Secondary School Students' Perceptions of Their ...

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Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the counselling needs of a sample of secondary school students in Greece. Moreover, the effect of age, gender, ...
Int J Adv Counselling DOI 10.1007/s10447-015-9235-6 ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Secondary School Students’ Perceptions of Their Counselling Needs in an Era of Global Financial Crisis: An Exploratory Study in Greece Andreas Brouzos & Stephanos Vassilopoulos & Androniki Korfiati & Vasiliki Baourda

# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the counselling needs of a sample of secondary school students in Greece. Moreover, the effect of age, gender, and academic performance on such perceived counselling needs was also investigated. The sample consisted of 931 students (433 girls and 498 boys) aged between 12 and 16 years old. A 70-item questionnaire was developed and administered to assess participants’ perceived needs in various areas. The exploratory factor analysis yielded five factors: learning skills, vocational guidance/development, interpersonal relationships, personal development, and social values. Students particularly valued social values, learning skills, and vocational/guidance development compared to interpersonal relationship, and personal-development needs. In addition, the effects of age, gender, and academic performance on the five factors were all significant, suggesting that these variables were determinants of students’ self-reported counselling needs. The implications of these results for the development and implementation of effective school counselling programs are discussed. Keywords Greece . Counselling needs . Secondary school students

Introduction Adolescence represents a distinct transitional and developmental stage, during which adolescents go through important biological, psychological, and social changes (Ausubel 2002). This transitional period is often accompanied by feelings of insecurity, disorientation and anxiety that need to be overcome to successfully complete the transition (Ausubel 2002). Research findings over the past couple of decades suggest that there has been a notable increase in behavioural and psychological problems in adolescents (cf., Bor et al. 2014; Collishaw et al. 2004). This increase is often attributed to changes in the socio-economical and family context A. Brouzos : A. Korfiati : V. Baourda Department of Primary Education, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece S. Vassilopoulos (*) Department of Primary Education, University of Patras, Patras 26 110, Greece e-mail: [email protected]

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in which children grow up, as well as to changes in adolescents’ experiences, lifestyles, and expectations (Collishaw et al. 2004; Reiss 2013). As a consequence, researchers now recognize a growing need for the implementation of effective counselling policies that address the needs of adolescents in educational settings (Patel et al. 2007).

Adolescents’ Problems in Modern Greek Society and Schools The global recession of 2009 has had a great effect in Greece, leading to the implementation of austere economical measures. As a result, Greek society now faces high rates of unemployment, especially in the youth population where it has surpassed 65 % (Hellenic Statistical Authority 2013), emigration of a significant number of skilled and educated young adults, and increasing political dissatisfaction, that has led to protests and riots (Malkoutzis 2011). At the same time, the socio-economic changes that have taken place in Greek society over recent decades have posed new challenges to communities and families and have affected students’ expressed concerns and demands (Cosmopoulos and Vassilopoulos 2004; Triarchi-Hermann 2004). Greek scholars have long advocated that students’ general interests and developmental problems are not the primary concern of the Greek educational system, while students’ abilities and skills remain to a great extent overlooked (Brouzos 2009). Furthermore, an established school culture that places great value on academic success results in Greek adolescents spending most of their time after school doing homework or receiving extra tuition by private tutors, thus minimizing the amount of leisure time. At the same time, Greek adolescents seem to be developing a negative attitude towards school due to various school life restrictions and a general emotional distance between teachers and students, which is evident through outbreaks of anger, school absenteeism, and a disharmony in teacher-student relationships (Gotovos 2002; Kassotaki 1993; Papazoglou 2011). There is evidence that Greek adolescent boys and girls report higher indicators of both internalizing and externalizing problems compared to adolescents in other countries (Kapi et al. 2007b; Roussos et al. 2001). Such indicators are thought to be linked to the socioeconomic conditions mentioned above (Kapi et al. 2007b). Given that emotional and behavioural problems in adolescence typically link to long-term difficulties in adulthood and to problematic behaviours such as substance abuse (Giannakopoulos et al. 2010), preventive measures that strive to meet the social, psychological, emotional, and academic needs of Greek adolescents (Kapi et al. 2007a) are of major importance.

