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Dagmar Kopcanova, PhD. The Research Institute on Child Psychology and Patopsychology, Trnavska cesta 112, 821 02 Bratislava, Slovakia , tel/fax : +4217 / 43 42 09 73
EDUCATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELLING IN SLOVAKIA :
KEEPING CONTINUITY
Key words : educational and psychological counselling , counselling institutions, counselling
centres , counselling services, educational counsellors, school psychologists,
educational system.
Abstract : The Slovak counselling system played an important role in the development of European counselling , especially in the Central European region. This article presents
a short excursion on the history of the creation of the educational counselling system.
The author presents the latest information on the contemporary development of educational and psychological counselling in Slovakia . The results of a study made recently by the Research Institute on Child Psychology and Patopsychology describing changes in working conditions of the Counsellors in Educational and Psychological Counselling Centres are also discussed.
Brief History of Counselling
The origins of counselling in former Czechoslovakia are closely connected with the upbringing and education of children and with the vocational training of young people. This system began to develop in Czechoslovakia in the 1930´s with the development of vocational guidance. The Institute of Human Work in Prague attained a high professional level in this field under changing social conditions up to the 1950´s. The Institute showed a marked psychometrical orientation and its work was connected with the development of psychological aptitude tests and interest inventories. It co-operated closely with schools and enabled many educational and clinical psychologists to acquire initial experience.
Psychological counselling focused on educational and educative problems developed soon after World War II , thanks to psychologists working in the health service and in Social Security Institutes. A specialised centre that contributed significantly to the development of this field of counselling activities, both theoretically and methodologically, was again situated in the capital city of Prague : The Prague Sociodiagnostic Institute engaged primarily in educative issues and social diagnostics. However, the Institute was abolished in the
1950 ´s.
The development of counselling in the Slovak Educational System.
In the educational system , educative and educational counselling and vocational guidance began to develop in the 60 ´s when the function of career masters was established in all non-specialised secondary schools. At the same time, the first Regional Psychological and Educational Facilities were constituted, laying the foundation for creating the subsequent network of Educational and Psychological Counselling Centres (Child Guidance
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This article is a revised version of a paper that was originally presented at the 1998 Conference of the International Association for Counselling , incorporating the International Round Table for the Advancement of Counselling (IRTAC), in Paris.
Centres ) and for specification of their tasks. In the middle of the seventies, three component parts of the counselling system were defined – the Educational Counsellor, the District Educational and Psychological Counselling Centre, and The Regional Educational and Psychological Counselling Centre. Their competence spheres were differentiated, their basis relations were formulated and the whole system was legislatively laid down under the name of "educational counselling" At this time, first attempts to evaluate and examine the work of school psychologists were made and the results of the work of five experimental psychologists were submitted to the the Slovak Ministry of Education .* However, due to famous " normalisation," the activities of school psychologists were stopped , the entire program was not allowed to be developed and found its place only after 1989.(* the author of this paper was one of the first experimental school psychologists in Slovakia,working at the secondary school in Bratislava).
Initially, there were two recognisable centres of educational counselling with certain differences in content and methodological orientation in former Czechoslovakia. The Prague Centre, oriented rather to educational issues and professional orientation, and thus more psychometrically, and the Bratislava Psychological-Educational Clinic stressing especially therapeutic and educative activities .The development and requirements of practice led in the course of the 70´s and 80´s to a gradual shaping of the subject matter of counselling activities and to their establishment in the educational system, as the above-mentioned approaches got nearer each other.
A research and to a certain extent also an information and educational basis of educational counselling in Slovakia was (and still is) represented by the Research Institute on Child Psychology and Patopsychology founded in 1964. Aside from its concentration on developing complex research on children and youth, the work of the Institute was focused on professional management of the Psychological-Educational Clinic´s activity in Bratislava, which was a base Institute´s workplace for clinical research. The establishment of the Clinic (in 1957) and the Research Institute has been primarily connected with the name of Prof. Miroslav Bažány, Dr.Sc.
