The achievement in any academic career is well connected with a myriad of skills that originate during schooling. This is better accomplished when developments are in favor of building mental acumen. The student may also need a well-orchestrated environment to cope up with society members in order to succeed in elementary school life.
A defect at this key stage may lead to severe consequences that might retard the outcome and ultimate total failure in life. Here, the issue is the need for appropriate school counseling in order to identify and correct the defects interfering with the lives of high school students at academic, career, personal, social development needs.
Hence, there is a need of identifying high school children through counseling strategies of various forms. Recently, it was described that there is a need of integrating support strategies to care providers like families in order to contribute to the success and good outcomes of susceptible students (Stormshak et al., 2009). This was revealed when a study was undertaken to determine the influence of family-based strategies on academic success in schools (Stormshak et al., 2009).
Here, the method consisted of a three-session Family Check-Up (FCU) program that was assigned to students (Stormshak et al., 2009). The method yielded significant changes in the school student’s GPA whose parents were given the FCU training session (Stormshak et al., 2009). Hence, this method seemed to promote success in the academic life of elementary school children due to the counseling of parents. This strategy worked well to speed up the academic outcomes in students.
Most counseling sessions may involve questionnaires and interviews in order to derive the maximum benefit out of the provided information. This could be applied for one such case where many weak students suffer in achieving a good outcome and remain unrecognized till they receive a fail grade(Denison et a., 2006). There is a need for prior identification and assistance in order to avoid further failures.
This could be better accomplished by providing a whole-class formative assessment (Denison et al., 2006). This has yielded a result where failing students were protected and recognized with modified intervention strategies (Denison et al., 2006). It is essential for the counselors to update high school students’ academic progress by implementing classroom schedules to accomplish the needs of graduation and college admissions. This would prepare them to fit for competitive examinations like PSAT and SAT. An additional component to the counseling college fairs would become the coordinator for college and technical schools and enable students to explore the opportunities for help financial assistance ().
For a better career, counselors need to educate students by implementing programs like Regional Occupational Program (ROP) that would enable students to obtain skills and aptitudes. This strategy would facilitate the industry sector employers to choose the students as the sector is always in the need of skilled candidates.
School counseling programs may require the utility of social cognitive career theory as a framework to determine the predictors that enable the choice right career, its planning and exploration (Rogers and Creed, 2010). This was revealed when high school students were tested for measures of self-efficacy, outcome, objectives, assistance and personality (Rogers and Creed, 2010). Most support was given for self-efficacy and objectives that help to predict changes in career. Hence, there are tremendous implications for career counseling practice associated with social cognitive career theory for high school students (Rogers and Creed, 2010).
This would enable the students to choose appropriate career track in view of certain conditions that might perturb students’ attention on a career. This developmental approach would also enable students to build social skills and proceed towards the highest position in society.
Creed, Palton and Prideaux (2010) described that high school students require self-efficacy and prior knowledge in present and future planning. This developmental approach in the counseling may help to determine if the components like demographics choice-making, indecision, career awareness would predict the changes in career searching and plan execution (Creed, Palton & Prideaux, 2010). Here, the development among high school students can be further shaped through confidence guidance, a capability that could influence career management (Creed, Palton & Prideaux, 2010).
School counselors may require genograms that represent an individual’s family relationship and clinical history (Donna, 2005).In career counseling, it may enable the student and counselor to gain insights on predicting the career changes in the student’s family (Donna, 2005). This makes the counselor better understand the developmental needs of the student (Donna, 2005). This approach also facilitates high school students to master the competition and meet their goals(Donna, 2005). This approach is best suitable to high school settings where it can be modulated as per the requirements of students from the level of constructing to processing (Donna, 2005). Hence, in order to promote school success, the utility of genograms in school counseling should not be underestimated.
It was described that an approach of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) would enable to identify high school students with emotional symptoms that might interfere with educational outcomes and prosocial items (Svedin and Priebe, 2008). This was revealed when a study was conducted on 1015 senior high school students that included boys and girls (Svedin and Priebe, 2008). It was found that girls scored much better when compared to boys (Svedin and Priebe, 2008).
