The Educational Counselor, What Are His Functions?

The figure of the educational counselor is very important. For this reason, it is present in all the centers intended to train students who are studying secondary school, high school or other training activity (cycles or vocational training). However, in the vast majority of cases the work of this professional is unknown. What is your job actually?

Perhaps at the time we were students we saw the educational counselor as a figure that we never – or rarely – put a face to. We knew little or nothing of his work. Unfortunately, still in many schools the counselor continues to be that kind of phantom figure, who perhaps orders and disposes, but does not appear. Precisely because its functions are often hidden, today we want to dedicate this article to describe them.

The functions of the educational counselor

The educational counselor can be seen as a professional who advises and helps students to focus on their professional future. Above all, when he does not know what to study, what electives to choose or the career that, after finishing high school, he will do. But these are only a small part of its functions.

Prevent school failure

School failure is a situation that worries both families and teachers. The reason is that there are educational centers in which, according to the article The large numbers of failure and the risks of educational exclusion , school failure can reach a percentage of 40%. A fact that shudders.

In these cases, the role of the educational counselor is fundamental. This professional develops individual help programs for students and advises them. On many occasions, the problem of school failure is related to family factors. Therefore, the educational counselor will try to meet with the family to explain what is happening and that they can support the opportunity that the student has to train.

Make curricular adaptations

Curricular adaptations are also a competence that corresponds to the educational counselor. When there are students in the classroom who find it difficult to keep up with the class, are diagnosed with ADHD or have some other type of problem (anxiety, blindness, etc.). For these students with special needs the following measures can be taken:

• Eliminate physical barriers : provide the center with facilities and resources that allow access to students who may be, for example, in a wheelchair.
• Eliminate communication barriers : in the case of a student who is blind, they will be provided with notes in Braille that they can use to study.
• Support classes : students will go to a support class in which educational resources adapted to their needs will be provided. This works for both gifted students and those with attention deficit, for example.

Provide psycho-pedagogical advice

Another important function of the educational counselor is to provide psycho-pedagogical advice, both to teachers and to families. In addition, it is the responsibility of the counselor to provide the resources and methods necessary to ensure that the individualized strategy for each student is carried out successfully.

This part, moreover, is not fixed. The evaluation of the students will be continuous and it is probable that certain modifications will have to be made. Likewise, family counseling can encourage the student to go to a professional, such as a psychologist, to evaluate and diagnose him correctly.

The important figure of the educational counselor

We have surely realized that the figure of the educational counselor is fundamental in secondary schools. However, we are going to collect some of his most important work in a kind of summary:

• Advises students and families: the objective is to improve the educational quality provided by the center.

• Study and plan educational needs individually.
• He holds meetings with the family and the teachers to provide them with the necessary resources for the student to improve his performance.
• Observe the progress of the students to introduce modifications and improvements.

Now we can discard those beliefs that made us think that the educational counselor did not have any important function within the centers. As we have seen, their work is important and ultimately they are always focused on improving the services offered by the center. Did you know what an educational counselor did? What did you think about him before reading this article?