From an organisational point of view, the system of educational counselling was stabilised in the second half of the seventies. Educational Counsellors were installed in all primary, secondary and special schools and in apprentice training centres. The system of educational counselling consisting of educational counsellors and the network of independent counselling facilities was established. The network of counselling facilities consisted of District Educational and Psychological Counselling Centres , caring for the pre-school children and primary school pupils of the particular district – and Regional Educational and Psychological Counselling Centres that took care of the educational and psychological care of pupils in secondary schools and apprentice training centres in their region and co-ordinated and controlled the methodology of educational counselling at the regional level.
Unification of the network of educational and psychological services was exemplified by the fact that there was only one national enterprise, Psychodiagnostic Tests, which had an exclusive right to provide psychological tests not only for Czechoslovakia, but also for other Central and Eastern European countries.
In spite of all restrictions –such as the impossibility of studying western professional literature or taking part in international congresses, or studying abroad, the late 60 ´s and 70´s were very fertile and well known for rapid growth of undergraduate psychological education. For example, the Educational Psychology Department and other colleges in near-by Slovakian towns (Trnava, Bystrica, Košice ) were established and a considerable psychological literature on theories of psychology, psychological counselling, special pedagogy and psychotherapy appeared. (Koš~o 1971, 1977, Koš~o and others 1976, Kovalikova 1973, Koš~o & Kovaliková, 1976 Pardel& Koš~o 1975, \uri~ 1974, \uri~, Štefanovi~ and others, 1973, Hvozdík and others, 1971,1977 Kondáš 1973,1977, Hargašová,1976,1977,Hlavenka 1973,1977, Fabián 1975, Fabián-Hargašová Rapoš, 1976.)
Many professionals used the possibility to discuss the status of psychology and psychological services in our life through publishing their ideas and research results in professional magazines such as : Psychology and Patopsychology of the Child (editor: The Research Institute on Child Psychology and Patopsychology,), Studia Psychologica (editor: Slovak Academy of Science,or in the magazine of the Czech and Slovak Psychological Association :
" The Psychologist in Czechoslovakia".
In the course of twenty year´s development, by the end of the eighties, due to the Notice of the Ministry of Education No.99/ 1980, educational counselling played an important role in the psychological and social development of children and youth, in spite of efforts to subordinate some tasks – especially in the area of pupil´s educational choice and professional orientation - to the political programme of the communist regime. Counselling proved to be irreplaceable primarily in the care of children and youth with special needs, children and youth with problems in emotional development, in social adaptation and with other complications in their development and behaviour resulting in educative and educational difficulties , but also in the field of professional orientation of pupils in spite of its frequent politicisation and misuse for recruitment campaigns.
Counselling after the Velvet Revolution : Need of Change.
Since 1989 a number of changes in the tasks, goals and organisation of educational counselling have taken place.The focus of services provided by educational counselling has shifted towards the currently and prospectively endangered spheres of personality and social development of children and youth , yet without any significant reduction of the problems in which counselling had engaged before. The assistance in solving educational difficulties as well as counselling in the field of the choice of educational way and of professional orientation has become and important part of the social prevention.There has been extended the counselling care of handicapped children, especially in connection with the requirement of social integration of these children and with deciding on the possibilities and conditions of their educational integration in normal schools. The counselling care of children and youth with negative phenomena in behaviour began to be emphasized through work with the family and with a broader societal environment of the child .The information part played by educational counselors and by Educational and Psychological Counselling Centres in profession orientation began to be partly taken over by newly formed Vocational Guidance Information Centres attached to Employment Agencies.
The Present System of Educational Counselling
Contemporary basic legislative documents for the sphere of counselling are :
The School Law No.350/ 1994 in which § 46 on Educational Counselling says :
"Schools, school facilities, state school management taking care about children and youth, parents and guardians are provided by counselling services of educational counselling".
