Session 1-1 Janice Graham-Migel

Comprehensive School Programs:
Addressing Wellness in Nova Scotia Public Schools
The Canadian Forum on Public Education, Montreal
July 11-12, 2016
Janice Graham-Migel, PhD
Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association
“Position” to “Program”—
In response to challenges in schools, the Comprehensive
Guidance and Counselling Program (CGCP) is a conceptual
shift from a position-focused model that delivers services
to specific populations to a comprehensive model that
delivers programs and services to all students in the
school. In 1996 the CGCP was piloted in seven schools in
Nova Scotia.
(Janice Graham-Migel piloted the CGCP in the Halifax
Regional School Board and has been implementing the
CGCP since that time.)
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Collaborative approach within the school
community
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Four domains / four components
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Proactive and preventative stance
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Supported by staff and administration
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Coordinated by a qualified counsellor
Program implementation requires a counsellor
who has the following:
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a valid Nova Scotia Teacher’s Certificate
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two years of appropriate teaching experience
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a Master of Education degree in Counselling
from an accredited university
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Students and families presenting with
increasingly complex concerns
Schools being confronted with an array of moral,
ethical, legal, medical, and mental health issues
Counsellors recognize boundaries of expertise
and work with other professionals and/or
agencies accordingly—Early Years Centres,
SchoolsPlus, Youth Health Centres, IWK Health
Centre, government departments (Health, Justice,
Community Services), other departments and
agencies
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Competent, experienced, and professional
counsellors have a significant role to play in
the design, organization, and delivery of a
CGCP
Counsellors assist students, parents, teachers
and school administrators by providing
counselling, consulting, coordinating, and
managing roles
Counsellors works with the school community
to address issues at the school
The CGCP assists students to acquire
knowledge, attitudes, strategies, and skills in
the four program domains:
 Personal-to understand and appreciate
oneself
 Social-to relate effectively to others
 Educational-to develop appropriate
educational plans
 Career-to develop life and career plans
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Guidance curriculum
Professional services (counselling,
consultation, and coordination)
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Life and career planning
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Program management and system support
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Initiate the program
Establish an advisory committee
Assess needs
Determine resources
Identify expected student outcomes
(personal, social, educational, career)
Define program activities
Implement program activities
Evaluate the program
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CGCP encourages school community
involvement including students, staff,
administrators, parents, community
members, outside agencies and organizations
Viewed as an essential and integral
component of each child’s educational
experience
Long-term vision, goals, and commitment
Developmental, inclusive, comprehensive,
and progressive in nature
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Evidence from an extensive study of 236 high
schools in Missouri indicated that students
who attended schools with more fully
implemented comprehensive guidance
programs were more likely to report that they
had higher grades, believed that their
education made them more prepared for the
future, their schools contained more college
and career information, and felt that the
school climate was more positive
(Lapan, 1997)
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Doctoral thesis by Janice Graham-Migel
is an example of evidence-based research
conducted in four school boards in
Nova Scotia (Graham-Migel, 2008)
Purpose of study was to investigate how
leadership is distributed in the CGCP
Many of the leadership functions performed
in a CGCP are distributed to members of the
school community
Evidence of integrated and hybridized models
of distributed leadership within the CGCP
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Other than the School Advisory Council, there are
few organizational structures in Nova Scotia
schools that allow representation from
stakeholders in the school community to have an
active voice at the school.
The CGCP is an example an integrative model
that enables a collaborative structure with an
avenue for distributed leadership. It encourages
leadership at all levels within the administrative
structure, among school staff, among students,
and between the school and community.
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Members of the school community want a
more active role in providing supports to
students
Need for educators, particularly counsellors,
to be more proactive in engaging students,
parents, and community members in
decision making at the school
Greater engagement often results in greater
commitment to established goals and
program initiatives
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Schools cannot meet the challenges alone
so it is necessary to tap into the collective
wealth of expertise that is available in the
broader community.
