Guidance and counselling in New Zealand

✍ Scribed by J. J. Small

• Publisher: Springer US
• Year: 1984
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 353 KB
• Volume: 7
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0165-0653
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00135813

✦ Synopsis

By conventional indices, the standards of hvlng and education in New Zealand are among the highest in the world Guidance and counselling services have been developing since the 1920s, and a sound research literature is now emerging The main divisions of non-medical personnel are clinical psychologists, vocational counsellors, social workers, educational psychologists, guidance counsellors and visiting teachers In schools, guidance networks have been developed to formallze functions and relationships for effective delivery of services For social workers, training IS provided mainly within government departments, but there are also university programmes for them and for all personnel except visiting teachers Current needs include more programme evaluation and further development of professional supervision, but a sound indigenous basis in research, training, and service delivery has been laid

Historical background

Even during their heavy dependence upon Great Britain, New Zealanders had a strong sense of a separate cultural identity A rural way of life and two world war formed what the people regard as their distinctive traits -the pioneering virtues of equality, independence, toughness, and improvisation The culture still owes a good deal to its British origins, but In the last two decades indigenous achievements in education, literature, and the arts have been accorded much greater respect than was formerly the case More recently other cultural traditions, especially Polynesian, have also gained status Compared with other nations, New Zealanders have long enjoyed high standards of living An educational system of high quality is shown by the country's prominence on international Indices of usage, finance, literacy, and scholastic achievement (Small, 1979) However, economically the country's future is now