Background: Puberty is an important period that requires proper guidance for a safe transition to the next stage of development. The role of school counselors is crucial in guiding students as they face challenges and complexities during counseling. The present study aimed to assess needs and challenges faced by school counsellors in providing puberty counselling for girls.
Methods: A descriptive-analytical cross-sectional design was used in this study. A total number of 132 school counsellors were selected using the convenience sampling method from the girl’s high schools of Kerman Province, Iran in 2020. A researcherdesigned questionnaire was used to collect data. Mean and standard deviation, non-parametric tests, such as Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman correlation coefficient tests of SPSS version 22 were used for data analysis.
Results: The mean age of the study participants was “43.75±6.94” years. Results showed that most of the counsellors agreed with the “need for specialized education for counsellors on an international level and based on new sciences” “(94.7%)”, while most disagreed with “not adhering to professional ethics in counselling” “(69.7%)”. Additionally, the highest total mean was attributed to the “inadequate skills in counselling” “ (M±SD=24.67±16.78)”, indicating high disagreement, and the lowest mean was attributed to “financial and human resources limitations” “(M±SD=4.87±4.2)”.
Conclusions: The study results showed that there is a necessity to implement strategic measures to enhance the quality of counseling services and elevate the status of school counselors. A thorough understanding of counselors’ expertise is essential for them to utilize their skills efficiently and boost their effectiveness. Thus, it is recommended that future research includes interventions aimed at furthering the training of school counselors. |
- Khodabakhshi-Koolaee A, Barghei Khameneh S, Mojarab M, Khatiban M. Effect of Group Training of Personal Hygiene during Puberty to Mothers on Parent-Child Conflicts and Controlling Over the Emotions of Their Female Adolescents. J Educ Community Health. 2017;4(2):35-43. doi: 10.21859/jech.4.2.35. Persian.
- Alimoradi Z, Simbar M. Puberty health education for Iranian adolescent girls: challenges and priorities to design school-based interventions for mothers and daughters. Payesh. 2014;13(5):621-636. Persian.
- Naisi N, Aivazi AA, Hoseiny Rad M, Direkvand Moghadam A, Pournajaf A. Knowledge, Attitude and Performance of K-9 Girl Students of Ilam City toward Puberty Health in 2013-14. J Ilam Uni Med Sci. 2016;24(1):28-34. doi: 10.18869/acadpub.sjimu.24.1.28. Persian.
- Olfati F, Aligholi S. A study on educational needs of teenager girls regarding the reproductive health and determination of proper strategies in achieving the target goals in Qazvin. The Journal of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences. 2008;12(2):76-82. Persian.
- Wigfield A, Lutz SL, Wagner AL. Early adolescents’ development across the middle school years: Implications for school counselors. Professional School Counseling. 2005;9(2):112-119. doi: 10.5330/prsc.9.2.2484n0j255vpm302.
- Egbo AC. The challenges of guidance and counselling practices as perceived by secondary school counsellors in Enugu State Nigeria. International Journal of Education and Research. 2015;3(5):375-84.
- Low SK, Kok JK, Lee MN. A holistic approach to school-based counselling and guidance services in Malaysia. School Psychology International. 2013;34(2):190-201. doi: 10.1177/0143034312453398.
- Owens D, Pernice-Duca F, Thomas D. Post-Training Needs of Urban High School Counselors: Implications for Counselor Training Programs. Journal of School Counseling. 2009;7(17):1-21.
- Shahrbabaki BN, Fallahi A. Exploring Needs of Health Educators on Education of Health Behaviors to Students: A Qualitative Study. Community Health. 2017;4(4):290-301. doi: 10.22037/ch.v4i4.16537.
- Uba M, Uwakwe R, Awoke N, Obioha C. Capacity-Building Needs of Counsellors Interacting with Underachievers in Secondary Schools in Anambra State, Nigeria. Journal of Guidance Counselling Studies. 2020;4(1):91-8.
- Pereira M, Rekha S. Problems, difficulties and challenges faced by counsellors. International Journal of Indian Psychology. 2017;4(3):65-72. doi: 10.25215/0403.127.