This study has indicated that this approach of SDQ can be modified with improvements in the oppositely worded question patterns and providing separate questionnaires for boys and girls (Svedin and Priebe, 2008). This may indicate that school counseling may provide a framework for separate counseling sessions for boys and girls such that the information on academic, personal and social grounds will be obtained without any hindrances. In addition, there is a need for necessary changes in the questionnaires intended for high school student counseling. This may enable to the identification of the precise career problem likely to be faced by the students.
Next, a school dropout at high school is a common phenomenon in children with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Barbaresi et al., 2007). From the studies, it was known that the school records for every student will be based on reading skills, absenteeism, grade retention which are vital for a successful career in high school (Barbaresi et al., 2007). These essential opponents may get altered when the student suffers from ADHD. A population-based study has led to the establishment of an association between ADHD and school outcomes (Barbaresi et al., 2007). This has strengthened another report that emphasized ADHD in relation to the academic career (Loe and Feldman, 2007).
ADHD was found to contribute to poor grades and reading with low math abilities in students and thus may require school-based services (Loe and Feldman, 2007). There is a need to identify children particularly high school students who might suffer from impulsivity, hyperactivity, and inattention (Loe and Feldman, 2007). The developmental approaches in the counseling strategy may need to focus on a framework to evaluate educational, behavioral and pharmacologic, interventions that could correct the defects in the outcomes of students with ADHD (Loe and Feldman, 2007).
This would ensure restructuring of the academic and educational profile of students (Loe and Feldman, 2007). Thus, school counseling has a great role to play in recognizing the high school students from various perspectives keeping in view of ADHD. As this disorder is more probably associated with academic and also social perturbations, tremendous efforts are required both from the school counselors and also from the parents. An approach of Student Counselling Needs Scale (SCNS) introduced in the developmental approach has furnished better insights on components like learning skills, social values, self development and human relationships (Pius & Norman, 2008)
For this purpose, the teachers have focused on items like inclusiveness, flexibility in language speaking, and format. It was found that social values and human relationships served as important tools for high school students. Apart from that factors like support for building relationships, and social value maintenance (Pius & Norman, 2008). More often students will also be perturbed by cultural traditions, practices and religious issues (Pius & Norman, 2008).
Hence, school counseling needs to five importance to these mentioned factors in order to build confidence in students (Pius & Norman, 2008). There is a need for responsive services and a Guidance framework that promote a structured curriculum for recognizing and teaching students about learning abilities, human relationships, career development, and social values (Pius & Norman, 2008).
This developmental approach could be better accomplished by counseling experts to provide services in high schools (Pius & Norman, 2008). This in turn may require structural assistance and facilities. Similarly, the universities and training institutes should create intervention strategies that focus on preparing professional school counselors (Pius & Norman, 2008).
It was described that High school serves as the ultimate gateway to adult life and to the society where the student will initiate the separation process from the family members and searches for own goals. They would be in a stage to asses their caliber and mental abilities. However, very often these students face stress connected with drug abuse, alcohol consumption and sex during their search for the right destination.
Hence, the developmental approaches should be more specific to college admission tasks, funding sources and entry into a competitive job world. This could be made possible by designing, assessing and implementing a thorough school counseling program. This is better monitored by an authoritative body ASCA which maintains a standard curriculum for the academic, career, and personal/social domains of high school students. Hence, Secondary School Counselors may strengthen the framework by facilitating, classroom Guidance that involves. Planning career, need of understanding education among themselves and others, interacting strategies, knowledge abut the career substance misuse, knowledge about various cultures.
On the other hand, teachers have a great role to play in this area of counseling. They need to work on preparing a portfolio, support and recommendations with application submissions for future courses, study abilities and career preparation. This would enable students to manage various challenging tasks in society. Students willing to transfer from school to work may need special counseling programs with strong academic assistance and learning mode capabilities. This will be better accomplished by recognizing students and with special emphasis on those who will be in psychological distress. This intervention would enable to improve the challenge facing talent and succeed ultimately.
