The twenty-first century counsellor: An emerging role in changing times

A significant number of personal, social, cultural, and economic forces are encountering each other in our global environment. In order to maintain professional responses which reflect changing times, counsellors and counsellor education programs must attend to international, sociopolitical trends in an interdisciplinary context. In this article, the authors identify trends and recommendations relevant to the future of counselling.     

The counsellor and changing Canadian sexual mores

To date, the counsellor in North America has been inadequately trained, and consequently ineffective in dealing with client problems involving human sexuality. The purpose of this paper is to help the counsellor increase his awareness and understanding of the sexual attitudes and behaviour of the clients with whom he interacts in the therapeutic setting. This task is undertaken by examining the empirical findings from some current Canadian sex research to determine some of the dominant changes in attitudes that have occurred within the past decade. The findings from this research have indicated that there has been a major change in the personal outlook of Canadian youth, as well as the viewpoint of the public at large, leading to a more general acceptance of a permissive sexual ethic. There are also signs that public attitudes toward prevalent social codes of sexual behaviour are being reappraised and redefined. The implications of these changes in Canadian sexual mores as a significant factor in the counselling process are discussed.     

The field trial of a new computer-assisted career guidance system in South Africa

This paper describes the field test of a newly developed computerized career counselling system in South Africa. A randomly selected sample of black high school students (n=80) evaluated the system after completing the program at the University of the Western Cape. Evaluation data were collected through interviews and the Program Evaluation Questionnaire. This questionnaire consisted of a number of subscales measuring 1) user satisfaction with the experience, 2) the extent to which the system helped them acquire self and occupational knowledge and identified potential career alternatives, 3) whether they found interaction with the computer rewarding, and 4) the ease with which the system can be used. The Program Evaluation Questionnaire was found to be a reliable instrument (coefficients ranging from 0.54 to 0.84) and indicated that subjects evaluated the system positively in terms of these subscales. The interviews also indicated that subjects would recommend use of the program to others, that they would prefer the computer rather than the counsellor and that they felt that the program had an impact on their career plans.     

The changing place of careers guidance in schools

National Institute for Careers Education and Counselling (jointly sponsored by the Careers Research and Advisory Centre and by Hatfield Polytechnic). Research interests include careers guidance and the relationship between education and work. Has acted as a consultant to international organisations including the European Commission, OECD and Unesco. Books include Career Development in Britain, Work Experience in Schools,and Education, Unemployment and the Future of Work.     

Nurturing and educating children prenatally exposed to alcohol: The role of the counsellor

Previous studies are summarized on the incidence and nature of alcohol-related defects, as such defects relate to health, motor and speech development, behaviour, intelligence and school achievement.In the present study, thirty-four children were located. Their caregivers and social workers provided background information on the children, who were assessed on the Wechsler Scales. Discussion centres on the need to provide long-term support services to these children, their caregivers and their schools. The role of counsellors in such support systems is central.Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta     

South Africa: The need for a radical restructuring of specialized education in the new South Africa

Sigamoney Naicker, a lecturer in Specialized Education in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Western Cape, provides an analysis of specialized education after one year of the first democratic government in South Africa.     

Integrating guidance,counselling, and counsellor education in Botswana: A consultation model

This paper reflects the work of the authors as consultants to the Ministry of Education and the University of Botswana on a project sponsored by the USAID. The mission of the consultants was to assist the educational leaders of the country of Botswana, Africa, in determining the next major step in developing country-wide guidance and counselling services in responding to significant boundary shifts, both economically and intellectually. The paper discusses background of Education and Guidance in Botswana along with recommendations to our respective agencies. We further review the procedure used to reach our conclusions, impediments to implementation, and recommendations for future consultancies.     

The changing demography of academic staff at higher education institutions (HEIs) in South Africa

In this work, we contribute to the debate on the transformation of higher education institutions (HEIs) in post-apartheid South Africa by examining the changing demography of academic staff bodies at 25 South African HEIs from 2005 to 2015. We use empirical data to provide initial insights into the changing racial profiles of academic staff bodies across age, gender and rank and then summarise our findings into a transformation ‘scorecard’ which provides an indication of how all racial groups in the country are performing in terms of their representation in higher education. Initial results indicate that most academics in South Africa are middle-aged (between 35 and 54) but an ageing trend is evident, particularly among white academics. In terms of gender, males marginally outnumber females, although we estimate an equitable distribution to be attained within the next 5 years. Significantly, the data indicate that there is an upwards trajectory of black African academics across all rankings from 2005 to 2015 and a concomitant downward trajectory of white academics across all rankings. Both Indian and coloured academics most closely represent their national population representation. Our transformation ‘scorecard’ indicates that the demography of academic staff at higher education institutions in South Africa is changing and will continue to change in the future, particularly within the next 20 years if current trends continue.     

