Counselling Students’ Perception of Online Learning during COVID-19 in Malaysia

The COVID-19 pandemic is of global proportions affecting Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), with online learning becoming a prominent approach to students’ learning during the pandemic. However, minimal attention has been paid to researching online learning in Malaysia during COVID-19. This cross-sectional study examines students’ perceptions of online learning during the pandemic. A sample of 457 counselling students has been chosen using purposive sampling. Online questionnaires in Google Forms with an appended consent form were distributed to the respondents via WhatsApp with 184 respondents and a response rate of 40.3 per cent. The online questionnaire comprised demographic, students’ perception towards online learning (a closed-ended question), reasons for liking and disliking online learning (two closed-ended questions), their preferable online teaching material and delivery (a closed-ended question), and suggestions to overcome online learning constraints (an open-ended question). Data collection was carried out in approximately two weeks and analysed using descriptive statistics. The results showed that the majority of respondents (84.8%) decided that the online learning approach was essential during the pandemic. Most students liked online learning because learning can continue even during the pandemic (75.7%), it was safer to study at home than to go to campus (63.0%), and it facilitated meeting the requirements to graduate on time (44.5%). Most disliked online learning because doing group assignments online was difficult (60.3%), attending online classes was challenging (59.8%), and taking an online test was challenging (55.3%). The respondents (50.0%) also acknowledged that the most effective teaching material and delivery tool for online learning was a PowerPoint with audio (asynchronous method). The respondents recommended internet stability and speed improvements, and a convenient space for studying online at home. This study contributes to the theory and evidence necessary for future research, programmes, and interventions to promote a fully digitally connected and informed society.

Teaching Counselling Amid the Evolving Evidentiary Landscape

Historically, professional counselling has been mired by “theory wars” involving proponents going to great lengths to prove (either through research or through rhetoric) that their approach was superior to others. This, not surprisingly, led to rancour and division within professional counselling and a form of camp mentality among model adherents. This paper offers an innovative approach to teaching models of counselling that counters such tendencies. The impetus for this approach stems from a robust and growing body of research indicating that counselling models, although often revered among model adherents and assumed to be the sine qua non of effective counselling, now appear to play a smaller role within the therapeutic enterprise. While few (including the present authors) would argue that counselling models are unnecessary, the various lines of research outlined in this paper compel counsellor educators to rethink how counselling models ought to be taught to graduate-level counselling students.

School-Based Rehabilitation Services in India

The chapter focuses on significant aspects of counselling students with special needs. This chapter emphasizes continuing life adjustment through the lens of a person-centred approach. The chapter familiarises counsellors with ways to create an environment/climate for the learners in school for them to develop to the fullest and learn to cope with life. The focus of the chapter lies in a school-based rehabilitation model. Additionally, the chapter provides a three-tier model of different interventions for use in school settings.

A comparison of counselling self-efficacy among international and domestic counselling students

This study examined counselling self-efficacy (CSE) between international counselling students and domestic counselling students. Data were collected from 179 participants. Analysis of the data suggested similar levels of CSE scores between domestic and international counselling students, and between school counselling students and other master’s-level counselling students. However, a significant difference was detected between master’s- and doctoral-level counselling students in terms of their CSE scores. Implications for counsellor educators, counselling supervisors and the counselling profession are provided.