Educators' perceptions and attitudes toward school counseling and student personnel services: A cultural perspective

Abstract

This study was designed to survey and compare attitudes and perceptions toward school counseling and student personnel programs as held by educators in the Caribbean. The subjects in the study comprised 275 teachers and administrators employed in public and private junior and senior high schools in Nassau, Bahamas. The statistical tests used to analyze the data were the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance and the Friedman two-way analysis for repeated measures. The findings indicate that administrators at all levels expressed significantly more favorable attitudes and perceptions toward counseling and student personnel programs in the schools than teachers. Teachers in the study expressed the following: (a) serious concern regarding the competency of practicing counselors in their schools; (b) a need for clarification of their role and function in the guidance process and a clarification of the counselor's role; and (c) minimum acceptable standards should be established for school counseling positions.