IMPLICATION FOR COUNSELLING

The implications for cousnelling to when it comes to child abuse on the academic performance
of students cannot be overemphasized; hence, counselors assume multiple roles when dealing
with issues of school-based abuse: consultants, advocates, mediators, identifiers, counselors, and
change agents.
Consultants
One of the most important roles counselors can assume in preventing and combating the
problems of child abuse is by consulting with teachers and school administrators. However, first,
it is critical that counselors develop working relationships with teachers and are perceived by
them as resources and members of the educational team. In their role as consultants, counselors
can work individually with teachers who express concern about their lack of competence and
confidence in dealing with classroom discipline and provide strategies to help them overcome
their deficiencies. School professionals would benefit from a confidential forum to discuss
concerns about all forms of abuse, especially when suspecting a colleague (Sloan, 1989).
Counselors with prior teaching experience may be able to share personal experiences and coping
strategies used with students who have presented challenging discipline problems. Teaching
experience has been found to be helpful, but not always necessary, when relating to teachers and
fostering positive school environments (Smith, Crutchfield, & Culbreth, 2001).

Counselors can work with groups of teachers to provide professional development sessions to
educate them about abuse. Topics of discussion could include (a) what constitutes potentially
abusive comments toward students, (b) the short- and long-term negative effects of child abuse,
and (c) appropriate disciplinary practices and classroom management techniques. In addition,
teachers should be informed of the laws and the effects of child abuse on students’ learning
(Shumba, 2002; Sloan, 1989). A peer mentorship model facilitated by the counselor, whereby
veteran teachers work with less experienced teachers to observe classroom behaviors and provide
feedback, can also help reduce the instances of child abuse in classrooms (Nesbit & Philpott,
2002). This approach provides a means by which novice teachers can alleviate frustrations and
acquire reflective strategies to change ineffective behaviors to more constructive teaching
practices.

Advocates
Counselors have a major responsibility to act as student advocates. In this role, they assist school
administrators and teachers in developing and implementing policies and procedures that
equitably support the educational, personal-social, and career development of all students
(Schmidt, 1993). One aspect of the advocacy role in relation to child abuse of students is to help
school personnel avoid stereotypical and prejudicial procedures, policies, and actions that
discriminate and can harm students. Counselors can use their observation and communication
skills to determine whether classroom maltreatment is occurring and to offer suggestions on poli-
cies that can be implemented to prevent future occurrences (Schmidt, 1993).
In addition, in their advocacy role, counselors may confront legal and ethical issues related to the
reporting of child abuse. Minimally, counselors have a responsibility to report the abuse to the
principal or delegated school administrator who can provide additional assistance, support, or
training or, in grave cases, take disciplinary action to stop the abuse from occurring in the future.
Depending on the nature and severity of the abuse, counselors have a legal and ethical
responsibility to report this abuse to child protection agencies. A phone call to an agency
representative can help the counselor determine if the incidents are reportable.
Mediators
In some instances, counselors may need to act as mediators to clear up conflicts and
misunderstandings that occur between teachers and students and between teachers and parents.
One such example may be when a student reports to parents that the teacher made a humiliating
and discriminatory remark about him or her in front of other students because of an incomplete
assignment. The parent then calls the counselor to report the abuse. In this instance, the
counselor could intervene by arranging a meeting between all parties, thus serving as a mediator
and using active-listening, problem-solving, and conflict-resolution skills. A systematic approach
that focuses on building consensus and collaboration is recommended when counselors must
resolve conflicts (Melton, 2002). Peaceful conflict resolution is the outcome of developing
established practices and processes for settling disputes.
In addition, counselors can teach conflict-resolution skills to teachers, staff, parents, and students
and encourage collaborative problem solving and mediation among school stakeholders. When
mediating conflicts, it is important that counselors remain calm, avoid blaming, listen carefully,
and allow all parties to express their views. The use of e-mails can lead to misinterpretations;
therefore, this form of communication should be discouraged as a means to confront conflicts
and disagreements. Instead, counselors can better help the conflicted parties to come to an
agreeable resolution by using a rational, nonjudgmental approach that relies on facilitating face-
to-face communication.
Identifiers and Counselors
As identifiers of child abuse, counselors assess and diagnose the extent of the problem. In this
role, they need to pay attention to several key indicators: (a) persistent reports of abusive
classroom incidents by students, (b) their own observations of classroom teachers’ behaviors that
constitute abuse, (c) abusive teachers’ disclosure of child abuse to counselors or other teachers,
(d) other teachers’ reports of colleagues who engage in abusive behaviors, and (e) parental
complaints.
Prior to implementing any intervention, it is critical that counselors assess the extent of the abuse
and the psychological impact it is having on the student. The My Worst School Experience Scale
(Hyman, Snook, Berna, & Kohr, 1999) was developed to identify symptoms related to
psychological abuse in the classroom. The My Worst School Experience Scale includes 105
stress symptoms that students may develop as a result of psychological abuse in schools. The
scale also includes 39 specific acts of school, physical, and child abuse. Counselors can
administer this scale to screen students for symptoms and also to identify those students who
may need more intensive psychotherapy and referrals to mental health services outside of the
school. Counselors can also use the Scale of Subtle Child abuse (Nesbit & Philpott, 2002) in
professional development workshops to raise teacher awareness of subtle actions (as opposed to
very obvious behaviors, such as name-calling or bullying) teachers may exhibit in classrooms.
An example of subtle behaviors would be grading practices, verbal comments regarding the use
of time, or subtle discriminating remarks against students with special needs. The Scale of Subtle
Child abuse contains 32 items rated on a Likert-type scale of 0 (not subtle), 1 (slightly subtle), 2
(quite subtle), and 3 (very subtle).

