School counselling has the potential to deliver significant support for the wellbeing of children. However, much of the research on school counsellors has been conducted in developed Western countries, with very limited research into factors influencing the effectiveness of counsellors in lower middle-income countries or in Asia. The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the perceptions of Filipino counsellors about their roles, and factors that supported or impeded their effectiveness. Seventeen school counsellors in the Philippines were interviewed, and the data were analysed thematically. Our findings suggest that Filipino school counsellors often carry out dual roles, experience a lack of role clarity, and are systemically disempowered in their schools. Relationships with school principals have a significant influence on counsellors’ roles and positioning in schools, and therefore on their effectiveness. The ability of principals to foster a school ethos supportive of counselling is essential in enabling counsellors to leverage the multifunctional nature of their work, become embedded and centrally positioned in the school community, and enhance their effectiveness. Doing so can enable counselling to be more culturally accessible to young people.

Ethical dilemmas are concerning for school counsellors in Turkey. This article presents findings of a qualitative study exploring the views and suggestions of 16 school counsellors in Rize, Turkey. Content analysis was performed on the data obtained from interviews with the participants. The results of the study showed that the school counsellors had the most knowledge about the competency principle of school counselling codes of ethics. The study also showed that regarding legal aspects of school counselling, the participating counsellors had the most knowledge about professional duties and responsibilities, yet they considered themselves inadequate in terms of both professional ethics and legal aspects of counselling. It was concluded that the school counsellors were confronted with ethical dilemmas mostly in cases of confidentiality, and it was understood that the counsellors mostly chose to do research to overcome these dilemmas.

The aim of the study was to examine how school counsellors cope with suicide attempts among students in their schools. A qualitative phenomenological methodology was used. Participants included 24 Israeli high school counsellors aged 32–62. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed thematically. The findings indicate that counsellors find students’ suicide attempts difficult, disconcerting, painful and confusing to manage, and note the complex nature of their dealings with the adolescents, their families and the school administrators. Despite feeling insecure about their ability to provide help, the counsellors felt they were at the forefront of the treatment effort in the school environment. To cope with the responsibility and challenges, the counsellors relied mainly on informal sources of support. Implications for practice are discussed.

The increasing tendency of immigration and forced migration practices around the world has made countries’ populations culturally and linguistically diverse. Australia is considered one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. Consequently, the proportion of school-aged children with different culture and language is also increasing. Thus, school psychologists and guidance counsellors face the challenge of designing fair assessment practices and sound interventions for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) students who experience difficulties with their learning. Although many multicultural countries have extensive research regarding the assessment of learning difficulties in CALD students, Australia lacks this research. This study explored the most common assessment strategies that school psychologists and guidance counsellors usually implement in their assessment of CALD students. These results were then compared to a best practice model from the literature. In order to understand the current practices of school psychologists and counsellors in Australia who have assessed CALD children, a survey was administered to 34 school psychologists and counsellors. It was found that the reported strategies and protocols were very close to the ones proposed by experts, which was an unexpected outcome of this study. Implications for school psychologists and counsellors are discussed.

Previous research shows that the first year of a school counsellor’s career is one of the most critical stages. However, despite this importance, there is a limited number of studies that examine what novice school counsellors experience during their first year. The primary purpose of this qualitative study is to examine in detail the common experiences of novice school counsellors who have worked the first year of their professional career and to explore comprehensive themes regarding these experiences. Following a purposive sampling strategy, 33 school counsellors who started their profession in 19 different cities of Turkey were interviewed. As a result of the thematic analysis, five major themes emerged describing the first-year experiences of school counsellors: ‘Introduction’, ‘Fighting against Prejudices’, ‘Organising Counselling Service Room’, ‘Incongruence between Training and Work Definitions’, and ‘Longing for College Years’.

This study examined Turkish school counsellors’ (SCs) ratings of the importance of factors in deciding to report students’ risk-taking behaviours to school administrators (SAs). A sample of Turkish SCs (N = 252) were surveyed. Most and least important factors were determined. Group differences in terms of gender, school level of employment, and attending mandatory counselling ethics training were investigated. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis tests were used in group comparisons. ‘Protecting the student’ was rated as the most important factor, and ‘Gender of the student’ was the least important factor. Statistically significant group differences with respect to gender, school level of employment, and attending mandatory counselling ethics training were identified. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Victimisation among students has been identified as a serious problem in Australian schools. This study investigated approaches taken by South Australian middle school students for dealing with victimisation. Over 170 students (aged 11–16) described how they coped with bullying and situations where they needed to take action against bullying. A content analysis of their responses found that students used coping strategies, including: (a) seeking social support, (b) standing up for peers/friends, (c) externalising, (d) nonchalance, (e) sticking up for oneself, (f) problem-solving, (g) submission, (h) reducing tense emotions/assertiveness, and (i) escape. One of the significant findings was that students did not identify school counsellors as a source of coping support, which has implications for their role in addressing incidents of victimisation.

An exploratory qualitative study was conducted to examine the perceptions and attitudes of both school counsellors and students to online counselling. Focus groups were conducted with two groups of school counsellors and six groups of secondary students. It was found that counsellors were hesitant to use online counselling because they were not convinced that it was effective, and without the necessary online skills, they were concerned they would not be competent to deal with potential litigious and security pitfalls. Students were generally positive about the opportunity to access the school counsellor online. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

School guidance counsellors worldwide seek ways of providing appropriate professional assistance to all students. While young people integrate online technology into their daily lives and go online for information and to communicate with each other, school counsellors in Australia are not offering online support to students. This cross-sectional study reported on the reluctance of school counsellors to offer online counselling and the reasons for this. A survey was developed focusing on the intention to offer online counselling based on indicative factors favouring the use of this initiative. 210 school guidance counsellors completed the survey online, which showed that there is conditional support for the introduction of online counselling into the school setting. Counsellors indicated that they would use online counselling if students accepted its use in the school setting though they question how genuine students would be in its use. Most respondents reported a lack of confidence in understanding the ethical and legal implications of online counselling. However, the majority of participants were prepared to undertake further professional development in this mode of counselling. Additionally, they sought confirmation of the effectiveness of counselling students online before committing themselves to it. The implications for school guidance practice are discussed.

This article examines recent research and developments relating to the role of phonemic awareness and phonics in early literacy education and the relevance of these findings for school counsellors and teachers. It defines and reviews the role of phonemic awareness and phonics in theoretical models of reading processes, including whole-language, code-based and balanced literacy programs, to determine the varying degrees of significance attributed to these components in early reading instruction. It critically reviews recent national and international government research, reports and recommendations to examine how phonemic awareness and phonics are conceptualised and translated into educational policy. In doing so, the article highlights the need for establishing a comprehensive and explicit theoretical and practical framework for the teaching of phonemic awareness and phonics, and a thorough analysis of the range of traditional and contemporary methods of teaching phonemic awareness and phonics in the classroom. The importance of school counsellors having a greater understanding of research about contemporary best practices in literacy education, and a key role, in partnership with teachers, in ensuring such knowledge is put into practice, is emphasised.

Beginning with a discussion of current legislation in Australia around inclusion, this paper highlights recent research into the school experience of Same Sex Attracted Youth (SSAY), including the issues faced by students, and the negative outcomes of such experiences. The school experiences of SSAY youth is positioned within a social justice framework. The critical role that school counsellors can play in determining school culture is examined. The role of a school counsellor as part of a pastoral care team within school management is also highlighted. Factors that may influence a more supportive and inclusive school culture are discussed.