Special tasks and organisation of educational counselling are arranged by the Notice
Of the Ministry of Education , No. 43 /1996 On the Details of Educational Counselling and Counselling Institutions. In this notice all counselling facilities and bodies are put into the system accepting some basic provisions :
"1/ The educational counselling and special-pedagogic counselling creates the system of help to children in the prevention of problem development , education in primary schools, secondary schools , special schools and school facilities, in the family, at professional guidance and partake at solving the issues of cognitive, personal and social development, the pretentious life situations and being of use in the society.
2/ The educational counselling comprises the special psychological and pedagogical care about children, methodical and information help to teachers,educators ,parents and guardians in the sphere of education, professional guidance and issues of prevention against the delinquent development .
3/ The special-pedagogic counselling provided by the counselling institution comprises the special care about handicapped children and children at risk , which is exerted by diagnostic, psychological , psychoterapeutic,special-pedagogic, rehabilitation, counselling and methodical activities, by means of out-patients´-department care, short term training stays and visits in the settings where the child lives. Special attention is devoted to their social integration."
It should be noted that the crucial methodical and coordinative function of the counselling facilities in the school system plays the Research Institute on Child Psychology and Patopsychology in Bratislava. In the Institute´s Statute there is a part 3/c,d related to the Institute´s activities :
"The Institute provides particular institutions and facilities of educational counselling and special-pedagogic counselling by methodical and special coordination.
In this context it develops necessary diagnostic tools, psychohygienic, rehabilitation and psychoterapeutic methods and programmes. "
The opinions of the purpose and orientation of counselling in the school system keep developing. Though counselling in fulfilling its tasks draws primarily on educational psychology and special pedagogy and uses their methods, and psychologists went through many fights with officers at the Ministry of Education, the name for these services (and for the system ) unfortunately stayed exactly the same as it used to be over two decades in the education legislation . In this context the Czech colleagues are more forward when they gained for the same kind of servises the official name: Educational and Psychological Counselling. Moreover, there exists an independent institution in Prague, constituted in order to support the development and co-ordination of the counselling system : The Educational and Psychological Counselling Institute of the Czech republic, with a very good personal and professional background .
Anyway, as in Czech countries, educational counselling in Slovakia represents a support subsystem of the educational system. Its main task is to contribute to the optimisation of the process of education and upbringing at school and in family through :
*providing professional assistance in solving the problems of personality development of children and pupils in education process
*providing professional assistance in preventing, finding up, and solving the difficulties and problems of psychical and social development of children and youth occuring in education process
*providing professional assistance in solving the problems connected with the choice of educational way of profession orientation
*participating in the prevention of socialy pathological phenomena including drug prevention .
The forms of the work realised by counselling facilities to secure their tasks include diagnostic, interventional,consultant and information activities. Counselling renders its acitvities to children and youth including the handicapped ones, usually at the age from 3 years up to to the finishing of the secondary stage of education, to their parents and other legal guardians, to teachers, and to other educators from schools and education facilities.
The contemporary system of educational counselling consists of :
*Educational and Psychological Counselling Centres
*Special-Pedagogic Centres
*Child Integration Centres
*Educational Counsellors
*School Psychologists
*School Special Educators
The activities of the above-mentioned institutions follow up with the activities of teachers ,educators,instructors of practical training and of other pedagogical workers fulfilling in the framework of their educative and educational work the tasks of the first counselling contact with children, adolescents and their parents.
Focus on the Counsellors in Educational and Psychological Counseling Centres.
Due to the longest history in rendering counselling services, as well as providing the clients by the most comprehensive psychological services , the focus of our research interests was aimed at the work of counsellors in the Educational and Psychological Counselling Centres. According to our permanent investigation, the professional services of these institutions are used by more than 10 % of children population in Slovakia. What we were interested was the perception of possible change in the working conditions of counsellors with relation to the time horizon of 11 years. Of course, our intention was to notice if there were any differences compared with the time before and after the year 1989 .
(Krýslová M.-Kopcanová D., 1996 )
In our research more than 130 counsellors from 40 EPCC took part and answered our questionnaire consisting of several questions aimed at evaluation of :
I. Conditions for professional work :
II. Evaluation of working conditions from the point of view of: a/ spatial, b/ material, c/ technical d/ personal
a/ independence from superiors
b/ professional growth
c/ spectrum of services provided
III. Evaluation of comprehensive working conditions on a scale from 1-10 , during
last 11 years.
