Pupil Personnel Services: A Research Paper Pupil Personnel Services

What are Pupil Personnel Services

Pupil personnel services are programs which provide services to school students in areas outside the regular curriculum and traditional extracurricular activities of sports and school clubs (Hummel & Humes, 1984). Pupil personnel services are designed to provide equal opportunities to all students, including those of special populations. Special populations can refer to students who have special needs for a myriad of reasons, including both struggling and gifted students. The phrase pupil personnel has different meanings to various practitioners and authorities in the field. While some view it as being nothing more than guidance services, more correctly, others view pupil personnel services as a constellation of services provided to students in the school setting.

The development of this constellation of services grew out of the realization that there is a need for a coordinated program in the schools which would include the services of qualified specialists such as school counselors, school psychologists, attendance and child-accounting personnel, school health personnel, school social workers, special education teachers, and others (Hummel & Humes, 1984). While on the surface, pupil personnel services appear to be geared towards students with special needs, they are in fact organized to benefit all students. The primary purpose is to assure that each and every student receive the maximum educational, personal, social, and future benefit the education process can offer. Unfortunately, it is believed that most educational leaders and school personnel do not fully understand the purpose or function of most pupil personnel services (Hummel & Humes, 1984). Classroom teachers don’t often relate to the less day by day services of the specialists in the school system.

Pupil personnel services programs are in a constant state of flux (National Association of Pupil Services Administrators, 1992). Schools are contrived environments, created to be without the prejudices and limitations to opportunity found in adult society. Schools create services as needed to provide fair opportunity to all students. It is the specialists in the pupil personnel services field who realize and oversee these creations. Services found in today’s schools include free breakfast programs, parenting skills training, medical screenings, and many others. Programs created are often preventative in nature as well as remedial for those who were not protected at an earlier time.

Developmental, Remedial and Preventative Services

Pupil personnel services can be considered to fall into one of three categories: developmental, remedial and preventative (National Association of Pupil Services Administrators, 1992). Services considered to be developmental include classroom lessons on decision making, interpersonal skills and coping strategies; new school and grade orientation programs; health screenings; and career development surveys and counseling. Remedial services are designed for students already struggling. Programs include counseling about personal or social concerns; assisting students with special programs such as Chapter One, homebound instruction and special education; facilitating referrals for students who have needs beyond the abilities of school professionals; and assisting students involved in alcohol and other drug abuses. Preventative programs are designed to attack problems before they grow. Examples of preventative work in pupil personnel services include open discussions with students about concerns; identifying and assisting students who are considered at risk of not graduating; offering training in parenting skills, especially for those involved in blended or changing families; and regular collaboration with teachers concerning the progress of all students.

Service Categories

In the school system, pupil personnel services are supervised by a pupil personnel director (Hummel & Humes, 1984). The services are divided into several categories. The director acts as a leader, specialist, communicator, coordinator, and consultant, overseeing the many special services performed by personnel under him. Though pupil services personnel directors from different school systems may have diverse job definitions, most of the director’s job duties fall into one of six categories: planning, program development, leadership and direction, staff selection and development, budget preparation and control, and program evaluation. In general, job duties include assisting the superintendent of schools in the responsibilities of general administration (administering, coordinating, and supervising services related to guidance and counseling, psychological services, child accounting and attendance, testing, speech and hearing therapy, health services, special education, home instruction, programs for the gifted, research, and more), and aiding the superintendent of schools in implementing policies and programs which recognize the child as a unique individual and provide for an optimal learning experience and positive mental health. In some smaller districts, the pupil services administrator may function as an assistant superintendent, and will report directly to the superintendent (National Association of Pupil Services Administrators, 1992). While specific job duties vary from district to district, most pupil personnel directors work under similar expectations and roles.

It should be the goal of the director of pupil personnel services to create a sense of a common mission in the minds of those who represent the various disciplines in the school system (National Association of Pupil Services Administrators, 1992). In doing so, an interdisciplinary approach to meeting the needs of the students can be achieved. Additionally, it will be necessary for the director of pupil personnel services to be seen as a generalist in that he or she is able to relate to the requirements and issues of every discipline within the department. The pupil personnel director oversees the following services in a typical American school system: counseling and guidance services, psychological services, school social work services, school health services, speech-language and hearing services, attendance services, pupil appraisal services, and special education services (Hummel & Humes, 1984).

