Vol. 490 No. 7
54 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Science his views on the career guidance service in second level schools in view of an article (details supplied); the proposals, if any, he has in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11086/98]
Two major surveys of the provision of guidance in schools have been published within the past 12 months. The most recent survey was commissioned by a newspaper and was carried out by the UCD marketing development programme. The survey indicated that there was a level of dissatisfaction with the amount of time devoted to guidance counselling i.e. with the quantity rather than with the quality of guidance which was provided in schools. Reactions to the reported summary of this survey were conveyed to the newspaper by a number of telephone callers and referred to in the article in question. Any action taken by my Department will be based on the findings of large scale surveys and other research projects, rather than on anecdotal evidence. However, I am naturally concerned that some members of the public have expressed criticism of the guidance service provided in schools.
In 1997 I received an earlier report entitled Principals' Perceptions of the Guidance Service in Post Primary Schools published by a specialist agency of my Department, the National Centre for Guidance in Education, NCGE. Fifty four per cent of all post-primary school principals completed a detailed questionnaire for this major survey and some of the respondents were interviewed. The principals expressed concern about the amount of time which could be allocated to guidance, particularly in relation to junior cycle students. The main strength of the guidance service was felt to be the high quality of staff serving as guidance counsellors and their willingness to work far beyond the basic minimum required of them. The findings of the survey also indicated the need for a considerable improvement in levels of reporting by guidance counsellors. It should be pointed out that guidance provision in schools is no longer the sole responsibility of guidance counsellors. The introduction of new programmes and syllabuses means that students may also access vocational, educational and personal guidance through the curriculum.