IV. Statement of the most pressing problems
The results are presented as graphs at the end of this paper.
Commentary :
I. a/Spatial conditions :
When following the line showing the development of spatial conditions we can consider that situation in this area has been slowly growing better. After reaching its optimum in 1991 there was some visible decline in 1992.It is more than obvious that this trend was marked by the new social-economical conditions, which in teh next year more or less consolidated, however the contemporary state is approaching the level of the year 1990.
On behalf of the economy reform many counselling centres were forced to move to some other place, unfortunately not exactly suitable and adequate for the discrete and demanding psychological work. On behalf of the new territorial-management structuring the situation was growing even worse during the last two years - as we could learn from the counsellors themselves.
I.b/Material conditions :
In this sense we were interested about the amount of psychodiagnostic materials,writing devices, books,maggazines and other devices in the professional work of counsellors.The curve has two top points, but also some declines.The first decline occured in 1991.It reflects the total economy situation in the society, when on behalf of the reform there were announced many economizing precautions in all resorts, including the school resort .
Some financing injection came to the end of 1991 when some centres could buy the necesary material equipment and technical aids and this contributed to the more optimistic valuation of these conditions in 1992.Unfortunately , the next year was intensily declining and contemporary situation approaches to that of 1987.
I.c/Technical conditions :
In spite of that in all evaluated groups the starting level was very critical, this one has been step by step growing better , especially after the year 1989.Although influenced by the economy reform in 1993-4 too, a very important shift can be seen in 1995, when due to the financing by PHARE projects, many counselling centres were able to get the new PC ´s, printing and copy machines and programs for making bettter the quality of provided services especially in the sphere of profession counselling.
I.d/Personal conditions :
Similarly, as in the previous cases,the situation in this issue is very unstable.We can notice some declining tendencies after 1989 and the most unfavourable year is 1993. In that time, many professionals leaft the centres due to economy grounds ( unsatisfactory financial evaluation ) and tried to re-orient themselves in other area of enterprising.Looks like the situation is mildly consolidating in the last years, but it does not reach the level of 1989.
II.a/ Dependance/Independence from the Superior.
As it is obvious from the character of the curve , all Educational and Psychological Counselling Centres felt more independent from controlling body .The best evaluation stays for 1992 when counsellors in EPCC´s where authorized to decide on the election of their directors, make decisions on their working priorities, etc.
The social-political situation after 1992 (in some facilities also very frequent change of directors) caused gradual decline in perception of counsellors´ s independence from superiors. Nevertheless the last evaluation is more positive than it used to be before 1989.
II. b/ Professional Growth .
Professional growth of counsellors in EPCC has its optimum in 1990-92.
In relation to the new social-political situation, many start to use the offers of very attractive education trainings, programms,seminars, courses and take part at the conferences at home as well as in abroad.The decline of the possibility of the next professional growth is again more or less influenced by the shortages in material as in financial area. The economizing precautions, restricting of the expences for travelling and education programmes caused in many cases unsatisfactory perception of teh situation. From this follows, that the situation is perceived like shortly before 1989.
II .c/ Spectrum of Provided Services.
The last sphere of our interest was the evaluation of the conditions suitable for the development of the spectrum of provided services. In this case we can follow that the curve is rising up and reaching its top in the last observed year, having the most positive results from all ones.
Altogether we can say that after 1989 the Educational and Psychological Counselling Centres went through the progressive development in many areas, and up to 1993 the trend was improving. (see Fig.2 )
Although the situation as the whole is perceived now a little bit better than before 1989, we cannot conclude it is optimal. Especially the last two years there is visible the decline of the level of counsellors´ working conditions what has been demonstrated in the last open question in our questionnaire.
Nearly 70% of respondents signalized as the problem number one material difficulties and insufficient financial evaluation of their work. 67,5% of respondents stated as the second biggest problem insufficient capacity of professionals in their centre.
