2020.01 57-3 Implementation of Teacher Consultations in Elementary School Counseling: Comparison of a Dual Framework Phenomenal Field
With the increase in the number of and diversity in student issues and the recent policy of hiring full-time school counselors in elementary schools, the importance and feasibility of teacher consultation deserves to be explored in depth. Teacher consultation can not only solve students' problems but also improve teachers' abilities to solve students' problems, resulting in primary prevention of school-related problems. The importance of teacher consultation is highlighted by the efficiency and influence of counseling interventions and their ability to prevent future problems. Although counseling practitioners and teachers focus on assisting students' adaptation to school life, it is not easy to successfully conduct teacher consultations. Teacher and counseling practitioners have their own role and position, which further alters the demands and expectations. This in turn widens the gap, making it increasingly difficult to establish cooperation. This study attempts to explore the experiences of both practitioners and teachers in teacher consultation in an attempt to improve their practical knowledge base and establish a clear, feasible path towards teacher consultation. Channeling knowledge will increase the possibility of cooperation and dialogue between teachers and counseling practitioners. Student counseling often works because of students' willingness to cooperate and create a win-win situation for their well-being and thers involved in the case. <br> This study is based on grounded theory and primarily focused on the dual framework of counseling practitioners and teachers to investigate the implementation and current status of teacher consultations in elementary schools. Participants included eight professional and experienced teacher consultants as well as seven teacher consultees who had participated in the consultation process. This study employed a qualitative research design. The findings of this study will enhance the understanding of the importance of teacher consultation from the perspectives of both practitioners and teachers to promote cooperation and increase the effectiveness of teacher consultations by examining overlapping experiences. In terms of the factors influencing the teacher consultation process, the study found that the professional commitment of the consultant not only helped the positioning of the self-professional role but also the resolution of the counseling dilemma. However, before conducting a teacher consultation, it was necessary to evaluate the teacher's readiness to consult, traits, and educational beliefs. In addition, teacher consultation involved professional cooperation; thus, mutual subjectivity was an important manifestation of the consulting relationship and also a key factor in maintaining a smooth relationship. Finally, school counseling often needed to be combined with student services provided by other administrative units, in order to not overlook the impact of executive leadership and organizational climate on teacher consultations.
There were differences between the counselors' and teachers' consulting experiences. First, the roles of the teachers and counselors were different in terms of their concerns and the assistance they provided. Second, the students' problems were mostly family related, and counselors need to have capacities for onsultation with parents in order to assist teachers in their communication with their students' parents. Third, teachers need more specific demonstrations to effectively achieve the consulting objectives. Fourth, both counselors and teachers need to be flexible and open to encourage consultation and cooperation. Finally, in teacher consultations, frequent, flexible, and short-term consultations are more in line with the needs of the situation. <br> Based on the above-mentioned findings, the researchers conducted a comprehensive discussion on the possible ways to improve the effectiveness of teacher consultation and ensure that there are trained and supervised practitioners and school counselors who can handle school and system related issues.
Keywords
Dual framework, elementary school counseling, teacher consultation
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