As a high school student in one of Western Canada's largest schools, I never met with a guidance counselor. While I took a Career and Life-oriented course like all the other students, I lacked a professional in an educational environment to speak with me about opportunities and requirements, and I did not have support in finding the best fit for myself in the world and post-secondary education. What my experience lacked guides me as I work with my students.Â
Source: pexels.com
While career and guidance counseling is framed as a priority by provincial governments and districts, budget and programming limitations mean that access is limited for students. A 2018 CBC article found that the average guidance counsellor-to-student ratio in Ontario was 396:1, with that ratio as high as 800:1 in some schools. Currently Kelowna Senior Secondary, a school of 1900+ students, shows 3 teacher-counsellors on its website, a ratio of more than 600:1. Individual attention in these scenarios are an impossibility with this human resources limitation.
While large schools have their difficulties with ratios, other factors create accessibility issues as well. Students in more isolated locations, in smaller schools, and unvisited by university recruitment officers also lack guidance counselling. These realities may be limiting factors in student efforts to find a good fit for themselves in the post-secondary world.
Homeschooled students are another example of those who lack access to professional guidance counselling. Parents often take on the burden of exploring career opportunities with their children, however, they miss out on the connections and experience that guidance counsellors hold.
Source: Google Maps