Current Counselling Services in Greek Secondary Schools In recent years, substantial investments have been made in many developed countries in the promotion of the mental health of young people (Masten et al. 2008; Patel et al. 2007). Schools have been shown to have the potential to provide a protective environment that assists the positive development of children and adolescents at risk for poor outcomes due to socioeconomic adversities (Masten et al. 2008). Despite research findings demonstrating the effectiveness of school counselling programs on promoting students’ well-being (Wigfield et al. 2005), there are currently no officially established or government approved school-based mental health programs in Greece. Part of the problem is that counselling in Greece represents a relatively new scientific and professional field (Giovazolias et al. 2010). Counselling first emerged in Greece in the mid1950’s, as an attempt to accomodate the rapid changes in the economy and the work market

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caused by increased external migration and internal urbanization (Malikiosi-Loizos and Giovazolias 2013). However, it was not until 1976 that counselling was introduced into the Greek secondary school system, mainly in the form of career guidance (Brouzos 2010; Malikiosi-Loizos and Giovazolias 2013). From then till now, school counselling represents a service provided to Greek students largely for vocational guidance (mainly through the delivery of classroom guidance lessons entitled BAcademic and professional orientation^). In addition, the educational reform of 1997 led to the establishment of the National Center for Vocational Guidance (E.K.E.P.), which is a national coordination body responsible for assisting career guidance and counselling agencies across Greece (Malikiosi-Loizos and Giovazolias 2013). Nevertheless, school-based counselling programs that offer a variety of services (other than career guidance) have yet to find their way into the Greek educational system and the personal, social, and emotional problems of adolescents go largely unrecognized and, thus, unmet in Greek schools (Brouzos 2009). The investigation of adolescents’ counselling concerns through needs assessment studies is an important first step toward developing and implementing comprehensive school counselling programs (Chireshe 2012; Giannakopoulos et al. 2010; Güneri et al. 2003; Lucas and Berkel 2005; Tylee et al. 2007). Despite this, research investigating adolescents’ perceptions of their counselling needs is surprisingly scarce, both in Greece and elswhere. What is more, the onset of the recent global recession has dramatically affected the lives of millions of people all over the world and has created an urgent need for research on student perceptions of their counselling needs, which might drive future counselling program decision-making. So far, the available evidence suggests that adolescents are mostly concerned with academic, personal, interpersonal, career, and family issues (Nyutu and Gysbers 2008; Owens et al. 2011; Sculli 2011; Yoo and Moon 2006). For example, a recent study in China showed that adolescent students identified five areas in which they needed counselling and guidance; namely, career development, personal development, human relationships, social values, and learning skills (Yuen et al. 2010). Finally, adolescents’ perceived counselling needs tend to vary depending on their sex, age, and family socio-economic status (Borgen and Hiebert 2006; Sculli 2011). Borgen and Hiebert (2006) reviewed evidence collected from 12 countries regarding adolescents’ needs, difficulties, challenges and experiences after leaving high school. It emerged that although both boys and girls reported being concerned with personal identity issues, boys reported more academic issues while girls focused more on family concerns. In addition, adolescents’ reports of family concerns increased as their family’s socio-economic status decreased. Finally, older adolescents expressed a greater need for academic and employment counselling (Borgen and Hiebert 2006). In a study conducted in the USA (Sculli 2011), high school boys reported greater need in the social/personal domain compared to girls. Moreover, younger adolescents reported more need for help in the areas of bullying and peer pressure, whereas older adolescents expressed a desire to know more about community resources. However, despite preliminary evidence suggesting that Greek university students’ counselling needs varied according to their sex and the number of semesters spent at a university (Giovazolias et al. 2010), a study investigating Greek adolescents’ perceptions of their counselling needs is currently lacking.

