Guidance and counseling services: Perceived student needs

As problems in society are reflected in our schools, it becomes necessary for school personnel to prioritize student needs. It is especially essential for school counselors to set priorities as they plan guidance and counseling programs for the future. The purpose for conducting this study was to compare the perceptions of students, teachers, and parents of Lincoln High School students regarding the types of assistance students need from school counselors. Students, teachers, and parents were asked to complete a needs assessment survey to determine what student needs were thought to be of most importance among the three groups. The needs assessment survey was divided into 9 categories including: (1) Planning and developing careers; (2) Making decisions about college; (3) Preparation for finding jobs; (4) Finding jobs; (5) Job selection and training; (6) Planning and managing high school; (7) Issues which affect me; (8) Understanding and getting along with others; (9) Understanding and accepting myself. The Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance by ranks was used to assess differences among the responses of teachers, parents, and students for each category of the needs assessment survey. Pairwise comparisons, using the Mann-Whitney U test were used to follow-up significant ANOVAS. Students, teachers, and parents agreed that career planning and obtaining financial aid were priorities for counselor assistance. Teachers and parents selected more items in the realm of affective issues than did students. Students selected items primarily dealing with career and educational planning. Findings can be used by school counselors and administrators to plan school guidance and counseling programs to meet the needs of students