Further, school counseling will also rely on the atmosphere, plans on behavior guidance, distribution of information and team spirit. Hence, the developmental approaches should carefully evaluate these aspects and identify high school students for appropriate therapy towards academic, career and social needs. Thus, school counseling programs are important for students to reach goals obtain personal improvements, positive thinking, and self-realization.
This would better shape the high school students as ideal candidates who could offer indispensable service to society. In a study, it was described that an intervention strategy known as Career Explorers Program (CEP) on high school students has led to identifying students knowledge with regard to special components like duties, and pharmacist features (Sarah et al., 2008)This made students understand about the field of pharmacy and avoided any misconceptions related to that field(Sarah et al., 2008).
It was found that students effort to evaluate their future career upon graduation but it is a task to choose a risky option with minimum knowledge about the career feasibility(Sarah et al., 2008). This program has enabled high school students to consider the field of pharmacy as their best choice. This is because this has indicated a method of informed career option (Sarah et al., 2008). This was revealed when a study was conducted among students who have finished their junior or senior years of high school with a GPA of 3. They have been given a 16 item printed format to reveal their opinion regarding the field of pharmacy and its job responsibilities (Sarah et al., 2008).
Here, it can be inferred that the strategy of the career explorer program may identify the career problems through a printed item as mentioned above and is important to help the students in preparing for the right destination they choose.
It was reported that high school students are at risk of falling victim to substance abuse (Paul Moberg, 2008). As this issue would affect their academic life there is a need for appropriate school counseling. This should be based on a model that reflects a program or affiliated school, integrated with another school or other school programs(Paul Moberg, 2008). This would require strong measures to enable a separation of students who are about to recover from their parent schools by planning. This would guarantee financial and institutional flexibility (Paul Moberg, 2008).
In addition to educational background, the school counseling program may need to focus on issues like mental health, traumatic experiences, fluctuations in the mode of drug utility, any criminal record (Paul Moberg, 2008). This would lead to a lessening of substance use habits and mental health improvement among students(Paul Moberg, 2008). The ultimate outcome would be that students gain positive thinking in their evaluation of the therapeutic meaning of the schools while succeeding well in their grading(Paul Moberg, 2008).
Very often academic life is associated with hygiene, and alterations in health and education are integrated (Nicholas and Jessica, 2007). School dropouts associated with student’s health is a major problem that needs to be addressed in the counseling by Interventions that could ameliorate student involvement in School and Academic Success (Nicholas and Jessica, 2007). This could be accomplished by providing an environment to learn safely in a non-intimidating manner in a small school or classroom (Nicholas and Jessica, 2007).
The involvement of students in school policies would enable them to avoid any lengthy period of stay in classes and suspension (Nicholas and Jessica, 2007). The program would appear potential if it is emphasized avoiding violence and disputes with an alternative school and equal treatment policies (Nicholas and Jessica, 2007).
In addition, students would feel comfortable if there are funding sources through apprentice work and training opportunities (Nicholas and Jessica, 2007). There is a need for an evidence-based approach in high school counseling programs to work on substance use (Chris Ringwalt et al., 2010).
This is to come forward with a more robust intervention. Generally, the support to be extended to high schools need firm relationships with authorities that evaluate policies with regard to substance abuse and the requirements of students (Chris Ringwalt et al., 2010). This would demand the measures to be taken from district-level schools with the intention of creating awareness on the substance use paradigm that finally targets high schools (Chris Ringwalt et al., 2010). Much work is to be implemented in school districts and administrators to recognize the local experts in the school to facilitate the evidence-based program. This would require the challenge of finding a school with a large student population that would not disturb the academic schedule (Chris Ringwalt et al., 2010).
The availability of substance use remedial measures at district schools would guarantee a reduction and the strategy of the evidence-based programs in high schools may increase the tasks to be faced (Chris Ringwalt et al., 2010). This may indicate that school counseling programs need to thoroughly evaluate the evidence-based programs in order to make them worth fitting to the circumstances(Chris Ringwalt et al., 2010).