Private higher education in Africa: The case of Monash South Africa

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to review the contribution of private institutions to higher education in Africa and use Monash South Africa as a case study. A literature search was conducted to gain perspective on the current situation with respect to private higher education institutions in Africa and how they are perceived in relation to public higher education institutions.

In comparison with public higher education institutions, private higher education institutions in Africa were successful in four areas: ? Widening access to higher education in the continent

? Improving the quality of education

? Improving student experience

? Increasing the recognition and marketability of their degrees

However, private higher education institutions in Africa have failed in two areas: ? Reducing the costs of higher education in Africa

? Assisting with retention of skilled human capital in African countries.

In fact, private higher education institutions in Africa, have exacerbated the two situations above.

Monash South Africa was the first foreign university to be established in South Africa and one of over 100 private universities in the continent. As a campus of Monash University in Africa, it has seen a steady growth with over 3,500 students in the past 10 years of its existence. Like other private institutions, the campus was successful in the four areas above and also fails in the area of costs and assisting in retention of skilled staff in Africa. The campus has been successful in blending its private provider status with a public purpose mandate by offering degrees in social science, business and economics, information technology and health sciences.     

The role of foundation programmes in science education: The UNIFY programme at the University of Limpopo,South Africa

Since its inception in 1992, the University of the North's,¹ Science Foundation Year (UNIFY) Programme has provided access to higher education to over 1500 previously disadvantaged² students. However, there has always been doubt about whether the concept of a foundation programme is a worthwhile endeavour. To date, government has not yet fully acknowledged the value of programmes such as UNIFY. This may be attributed, amongst others, to insufficient evidence on the crucial role of programmes of this nature. This paper gives a view of the valuable contribution UNIFY has played in increasing the quality and the quantity of science graduates at the University of the North in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. A tracer study of the performance of ex-UNIFY³ students to that of direct entry⁴ students, in the science programmes at the University of the North shows that ex-UNIFY students perform better than the direct entry students. This reflects the importance of foundation programmes in higher education.     

A comparison of the guidance received and desired by black and white pupils in South Africa

A survey was conducted of 692 black and white high school pupils in sixteen South African high schools. A questionnaire requested information regarding pupils' perceptions of the extent to which they actually received guidance services in twelve areas listed in official syllabi. Subjects were also asked to indicate which of these dimensions they wished to receive, and their preferences in this regard. Results indicated that black pupils received guidance significantly less than did whites, and that they had a commensurately stronger desire for such input. In their ordering of preferred areas in which Guidance should be provided, there were certain commonalities and a few differences in the responses of black and white pupils. It was concluded that the inadequacies in the guidance system, particularly for blacks, are associated with the nature of the apartheid society. Accordingly, changes in the guidance system are seen as dependent upon pervasive reform of that society.     

Popular pedagogy and the changing political landscape: a case study of a women's housing movement in South Africa

This paper sets out to explore the relationship between popular education and the changing South African political landscape through case study research of the Victoria Mxenge Housing Development Association. The research took place over an extended period of time from 1992–2003 and discusses how popular education was advocated by the South African Homeless People's Federation and its parent NGO (People's Dialogue); how it was implemented, how an increasing disjuncture between teaching and learning occurred, and how pedagogy was shaped by both political and personal factors. The paper discusses the interactions between social movements and NGOs and the limitations of social movements and popular education. It argues for a more nuanced conceptual understanding of learning in social movements within development contexts.     

Vocational education and training for sustainability in South Africa: The role of public and private provision

Written in the twilight of the Mbeki Presidency, this paper considers the role that skills development has in the sustainability of the South African political–economic project. It explores some of the disarticulations of public policy and argues that these both undermine public sector delivery and open up opportunities for private provision to be, under certain circumstances, more responsive to the challenges of national development. We argue that there is a possibility that the state could work more smartly with both sets of providers. Crucially, however, this would necessitate working more smartly within itself. This was a major plank of the Mbeki strategy but it has failed conspicuously with regard to the Education–Labour relationship. Whether a new President can achieve a radical reworking of this relationship may be an important indicator of the viability of any new development project.