Along the dynamic freedoms of democracies of the 21st century, counselling pupils for social justice is a radical democratic process of learning. This is within awareness of metacognitive application of critical thinking that transforms prior obtained frame of reference. It also ignites, without imposing, critical self-reflection as a deliberate cognitive activity on experiences that bring about perspective transformation. Ironically, that school counselling continues to be less regarded as a management role in schools is a misconstrued perspective that not only disadvantages the pupil but also alienates counsellors while also deflating effectiveness of teaching efforts. The teaching and learning process is a collaborative effort that can only succeed when existing school's networks are utilised in the most effective manner especially for a transformative and democratic education. This chapter explores avenues of school counselling along post-constructivist perspectives determining a democratic pupil as sought to be a change catalyst for good citizenship in the society.
TopIntroduction
This chapter explores the challenges faced by mainly counsellors of the 21st century’s pupils and why it has become insurmountable to improve counselling strategies for learner access, retention and success. Many pupils who start school encounter various challenges from diversity, under-resourcefulness or differences at school. Some out before finishing either primary or high school. Research tends to in the teaching and learning. The role of counselling before and after admission of the pupil into school often overlooked. This chapter explores the poor implementation of schools’ counselling in the available publications used for school counsellors to impact pupils’ lives for achievement at school.
A school is a field to play crucial roles in developing human capital that effects individual’s participation and livelihood within societal economic growth and development (Baker & Gerler, 2004; Gysbers, 2004; Herr, 2002; Paisely & Borders, 1995). Thus, a school itself is a system with sub-units with actors connected by an organisational social network for designated goals. The actors, regardless of their own identities have the mandated to carry the agenda on human capital development. The success of the pupils can significantly be attained if only schools have effective access and retention management of the pupils as well as appropriate teaching staff. As for counsellors along teaching and learning, that’s the role often overlooked, yet a crucial. Therefore, counselling at school is yet to be reckoned as a crucial tool that engrains social justice across pupils to capacitate them with tools to overpower the pressure to learn, fit in with peers, discipline and morality. This raises an inquisitive mind as to: does school counselling form part of the school’s management ascertaining its role in transformative and effective teaching and learning experience for access, retention and success?
As much as the common values in schools, such as access, retention and success are positive and appealing, however, there is a need to review the application of such, along social justice agenda. Increasing diversity across schools implies that transformative teaching capacity, transformative learning, educational assurance and accountability processes, equity have become crucial issues for access, retention and success of, underpriviledged groups. Contextualisation of teaching and learning experience is the basis for effective success, yet a complex endeavour with multi-dimensions requiring collaborative efforts by relevant school’s actors.
The discussion of this chapter is guided by inquisitive questions as to: how are the school’s existing organisational networks linked to the promotion of social justice counselling for transformative learning and success? The chapter attempts to explain the links between the structure of information and the performance of a school’s agents in ensuring effective teaching and learning success. Thus, it also describes how the network theory analysis can be used to clarify the networks in the school that mediate effectiveness for success. The discussion concludes by sharing some research based strategies that can be implemented to improve implementation of social justice counselling.
Along the use of NTA, there’s extensive and exponentially an increasing body of literature on networks in studies of organisations (Ahuja, 2000; Bailie, 2006; Borgatti & Foster, 2003; Brass et al, 2004; Merrill, 2006, Merrill et al., 2007, Sleky & Parker, 2005) and while the focus is commended for examining effectively how managing information and improving performance in organisational systems (Kilduff, 2003; Chang & Harrison, 2004; Brass et al, 2000; Zach, 2000; Krebs, 2011b; Cross et al., 2002; Cross & Thomas, 2009; Cross & Parker, 2004; Burton et al, 2010) that provides useful insights to understanding change structures and processes, in education. However, there’s lack of literature where the approach is used to study schools’ (as agencies’) internal institutional structure. Therefore, in this chapter the role of counsellors as actors in teaching and learning is highlighted as active participation and form of collaborative partnerships with teachers for attaining the schools’ goals.