Educational Counselor training and action

Interdisciplinary perspectives

Abstract

The Educational Counselor is one of the professionals in the school management team. His role is to be the relation mediator in the school. He is the one who enables the creation of spaces for dialogue and listening among those involved in the school community. The objective of the present research is to investigate the formation and performance of the Educational Counselor at an interdisciplinary perspective. Nine educational counselor were interviewed and, in order to analyze the produced data, we have used content analysis. The results have pointed out different conceptions of education brought by the participants. They have stressed the importance of training in psychology, in addition to the experience acquired in daily work, with no consensus regarding the role of the educational counselor to the school staff. It was certified not only the importance of working with families, but also the usage of an adequate language to reach the school community. Regarding the knowledge needed to be an educational counselor, they have indicated: analytical listening, institutional analysis, and human development, skills and abilities that are part of the psychologist’s training. New studies should be developed on the work of the educational counselor, as well as a militancy for a public education policy that makes possible the insertion of this indispensable professional in all the schools of the country.