Guidance and Counseling in Aotearoa, New Zealand, Secondary Schools: Revisiting the Issues

Abstract

The changes in education policies in Aotearoa, New Zealand, since the 1980s have significantly affected guidance and counseling in secondary schools, leading to variations in provision and effectiveness. Issues being faced by school guidance counselors were identified in “Guidance and Counselling in New Zealand Secondary Schools: Exploring the Issues,” which represented a call for an external government authority who understood guidance and counseling and their value in schools to create national guidelines and standards for this work (Crowe, 2006). This 2014 article revisits the issues and reports on the findings and recommendations of a 2013 evaluation of guidance and counseling in Aotearoa, New Zealand secondary schools. The government requested the evaluation in response to the need to provide good guidance and counseling for young people at risk of developing mental health issues. The results and recommendations from the evaluation have highlighted the issues being faced by guidance counselors, other guidance staff, and their schools. The effectiveness of guidance and counseling in schools in Aotearoa, New Zealand will depend upon the implementation of the recommendations made in the report to the Ministry of Education, and, in particular, the review of the guidance staffing formula and the establishment of guidelines/expectations for schools/wharekura regarding the provision of guidance and counseling.