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Major Challenges Facing Teacher Counselors in Schools in Namibia

Received: 5 May 2013     Published: 30 May 2013
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Abstract

There was a significant number of learners in Namibian schools whose psycho-social circumstances were dire as a result of a variety of socio-economic, psychological and cultural factors. The learners needed psycho-social support. Instead of appointing qualified school counselors, the Ministry of Education directed schools to appoint teacher counselors (lay counselors) to render this support. Teacher counselors are teachers who are entrusted with the responsibility of rendering lay counseling services to learners in the school setting. Some teachers volunteered to become teacher counselors, others were elected by their fellow teachers, and others were nominated by their principals because they had lighter workloads or were doing work that was related to counseling. This study attempted to identify the major challenges facing the teacher counselors. The study made use of a qualitative approach. Forty nine teacher counselors from 18 primary and secondary schools in three regions constituted the sample. The data collection instruments were documentary analysis, individual interviews, focus group discussions/interviews, and informal interactions. Many teacher counselors were committed and motivated to make psycho-social interventions and acted as advocates for the learners. In many schools, little (if any) real counseling took place; most interventions were practical and/or focused on motivating learners not to become disheartened. The study revealed that the teacher counselors were facing many challenges including unavailability of appropriate space and time to counsel learners, and lack of skills to effectively address learners’ psychosocial needs. The teacher counselors recommended, inter alia, that they be appointed full time, and that principals should attend counseling training so that they understand and support teacher counselors.

Published in Education Journal (Volume 2, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.edu.20130203.13
Page(s) 77-84
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2013. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Namibia, Teacher Counselors, Counseling, Psycho-Social Support

References
[1] Ministry of Education. (2008). Education sector policy for orphans and vulnerable children. Windhoek: Ministry of Education
[2] Ministry of Education (2005). National standards and performance indicators for schools in Namibia. Windhoek: Ministry of Education.
[3] Ashton, Haihambo, Nuujoma-Kalomo, 2007. An assessment of the quality of services offered to orphans and vulnerable children in Namibian secondary schools. Windhoek: UCCB.
[4] Whiston, S. C., & Sexton,T. L. (1998). A review of school counseling outcome research: Implications for practice. Journal of counseling and development, 76, 412–426.
[5] Howieson, C. & Semple, S. (2000). The evaluation of guidance: Listening to pupils' views.' British journal of guidance & counselling, 28(3), 373-388.
[6] Cooper, M., Hough, M. & Loynd, C. (2005). Scottish secondary school teachers’ attitudes towards, and conceptualisations of counselling. British journal of guidance and counselling, 33 (2), 199-211.
[7] Sun, J., & Stewart, D. E. (2007). Development of population-based resilience measures in primary school setting. Health education, 107(6), 575 - 599.
[8] Yuksel-Sahin, F. (2009). The evaluation of counseling and guidance services based on teacher views and their prediction based on some variables. International journal of instruction, January, 2 (1), 59 – 76.
[9] Paisley, P. O. & McMahon, H. G. (2001). School counseling for the 21st century: Challenges and opportunities. Professional school counseling, 5, 106–115.
[10] Sears, S.J. & Granello, D.H. (2002). School counseling now and in the future: A reaction. Professional school counseling, 5(3), 164-171.
[11] Rayle, A. D. (2006). Do school counselors matter? Mattering as a moderator between job stress and job satisfaction. Professional school counseling, 9, 206-215.
[12] [Mushaandja, J. (2013). The limits of monetary incentives in workplaces in Namibia. International journal of social studies tomorrow, 2 (3). Retrieved from: http://www.ijsst.com/vol2_issue3.php[13] University of Namibia. (2012). Faculty of Education Prospectus. Windhoek: University of Namibia.
[13] University of Namibia. (2012). Faculty of Education Prospectus. Windhoek: University of Namibia.
[14] Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). London: Sage Publications.
[15] Armstrong, T. (2006). The Best Schools: How Human Development Research Should Inform Educational Practice. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
[16] Ministry of Education (2004). Amendment of regulations made under Education Act, No. 16 of 2001: Code of conduct for the teaching services. Windhoek: Ministry of Education.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    John Mushaandja, Cynthy Haihambo, Tania Vergnani, Elzan Frank. (2013). Major Challenges Facing Teacher Counselors in Schools in Namibia. Education Journal, 2(3), 77-84. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.edu.20130203.13

