Guidance and counselling in Irish schools

The development of guidance services in Irish schools since the sixties is described and discussed. Provision for the full-time training of guidance teachers began in 1967, and after a brief attempt to use short courses as a substitute, this has now been accepted as the standard form of basic training. Since 1972 approximately 90 guidance teachers have qualified each year, and by 1974 they were present in about 24% of post-primary schools. Data is reported from a survey of early graduates from the one-year course at University College Dublin, and also from a survey of the attitudes to guidance of the heads of schools with guidance teachers. Some comments are also provided on the current status of guidance in Ireland.