When students present symptoms of child abuse, counselors take an empathic stance. Students
expect caregivers and other adults in their lives to act in their best interest; consequently, when
child abuse occurs, this fundamental belief is challenged (Thompson & Rudolph, 2000).
Therefore, when teachers are the offenders, students may lose trust in them, and counselors will
need to help the students rebuild trusting relationships with teachers. Students who have been
emotionally abused need to be able to express their feelings of resentment, anger, and hostility in
socially acceptable ways.

Change Agents
In the role of change agent, counselors can help promote and build positive school climates to
decrease the occurrences of emotional abuse in the classroom. The school climate influences
how those in the school feel about the qualities of the school and the individuals who work and
learn in that setting (Kaplan & Geoffroy, 1990). The climate includes every aspect of the school
environment that has an effect on student learning and discipline (Hyman & Snook, 1999).
Healthy school climates help to promote respect for individuals and their cultures; increase
teacher, staff, and student morale; and reduce disciplinary problems. Counselors can directly
affect school climates through the interventions they provide to students (e.g., classroom
guidance) and teachers (e.g., professional development activities). Through their interaction with
teachers, students can learn empathy, respect for others, and conflict resolution (Benbenishty,
Zeira, Astor, & Khoury-Kassabri, 2002). Teacher support, acceptance, caring, and
encouragement may enhance student self-esteem and self-evaluation. Cooperative attitudes from
teachers lead to a motivating educational environment and an overall positive school climate and
contribute to the well-being of students in the classroom (Sava, 2002).

The first step in developing positive school climates is to assess the existing school environment
by surveying all the stakeholders in the school. This assessment can be done concurrently with
the needs assessment conducted by counselors at the end of the school year, as they begin their
comprehensive, developmental guidance planning for the following year. Counselors can
develop environment assessment surveys to administer to students, teachers, parents, staff, and
administrators. The first step in developing such a survey would be to initiate discussions with
the school guidance advisory committee composed of teachers, parents, students, administrators,
and community representatives. This advisory committee can be helpful in identifying problems
and concerns related to the existing school climate and in brainstorming ways to bring about
changes.