Wiwin Nur Hidayah _K3518062_PTIK

Mata Kuliah Bimbingan dan Konseling

URGENSI PEMAHAMAN BIMBINGAN DAN KONSELING BAGI MAHASISWA

PENDIDIKAN TEKNIK INFORMATIKA DAN KOMPUTER

Pendidikan Teknik Informatika dan Komputer (PTIK) merupakan salah satu

program studi di Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan Universitas Sebelas Maret
Surakarta. Program studi dibawah naungan FKIP ini berfokus untuk melahirkan
tenaga pendidik di bidang informatika dan komputer. Meskipun demikian, lulusan
sarjana PTIK memiliki banyak kesempatan untuk menjadi programmer, teknisi, dan
designer yang profesional.
Sebagai calon pendidik mahasiswa PTIK diharapkan memiliki empat
kompetensi guru serta memiliki kemampuan untuk mewujudkan tujuan pendidika
nasional. Kompetensi guru meliputi kompetensi pedagogic, kompetensi kepribadian,
kompetensi sosial, dan kompetensi profesional. Agar pembelajaran lebih efektif dan
dimanis diharapkan seorang guru paham komptensi pedagogic. Kompetensi
pedagogic dalam standar nasional pendidikan, penjelasan pasal 28 ayat 3 butir (a)
adalah kemampuan mengelola pembelajaran peserta didik yaitu meliputi
pemahaman terhadap peserta didik, perancangan, dan pelaksanaan pembelajaran,
evaluasi hasil belajar,dan pengembangan peserta didik untuk mengaktualisasikan
berbagai potensi yang dimilikinya. Dalam hal ini perlu adanya pemahaman
bimbingan dan konseling kepada mahasiswa PTIK. Bimbingan dan program
konseling yang efektif dapat membantu siswa mudah berbagai aspek seperti
prestasi akademik, kebiasaan belajar dan memilih karir yang tepat.
Pemberian pemahaman bimbingan konseling yang tepat bagi mahasiswa
diharapkan mereka mampu memandang suatu kasus dari berbagai sudut pandang
serta berpikir diluar kebiasaan yang dilakukan. Dalam jurnal internasional berjudul
Penilaian Psikologis Layanan Konseling bagi Lembaga Pendidikan Tinggi Siswa
membahas hasil penelitian yaitu, layanan konseling Universitas dan mahasiswa
mengenai masalah mental sudah mendapat perhatian yang cukup besar selama
beberapa tahun terakhir. Berbagai penelitian telah menarik perhatian pada
kebutuhan mental siswa, dan dampak positif dari layanan konseling tentang
mahasiswa ( sharkin, 2004) dan (Gentachew, Daniel & Abayineh 2019. Shakurina,
Borvayeh & Elnampour 2015).
Sebagai mahasiswa program studi informatika dan komputer yang melek
teknologi, dapat memberikan inovasi penggunaan teknologi informasi dan
komunikasi (ICT) terutama dalam hal bimbingan dan konseling. Dalam jurnal
internasional berjudul memberikan kesimpulan bahwa ICT memiliki kekurangan
maupun kelebihan dalam hal bimbingan dan konseling. Dari hasil penelitian semua
konselor menyatakan bahwa ICT memiliki keunggulan dengan kenyamanan dan
 Wiwin Nur Hidayah _K3518062_PTIK
Mata Kuliah Bimbingan dan Konseling

kecepatan meskipun konselor dilaporkan kesulitan dalam menganalisis wajah

kenseling. Konseling online memberikan kesempatan untuk berpikir sebelum
beraksi untuk menangkap setiap kata klien yang dikatakan sehingga mudah
meningkatkan empati terhadap klien. Namun, mereka memiliki kesulitan dalam
membangun skenario dan suasana buatan karena tidak dapat berkomunikasi secara
langsung. Namun demikian, ICT dan bimbingan konseling dapat bermanfaat bagi
siswa maupun guru atau konselor
Sebagai seorang pelajar dan calon pendidik perlu adanya pemahaman
bimbingan dan konseling karena sangat bermanfaat bagi diri sendiri maupun orang
lain yang nantinya akan ditiru oleh peserta didik berikutnya.
 International Journal of Education & Literacy
Studies
ISSN: 2202-9478
www.ijels.aiac.org.a
u

Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students

Abera Getachew*
Department of Psychology, Institute of Education and Behavioral Sciences, Ambo University, Ethiopia
Corresponding author: Abera Getachew, E-mail: abegeta12@gmail.com

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Article history
Received: April 24, 2019
Accepted: October 13, 2019
Published: October 31, 2019
Volume: 7 Issue: 4
Conflicts of interest: None
Funding: None
Guidance and counseling programs are effective in assisting young students in various
aspects like academic achievement, study habits and choosing appropriate careers. A study
was conducted in a public university in Ethiopia among 605 regular undergraduate students.
Its objective was to investigate the students’ awareness and use of Psychological Counseling
Service at Higher Education Institutions. The study results show that demographic variables
were
strongly accounted for the variances in awareness of psychological counseling and use of the
service. Majority of the male students (67.8%) had not heard about the presence of psychological
counseling service while 24.3% of female students did not know about such a service. More
than 60% of the study participants gave top priority for psychological counseling service in
higher education institutions. Students’ year of study and place of residence were significantly
associated with the students rating of crisis intervention and emergency services, χ2 (9)=23.40,
p<.01. The importance given to psychological counseling services also varied based on the
place of origin and academic year of the students. Students believed psychological counseling
service contributed to their academic success. Implications are discussed.