Aims of the Study The current study investigated Greek secondary school students’ perceptions of their counselling needs through undertaking a needs assessment. In addition, the study examined how students prioritized their counselling needs and also assessed the effect of age, gender, and

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school performance on such expressed counselling needs. Information gathered in this study may lay the groundwork for developing and/or designing services and interventions to better address Greek secondary student needs in a period of unprecedented economic and social crisis.

Method Participants The study involved 931 Greek secondary school students with a mean age of 14.08 years (SD=.85; range 12 to 16 years). Gender representation was quite even: 433 (46.30 %) males and 498 (53.40 %) females. In terms of grade level, 30.8 % were enrolled in 7th Grade (mean age 13.05 years, SD=.34), 35.2 % in 8th Grade, (mean age 14.11 years, SD=.34), and 34 % in 9th Grade (mean age 15.00 years, SD=.34). Instrument Development and Structure A ‘Student Counselling Needs Questionnaire’ (SCNQ) was developed for the assessment of secondary school students’ needs. An initial pool of 100 items, mainly derived from existing instruments (e.g., Brouzos 1991; Nyutu 2007), was generated. The items were firstly facereviewed for language clarity, readability, and applicability to the Greek student population by a team of individuals with teaching experience in Greek secondary schools and local university professors specializing in school counselling. After the initial evaluation of the items, the instrument was pilot-tested on a sample of 100 students in a mixed-sex secondary school in the City of Ioannina, Greece. Participants in this pilot group identified items that were difficult to understand, were not culturally relevant or did not clearly assess their needs. After revision and modification, the final form of the SCNQ consisting of 70 items was prepared. Participants in the study were asked to complete a questionnaire made up of two parts. The first part consisted of the 70-item SCNQ designed to assess the participants’ perceived counselling needs. Responses were scored on a six-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 6 (absolutely agree). In line with other student counselling needs assessment instruments examined, all items of the SCNQ were worded positively to avoid possible careless responding to reverse-worded items (which could compromise the reliability and validity of the measure; Woods 2006). The second part consisted of three questions designed to collect demographic data regarding gender, age, and academic performance (last year’s final grades). Procedure Six secondary schools were randomly sampled from a list of state schools; three in each of two large cities in Greece (Corfu and Ioannina). After the schools were identified, the school administrations’ approvals for participation in the study and written parental consent for all participants were obtained. The questionnaire was administered during class time to participants at each school. Firstly, the purpose of the study was explained to the participants and then individual consent was secured. The questionnaire took 30 to 45 min to complete. After completion of the questionnaire, the participants were debriefed and thanked for their participation.

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Results The Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) software version 20 was used to analyse the data. Before conducting the analyses, data were first screened for the presence of normality of distribution and linearity. Skewness and kurtosis were within normal limits of less than 2.0, suggesting that the data were normally distributed. Only data from participants who answered at least 66 out of the 70 items on the SCNQ (95 %) were included in the analysis, reducing the sample to 931 students. A primary principal components factor analysis with Varimax rotation was run, which led to the elimination of 17 of the 70 items that did not load clearly on any particular factor (i.e., loading greater than .30 on a given factor and lower than .30 on the other factors). Next, the same analysis was rerun for the remaining 53 items. The Κaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measurement was .92 and the Βartlett’s Τest of Sphericity was statistically significant, χ2 = 12198.49, p=.000. Thirteen factors that had an eigenvalue greater than 1.00 were extracted. An examination of the scree plot suggested that 5 factors could be interpreted as corresponding to: learning skills, vocational guidance/development, interpersonal relationships, personal development, and social values. The five factors accounted for 34.62 % of the variance. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were computed in order to examine the reliability of the factors. All reliability estimates were acceptable, suggesting that the five factors constituted reliable indicators of students’ perceived counselling needs. The eigenvalues and reliability estimates for each factor are shown in Table 1. In order to investigate in which areas students displayed a higher interest for finding counselling support, a series of comparisons between factor scores was carried out using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Paired samples t-tests (with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons) revealed that students displayed a higher level of interest in receiving counselling support in the areas of social values, learning skills, and vocational guidance/ development, compared to the areas of interpersonal relationships and personal development (all p’s