Guidance in the elementary school : a survey of guidance-related functions performed and preferred by classroom teachers in selected Newfoundland schools

Modern primary-elementary educational programs place a major emphasis on the integration of classroom instruction with the delivery of guidance services. In this developmental approach, the classroom teacher is expected not only to concentrate on her pupils' academic performance but also to foster the necessary conditions for their optimal social and emotional development. -- The major objectives of the study were to survey and compare the nature and frequency of the guidance-related functions actually performed by primary-elementary classroom teachers with those which they would ideally like to perform and to examine the implications of the findings as these relate to local conditions and needs. -- The study took place in St. John's Roman Catholic School Board. The total sample consisted of 151 teachers attached to 18 primary-elementary schools of the Board selected by the simple random sample method. -- The research instrument consisted of a "General and Personal Information Sheet" and of an opinionnaire in two parts, identical in content and each comprising 74 statements describing guidance-related activities in the areas of orientation services, vocational information and planning services, record services, group testing services, pupil appraisal services, counseling and adjustment services, referral services and services to parents. The respondents were asked to indicate on a five point continuum the frequency with which they actually performed these activities (Part A), and the frequency with which they would ideally perform them (Part B). -- In each of the eight areas, the actual and ideal ratings for each item were examined and compared in terms of their respective frequency distributions, the mean scores and the standard deviations. The differences between the mean scores for each item were analysed with the differences of means test, using dependent samples with separate variance estimates, and the strength of the relationships was analysed with the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient. The results were tested for statistical significance at five per cent confidence level. -- The major findings indicated that, in general the 151 teachers who were surveyed widely differed both in the guidance-related functions which they actually performed and in those which they would like to perform. Further, while the respondents indicated a general tendency to be less involved in activities than they would wish, the linear relationship between the actual and ideal involvement was weak. Finally, there appeared to be a tendency for teachers to be actually involved and to desire even greater involvement in task oriented activities of an academic nature or related to the well being of the classroom. Teachers tended to be less involved and to desire less involvement in technical activities and those requiring close interpersonal work with the pupils and their parents. -- The major implications of the findings are clear about teacher opinion. This opinion should be consulted and guidance activities in elementary schools should not be developed nor allocated by defining, a priori, the specific contents of the guidance functions. The identification of guidance tasks and their allocations should take into account the actual and ideal teacher preferences, their respective abilities and limitations. Furthermore, guidance services should be developed jointly by the teachers and the counselor(s), and the team approach should be particularly sensitive to the process of program development, in order to insure flexibility and encourage experimentation. Moreover, in view of teachers' reluctance to be involved in counseling, guidance programs should clearly define and distinguish teacher oriented guidance and counseling from specialist oriented guidance and counseling to insure meaningful teacher support and participation in guidance activities. A tentative framework for task distribution in elementary guidance and counseling services is found at the conclusion of the study