Key words: Counseling Information, Counseling Role, Counseling Service, Higher Education
Institutions, Psychological Service

INTRODUCTION However, in Ethiopia, regardless of the

A rapidly changing work environment and labor force,
expec- tations and changes in schools, and communities,
teenage sui- cide, substance abuse, and sexual
experimentation are just a few examples of the challenges
young people are facing every day. Such hurdles are real,
and they are having an extensive impact on the
personal/social, career, and academic develop- ment of
children, and young people (Yilfashewa, 2011). Indi- viduals
seeks help to deal with his/her psychological problems and
the presence of services can greatly contribute to them
overcoming the crisis. Most of the time, people talk to their
family, friends, neighbors, priests, or medical doctors to
over- come their mental traumas. However, seldom, their
advice is not sufficient. Also, individuals are ashamed to tell
them what is bothering or the entire truth; thus limiting their
ability to give appropriate guidance. That is, we just do not
have an ap- propriate person to turn to (Marín, 2006;
McLeod, 2003).
Scholars in the field recommend that comprehensive
guidance and counseling programs are effective in assisting
young students, along with their parents. It is hoped that if
the university counselors have time, and sufficient resourc-
es, young students’ academic performances will improve.
Guidance-counseling interventions advance the academic
achievement of students, help them to develop career plans,
and create a conducive educational setting (Yilfashewa,
2011).
multidimensional benefits of counseling, the profession is at
its grass root lev- el. According to Abdi (1998), modern
counseling services are restricted to the high school setting.
On the other hand, this type of services is insignificant in a
non-academic en- vironment. It was in the 1960s that the
concept of guidance first appeared in the Ethiopian
educational system. Further- more, the course guidance and
counseling was included in the educational curriculum of
the country in 1967 (Abdi,
1998). Also, many studies were conducted in different Af-
rican countries including Ethiopia (Marín, 2006; Oakland &
Peresuh, 1997).
According to Alem et al (1995) the prevalence of mental
health disorder was 12% among Ethiopian society. 38.3%
university students faced mental health issues (Getachew &
Tekle, 2018). Two mostly used methods to treat the prob-
lem are traditional and modern therapy. Even though both
traditional, and modern methods are currently available in
Ethiopia to treat mental disorders, traditional methods are
preferred by many people because society believes that all
mental disorders are spiritual in origin, which can easily be
cured by traditional healers. Furthermore, traditional healers
are usually cheaper than modern healers (Alem et al., 1995).
In Ethiopia, the existing services are established without
assessing the real needs of a particular organization to
which the service is provided. But, in advanced countries
each and

Published by Australian International Academic Centre PTY.LTD.

Copyright (c) the author(s). This is an open access article under CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.7n.4p.53
54
Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students IJELS 7(4):53-61
54

every counseling service is developed based on the specific University represents a time of tremendous change for
needs of that organization or community. The arrangements students. In each semester, students are exposed to new
and structures of the existing counseling services in Ethio- teachers, students, friends and lovers (Grayson, & Meilman,
pia are not properly formulated and designed. Even, at 2006; Getachew, Daniel, & Abayineh, 2019). There is also
Addis Ababa University (AAU), our country’s oldest
university, it is difficult to say the counseling center has
been providing sufficient services; resultant effect of
professional and ad- ministrative related problems as well
as it is not properly structured (Getachew, Daniel, &
Abayineh, 2019).
One of the main causes of students’ failure to complete
their studies in institutions of higher education is because
of emotional disorders (Desta, 1995; Getachew, &
Tekle,
2018). During an interview at the counseling center of Ad-
dis Ababa University, Desta (1995) noticed that some
learn- ers’ with mental problems spoke that the problems
happen because of lack of access to effective counseling
services. Most Ethiopian universities have recognized that
guidance and counseling are essential for students’
academic success. Although the Universities have included
it, in their senate legislations, the service given is, however,
not effective and remains below expectation (Higher
Education Relevance Quality Assurance Agencies
(HERQA, 2009a). Also, the service is dysfunctional in
some universities. Furthermore, HERQA (2009b) reported
that officers’ were overwhelmed by other additional
responsibilities and did not carry out counseling tasks
effectively.
The counseling services for students of Ethiopian
universi- ties have been given by paraprofessionals and
others. Despite the existence of counseling services, it is very
challenging to get it when needed by the students.
Nowadays, the government is giving much emphasis on
technology and natural sciences. The technology and natural
sciences might have negatively contributed to the expansion
of counseling services in higher education. Because of the
importance given to natural science and engineering fields,
many students may join the fields with- out their interest.
From this, it is easy to infer that students re- quire much
more professional help to overcome their stress.
Complicated sexual life, drug addiction, irresponsibili-
ty, dropout, and academic dismissal are common
problems in Ethiopian universities. It is essential to help
students to manage their stress, improve academic
achievement and mo- tivation. In addition to academic
problems, counseling may help the students to refrain from
drug addiction, unwanted pregnancy, violence, and the like.
The roles and functions of counseling psychologist in
universities and colleges are more comprehensive in scope.
According to Sokol, (2009), counseling psychologists are
in- volved with a wide variety of practices. They function
within several settings. However, employment of
counseling psy- chologist in colleges and universities is not
taken seriously as a necessity. The role of university
counselors in higher education institutions is very crucial in
resolving social, psy- chological, academic, and other
emotional problems experi- enced by the students.
 55
Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students IJELS 7(4):53-61
55

a series of normal developmental changes in identity for- social work, psychiatry); and gen- erate data/information at
mation, the establishment of intimate relationships, and the campus as well as national level.
selection of a career path. Adapting to the changes during
university life vary among the students. Students’
counselors should advance themselves to be an answer to
the stress and strain of University life. Psychological
disorders and related factors are no longer anomalies;
rather, they are a part of university life (Kadison &
DiGeronimo, 2004).

OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
Individual and Group Counselling
These are services that address such issues as educational,
career, personal, developmental, and relationship
concerns.

