Competency and training issues related to the integration of career counseling and mental health counseling

Summary Career counseling cannot be neatly separated from the counseling that affects the remainder of clients' lives, and mental distress cannot be considered independent of the career which encompasses so much of an individual's world. Life is complex and includes many facets which counselees bring to the counseling relationship. Counselors must be able to deal with the major issues in clients' lives including career issues and issues of mental health. Minimum skill for counselors would include the ability to assist a range of clients and the knowledge to effectively refer others. For too long career counseling and mental health counseling have been viewed as separate entities. This view of career and mental health counseling as separate is inconsistent with the development of counseling as a profession and does not serve potential clients well.Spencer G. Niles, D.Ed. is an Assistant Professor of Counselor Education and Robert H. Pate, Jr., Ph.D. is a Professor of Counselor Education and Chair of the Department of Human Services in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia.     

Age of Uncontrolled Information Flow

We are heading into an era of uncontrolled and uncontrollable information flow. In the past, the tools of information flow required large investments, and the persons controlling them were easily identifiable. Now, effective long-range communication with large numbers of people can be done using tools that are easily affordable to the average citizen. Moreover, it can be done in ways that make monitoring and control virtually impossible. This is not a worrisome future change that can be averted by prompt action; it is a fait accompli and there is no reversing it. However, this is not necessarily clear to those interested in monitoring and control. Unfortunately, the bulk of electronic communication is still relatively exposed to monitoring and control, and is likely to remain so for a while. The danger is that the authorities, trying to retain a grip on a situation that is irretrievably slipping away, will react to the extremes of the problem in ways that leave ordinary users' privacy unprotected. The best approach is to adapt traditional solutions rather than inventing new ones. The safeguards built into the traditional solutions may not be precisely appropriate, but they are far better than nothing.     

Trait anxiety and final degree performance at the University of Oxford

A questionnaire was administered to 1,929 applicants to Oxford University, including measures of trait anxiety, behavioural response to examinations and to breakdown in relationships. 635 of these applicants were admitted to the university and of these, 383 also responded to a questionnaire administered 4 years later, just before their final examinations. The classification (first, upper and lower second, third class) and marks in the final examinations were obtained and the relationship between the personality measures and academic performance were calculated. Women showed higher anxiety scores than men at both times of testing. Women who obtained the best (first class) degrees scored significantly higher on anxiety than those who performed less well. In contrast, there was no such difference in men. Explanations for anxiety having a facilitatory effect on academic performance of women at Oxford University are proposed.     

Quality early childhood education for all and the Covid-19 crisis: A viewpoint

The purpose of this viewpoint is to consider the impact of the current Covid-19 crisis on the educational prospects of young children attending early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. Studies show that health pandemics and environmental, political, and socio-economic crises jeopardize children’s development and education. It is likely that for the immediate future, young children will continue to experience emotional and psychological stress. A curriculum that does not take into consideration a pandemic of the scale we are witnessing today creates unnecessary pressure and anxiety not just on young children but also on the adults who care for and teach them. This article outlines actions to ensure quality education for all as suggested by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The response of ECEC curricula to the pandemic may potentially act as a catalyst for educational change.