Adopting this strategy will enable to a thorough understanding of the school districts and their demographic features (Chris Ringwalt et al., 2010). This is to ensure totally safe and drug-free schools that might alleviate the perturbations interfering with the academic schedule of students. In addition, by emphasizing substance use prevention, students could be gradually diverted to achieve good academic grades (Chris Ringwalt et al., 2010).
Hence, it is customary for the counselors to be aware of the practices implemented at school districts in the wake of substance use which has been a matter of interesting area to focus on. According to American School Counseling Association (ASCA) national standards, the services offered by school counseling should emphasize the issues to overcome obstacles that interfere with learning during education and other aspects that important throughout life.
The adoption of strategies for addressing the concerns of students may enable them to gain control over education on academic and social grounds. There is a need for thorough awareness with regard to the basic objectives of students that must be in agreement with their opportunities in high schools . Hence, the students could be made a pioneer in the ever-changing modern world, with the best family support and provided the counselor is better engaged in the student communities.
These objectives will help the school counseling programs to predict the requirements of high school students as a part of curriculum changes, evaluation of educational requirements as per the own choice of students, appropriate methods and counseling for students who will be facing the difficulties associated with learning and enabling students to investigate the latter stages of high school life, like graduation. High school counseling programs may pose a difficult task occasionally. The limitations in time may appear as a sole purpose in offering the counseling program rather than concentrating on the overall student body. But this issue is subjected to change provided the influence of economic trends on the community is more. The ultimate change is the incorporation of psychological strategies into the intervention programs.
Hence, the responsibility of high school counseling would appear as the most significant aspect of school success with the kind influence of educators. The achievement of socioeconomic success through education may depend on academic difficulties which need to be addressed. The impact of a social psychological route was considered as the connector between the difficulties and educational setbacks. It was revealed that personal problems have escalated due to the absence of learning strategies that were not detected at the appropriate time. This would lead to negative thoughts especially for students interested in subjects of mathematics and science. This issue has been found to be common both for boys and girls. Personal problems associated with peers and stigma might contribute to the ability-related performance.
The social experiences and psychological attitudes of students have a great impact on education in the near future. Hence school counseling programs need to emphasize certain aspects associated with analytical skills, obtaining admission into college. These are important as they play a vital role in solving problems associated with unfair treatments on socioeconomic grounds. School counseling programs should identify the stereotypes or stigma among students.
This is because the problems associated with this standardized mental picture may often interfere with academic, career and even social outcomes. To this end, a study was carried out to determine the effect of gender stereotypes and counter-stereotypic images among high school students of both sexes (Good, Woodzickia & Wingfield, 2010). It was revealed that girls possess higher comprehension after visualizing images of female scientists and that of male scientists (Good, Woodzickia & Wingfield, 2010). In contrast, males were found to have an opposite effect on stereotypic images (Good, Woodzickia & Wingfield, 2010).
The ultimate outcome of these differences was reported to be a gender gap in academic or career success. Here, it can be anticipated that this psychological feeling, might also likely impact the social life of students in the latter stages of life.
In view of the above information, it can be inferred that the identified issue is improper counseling that may put the high school students at risk of losing their natural talent and spirit. School counseling is an effective means of disseminating information with regard to the academic, career or social needs of high school students. Initially, the program has a great workout to be implemented by thinking from broad perspectives. Families have a role to cooperate in the counseling session as many high school students are bound with the relationship right from the early stages of life.
The outcome of high school life on this aspect would demand frequent counseling both o the parents and the prospective students. This helps to discuss and share the common challenges met by both the parent and student. Family Check-Up (FCU) program has yielded significant results with implications for rapid academic outcomes. It is important for School counseling programs to come forward with an item questionnaire consisting of information that would reflect the attitudes of high school students with regard to their personal, academic/ career and social life. Attendance and academic performance are the important components to consider for school success.
This could be evaluated by checking the dropouts in school records and other problems associated with health. Particularly, among students of age group 12-19, the outcome of high school life is linked with ADHD which contributes to psychosocial disturbances. This could be better alleviated by counseling about the advantages of taking cognitive therapy. There is a need of alleviating negative/ altered psychosocial thoughts among high school students through counseling which makes the students worthy candidates for society.
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