Crisis Intervention and Emergency Services

These are services that provide or arrange for the provision
of emergency services for students who are experiencing
acute emotional distress which are a danger to self or
others, or are in need of immediate hospitalization.

Outreach
Interventions
These are services that focus on developmental needs of
stu- dents and help students to: maximize the potential to
benefit from academic experience; acquire new knowledge,
skills and behaviours; develop positive and realistic self-
appraisal; foster personal, academic and career choices;
enhance the ability to relate mutually and meaningfully
with others; and increase the capacity to engage in a
personally satisfying and effective style of living.

Consultation Interventions
These are the consultation services to faculty and other ap-
propriate campus personnel, regarding individual students
to parents, spouses, agencies, and others concerned
respecting confidentiality requirements to make appropriate
administra- tive or academic decisions.

Referral
Resources
These are services that provide referral resources within the
university and the local community to meet the needs of
stu- dents whose problems are outside the scope of services
or resources of the counselling centre.

Research
These are activities which help us determine effectiveness,
and to improve the quality of services of the counselling
cen- tre; identify determinants and correlates on student
character- istics or on the influence of specific student
development pro- grams; ensure that accepted ethical
practices are established and maintained; contribute to the
fields of counselling, psy- chology, and other relevant
professions (e.g., student affairs, student personnel services,
56
Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students IJELS 7(4):53-61
56

Program Evaluation In this study counseling service meant professional help

This is the regular review of the counselling service based
on data from centre evaluation efforts. When possible, it is
desirable to include comparative data from other
counselling centres of other universities and related
institutions.
provided to individuals (both students and staffs) in the
participating organizations who are in need of help because
of having psychological, educational, social and
occupation- al problems.

Professional
Development
These are services that offer staff members/interns/trainees,
etc., of the counselling centre per se and also the wider uni-
versity community with regular opportunities to upgrade
their skills by providing them with training, professional
development and continuing education experience through
different channels, such as, case conferences, workshops,
conferences, etc.

Training
Programs
These are services designed to contribute to the
development of practitioners in relevant professions
including counselling psychology, psychiatry, social work,
public health, special needs in education, etc., through the
internship, externship, fellowship, student exchange
schemes.

Objectives
The objectives of the study were as follows:
1 To investigate students awareness about counseling
ser- vice at a public university in Ethiopia;
2 To assess the role of counseling service in students’
Uni- versity life; and
3 To examine association of socio-demographic
variables on awareness and use of psychological
counselling ser- vices at the University.

METHODS
Study Design and
Area
A cross-sectional study design was conducted among 605 Table 2. Frequency of participants by types of disability
public University students randomly taken in March 2017. N %
A quantitative approach was employed. The university is Any type of disability
located 430km to the Southeast of the Capital city, Addis Yes 31 5.1
Ababa. It is a public university that hosts a total of 12190 No 570 94.2
postgraduate and undergraduate students’ under41 depart-
Missing 4 0.07
ments distributed in 8 colleges, an institute, and a school.
Total 601 100
The colleges and schools include:- college of social science
and humanities, education and behavioral studies, business Specific type of disability
and economics, agriculture and natural resources, natu- Visual 6 20
ral and computational science, health sciences; school of Auditory 17 56.7
law, and institute of technology. Moreover, it is important Orthopedic 7 23.3
to indicate that the university has one health science Total 30 100
campus in Goba and another non-health science campus in
Robe town.
 57
Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students IJELS 7(4):53-61
57

Sampling and Participants

The source population for this study was public university
undergraduate students. Sample size was calculated using
single population proportion formula. The following as-
sumptions were used: counseling service proportion which
was 50%; level of confidence of 95%, margin of error
0.05, design effect of 1.5 and 5% non-response rate. The
sample size was 605. The allocation of the respondents was
pro- portionally done for each school/college. Simple
random sampling was employed thereafter to reach 605 of
the study subjects.

Data Collection and

Analysis
Data were obtained through a self-administered question-
naire. Data collection facilitators were fluent speakers of
both Afan Oromo and Amharic language. The
questionnaire was first developed in English and then,
translated to Afan Oromo and Amharic for data collection
purpose. Question- naire was translated to the local
language (Afan Oromo
Table 1. Socio-demographic profile of respondents
N %
Sex
Male 452 74.7
Female 153 25.3
Residential status
Urban 239 39.5
Rural 361 59.7
Age
16-20 194 32.1
21-25 353 58.3
26-30 47 7.8
31-35 11 1.8
Academic year level
First 244 40.3
Second 203 33.5
Third 138 22.7
Fourth 20 3.6
 58
Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students IJELS 7(4):53-61
58

Table 3. Descriptive statistics for cgpa and gpa by sex and residential status
Sex of respondent Cumulative grade point average (cgpa) - for all Grade point average (gpa) - for the last
preceding semesters semester
M SD M SD
Male 2.83 0.47 2.87 0.47
Female 2.70 0.47 2.83 0.47
Total 2.80 0.47 2.86 0.47
Cgpa for all preceding semester and gpa/for the last semester based on residential status
Urban 2.78 0.46 2.83 0.46
Rural 2.80 0.48 2.88 0.47

and Amharic) and translated back to English by different Table 4. Independent t-test for CGPA and GPA for Male
linguistics experts. Data entry and analysis were carried out and Female Students
in SPSS, version 21. t df p
Ethical Consideration CGPA 3.05 did better academically
and male students 603** 0.00their
than
GPA
counterparts. 0.77 437 0.43
The research was approved by Madda Walabu University
Ethical Review Committee. A supportive letter was written Table 4 an independent sample t-test was conducted to
**p<0.01
to all school and colleges from the University Research Di- measure the difference between male and female students’
rectorate. The purpose of the study was explained, and con- cumulative GPA score and GPA for the last semester.
sent obtained orally from all participants. All the The t-test result indicated that there was a significant
information given by the respondents were used only for difference
research pur- poses, and its confidentiality was maintained.

