Discussion of career counseling focuses on Careers in Computing, a project that was designed to help counsel students in junior high and high school regarding career choices in computer science. Highlights include objectives of the project, a description of kit materials, suggested activities, and distribution and evaluation plans. (LRW)

In the late 1990s the Texas Education Agency advocated the transformation of all counseling services into developmental guidance programs. This document describes the process undertaken and the lessons learned when evaluating a small, rural school district in north Texas in order to begin this model transformation. The purpose of the study was to…

School counselors agree that for school counseling programs to be successful, parent participation is essential. Involving parents in designing a school counseling program increases the chances that the counseling objectives will be reinforced at home. One effective strategy used by the Dorchester School District in South Carolina is conducting a…

This document describes collaborative strategies used by one school guidance department that allow counselors to complete their designated work without extending their school day. One strategy involves pairing mentors with first-year counselors to help answer their questions. Another uses retired counselors as "substitutes" when regular…

As the guidance and counseling profession moves through the 1980s, diversity and contradictions within the profession endanger any major sense of mission. Discusses a number of separate, distinct movements that have marked the history of guidance in American education and a corresponding number of unique movements within counseling. (RC)

Defines seven characteristics that make a counselor indispensable to the schools of today and tomorrow: (1) humanness; (2) professionalism; (3) expertise as a program creator; (4) team player; (5) facilitator; (6) public relations expert; and (7) futurist. Counselors who work from a strong guidance program and who embody these characteristics are…

Examines the interface between the family and the school. Argues that school counselors have access to both family and school systems and thus are uniquely positioned to engage each component. Discusses triangulation and cautions counselors to maintain an outside position and not become triangled into the family system. (RJM)

Provides for those involved in retaining a child a concise, cumulative report of recent literature and research on elementary grade retention. Most research indicated that elementary school level retention does not effectively increase academic achievement among low-achieving students. Research-based decision making on this issue is a must. (RJM)

Discusses ways to assess patterns of family interactions that influence adolescent career development. Encourages school counselors to investigate the possibility that extremes in family patterns of adaptation, cohesion, and communication may have a significant negative impact on adolescent career development. Timely assessments and interventions…

In fall 1989, the Nanaimo (British Columbia) School District No. 68 asked five people, selected from the school system and community, to evaluate the "Steps to Maturity" Program (STMP), a district-wide family life education and affective development program that has developed gradually since 1972. The evaluation team interviewed a large…

This program planning guide is the introductory volume in a series designed to provide school planners and guidance personnel with a model for a comprehensive developmental guidance program which can be adopted, adapted or used to create new programs. The materials focus on program planning, staff development, guidance curriculum, and activity…

Materials contained in this career guidance unit are designed to direct the attention of the senior high school student to five types of personal characteristics to facilitate a more realistic career exploration: abilities, interests, values, physical traits, and personal and social behavior. The two- to three-hour unit contains self-instruction,…

Materials contained in this unit are designed to help the senior high school student realize the importance of planning to reach his educational and vocational goals. The eleven-hour unit is totally designed as a class activity using the "Life Careers" game. The instructional sequence is outlined in terms of goal statements, performance…

Many school systems are now in a state of transition due to a lack of supportive personnel because of budget cutbacks, a wider variation of classroom techniques, an increased individualization of instruction, and a changing neighborhood population of school children. Thus, new classroom guidance practices have become both possible and necessary.…

As part of a schoolwide effort to increase accountability, the counseling staff at Rio Hondo College, with the aid of a consultant, established an evaluation system for the counseling program. The first step in the process was the ranking of job responsibilities by the counselors according to importance and need. After a number of meetings where…