Qualified personnel in the area of counseling provide counseling and guidance services to pupils while assisting them with educational, career, and personal-social concerns. School psychologists serve pupils in the areas of collaboration, consultation, and counseling, as well as in the areas of testing, interpreting test results, and providing intervention ideas on behalf of the students. School social work services encompass the domains of casework, individual and group and family counseling and working with community resources and agencies. School health services professionals coordinate the school health program, identify and refer pupils with health problems and when available, can provide first aid assistance and training. Speech-language and hearing therapists provide treatment for pupils with speech, language, and hearing problems, including identification, referral, and rehabilitation assistance. Attendance service professionals work to enforce state and local attendance laws. Specialists in the area of pupil appraisal services coordinate school-wide group testing programs, including appraising and interpreting test results. Special education services professionals provide for the educational needs of exceptional children through the use of trained and certified special education teachers and personnel. Services are provided as stipulated in the child’s IEP.

Referrals

Since there are a number of different professionals working in the pupil personnel services field, different student presenting problems will need to be referred to different professionals (Hummel & Humes, 1984). Examples of pupil characteristics leading to referral include the following. Note that referrals may be to more than one professional and that often, symptoms leading to referral will overlap. Students who seem depressed, isolated, listless, fearful, inattentive, or hyperactive may be referred to the school psychologist, counselor, or nurse. Students who significantly deviate from the norm in body build, weight, height, strength, coordination, or those who have difficulty in seeing or hearing should be referred to the school nurse or speech or hearing therapist.

Behaviorally, students who show exceptional abilities, aptitude or leadership as well as students who are underachieving or overachieving should be referred to the counselor (Hummel & Humes, 1984). Pupils suspected of being retarded or who do not react to normal stimuli, or cannot perform tasks performed by a norm group should be referred to the school psychologist, counselor or nurse. Pupils who display deviant behavior, such as fighting, lying, and stealing as well as those who lack the social skills needed to get along with peers and adults should be referred to the counselor or school psychologist.

Instructionally, student needs to reading skills and special help needs should be referred to the school psychologist or reading specialist (Hummel & Humes, 1984). Student needs relating career education or future plans should be referred to the school counselor. In terms of the student’s personal life, student concerns related to sex role and behavior should be referred to the school nurse, psychologist, or counselor. Students who appear to be suffering abuse should be referred to the school nurse, counselor, or school social worker. Additionally, any teacher or school worker who suspects abuse is required to personally report the suspicion to the local authorities (Profitt, 2003). Students who need clothes, glasses, food or other life necessities should be referred to the school nurse or social worker (Hummel & Humes, 1984). Students who suffer from home-school conflicts due to parental influences should be referred to the school social worker or school psychologist. Finally, students who come from different cultural backgrounds that are found to be conflicting with peers, school or the curriculum should be referred to the school social worker.

Current and Future Challenges for Pupil Personnel Services

As pupil personnel services continue to evolve and change for the future, there are a number of concerns which will be at the forefront of the profession. First, there will continue to be an emphasis on the needs of the individual child. Increasingly, the pupil services professions are moving towards a sense of personalized care uniquely designed for each and every child (National Association of Pupil Services Administrators, 1992). Professionals must know every child. As society changes, so to will student demographics. Estimates of school-age populations show that from 1970 to 1999, the total number of white students has decreased by approximately 11%, while the numbers of black and other raced students has increased by approximately 12.5% and 400%, respectively (National Center for Education Statistics, 2000). Educators must be aware of the changing demographics, and the unique concerns new populations bring.

Another concern is that of student rights (National Association of Pupil Services Administrators, 1992). Case law and legislation have helped cause a downward extension of the Bill of Rights. Students more than ever are realizing their rights and expecting them to be honored. All students are expected to be given full and equal access to education. Lastly, technology has been and will continue to change the educational field and society as a whole. Pupil personnel service professionals must be wise when considering where to spend educational dollars on technology. Many technologies promise more than they deliver and are nothing more than an empty drain of district finances. Also, training is required to make the best use of modern technology. Equipment is only as good as the training of its user.

While always changing, the field of pupil personnel services and the many sub-categories of that field are constantly exciting and rewarding. The continuous influx of new students is assured, as will be the problems, challenges, and rewards for those who serve them.

References

Hummel, D. L., & Humes, C. W. (1984). Pupil services: Development, coordination, administration. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.

National Association of Pupil Services Administrators (1992). Pupil Services Administration: New perspectives. Alexandrai, VA: NAPSA.

National Center for Education Statistics (2000). Estimates of school-age resident population, by race and sex: July 1, 1970 to July 1, 1999. Retrieved May 15, 2004 from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d00/tables/PDF/table016.pdf

Profitt, D. S. (2003). Academia: Class notes: 10-23-03. Retrieved May 15, 2004 from http://sch-psych.net/word-notes/EDC572.doc.

Filed under: EDC 539 & 573 Administration of Pupil Personnel Services & Orientation to the Educational Process
Copyright: May, 2004 - David Profitt