FINDINGS
The socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents
are presented in Table 1. A total of 605 participants were
in- cluded in the study. As the table indicates,
452(74.7%) of the participants were male, whereas the rest
153(25.3%) of participants were female.
Majority of the respondents 353(58.3%) were of 21-
25 years. On the other hand, 194 (32.1 %) of them were
in the 16-20 years age category. Urban resident
were
239(39.5%) and a large number of the respondents were ru-
ral residents 361 (59.7%). Proportion of year one (I) partici-
pants were more than the respondents in other years of
study:
244(40.3%) first years against 203 (33.5%), 138 (22.7%)
and
20 (3.6%) respectively of year II, III, and
IV.
Table 2 depicts that 31 (5.1%) of the students
report- ed that they had an apparent disability which
constitutes,
17(56.7%) auditory, 7(23.3%) skeletal disability and
6(20%) visual whereas the remaining 570(94.2) students
indicated that they do not have any apparent disability.
Table 3 shows that students from urban area scored
M = 2.78 (SD=.46) cumulative GPA and students from
rural area scored a cumulative GPA of M = 2.80 (SD=.48).
Sim- ilarly, students from urban areas scored M=2.83
(SD=.46) GPA for the last semester and students rural
areas scored M=2.88 (SD=.47) GPA score in the last
semester. Though not significant, students from rural area
 59
Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students IJELS 7(4):53-61
59

in the cumulative GPA scores for male (M=2.83 SD=.47)

and female students (M=2.70, SD=.47), t (603) =3.05, p
<.01. However, there was no significant GPA difference
between male (M=2.87, SD=.47) and female students
(M=2.83, SD=.47) for the last semester GPA, t (437), 0.77,
p>.05.
Table 5 shows that 47(7.8%) of the students know the
presence of counseling service center at university. Never-
theless, the majority of students 553(92.2%), do not have
awareness about the counseling center. The result certain-
ly shows that among students who know the location of the
center35 (5.8%). It is located in Robe main campus. How-
ever, 8 (1.3%) students wrongly answered that counseling
service is located in Goba campus.
Among those who are aware about the counseling center,
81.8%students know that the center provides psychological
counseling service.
Data on sources of information regarding the center
shows that 11(1.8%) of the students received information
about counseling center through freshman orientation while
the majority, 26(4.3%) of the students get their information
from a friend.
About 30(5%) of the students visited the counseling cen-
ter for mental health problems; 25 (4.1%) of them visited
the center for the sake of interpersonal relationship
problems;
19(3.1%) to consult on heterosexual relationship among
themselves. Out of the 16(2.6%) students that acquired
counseling service at the university counseling center were
able to solve their problem whereas the remaining 29(4.8%)
of the participants did not solve their problem as a result of
the counseling service. At least, 30(5.0%) students knew
an- other student who had gone to University counseling
center seeking psychological assistance.
The result of independent t-test shows that there was no
significant difference in CGPA between students who
visited and did not visit the counseling service center, t (18)
=.16, p=.87. Similarly, there was no significant difference in
CGPA of students who had disability and not disability, t
(527) =
1.7, p =.08.
60
Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students IJELS 7(4):53-61
60

Table 5. Students’ awareness about the counseling center of the university

S.No Item N %
1 Have you ever heard of a psychological counseling service?
Yes 47 7.83
No 553 92.1
I am not sure 0 0
Total 600 100.0
2 Is there a center that provides psychological counseling services in your university?
Yes 36 71.8
No 6 6.5
I am not sure 2 4.5
Total 44 7.4
3 Where is the counseling center in your university?
Goba campus 8 1.3
Robe campus 35 5.8
I do not know 2 0.3
Total 45 7.4
4 How did you learn about the existence of the counseling centre in your university?
Through freshman orientation program 11 1.8
From a friend 26 4.3
From an instructor 6 1.0
From a pamphlet/brochure 0 0
Through my own effort 2 0.3
Total 42 7.4
5 Do you know the services that are available at your university counseling centre?
Yes 16 2.6
No 29 4.8
Total 45 7.4
6 Have you ever visited your university counseling center seeking help?
Yes 16 2.6
No 29 4.8
Total 45 7.4
7 What was your reason for visiting your university counseling centre?
My education 34 5.6
My current/future career development 0 0
Mental health (depression, anxiety 30 5
My interpersonal relationship 25 4.1
Love life/heterosexual r/ship 19 3.1
Inability to adjust to campus life 19 3.1
Financial support 13 2.1
Other (specify) 0 0
8 How do you rate the quality of the services in your university counseling centre?
Very good 3 0.5
Satisfactory 5 0.8
Poor 8 1.3
Total 16 2.6
9 Did the service you were provided with at your university counseling center solve your problem?
Yes 16 2.6
No 29 4.8
(Contd...)
61
Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students IJELS 7(4):53-61
61

Table 5. (Continued)
S.No Item N %
I am still receiving counseling 0 0
Total 45 7.4
10 Do you know any other student who has gone to your university counseling center seeking counseling ?
Yes 30 5.0
No 15 2.5
Total 45 7.4
Some students have visited the counseling center for more than one reason.