- Joseph S, Nirmala D. Professional Challenges Faced by Women School Counsellors-A Case Study Analysis. International Journal of Research in Social Sciences. 2019;7(9):10-3.
- Sakız H, Sarıçalı M. Paradigmatic challenges in school counselling: Correlates and reflections on practice. Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools. 2019;29(1):69-81. doi: 10.1017/jgc.2018.23.
- Sima RG. The challenges in the provision of counselling services in secondary schools in Tanzania. Papers in Education and Development. 2010;1(29):113-133.
- Anoosheh M, Niknami S, Tavakoli R, Faghihzadeh S. Preliminary study of puberty education in adolescent girls: A qualitative research. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology. 2003;9(2):64-70.
- Esin IS, Sener MT, Dursun OB, Asikhasanoglu EO, Secer I. The challenges faced by school counsellors in the reporting of child sexual abuse. European Journal of Education Studies. 2020;6(10):245-57. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.3612274.
- Bahari R, Anoosheh M. Knowledge assessment of educational health needs in blind adolescent females during puberty in Tehran. MCS. 2016;3(4):257-63. doi: 10.18869/acadpub.mcs.3.4.257. Persian.
- Mirzaii Najmabadi K, Babazadeh R, Mousavi A, Shariati M. Iranian adolescent girls’ challenges in accessing sexual and reproductive health information and services. J Health. 2018;8(5):561-74. Persian.
- Alavi M, Boujarian N, Ninggal MT. The challenges of high school counselors in work place. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2012;46:4786-92.
- Foon LW, Zainudin ZN, Yusop YM, Othman WNW. E-Counselling: The Intention, Motivation and Deterrent among School Counsellors. Universal Journal of Educational Research. 2020;8(3):44-51. doi: 10.13189/ujer.2020.081605.
- Johari KSK, Amat MI. Malaysian school counsellors’ challenges in job description, job satisfaction and competency. Religación. 2019;4(19):93-99.
- Azimi D, Ghamari Givi H, Rezaeisharif A, Sheykholeslami A. Construction and Validation of School Counselor’s Efficiency Measurement Scale. Biannual Journal of Applied Counseling. 2022;12(2):1-20. doi: 10.22055/jac.2023.40376.1872.
- Ramdani R, Rofiqah T, Khairat I, Saragi MPD, Saputra R. The Role Of School Counselors To Helping Student in Puberty Through The Collaborative Paradigm. Enlighten. 2020;3(1):10-8. doi: 10.32505/enlighten.v3i1.1528.
- Sajjadi M, Moshki M, Abasnezhad Aa, Bahri N, Izadi-Tameh A. The effect of needs assessment-based education on the fathers’ attitude toward puberty period of male adolescents. J Research Health. 2013;3(1):310-6.
- Ebrahimi L, Farahbakhsh K, Esmaaili M, Salimi Bejestani H. Challenges of psychology and counseling activities in schools: a qualitative study. Journal of Qualitative Research in Health Sciences. 2015;4(2):166-77. Persian.
- Stige SH, Barca T, Lavik KO, Moltu C. Barriers and facilitators in adolescent psychotherapy initiated by adults—Experiences that differentiate adolescents’ trajectories through mental health care. Front Psychol. 2021;12:633663. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.633663. PubMed PMID: 33746852; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7973029.
- Saremi AA, Shariat SV, Nazari MA, Dolatshahi B. Neuropsychological functioning in obsessive-compulsive washers: Drug-naive without depressive symptoms. Basic Clin Neurosci. 2017;8(3):233-248. doi: 10.18869/nirp.bcn.8.3.233. PubMed PMID: 28781731; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5535329.
- Reyes MES, Carmen BPB, Luminarias MEP, Mangulabnan SANB, Ogunbode CA. An investigation into the relationship between climate change anxiety and mental health among Gen Z Filipinos. Curr Psychol. 2023;42(9):7448-7456. doi: 10.1007/s12144-021-02099-3. PubMed PMID: 34305362; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8280276.
- Lev TA. Generation Z: Characteristics and challenges to entering the world of work. Cross-Cultural Management Journal. 2021;23(1):107-115.
|
