School and career guidance is at the heart of student success

For clients with specific needs who may be at greater risk of failure or dropping out, guidance needs, although present, are barely expressed and require screening as part of other interventions.

For students identified as having disabilities, social maladjustments or learning difficulties, a brief identification of their interests and an exploration of trades and professions are not enough.

Special assessment

These students require targeted assessment and clinical intervention tailored to their needs and circumstances. The guidance counsellor is a professional who can accompany parents and their child during this delicate intervention.

To assess psychological functioning, personal resources and environmental conditions; to intervene on identity and to develop and maintain active coping strategies with the aim of enabling personal and professional choices throughout life; restoring socio-professional autonomy and carrying out the career projects of individuals interacting with their environment.

The guidance counsellor’s skills are particularly important in helping clients with special needs reach their full potential while taking into account their individual characteristics.

The counsellor’s role is paramount, not only in assessing a student with a disability or who is experiencing adaptation problems, but also in the implementation of an Individualized Education Plan as required by the Quebec Education Act, as well as in assisting in the acquisition and maintenance of competencies.

 The Continuum of Academic and Career Guidance Content (ACGC – COSP)

Since 2017, the Ministry of Education (MEQ) has made Academic and Career Guidance Content (ACGC-COSP) compulsory for all students from Grade 5 of elementary school to Secondary 5. These are learning activities on key guidance themes or concepts, designed to accompany students in a structured and concerted effort, supporting, guiding and equipping them as they reflect on themselves and their role in preparing for their futures. ACGC-COSP educational activities are delivered to students through the various subjects taught, and help to awaken students’ sense of direction, while complementing various initiatives already in place in the schools, notably the professional services offered by guidance counsellors.

They are presented in an ACGC-COSP continuum divided into three orientations: self-knowledge, knowledge of the school world and knowledge of the world of work. Although the ACGC-COSP are the same for all students, the lessons learned by each student may differ and be adjusted according to his or her needs and abilities.

Some students may experience challenges on various levels, but they generally have the same needs as other students in their age group in terms of orientation: They are preoccupied with who they are and what they aregoing to do in the future. That’s why all students, including those that demonstrate special needs, will be exposed to ACGC-COSP during their school career, since they also have basic needs in terms of educationaland vocational guidance.

The different professionals contribute, each of them, to the assessment of the student according to their respective field of competence (speech therapist, psychologist, psycho-educator, social worker, special education teacher, etc.). For example, the guidance counsellor can be used for everything related to the specification of a career or educational project, the determination of the academic path and the supervision promoting socio-professional integration or the transition from school to active life.

In this regard, Bill 21, An Act to amend the Professional Code and other legislative provisions in the field of mental health and human relations, which focuses on ensuring access to competent professional services and protecting the most vulnerable clientele, provides for a number of activities that are shared among education professionals who are members of a professional order (guidance counsellor, psycho-educator, psychologist, etc.).

Bill 21 redefines the scope of practice in the mental health and human relations professions and reserves for them the professional activities that carry a high risk of harm to clients.