Table 6. Roles and functions of counseling service center

Variables Top % Moderate % Low % Unknown %
Crisis intervention and emergency services 357 59 141 23.4 54 9 52 8.6
Outreach interventions 367 60.6 122 20 59 10 57 9.4
Research 379 62.5 128 21 57 9 46 7.5
Training program 367 60.6 122 20.2 68 11 48 8
Individual and group counseling 383 63.3 115 19 42 7 65 10.7
Consultation intervention 360 59.5 138 22.8 57 9.4 50 8.3
Referral resource 372 61.1 128 21 62 10 43 7
Program evaluation 366 60.5 131 21.7 61 10 47 7.8
Professional development 368 60.8 124 20.5 65 10.7 48 8 8

Table 6 gives how students have prioritized the roles However few students attached low priority to crisis
and functions of counseling service center. More than intervention and emergency
60% of the study participants gives top priority for
outreach inter- vention, research, training program,
individual and group counseling, referral resource, program
evaluation, and pro- fessional development. Majority of the
students also gave top priority for crisis intervention and
emergency services and consultation intervention services.
In recent years, there used to be fight or conflict between
students from different regions of the country studying in
the same University. This was cause for trauma and tension
among some students. Also, especially during exam time
many students have high levels of depression, fainting in
the class and the like. These situations handled by the
counseling center fall under the title crisis intervention and
emergency services. In addition, the table shows that crisis
intervention and emergency services were moderate priority
and individual and group counseling least priority as
compared to the other counseling service roles and
functions.
Periodically, the counseling center conducts training for
students to improve their coping with stress, study habits,
career decisions and the like. These are covered under the
title training in Table 7. Students had only given moderate
priority to crisis intervention and training. Hence, we have
checked if there is significant variation by socio-
demograph- ic variables for these two components of
intervention carried out by the psychological counseling
center.
Most of the students (59%) suggested that crisis
interven- tion and emergency service deserve great
attention. Similarly (23.3%) students have suggested that
this counseling service should be given moderate attention.
 62
Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students IJELS 7(4):53-61
62

services. In addition, students’ year of study was

significantly associated with the students rating of crisis and
emergency services, χ2(9)=23.40, p<.01. There was also a
significant dif- ference in prioritizing crisis and emergency
services based on residential origin of students, χ2(3) = 4.05,
p<.01. Students from rural areas attached higher priority for
crisis and emer- gency intervention than those from urban
area.
As shown in Table 8, importance given to training pro-
gram had significant association with residential status and
admission type. Majority of those who gave top priority for
training program were from rural areas. Among regular stu-
dents, majority gave top priority to training program. Also,
among extension students, majority gave top priority to
training program.

DISCUSSION
The result indicates, that nearly 7.8%, of the students had
information about the center and its location (see table 5)
while, about 2.6% of the students reported that they know
the types of service provided, and the student visited the
cen- ter, and able to rate quality of the counseling center
found at University. As a result of this finding, we can
conclude that students have very limited information on
counseling services. The result of this study supported the
findings of Furr, Westefeld, McConnell, & Jenkins (2001)
that had a similar reason of seeking the counseling
service for men- tal health problem. Male (30%) students
have ever heard of a psychological counseling service than
female. However, Hyun, Quinn, Madon, and Lustig (2006),
found that (82.1%) female students knew of on-campus
available counseling services when compared to male
students.
 63
Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students IJELS 7(4):53-61
63

Table 7. Association of socio-demographic variables on crisis intervention and emergency services

Variables Top Moderate Low I do not know x2 df p
% % % %
Sex
Male 40 18 7.27 7.1 9.24** 3 0.02
Female 18.51 5.28 1.65 1.48
Total 59 23.3 8.9 8.59
Year
Year i 26.6 6.28 2.97 4.29 23.40** 9 0.00
Year ii 19.17 9.7 2.64 1.98
Year iii 11.57 6.28 3.14 1.81
Year iv 1.65 0.99 0.16 0.49
Total 59 23.3 8.9 8.59
Residential status
Urban 24.95 8.9 2.64 2.97 4.05** 3 0.00
Rural 33.38 14.38 5.61 5.61
Total 58.34 23.3 2.14 8.59
Table 8. Association of socio-demographic variables on training
Variable
program Top Moderate Low I do not know
x2 df p
% % % %
Sex
Male 43.96 13.55 9.09 6.28
Female 16.69 6.6 2.14 1.65
5.17 3 0.07
Total 60.66 20.16 6.28 7.93
Year
Year i 25.45 7.1 4.79 2.97
Year ii 21.48 7.1 2.97 1.98
Year iii 12.56 4.62 3.14 2.47
Year iv 1.15 1.3 0.33 0.49 14.11** 9 0.03
Total 60.66 20.16 11.23 7.93
Residential status
Urban 42.7 37.7 3.8 2.14
Rural 57.3 62.3 7.43 2.47
Total 59.83 20.16 11.23 7.93 6.40** 3 0.01

University counseling services and students mental
health issues have got considerable attention over the past
several years. Various studies have drawn attention to the
growing mental health needs of students, and the positive
impact of counseling services on college
students(Sharkin,2004) and (Getachew, Daniel, &
Abayineh, 2019, Shakurina, Borvayeh
& Elhampour, 2015). All counseling services usually pro-
vide some form of individual counseling or psychotherapy
with additional services varying tremendously among cen-
ters (American College Health Association, 2012; 2014;
Poyrazli, 2015). In this study majority of the students gave
top priority for individual and group counseling.
Study findings indicate that crisis intervention and
emer- gency services deserve great attention in counseling
services roles and functions on guidance and counseling
programs at University. In today’s, university counseling
roles such
as career/vocational counseling, individual and group coun-
seling, training and supervision, outreach/prevention, con-
sultation, referral are important(Bishop, 2006; Shakurina &
Khajeali, 2016). A discussion with the representatives from
different clubs in the university indicated that the
counseling center did not provide the appropriate services
to the stu- dents. Most of the students had even no
information about the existence, its function, types of
service provided, and its location in the university. In the
university academic atmo- sphere, the guidance and
counseling practice is an efficient and effective way of
supporting and helping students deal- ing with problems
and issues in educational, career and per- sonal/social area
(Day, 2004; Giovazolias, Leontopoulou, & Triliva, 2010;
Karimi, Muthaa, Bururia, Karimi & Mburu- gu, 2014).
Other studies in the country also has shown that, guidance-
counseling service is an essential aspect in assist-
64
Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students IJELS 7(4):53-61
64