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    ACS Style

    John Mushaandja; Cynthy Haihambo; Tania Vergnani; Elzan Frank. Major Challenges Facing Teacher Counselors in Schools in Namibia. Educ. J. 2013, 2(3), 77-84. doi: 10.11648/j.edu.20130203.13

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    AMA Style

    John Mushaandja, Cynthy Haihambo, Tania Vergnani, Elzan Frank. Major Challenges Facing Teacher Counselors in Schools in Namibia. Educ J. 2013;2(3):77-84. doi: 10.11648/j.edu.20130203.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.edu.20130203.13,
      author = {John Mushaandja and Cynthy Haihambo and Tania Vergnani and Elzan Frank},
      title = {Major Challenges Facing Teacher Counselors in Schools in Namibia},
      journal = {Education Journal},
      volume = {2},
      number = {3},
      pages = {77-84},
      doi = {10.11648/j.edu.20130203.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.edu.20130203.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.edu.20130203.13},
      abstract = {There was a significant number of learners in Namibian schools whose psycho-social circumstances were dire as a result of a variety of socio-economic, psychological and cultural factors. The learners needed psycho-social support. Instead of appointing qualified school counselors, the Ministry of Education directed schools to appoint teacher counselors (lay counselors) to render this support. Teacher counselors are teachers who are entrusted with the responsibility of rendering lay counseling services to learners in the school setting.  Some teachers volunteered to become teacher counselors, others were elected by their fellow teachers, and others were nominated by their principals because they had lighter workloads or were doing work that was related to counseling. This study attempted to identify the major challenges facing the teacher counselors. The study made use of a qualitative approach. Forty nine teacher counselors from 18 primary and secondary schools in three regions constituted the sample. The data collection instruments were documentary analysis, individual interviews, focus group discussions/interviews, and informal interactions.  Many teacher counselors were committed and motivated to make psycho-social interventions and acted as advocates for the learners. In many schools, little (if any) real counseling took place; most interventions were practical and/or focused on motivating learners not to become disheartened. The study revealed that the teacher counselors were facing many challenges including unavailability of appropriate space and time to counsel learners, and lack of skills to effectively address learners’ psychosocial needs. The teacher counselors recommended, inter alia, that they be appointed full time, and that principals should attend counseling training so that they understand and support teacher counselors.},
     year = {2013}
    }
    

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    AU  - Tania Vergnani
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    AB  - There was a significant number of learners in Namibian schools whose psycho-social circumstances were dire as a result of a variety of socio-economic, psychological and cultural factors. The learners needed psycho-social support. Instead of appointing qualified school counselors, the Ministry of Education directed schools to appoint teacher counselors (lay counselors) to render this support. Teacher counselors are teachers who are entrusted with the responsibility of rendering lay counseling services to learners in the school setting.  Some teachers volunteered to become teacher counselors, others were elected by their fellow teachers, and others were nominated by their principals because they had lighter workloads or were doing work that was related to counseling. This study attempted to identify the major challenges facing the teacher counselors. The study made use of a qualitative approach. Forty nine teacher counselors from 18 primary and secondary schools in three regions constituted the sample. The data collection instruments were documentary analysis, individual interviews, focus group discussions/interviews, and informal interactions.  Many teacher counselors were committed and motivated to make psycho-social interventions and acted as advocates for the learners. In many schools, little (if any) real counseling took place; most interventions were practical and/or focused on motivating learners not to become disheartened. The study revealed that the teacher counselors were facing many challenges including unavailability of appropriate space and time to counsel learners, and lack of skills to effectively address learners’ psychosocial needs. The teacher counselors recommended, inter alia, that they be appointed full time, and that principals should attend counseling training so that they understand and support teacher counselors.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Educational Foundations and Management, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia

  • Department of Educational Psychology and Inclusive Education, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia

  • HIV and AIDS Programme, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa

  • Child and Family Unit, University of Stellenbosch, Matieland, Stellenbosch, South Africa

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