In the news this past month there have been a number of stories that highlight the often devastating consequences of bullying in our schools. Despite attempts by schools to introduce zero tolerance policies and anti-bullying programs, school violence appears to be on the rise. When doing research on this issue it became clear that the success of these anti-bullying programs is directly related to the reporting of threats or violent incidents. This places the onus on students to reduce bullying in the schools. Oliver and Candappa (2007) stated that only 11% of adolescents are willing to report the problem to school personnel and that reporting rates are lowest among boys and minority groups.  Given the low rates of reporting among adolescents and the increase in the severity and number of incidents of bullying in the schools, it appears necessary to revisit the role of students in anti-bullying programming. 

Eliot et al. (2010) conducted a study examining the relationship between school climate and student willingness to seek help for bullying and threats of violence. The study used an “8-item scale to measure the extent to which students perceived that adults at school care about students, respect them, and want them to do well.” (p. 539). An additional 8-item scale was used to measure student willingness to seek help from school staff members for bullying and threats of violence. Findings suggested that students who perceive their school climate as supportive were more likely to report bullying to school personnel. A supportive school climate was defined by students as having caring and respectful teachers that took an interest in the students on an individual and personal level.

Continue reading →

I decided to write on the topic of school counsellor burnout since it is already the third week into the new school year. If you are like me it was exciting to start back, but reality has since set in and things seem a bit overwhelming with all that needs done. Burnout is a term that is often applied to those in helping professions and is typically identified as emotionally exhausted, withdrawal from and cynicism toward clients, and a sense that you are no longer accomplishing tasks. Friedman (2000) suggested that burnout occurs in several stages: the emergence of stress, the emergence of stress-induced experiences, and the emergence of reactions to stress-induced experiences. These stages can progress along a cognitive track that includes thoughts focused on a lack of personal and professional fulfillment or along an emotional track that involves feelings of exhaustion and general overload. Friedman indicated that many theories of stress and burnout have been posited, but one factor common to all theories of stress is that those under stress and on the road to burnout report a discrepancy between what they expected and what they have actually observed. This discrepancy can lead to a deterioration of professional and personal self-efficacy and ultimately burnout.

Continue reading →

This week marks the beginning of the 2011/2012 school year. For many students a new school year brings with it both excitement and apprehension.  If the return to school includes changing schools, such as for those students moving from elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, or high school to post secondary, apprehension can outweigh excitement. Transitioning to new schools becomes even more complex when it is combined with changes brought about by puberty, social development, and the demand for increasingly difficult cognitive tasks. Elias (2001) suggested that changing schools is a major source of stress during the developmental process and it is therefore important for school counsellors to have an awareness of the developmental needs of the age groups that they serve, as well as an understanding of the psychosocial tasks and skills necessary to make these transitions successful.

Continue reading →

It can sometimes be challenging to come up with topics for the school counselling blog. For this week’s topic I began thinking back on the interactions that I had with school counsellors during my own early school years. One of the interactions that had a significant impact took place during my middle school years and involved the delivery of the news of my grandfather passing. In my own professional career as a counsellor I have often delivered difficult news to a client or a student and I would like to think that, much like the school counsellor who informed me that my grandfather had passed, I was able to effectively communicate the difficult news, convey empathy, and offer support.  However, when thinking about the conscious steps I had taken to prepare and plan for these occasions it became clear that I had never received any direct training or even attempted to seek out any information on how to be effective in these types of situations.

Continue reading →