Leadership in Advocacy Programs Essay

The case that will be considered is connected with educational counseling. To the consultant turned parents a boy named Mark, who is a student of the first class and has problems at school. According to the parents, the boy does not want to go to school and do his homework. At school, teachers are complaining that Mark is not attentive at the lessons; he does not listen to the teachers and does not want to participate in the learning process. Of course, marks and achievement of the boy are lower than of other children in the class, that makes worrying both teachers and parents. Mark does not say why he does not like to go to school, and why he resists studying. Persuasions and convictions of parents and teachers do not help, but if they force the child, he takes a protest, runs away from classes. Also the parents have noticed that the boy becomes very nervous when talking about school and about education, but the causes of his experiences he does not say.
Thus, the issue is associated with problems of the child at school, his unwillingness to study and go to school together with other children. This problem of Mark should be considered by an expert in counseling and a psychologist, to help the boy and his parents. It is obvious that the problem involves counseling of the whole family, and for this it is first to identify the reasons for the situation and ascertain the reasons for the child’s problem.
The socio-psychological reasons include social deprivation, educational neglect of the child, poor education and livelihoods, strict regulatory style of education in the family, and other traumatic effects of the environment. A prerequisite to the emergence of a school failure can be a psychological unpreparedness of the child to systematic and purposeful work in the new development situation. Even the child who reads and counts well may have difficulties when he goes to school associated with new system of relations at the school community and the system of public education. Parents should be aware of the fact that at first period it is vital to discuss with the child not only what he learned in the classroom, but more his relationship with the teacher and classmates. As a child, due to the small collective experience of communication, first does not possess a sufficient set of psychological tools for effective communication and relationships with classmates and teachers.
Parents concerns about the problems of a child at school may be not so serious, when, for example, connected with increased concern for the prospects of child’s education in school. Or, for example, concerns may be caused by their personal negative experience of visiting educational institutions. In reality the child may have too long phase of the adaptation period to a new kind of activity and to a new social environment. And according to psychologists, about 10-15% of children have difficulty adapting to the school during the first year. If the reasons for concern of parents are connected with real difficulties with studies of a child, it is necessary to fully examine and understand the problem. The consultant should clearly understand the boundaries of his own competence and possible that he will need to consult with such experts as a neuropsychiatrist, neurologist, teacher-defectologist, a speech therapist. It is important to explain the significance of these consultations and to prepare for possible consequences. (Hornby 1994)
The first possible variant is that the child is diagnosed, for example, a mental retardation. In that case it is necessary to explain parents the situation, it is important to persuade them to cooperate with specialists. Also it is necessary to take actions only in the interests of the child, and in that case he need to be sent to a special school. Of course, parents have the right to try to educate a child in secondary school, but the child is likely not benefit from that, because secondary school does not provide practical skills needed for life for a problem-child. But the child will have difficulties with his homework, and negative experience of studying and communicating with peers and teachers, that will lead to an inferiority complex. Such a child needs special approach in learning and educating. (Harris & Fong, 1985)
The second variant of the possible situation is when the child was identified only difficulties in learning the program material and emotional immaturity, it is necessary to provide remedial assistance in the form of individual or group lessons. However, it should also be noted how significant is involvement of parents in the counseling process. Firstly, it is advisable to invite parents to psychological classes, conducted by a psychologist with the children. Secondly, it is desirable to give parents and children some homework assignments (for example, to go to the zoo to observe the behavior of wild animals, and at home to record what animals were doing at the zoo). Third, it is useful to have regular meetings with parents and discuss the dynamics of child’s development. (Gilliland et al., 1989)
At these meetings it is necessary not only to discuss the problems of their child, but also to conduct psychotherapeutic support to the parents and to help them cope with personal difficulties that they are sure to have in supporting their child. (Hornby 1994)
In addition, parents need help in establishing relationships with teachers who teach their child, tell what strategy communication can choose parents to minimize possible complications in the relations between the child and teacher. (Harris & Fong, 1985)
The most effective forms of individual counseling at this stage are:
– joint discussion with the parents of progress and results of remedial work;
– analysis of the causes of slight progress in the development of the child, of individual aspects of mental activity,
– joint elaboration of recommendations for overcoming the negative tendencies in the development of the child;
– consultations of parents about cooperative forms of work with children with corrective focus (different types of productive activities, articulation exercises, psycho-trainings, educational games and tasks).
Individual work at this stage has a consultative and advisory nature with a focus on the proper level of development of the child form of training and education. (Erford 2010)