Applying APA's learner-centered principles to school-based group counseling - General Features - American Psychological Association

Professional School Counseling, Oct, 2002 by Heather R. Stroh, Christopher A. Sink

1. Learner-Centered Knowledge: The professional school counselor applies a broad knowledge base that includes understanding developmental patterns in children, adolescents, and adults; variations in human development; and the effects of the environment on learners' development, achievement, and behavior.

2. Counseling--A Learner-Centered Process: The professional school counselor participates in the development, monitoring, and evaluation of a comprehensive developmental school guidance and counseling program that fosters each learner's sense of self-direction, self-motivation, and empowerment.

3. Learner-Centered Professional Development: As a reflective practitioner dedicated to all students' success, the professional school counselor demonstrates a commitment to learn, improve, and maintain professional ethics and personal integrity.

4. Equity in Excellence for All Learners: The professional school counselor promotes equity in excellence for all learners by acknowledging, respecting, and responding to diversity while building on similarities that bond all people.

5. Learner-Centered Communication: While acting as an advocate for all students and the school, the professional school counselor demonstrates effective professional and interpersonal communication skills.

The LCPs also take into consideration the multiplicity of perspectives, experiences, and sociocultural backgrounds of students. No longer can a majority worldview be seen as the most viable and interchangeable for all students; rather, how people conceptualize and experience the world tend to be highly subjective and socially mediated (Sexton & Griffin, 1997; Vygotsky, 1978). In this regard, school counselors and those who educate them are beginning to recognize that students' knowledge and beliefs about what is "true" in society are, to some extent, cultural and intellectual constructions arising from the social environment (e.g., Forster, 1997; Neimeyer, 1998).

In summary, a learner-centered perspective, derived from LCPs, suggests that professional school counselors plan, implement, manage, and evaluate their programs within a sociocultural and developmental framework, with an eye toward fostering life-long learning and a genuine concern for the diverse personal, social, academic, and career needs of their students (Green & Keys, 2001; Sink, 2002). In this age of school reform initiatives as well as the push for accountability, standards, and high-stakes assessments, how can school counselors infuse LCPs into their CGCPs' components (i.e., guidance curriculum, individual planning, responsive services, system support)? School-based group counseling is one responsive service that lends itself to the integration of LCPs. In the next section, we explore ways in which these principles can be readily infused into existing small groups.

Implications for School-Based Group Counseling

Similar to what Texas' State Board for Educator Certification (1997) has recommended, we argue that school districts and states must first adopt a CGCP (Gysbers & Henderson, 2000). This perspective serves as the scaffold for the facilitation of various learner-centered interventions. Briefly reviewed, a CGCP is developmental and systematic in nature, sequential, clearly defined, accountable, holistic, and integral to the educational mission of the school and district. It operates under the premise that an effective school counseling program should serve all students by considering the diversity and individual differences that are valuable to all in our rich multicultural society (Campbell & Dahir, 1997; Gysbers & Henderson, 2000; Lee, 2001).