The counseling role of school counselor from the perspective of secondary school students

Savjetodavni rad jedna je od temeljnih odrednica radne uloge školskog pedagoga i kao takav je tema vrijedna istraživanja. S obzirom na sve veću potrebu za savjetovanjem i usmjeravanjem u suvremenom svijetu prepunom raznih distraktora, važno je sagledati narav i kvalitetu savjetodavnog rada koji se u školama provodi s mladim ljudima. Tako je svrha ovoga istraživanja bila ispitati stavove o savjetodavnoj ulozi školskog pedagoga iz perspektive tražitelja i primatelja savjeta, odnosno učenika završnih razreda srednje škole kao iskusnih poznavatelja načina na koji odgojno-obrazovni sustav funkcionira. U sklopu ovoga istraživanja provedeno je 12 polustrukturiranih intervjua s učenicima trećih i četvrtih razreda strukovnih srednjih škola, umjetničkih srednjih škola i gimnazija na području grada Zagreba, pri čemu su se učenici osvrnuli na svoje osnovnoškolsko i srednjoškolsko iskustvo s pedagoškim savjetovanjem. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su da se većina učenika, njih jedanaestero, tijekom svog školovanja nikada nije obratila školskom pedagogu u svrhu savjetovanja, no pritom njih desetero, unatoč izrazito rijetkom kontaktu sa školskim pedagozima, iskazuje povjerenje u školskog pedagoga te tvrdi da bi mu se po potrebi obratili za pomoć. Rezultati ovoga istraživanja ukazuju na potrebu za promjenama u praksi, kao što je omogućavanje češćeg i prisnijeg kontakta školskog pedagoga i učenika te upoznavanje svih učenika škole sa savjetodavnom ulogom školskog pedagoga.Counseling is one of the key determinants of the professional role of the school counselor, and as such is a topic worth exploring. Considering the ever-growing need of counseling and guidance in a modern world filled with various distractors, it is important to take into consideration the nature and quality of counseling that is taking place with the youth in schools. The purpose of this research was to examine attitudes towards the counseling role of a school counselor from the point of view of those who seek and receive advice, that is, the students of the last two grades in secondary school, who very well know the way in which the education system works. For the purpose of this research 12 half-structured interviews were conducted with the students of third and fourth grade vocational schools, art schools and gymnasiums in Zagreb city. The students were asked to provide answers based on both their primary school and secondary school experience with school counseling. The research showed that most of the participants, eleven of them, have never sought advice from a school counselor during their education. Also, despite the extremely rare contact with school counselors, most of the participants, ten of them, claim that they trust the school counselor and say that they would seek advice from them if needed. The findings of this research indicate the need for change in practice, such as enabling a more frequent and more intimate contact of the school counselor with the students, as well as familiarizing all students with the counseling role of the school counselor