Until now the average teacher knows nothing about guidance and counseling. So, whenever they see a student who needs help beyond the cognitive domain, they have three options.

They either refer the students to the school counselor (in a school that has one). They can also offer some advice on the issues based on their experiences. Or they ignore the student and ask them to be serious with their life.

Although referring the student to the school counselor is a great option, it isn’t always the best. There are cases where teachers need to rise to the needs of the students in the affective domain.

However, this sad tale will remain unless guidance and counseling is integrated into teachers’ training. I have highlighted 10 reasons teachers need guidance and counseling training below.

Importance of Guidance and Counseling To Teachers

The following are some importance of guidance and counseling to teachers

1. Teachers are the first points of contact for students

Students spend a very little amount of time with the school counselor. Most of the time when they are in school they’re with their class teachers. This means most of the experiences they get from the school also come from teachers.

Teachers can either make or break students.

A teacher who does not have basic counseling skills like empathy and unconditional positive regard might be counterproductive to the work of other school guidance personnel.

This is because students will receive more ill-treatment from the teachers than they receive good from the guidance personnel. And that will form their view of themselves.

2. Teachers play a key role in identifying and referring students for intervention

This is also because students spend most of their time with teachers. The teacher needs to be proactive to identify the students who need professional help and refer them to where they can get it.

For instance, a student who used to relate and play well with his classmates but all of a sudden begins to withdraw; it is the teacher who can quickly identify that and ask questions.

But when teachers have no training in guidance and counseling, they simply write off such students and that can lead to a more severe case down the line.

3. Teachers can use guidance and counseling techniques to create a positive classroom environment

A healthy and stimulating classroom environment contributes to the overall development of students. It helps them gain a better perception of themselves, develop healthy relationships, and adopt a brighter outlook on life.

However, it takes a teacher trained in guidance and counseling techniques to know how to make the classroom environment facilitative.

They will use the right words when maintaining classroom discipline, communicate with unconditional positive regard, allow for differences in personalities and views of life, and so on.

4. Teachers can use guidance and counseling skills to help students set and achieve goals

Academic goal setting is one area where a lot of students struggle. Leaving the guidance in goal setting and getting to only the school counselor is choosing a less efficient approach.

For students to set SMART academic goals, they first need to understand their personalities, interests, and strengths. This will help them choose a course they can commit to.

The teachers can help in this since, because they are trained in guidance and counseling, they can identify students’ individual differences.

Also, after the goals have been set, the teachers have direct access to the academic performance of students and can see where they are improving or otherwise. They can also hold their students accountable for committing to their set goals.

5. Teachers can use guidance and counseling skills to support students with special needs

The nation continues to drive toward inclusion in schools, where students with some form of disability learn under the same conditions as students without.

However, this will take a longer time (if it is ever achieved) unless teachers have basic techniques and skills and guidance and counseling. Teachers should be able to make them feel accepted in the class.

They should break down the instruction to cater to students with learning disabilities, arrange the class to assist those with mild visual and hearing impairments, and so on.

The teacher should also receive training on how to use sign language for communication with students with total hearing impairment.

6. Teachers can help students develop social and emotional skills

In many classrooms, all that happens is the development of students’ intelligence quotient (IQ). However, to do well in life, students should also develop high emotional intelligence (EQ), social intelligence (SQ), and adversity intelligence (AQ).

But it takes a teacher with basic guidance and counseling training to help students in these areas. The teacher must incorporate them into their teachings and create structures in the class that will help them.

They can also identify students who have difficulties in making friends and assist them in developing social skills e.g putting them in situations that make them work with others.

7. Teachers can offer career guidance in class

Teachers play an important role in career guidance and counseling. The way they present their lessons determines how students view the relevance of the instruction.

For instance, if the teacher keeps emphasizing that the students read to pass their exams, the minds of the students are limited to see the lessons as useful to only passing exams.

On the other hand, the teacher can emphasize that students learn for application in the real world. But this is not all there is to career guidance.

Teachers can identify the strengths and weaknesses, personalities, and flairs of students and offer guidance based on that while working hand-in-hand with the school counselor.

8. For effective keeping of the CRF

The Cumulative Record Folder is a document that contains progressive reports of all students’ development throughout the school.

Although the keeping of the CRF is the responsibility of the school counselor, the teacher, just like every other school guidance personnel, must contribute to updating the record.

The teacher must conduct several appraisals of the student in the class and provide the information to the guidance counselor. To be able to do this, teachers must have received training in school guidance and counseling.

This will help them understand how appraisal is done and what they should appraise. It will also save the counselor the stress of micromanaging teachers to this effect.

9. Teachers need guidance and counseling training to accommodate students from diverse background

A typical classroom environment consists of students from diverse cultural, religious, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

The teacher must know how to relate with all the students and accommodate their differences even when they disagree with their orientation.

The teacher must not force their value systems on the student or diffuse the value systems of those living with strong cultural and religious ideologies. Except, of course, when they are destructive to the students or society.

Training in guidance and counseling will teach teachers acceptance.

10. Teachers can use guidance and counseling techniques to handle vices like bullying

To create a safe school environment, every member of the school community must be productive against social vices rising in any person. These include cases like rape, bullying, verbal abuse, physical torture, and drug abuse.

However, these vices cannot be tackled haphazardly. If they do not approach them strategically, it can lead to more serious cases that will affect the school.

For instance, a teacher who keeps yelling at and publicly disgracing a student who is stuck on drug use, will chase the student away from the school rather than help him overcome it.

This makes knowledge of guidance and counseling important to teachers. They will learn basic behavior modification techniques that will be important in such cases.

The Need For Guidance and Counseling in Teacher Training

Teachers can use guidance and counseling to help students navigate the challenges of adolescence, such as identity development and peer pressure.
Teachers can use guidance and counseling to promote the overall well-being and mental health of their students.
Teachers can use guidance and counseling to help students develop decision-making skills and make positive choices.
Teachers can use guidance and counseling to help students develop stress management and coping strategies.
Teachers can use guidance and counseling to help students build resilience and bounce back from setbacks and challenges.
Teachers can use guidance and counseling to help students develop career aspirations and plan for their future.
Teachers can use guidance and counseling to help students understand and navigate the complexities of the digital age, such as online safety and digital citizenship.

Here Are 15 Other Importance of Guidance and Counseling In Education (Teachers, Students, and Administrators)

Conclusion

Guidance and counseling is important to teachers because it gives them the skills and techniques needed to assist the total development of their students aside from cognitive development. It in turn makes the classrooms and the entire school environment healthy and facilitating for all.