This requires a change in not only the
organizational structure at the school, but
also in the power structure between
administrators and members of the school
community
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Student leadership (GSA, Kids Help Phone,
Peer Helping, Techsploration)
Staff leadership (Cultural Responsiveness, Social
and Emotional Learning—”Second Step Program”)
School community leadership (Workshops led by
parents and/or members of the school community:
cyberbullying, internet safety, parenting skills)
Community partnerships (Cultural Academic
Enrichment Program through the Black Educators
Association; SchoolsPlus; Youth Health Centres)
Business Community Partnerships (Role Models on
the Road Program and Business is Jammin’ Program
through the Black Business Initiative;
Junior Achievement; Entrepreneurial Adventure)
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Integration of guidance and counselling activities
into programs for specific subject areas
(Citizenship, Job Shadowing, Entrepreneurship,
Personal Development, Character Development)
Representation from outside agencies on the
CGCP Advisory Committee (Community Services,
RCMP, Nova Scotia Health Authority—Public Health,
Business Community)
Partnerships with universities and colleges
(research projects, consultants, internships,
student volunteers)
The Comprehensive School Health Program includes
a whole school approach with four inter-related
pillars that provide the foundation for this model:
 Social and Physical Environment
 Teaching and Learning
 Healthy School Policy
 Partnerships and Services
(Morrison, W. & Peterson, P. (Eds.). (2013)
Pan-Canadian Joint Consortium for School Health)
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Recognizes that healthy young people learn
better and achieve more
Understands that schools can directly influence
students’ health and behaviours
Encourages healthy lifestyle choices, and
promotes students’ health and wellbeing
Incorporates health into all aspects of school and
learning
Links health and education issues and systems
Needs the participation and support of families
and the community at large
www.jcsh-cces.ca
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Research has shown that Comprehensive School
Health and Comprehensive Guidance and Counselling
approaches typically are accompanied by a reduction
in absenteeism and alienation from school, increased
school satisfaction and academic performance, as
well as an increased sense of the relevance of school
on the part of students (Collins, 2002)
Comprehensive School Health and Comprehensive
Guidance and Counselling Programs originate from
different theoretical frameworks; however, they share
several common philosophical underpinnings.
Gordon (2002) calls for collaboration between the two
programs.
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In summary, personal development and
wellness can be enhanced through
collaboration between Comprehensive
Guidance and Counselling and
Comprehensive School Health Programs.
Using an integrative wellness approach, this
initiative can promote a systemic culture of
wellness in school curricula, programs, and
services to meet the needs of all students in
public schools.
American School Counselor Association (ASCA), 2014. Empirical
research studies supporting the value of school counseling.
https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/CareersRoles/Effectiveness.pdf
Collins, S. (2002). Building collaboration and balancing stakeholder
needs in comprehensive health and guidance programming.
Canadian Journal of Counselling, 36 (1), 63-72.
Gordon, T.R. (2002). Comprehensive school health and comprehensive
guidance and counselling programs: A call for collaboration.
Canadian Journal of Counselling,36 (1), 49-62.
Graham-Migel, J. (2002). Comprehensive guidance and counselling
programs: The Beechville-Lakeside-Timberlea experience.
Canadian Journal of Counselling, 36 (1), 6-13.
Graham-Migel, J. (2008). Distributed leadership in a
comprehensive guidance and counselling program: Collaboration
between education and health in the context of school reform.
Doctoral Thesis: University of Toronto.
Joint Consortium for School Health. What is Comprehensive School
Health? Retrieved from www.jcsh-cces.ca
Lapan, R., Gysbers, N., & Sun, Y. (1997). The impact of more fully
implemented guidance on the school experiences of high school
students: A statewide evaluation study. Journal of Counseling &
Development, 75 (4), 292-302.
Morrison, W. & Peterson, P. (Eds.). (2013). Schools as a Setting
for Promoting Positive Mental Health: Better Practices and
Perspectives (Second Edition). Pan-Canadian Joint
Consortium for School Health.
Nova Scotia Department of Education (2010). Comprehensive
guidance and counselling program. Halifax, Nova Scotia,
Canada: Crown copyright: Province of Nova Scotia.
http://studentservices.ednet.ns.ca/sites/default/files/
ComprehensiveGuidanceCounsellingProgram.pdf
Peterson, P. & Morrison, W. (2012). Year three research report:
New Brunswick early childhood centres. Wallace and Margaret
McCain Family Foundation. Toronto, ON.