School of Education Post Graduate Research Conference

Leading Learning

Wednesday 15th October 2014

B35a Exchange Building

Investigating the Attitudes, Perceptions, Knowledge, and Understandings of Student Counsellors in Saudi Arabia

Turki Aziz M Alotaibi

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Investigating the Attitudes, Perceptions, Knowledge, and Understandings of Student Counsellors in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Student counselling is a field which is very well established in both developing and developed countries around the world, and has been made available to a wide range of ages, i.e. 5-18 years old (Harris, 2013). In addition, whilst the many benefits of counselling students in schools has been widely researched and documented, the problems and obstacles encountered by student counsellors has received relatively less attention. This is especially the case in certain 'closed' cultures such as Saudi Arabia, where it can be argued that social sciences research is only in its early stages of development. This session will report on the progress that has been made to date on a research study focusing on student counselling in schools in Saudi Arabia. The research will use the researcher's 15 years' experience as a student counsellor and director of student counselling in a Saudi education department to develop an autoethnographic account of student counselling. The research will also be using semi-structured interviews with Saudi student counsellors to investigate and understanding the attitudes of student counsellors to counselling, as well as the problems and obstacles they face in practice. In principle, student counselling has the potential to significantly help children and young people in schools across Saudi Arabia, yet the research would seek to understand why this potential is not actually being fulfilled in reality.

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The Benefits of Student Counselling• School counselling is “a professional activity delivered by qualified

practitioners in schools. Counsellors offer troubled and/or distressed children and young people an opportunity to talk about their difficulties, within a relationship of agreed confidentiality” (Cooper 2013, p.3).

• Student counsellors can help children and young people:

• To talk about difficult issues in a confidential and non-judgmental atmosphere;

• With guidance about important problems (e.g. bullying, drugs, self-harm);

• To cope with sad or painful experiences (e.g. divorce, death);

• To learn helpful and practical problem solving skills.

• Student counselling services:

• Are a prevalent form of psychological therapy (70,000-90,000 youths) (BACP, 2013);

• Are effective in reducing students’ psychological distress (McArthur et al., 2012);

• Have a positive impact on students’ studying and learning (Rupani et al., 2012);

• Can improve overall attendance, attainment, and behaviour of students (Pybis et al., 2012).

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Problems with Saudi Student Counselling(Alotaibi, 2014a; 2014b):

• Student counsellors are not sufficiently qualified or experienced, and understaffed.

• Student counsellors should not be confided in about private family matters.

• Student counsellors feel demotivated and demoralised.

• Student counsellors are not seen as professional and treated with less respect:

• Student counsellors are only there to give punishments;

• Student counsellors’ role is not seen as important;

• Student counsellors have insufficient financial or administrative support (e.g. offices).

• Negative cultural attitudes towards student counsellors:

• Closed and Hierarchical Saudi culture and society;

• Lack of trust between student counsellors and student/parents;

• Talking about feelings seen as sign of weakness (separate male/female schooling system).

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The PhD Research Study Team

Dr Max BiddulphResearch Supervisor

LecturerFaculty of Social Scienceshttp://www.nottingham.ac.uk/education/people/max.biddulph

Dr Belinda HarrisResearch Supervisor

Director of Postgraduate Taught CoursesFaculty of Social Scienceshttp://www.nottingham.ac.uk/education/people/belinda.harris

Turki AlotaibiResearch Student

Faculty of Educationhttp://www.nottingham.ac.uk/education/people/ttxta16

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The PhD Research Study

• The aim of the study is to find out more information about student counsellors working in an unnamed provincial town in Saudi Arabia.

• The research question is: What are the Attitudes, Perceptions, Knowledge, and Understandings of Student Counsellors in Boys’ Secondary Schools in an Unnamed Location in Saudi Arabia?

• The study aims to investigate:

• The actual and expected role of student counsellors;

• The personal views and subjective opinions of student counsellors;

• The impact of Saudi culture on school counselling practices.

• The study aims to fill the gap in the academic research literature about student counselling methods and practices in Saudi Arabia.

• The study aims to increase knowledge and awareness of student counselling practices in Saudi Arabia by future academic publications.

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The PhD Research Methodology• Literature Review

• Difficult because limited Saudi literature, but will compare to Western literature on student counselling practices, findings, and attitudes, and student counselling qualifications.

• Research Journal

• A monthly written record that will regularly record difficulties with the research methods.

• Autoethnographic account of my life as a student counsellor

• “The subject matter of interpretative autoethnography is the life experiences and performance of a person” (Denzin 2014, p1).

• 15-25 In Depth Semi-Structured Interviews with Student Counsellors

• Development of a three-stage interview format – (1) Introduction; (2) Research Ethical Procedures; (3) Interview Questions;

• Student counsellors will be informed about ethical protections and significant potential ethical problems that may arise.

• Interview questions will cover – (1) the role of the student counsellor; (2) qualifications and training; (3) student counselling practices; (4) closing questions.

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What Issues will be Investigated?• Existing knowledge and viewpoints of student counsellors:

• Asking student counsellors what they believe their role is?

• Do student counsellors like, enjoy, dislike, or hate their jobs?

• Asking if student counsellors feel they are treated well or respected professionally?

• Asking if student counsellors feel that they are sufficiently trained or qualified?

• Asking what are the problems, obstacles, and challenges that student counsellors face?

• Investigating to what extent Saudi culture positively or negatively affects student counselling?

• Asking if there any ways of improving existing student counselling practices?

• Potential ways of improving student counselling practices:

• New student counsellor training schemes (e.g. new training materials) or qualifications.

• Increasing financial and social support by Saudi schools for student counsellors.

• Increasing awareness of student counselling practices across Saudi Arabia.

• Stimulating more academic research into Saudi student counselling by Universities.

• Launching a new National Saudi Association for Student Counsellors (NSASC).

• Launching a new National Saudi Association Student Counselling Qualification (NSASCQ).

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The EndReferences• Alotaibi, T. (2014a). Challenging Existing Views of the Role of School Counsellors

in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, In: 8th Annual Keele Counselling Psychology Conference (Keele University, 'Daring to Make an Impact: Dynamic Qualitative Research') (March).

• Alotaibi, T. (2014b). Differentiating Cultural, Social, and Psychological Attitudes Towards School Counselling in Saudi Arabia In: The InPACT (International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends), Porto, Portugal (April).

• BACP (2013). School-based counselling – what it is and why we need it. (May), British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

• Cooper, M. (2013). School-based counselling in UK Secondary Schools: A review and critical evaluation, University of Strathclyde: Glasgow.

• Denzin, N.K. (2014). Interpretive Autoethnography. 2nd edition (SAGE Publications, Inc).

• Harris, B. (2013). International school-based counselling. (August) Counselling Minded, British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy.

• McArthur, K., Cooper, M. and Berdondini, L. (2012). School-based humanistic counselling for psychological distress in young people: Pilot randomized controlled trial, Psychotherapy Research.

• Pybis, J., Hill, A., Cooper, M. and Cromarty, K. (2012). A comparative analysis of the attitudes of key stakeholder groups to the Welsh Government's school-based counselling strategy, British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 40(5), pp.485-498.

• Rupani, P., Haughey, N. and Cooper, M. (2012). The impact of school-based counselling on young people's capacity to study and learn, British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 40(5), pp.499-514.

School of Education Post Graduate Research Conference

Leading Learning

Wednesday 15th October 2014

B35a Exchange Building

Investigating the Attitudes, Perceptions, Knowledge, and Understandings of Student Counsellors in Saudi Arabia

Turki Aziz M Alotaibi