The role of educational philo counselling in learning institutions

Abstract

This paper examines the nature of philocounselling and its possible application in education. It contends that school counselling continues to respond to ever changing expectations of learners as a result of the early intellectual maturity afforded by both the print and electronic media. The need for counselling in schools does not only have to respond to career issues, mental health, and educational and socio-ethical concerns. There is also a need to assess and respond to the impact of multifarious meanings afforded by current information on the purposes and responsibilities of learners in schools. This paper proposes that, as the youth become more informed, counsellors ought to learn to take cognisance of the contribution that philosophical insight could make within, or as a complementary to, psychotherapeutic dialogues that are traditionally carried out under guidance and counselling in learning institutions. Philosophical counselling, also known as Philocounseling, refers to the conceptual and meaning variations that forms of knowledge engender in democratic environments while establishing the balance amongst freedom, awareness of alternatives in life and responsibilities that are taken by choosing to act in certain ways.