ing students’ awareness of their strengths and weaknesses In conclusion, the findings of this study indicate a lack
(Alutu, 2004; Marín, 2006; Salgong, Ngumi & Chege, of
2016). information about the types of services offered. The univer-
According to Ferdinand (2006), there are a greater num-
ber of counselors in educational institutions; however, due
to large caseloads assigned to them, they cannot sufficient-
ly manage it. The result of this study also recognized that
the current working counselors were not proportional to the
number of students’ who required professional counseling
services. In some cases, certain resources, such as office
equipment, internet services, updated written reference and
contacts and were unavailable for both students and
counsel- ors. The study recommends student diversity,
academic level of performance, trained professionals,
accessibility of the of- fice, and types of the service
available, types of psycholog- ical disorders and assistant
personnel should be assigned to counseling centers.

CONCLUSION
This study result indicates that the proportion of the
students who had information about the counseling center
and know its location is very few. Also, the students were
aware of the types of services provided, they visited the
center, and were able to rate the quality of the counseling
center found in their university. As a result, access to
adequate academic, career, emotional, social, or
interpersonal problems, and financial concerns, information
is limited.
Furthermore, the result of this study showed that male
students have information about psychological counseling
services than female. The source of information about the
availability of counseling center was from friends. May be
due to, information gap significant difference observed on
CGPA and GPA among male and female, which indicates
male scored higher than female.
In relation to counseling services roles and functions
this study found that,individual and group counseling,
consulta- tion interventions, referral resources, program
evaluation, professional development, crisis intervention
and emergen- cy services, outreach interventions, training,
and research were important elements in designing or
developing or eval- uating counseling service roles and
functions on guidance counseling program of the
university. The finding also indi- cates socio-demographic
variable such as sex, academic year level, admission type,
and residential status has a significant effect on the
elements of counseling roles and functions.
The students suffered from various psychological,
social, financial, and educational problems. As a result, of
the need for collaborative work with administrative
personnel, teach- ers, students, families and other relevant
bodies to provide effective guidance counseling service.
Counseling benefits in handling the student’s problems,
preventing the overall academic difficulties, in supporting
and enhancing healthy growth. Individual and group
guidance counseling, drugs, and alcohol prevention,
HIV/AIDS, consultation interven- tions, training programs,
and other relevant activities, should be incorporated into the
program designing of counseling service center.
 65
Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students IJELS 7(4):53-61
65

sity needs to have more professional counselors in different

campuses to solve students’ academic-related issues and
the greater number of intervention modalities.
These recommendations for research and practice were
based on the finding and conclusions of this study. There-
fore, it is recommended that:
• The university provide professional guidance and
coun- seling services for its students
• The university raise awareness and bring a change
among the university management bodies about the
guidance and counseling services through appointing
independent, and dedicated counselors to enhance the
quality services.
• The counseling roles such as individual/group guidance
counseling, program development, outreach services,
research, training should be encouraged in the counsel-
ing service center program of the university under in-
vestigation.
• To be effective and efficient guidance counseling
ser- vices, policy, planning, need assessments,
monitoring and evaluation must be considered.
• Treatment modalities such as biophysical,
psychologi- cal and pharmacological should be
incorporated in the process of rendering counseling
service center of the university.
• The university counseling center should have an inde-
pendent mission, vision, and values to provide proper
counseling service for the needy.
• The university counseling center should have relevant
stakeholders within the organization and mode of com-
munication with students’ clinic, clubs in the
university, campus police, faculties, student affairs,
students’ food services, administrators and others.
• The counseling service center should be accountable
to the psychology department, and the university presi-
dent.

REFERENCES
Abdi, Y. (1998). Gender sensitive counseling
psychology: A handbook for Ethiopian high school
counselor. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Addis Ababa
University press.
Alem, A., Desta, M. & Araya, M. (1995). Mental health in
Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Journal of Health Develop-
ment, 9(1), 47-62.
Alutu, A. (2004). Guidance and counseling services in fed-
eral government colleges in Nigeria. The Nigerian
Jour- nal of Guidance &Counseling, 9(1).
American College Health Association. (2012, Spring). Na-
tional college health assessment: Undergraduate refer-
ence group executive summary. Retrieved from http://
www.acha-ncha.org/docs/ACHA-NCHA
American College Health Association. (2014). American
College Health Association-National College Health
Assessment II: Reference Group Executive Summary
Spring 2014. Hanover, MD: Author
Bishop, J. E. (2006). College and university counseling
cen- tres: Questions in search of answers. Journal of
College Counseling, 9, 6-19.
66
Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students IJELS 7(4):53-61
66