The proportion between the number of psychologists (mental health helpers) and the number of child and youth population is still unfavourable. Moreover, most of EPCC´s is not fully equipped and there are missing the specialists like special educators, social workers, school psychologists ,etc. Space and technical problems still feel in about 35 % of EPCC.
Conclusion.The results of our research depicted some improving trends on the areas of technical conditions, independence from superiors and spectrum of provided services, however, at the same time the worsening trend in the areas of material and personal conditions, as well as in the conditions for the professional growth.
The Contemporary Development Trends of Counselling .
The recent research among counsellors as well as the annual reports sent to inform us about the development of Counselling Centres in particular regions make us sure that the existence and good functioning of Educational and Psychological Counselling Centres in the school system is inevitable.
There is no doubt that on behalf of the social changes in Slovakia there occur the changes in the capacity of provided services in EPCC and that is why the importance of these Centres keeps rising.
From the contemporary development trends of counselling in Slovakia we would like to mention these:
As for the capacity of services, the counsellors are concentrating more on the intervention activities aimed at solving the problems and less on making just the diagnosis, as they used to be doing before.
In the last few years we can follow an increased number of professional contacts with foreign colleagues, especially with those from the highly developed democracies.
For example, social upheavals in Middle and Eastern Europe in early 1990´s
gave rise to the creation of a unique organization : SYSTEMS IN TRANSITION (*SiT) in which also some counsellors from Slovakia are involved where they develop as well as share their professional skills and knowledge .
Unfortunately, the research and theoretical support of counselling work in Slovakia as well as in other previous socialist countries are still insufficient, although the work of the Research Institute on Child Psychology and Patopsychology in Bratislava has been more focused on more actual issues that resonate in our transforming society and the school practice. For example researchers work on preparation of the theory, a model of pupil´s personality development at school. The result of the work done in this direction analyses more aspects of school education and teaching.The knowledge thus obtained has been transferred to the school practice. As in nowadays more attention is called to counselling children and youth with special education and educational needs, especially to talented individuals, ethnic and minority groups, socially, mentally and physically handicapped, or drug abused persons , the Institute has formed a group of experts gathered in so called Methodical Board which help to all counselling facilities in the school system in the broad variety of their problems.
There is still a shortage of valid diagnostic tools (tests), and, in spite of that, Psychodiagnostic Tests Co. produce some new tests , they do not respond fully to specific needs of the counselling system. Some new tests for educational counsellors or special teachers might be helpful in defining initial problems that contribute to speeding up of the solution of particular problems in school.
On behalf of growing number of the socio-pathological phenomena in the society, the stress has been put more on the prevention activities . However the boundary is still not clear between the services offered by the system of educational counselling and the services rendered by the health system, or the system of social care, where the psychological and counselling services are provided by the Centres of Psychological and Counselling Services for the Individual, Couple and the Family.The same relates to the problem of profession orientation. In this point we would suggest the profession counselling become a part of the curricula in the schools.
Conclusion.
Educational and psychological counselling in schools should be more engaged in the support and creation of conditions for the development of pupils´personality and contribute more to harmonizing the relationship between school and family.When talking about rendering psychological services within the school itself, Slovak opinion is divided: on the one hand, we can say psychological counselling at school is undoubtedly very important form of help for pupils and parents, on the other hand, there still exist some fears as to loss of anonymity and confidentiality as well as to the independence of psychological reports. It is obvious that the last 30 years in the Slovak Republic made a significant impact on the counselling system of our country in a positive as well as in a negative way. But we consider these fears and biases to be more or less the unwanted herritage of the past which we want to get rid of and change Slovakian counselling to be more compatible with European counselling and more tailored to the needs of children and youth living at the edge of the third millenium.
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*SiT = is an international association of mental health professionals, counsellors and social scientists from eastern and western Europe focussing attention on the process and problems of psychosocial transitions former Communist countries and the European Union.
Info: Systems in Transition, Windscheidstrasse 12, D-10627 Berlin, Germany
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