Perceptions of the Guidance Teacher as Preferred Helping Agent in Some South African Schools

A questionnaire was administered to 359 pupils and 31 teachers at seven middle-class Johannesburg high schools. The results indicated that pupils selected guidance teachers less often than parents and friends as helping agents and that, in most areas of concern, the extent to which guidance teachers were selected was negligible. Relative to this, teachers considerably overrated pupils' preference for the guidance teacher, whom they perceived as pupils' favoured source of help in certain areas. Similarly, while a significant majority of pupils indicated their discomfort in approaching their guidance teacher, most teachers believed the contrary. The differing perceptions of teachers and pupils, and the need to address shortcomings in the guidance system, are discussed.