Day, S. X. (2004). Theory and design in counseling and psy- chotherapy. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Desta, M. (1995). Mental health and higher education. IER
flambeau, 3(2), 1-5.
Furr, S. R., Westefeld, J. S., McConnell, G. N., & Jenkins, J. M. (2001). Suicide and depression among college
students: A decade later. Research & Practice,
32(1), 247-66.
Getachew A & Tekle T. (2018). Mental health disorder among Madda Walabu University Students South- east
Ethiopia. Health Science Journal, 12(1), 546. doi. org/10.21767/1791-809X.100054
Getachew, A., Daniel, G., & Abayineh, S. (2019). The Role of Counseling Service Center and Its Implementation in Madda
Walabu University: Qualitative Research. Inter- national Journal of Education, 11(1), 68. doi:10.5296/ ije.v11i1.14583
Giovazolias, T., Leontopoulou, S., & Triliva, S. (2010). As- sessment of Greek university students’ counseling needs and
attitudes: An exploratory study. Int J Adv Counsel- ing, 32, 101–116.
Grayson, P. A. & Meilman, P. W. (Eds.). (2006). Col- lege mental health practice. New York, NY: Routledge/
Taylor & Francis Group.
HERQA (2009a). Addis Ababa University; institutional quality audit report. HERQA publication series -031. HERQA
(2009b). Mekele University; institutional quality
audit report. HERQA publication series -037.
Hyun, J.K., Quinn, B.C., Madon, T. & Lustig, S. (2006).
Graduate student mental health. Needs Assessment and
Utilization of Counseling Services, 47(3), 251.
Kadison, R. D. & DiGeronimo, T. F. (2004). What are col- leges doing about the crisis? And what more should be done?
In College of the overwhelmed: The campus men- tal health crisis and what to do about it. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
 67
Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students IJELS 7(4):53-61
67

Karimi, J., Muthaa, G., Bururia, D., Karimi, V., & Mburugu, B. (2014). Assessment of counselling needs among
students in Kenyan Universities. Journal of Edu- cation and Practice, 5(12), 36-44.
Marín, B. (2006). College counseling services in high schools in Puerto Rico: college student perspective. Re- trieved on
May 27, 2012.
McLeod, J. (2003). An introduction to counseling (3rd ed).
New York, NY: Open University Press.
Poyrazli, S. (2015). Psychological Symptoms and Concerns Experienced by International Students: Outreach Impli- cations
for Counseling Centers. Journal of International Students, 5(3), 306-312.
Salgong, V.K., Ngumi, O., & Chege, K. (2016). The Role of Guidance and Counseling in Enhancing Student Disci- pline in
Secondary Schools in Koibatek District. Jour- nal of Education and Practice, 7(13), 142-151.
Shakurina, A. & Khajeali, N. (2016). Counseling Needs of Medical Students at the Ahvaz Jundishapur University of
Medical Sciences, Iran. The Online Journal of Coun- seling and Education, 5(1), 1-13.
Shakurnia, A., Borvayeh, H., & Elhampour, H. (2015).
Guidance and counseling needs of students in Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences. Iranian Journal of
Medical Education, 14(11), 915-925.
Sharkin, B. (2004). College counseling and students reten- tion: research findings and implications for counseling centres.
Journal of College Counseling, 11(2), 99-108.
Sokol, J. T. (2009). Counseling psychology within the uni- versity: A study of roles and functions. Graduate Jour- nal of
Counseling Psychology, 1(2), 121-128.
Yilfashewa, S. (2011). Revitalization quality using guidance counseling in Ethiopian higher education institutions:
Exploring students’ views and attitude at Haramaya University. International Journal of Instruction, 4(2),
62-92. International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 2014, 6 (2),
494-509

International Online Journal of Educational Sciences

www.iojes.net
ISSN: 1309-2707

Information and Communication Technology in Education of

Psychological Counselors in Training1

Şerife Gonca Zeren2

2
Yıldız Technical University, Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Article History: Using information and communication technology (ICT) in psychological counseling
Received 28.02.2014 and guidance field is a current issue with the developing technology. In Turkey,
Received in revised form scientific research on this subject is quite limited. The aim of this research is to examine
14.03.2014 the thoughts of counselors in training about the ICT. This qualitative study was
Accepted 01.04.2014 conducted with 7 senior female students taking Individual Psychological Counseling
Available online Practice course in Psychological Counseling and Guidance Undergraduate Program in
10.08.2014 Yeditepe University. Data were gathered with both a questionnaire consisting of open-
ended questions and focus group discussion. As a result of content analysis, counselors
in training were found to think that ICT is positive since it is fast and convenient as a
part of the education. Besides, they stated that there are both advantages and
disadvantages of online counseling process they conducted within this context. It was
understood that being in an online client role is generally easy for counselors in training
and this process increases the empathy towards the clients. However, they had
difficulties in scenario building and artificial atmosphere. The advantage of conducting
online counseling is that it provides enough time to react properly to the clients during
sessions, an opportunity to read the conversation again and again, giving opportunity to
the people who cannot take counseling service, suitability to people who have difficulty
in self-disclosure during face-to-face sessions, and contribution to the counselors’
professional development. Disadvantages of the online counseling is that the clients and
the counselors cannot communicate directly; that it is hard to build trust, that it is
necessary to take additional precautions about confidentiality, and the differences in
time management.
68
Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students IJELS 7(4):53-61
68

© 2014 IOJES. All rights reserved

Keywords:
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Online Counseling, Psychological
Counselor Education, Individual Counseling Practice.

Extended Summary
Purpose

Today, most people do bank transactions without getting out from their homes, buy cinema, concert or
match tickets while sitting on their seats, read online newspapers and magazines, and organize conferences
with computers and cell phones and this is accepted as a usual routine of daily life. In line with this
developing new life style, counselors’ getting skills in ICT cause quality service to clients.

