Historical background of the Guidance and Counselling movement in the UK

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Historical background of the Guidance and Counselling movement in the UK

In ancient Greece, Plato emphasised the importance of choosing a vocation that one enjoys. In other words, he argued for the acceptance of aptitude so that the right candidate may be chosen. Plato’s followers in education also made reference to direction in one way or another.

The pioneering work of Samuel Hartliv is very much responsible for guidance in the U.K. He travelled to the UK to pursue further education, and from 1621 until 1626, he attended Cambridge. Hartliv completed his studies in the UK, where he afterwards worked as a tour guide for students from the continent attending Oxford and Cambridge for higher study. He gave European students’ personal issues his entire attention and provided advice while taking into account their views and interests. As a result, Hartliv rose to prominence as a school counsellor during his day.

In actuality, there was no official system of advice in the UK throughout the 17th century. Students received advice on their schooling and careers from a select group of people. The English Government was convinced to create an agency to gather educational data that would be valuable for guiding students’ academic and career paths by Hartliv. Hartliv consulted other instructors for this aim. Additionally, he published the writings of those educators who had directly or indirectly supported the programme of pedagogical assistance.

Contribution of John Locke in Guidance

John Locke also had an impact on the guidance movement in England. As is well known, John Locke aimed to achieve a balance between conservative and progressive ideals in England. He desired for English youngsters to have a forward-thinking mindset. Thus, he tried to balance conservative and progressive ideals, which was a challenging challenge. Through this strategy, Locke was able to promote the UK’s guiding movement subtly.

Modern Guidance services in UK

UK currently has a national and local guidance programme that was properly coordinated. Both public and commercial organisations are working in this direction.

The following are the many types of advisory services now offered in the UK:

1. Child Guidance Clinic: Numerous local educational authorities, certain hospitals, and nonprofit organisations offer child guidance centres or clinics for the treatment of kids with emotional or behavioural issues. Under the professional supervision of a psychiatrist, who is in charge of providing psychiatric therapy, these facilities have a team of educational psychologists and mental social workers.
2. Children Care Committies: A special system of child care has emerged in London, where the Inner London Education Authority hires social workers with training to serve as volunteers in both primary and secondary schools.
3. Career Guidance: A superintendent of school welfare is often employed by local educational administrations in the U.K. He serves as the team’s commander and divides the region’s territory among a group of local education welfare officials, each of whom is well-versed in their respective districts. He has a responsibility to uphold the region’s statute requiring all students to attend school.
4. School Welfare Officers: In the UK, the Ministry of Labour-appointed Youth Employment Officers and schools share responsibilities for career counselling. For school-leavers who are 15 years old, the Youth Employment Service, which was reorganised under the Employment and Training Act of 1948, is well-established.