“If they talk to the counsellor, at least I know they have some way out”: Parents’ perceptions of school counselling in Hong Kong

“If they talk to the counsellor, at least I know they have some way out”: Parents’ perceptions of school counselling in Hong Kong

• Harrison, Mark G. Hong Kong Shue Yan University
• Cheung, Jacky King Fai Hong Kong Shue Yan University
• Tam, Chloe Ka Yi Christian Family Service Centre, Hong Kong
• Cheng, Anna Susanne Hong Kong Shue Yan University
• Yeung, Siu Sze The Education University of Hong Kong

Pastoral Care in Education, 2023

Routledge

2023

• N Students & Student Services
  • NH Guidance, Counselling & School Social Work

School Counselling School Counsellors Parents

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Unknown or Unspecified

School counselling is a well-established means of supporting the mental health of children. Counsellors are most effective when they collaborate with parents, so it is important that parents have a good understanding of and access to school counselling services. Despite this, little is known about parents’ perceptions of counselling in Hong Kong schools. We interviewed 27 parents in Hong Kong to investigate how they perceived the counselling services provided by their children’s local and international schools, and analysed the data thematically. International school parents recognised the potential of school counselling as a means of support for their children and wanted to work more closely with counsellors to a greater extent than local school parents. Parents were confused about the roles of counsellors and experienced stigma and concerns about confidentiality which inhibited them from engaging with counselling services. Our findings suggest that school principals should work with counsellors to establish and communicate roles more clearly. Greater recognition of counsellors’ professionalism, and clearer role differentiation between counsellors and other mental health and educational professionals may improve parental engagement with and support for school counselling. Copyright © 2023 NAPCE.

• English

Journal Articles

• 02643944

• 10.1080/02643944.2023.2233534

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/en/bibs/eba3b3e1

2023-11-09