1
A brief summary of this study was orally presented at 6th International Computer & Instructional Technologies Symposium, 04- 06 October 2012, Gaziantep, Turkey.
Corresponding author’s address: Yıldız Technical University, Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Sciences, Davutpaşa, Esenler, Istanbul, Turkey.
Telephone: +90 212 383 48 37
Fax: +90 212 383 48 08
e-mail: gzeren@yildiz.edu.tr
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15345/iojes.2014.02.019

© 2014 International Online Journal of Educational Sciences (IOJES) is a publication of Educational Researches and Publications Association (ERPA)
 Şerife Gonca Zeren

Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students

49 IJELS 7(4):53-61 49
5 5
ICT is common in Turkey with a large young population. It is definite that actively usage of ICT is
substantial for counselors’ professional development. In this context, the researches in Turkey (Owen &
Korkut Owen, 2013; Savaş & Hamamcı, 2010; Tanrıkulu, 2009) are quite limited. In this research, it is tried to
investigate the usage of ICT in counselors’ education and their thoughts about online counseling they
conducted as a part of ICT usage. Counselors in training thoughts can give clues about their ICT usage in
their profession and about their behaviors which is about online service. Therefore it is thought that this
research has a substantial place.
Method
In this research content analysis method was used. The research was conducted with 7 volunteer senior
students taking Individual Psychological Counseling Practice course together in Psychological Counseling
and Guidance Undergraduate Program, Yeditepe University in 2011-2012 academic year. Participants’ mean
age was 23,5 and all of them were female. In the research process, there were activiti es for which students
were required to use ICT such as downloading documents from the website, receiving and sending e -mails,
using cameras, voice recorders, projectors and more, and analysis of audio files to word documents. Besides,
participants cast lots and they conducted online counseling with each other. Data were collected using both a
questionnaire consisting of open ended questions, and focus group discussion. To increase the validity and
the reliability of the research, data diversity, defining researcher’s role in detail, participation and
observation from two different experts were carried out.
Results
All the counselors in the training stated that ICT has an advantage with its convenience and quickness;
even though the counselors reported to have difficulties in analyzing face-to-face individual counseling
sessions from voice documents to word documents, they also acknowledged getting benefit from this
process. It can be said that being in an online client role is easy for counselor candidates i n general and this
process increases the empathy towards the clients. However, difficulty in building scenarios and unnatural
atmosphere perceived artificial. The advantages of conducting online counseling are such as to provide the
opportunity to think before reacting, to catch each word the client says, to able to apply academic supports,
to provide psychological counselor service to people who do not have the opportunities to take it, to be
available to people who have difficulty in self-disclosure during face-to-face sessions, and contribution to
counselors’ professional development. Participants generally have positive views about online counseling;
however they also stated that there are some disadvantages of online counseling. Such as to try to
communicate directly without verbal and physical clues, to have difficulty in building trust in the
relationship, the differences in time management, and additional necessary precautions for safety.
Discussion and Conclusion
To conclude, all the participants think that ICT makes their life easy and quick. The same result was
attained by Kennedy (2011), and Owen and Korkut Owen (2013). In these studies, it was found that one of
the most crucial advantages of online counseling is that it provides the opportunity to people who do not
have any other chance to take this service. For instance, Cook and Doyle (2002), Murphy et al. (2009), Savaş
and Hamamcı (2010), and Tanrıkulu (2009) emphasized this advantage of online counseling.
It was found that, according to most of the pre-service counselors, online counseling is beneficial;
however, it is not as effective as face-to-face counseling because of the lack of direct communication. The
reason could be that counselors in the training conducted only one pilot session and participants
experienced this situation both as clients and counselors. The results are similar to the results of other
researches in which no significant difference was found between face-to-face and online counseling (Barak,
Hen, Boniel- Nissim and Shapira, 2008; Cook and Doyle, 2002; Fenichel et al., 2002; Holmes, 2011; Li-Xia, Ya-
Nan, Li, and Sheng, 2010; McKenna, 1998; Murphy et al., 2009). Haberstroh, Parr, Bradley, Morgan- Fleming,
and Gee (2008) emphasized the disadvantages of not being able to see the client, and highlighted the fact that
establishing intimacy was about clients’ gestures, voice tones, and body languages and hence, this situation
was irritating for counselors. However, the same research, found that clients who do not see counselors
express themselves better. Alleman (2002) stated that adults and children express themselves much more in
online counseling than face-to-face counseling. Besides, Savaş and Hamamcı (2010) stated that students are

49
54
 International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 2014, 6(2), 494-509

Assessment of Psychological Counseling Service for Higher Education Institution Students

49 IJELS 7(4):53-61
49
6 6
afraid of being labeled when they apply to school counseling service; therefore, they have positive attitudes
towards distant counseling.
Pre-service counselors stated that there is a difference between face-to-face and online counseling in
terms of time. Haberstroh et al. (2008) and Tanrıkulu indicated that (2009) speed of sessions and time
management are the factors which separate online counseling from the face-to-face counseling. Online
counseling can be difficult for people who cannot express themselves well in written, or cannot write fast
and cannot make meaningful sentences fast.
It is stated that issues about protecting privacy and security in online counseling should be considered
by pre-service counselors. Alleman (2002), and Heinlen, Welfel, Richmond and Rak (2003) stated that several
problems such that clients may not protect their documents, that clients may print written conversations,
copy or circulate them; and that the clients may not behave honestly about their age and information
regarding their identity.
Our participants thought that online counseling contributes their professional development. Murphy et
al. (2009), Savaş and Hamamcı (2010) and Tanrıkulu (2009) support this result and emphasize that it is
necessary to teach online counseling to pre-service counselors during their university education.
Some suggestions can be made based on these results. The first suggestion is that the ICT in online
counseling should be a part of psychological counselors’ education. The limitation of this research is that
online counseling sessions were not sufficient in number. Future research should increase the number of
sessions. Besides, counselors in the training can conduct counseling with real clients they do not personally
know. Pre- service counselors can conduct sessions by writing during all the sessions but not by using
camera and voice recorder. Also all the pre-service counselors were female in this research. Sabella, Poynton,
and Isaacs (2010) found that there isn’t any difference between female and male psychological coun selors in
their technology competence perceptions. Future studies could still be conducted with both female and male
psychological counselors.

49
64