regarding the success of guidance policies and programs. It is suggested that only an immediate increase in interest, research and theory by counselor educators can save elementary guidance from falling into the hands of other disciplines or school administrators.     

Introducing Reality Play Therapy: Reactions and Perceptions From Elementary School Counselors

Many elementary school students lack school relationships required for positive personal, social, and academic interactions. Reality therapy and play therapy both seek to address these relationships through developmentally appropriate and effective interventions. Integrating these 2 approaches has the potential for elementary school counselors to provide students with opportunities to create positive relationships and develop problem-solving skills. In this study, 8 school counselors participated in a series of trainings introducing reality play-therapy techniques to assess this potential. A thematic analysis conducted on feedback sessions following the trainings yielded themes related to the participants’ positive perceptions to the training and possible application.     

Ritualized Play Using Role Play to Teach Pastoral Care and Counseling

The author's experience of reflection-on-action and reflection-in-action in clinical supervision for counseling provides the basis for an analogous experience in the classroom that promotes the teaching of the practice of general pastoral care. A classroom ritual of role play within a specific process for reflection provides the basis for integrating theory and practice.     

Epistemology and School Counseling

Because a counselor's interactions with his clients should be an out-growth of his philosophical commitments, he must grapple with certain epistemological questions: (a) Can human beings know the extramental world or merely their own ideas? (b) Is human knowledge a valid representation of the extramental world? (c) Can human beings reach agreement about the nature of extramental realities? The counselor can assume two possible stances. First, there is the “realist” position which states that there is an extramental world, we can achieve valid knowledge of it, and the knowledge of various observers can agree. Second is the “phenomenalist” position: There is an extramental world, but no one can achieve valid knowledge of it, nor can various observers easily agree regarding its nature. The realist counselor should help his client perceive his problem situation as it “really” is and as it appears to others. The phenomenalist counselor cannot do this instead, he can only try to enter the client's subjectivity and to help him deepen and enrich his unique perception of the problem situation.     

Child‐Centered Group Play Therapy With African American Boys at the Elementary School Level

Culturally sensitive counseling interventions are needed for African American boys in elementary school. Two important components of counseling African American boys are honoring the African worldview and building self‐confidence. Child‐centered group play therapy is a common intervention for elementary school children. In this article, the authors describe how child‐centered group play therapy with African American boys at the elementary school level honors the African worldview and facilitates their self‐confidence. Counseling implications and recommendations for research are discussed.     

Curriculum Development in School Counseling

In response to a number of current tensions affecting school counselors and their discipline, a three-pronged solution is proposed, elaborated, and summarized.     

The Potential Contribution of School Counseling to School Integration

The author discusses the goals of desegregation, the impact of desegregation on pupils' educational outcomes, and ways in which counselors can foster high quality education in integrated settings.