School-Based Counseling in Mainland China: Past, Present, and Future
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Journal of School-Based Counseling Policy and Evaluation Volume 1 Issue 1 Article 5 September 2018 School-Based Counseling in Mainland China: Past, Present, and Future Qi Shi Loyola University Maryland, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/jscpe Part of the Counseling Commons, International and Comparative Education Commons, and the Student Counseling and Personnel Services Commons Recommended Citation Shi, Q. (2018). School-Based Counseling in Mainland China: Past, Present, and Future. Journal of School- Based Counseling Policy and Evaluation, 1(1), 17-25. https://doi.org/10.25774/p7xm-yg61 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of School-Based Counseling Policy and Evaluation by an authorized editor of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SCHOOL-BASED COUNSELING IN CHINA Journal of School-Based Counseling Policy and Evaluation Volume 1(1) School-Based Counseling in Mainland China: Past, Present, and Future Qi Shi Loyola University Maryland Abstract school health program (Aldinger et al., 2008), school psychological services (Ye & Fang, 2010), school This article provides a comprehensive review of the psychology (D’Amato, van Schalkwyk, Zhao, & Hu, past, present, and future of school-based counseling in 2013; Ding, Kuo, & Van Dyke, 2008), student services mainland China. First, this article summarizes the office (Dwyer & McNaughton, 2004), school counseling historical antecedents and important policies that have (Leuwerke & Shi, 2010; Liu, Tian, & Zheng, 2013; Shi influenced the progress of school-based counseling in & Leuwerke, 2010; Thomason & Qiong, 2008), and China. Next, the current situation of the profession is mental consultation (Thomason & Qiong, 2008). This discussed, including relevant government policy, school article will use the term “school-based counseling” to and school counselor practice, and current challenges. In encompass the varied formats of psychological the final section, the implications for policy-makers to counseling services being provided in China’s schools. further support the profession are explored. In addition, some of the school-based counseling Keywords: school-based counseling, mainland literature discussed in this article is relatively outdated China, school counselors, policies due to the limited amount of research conducted in China. When looking at the educational, social/emotional Introduction development and mental health issues of Chinese During the past four decades, China experienced adolescents, it is important to consider the differences continuous dramatic economic growth and societal between urban and rural areas due to the disproportionate changes (Guthrie, 2012). These changes brought economic growth among regions in China (Cook et al., enormous social competition and stress for the Chinese 2010). In rural China, there remains a sizable number of people (Cook, Lei, & Chiang, 2010). Among China's 1.3 youth left in their rural hometown by one or both parents billion people, at least 100 million have various mental who moved to cities for better job opportunities (Luo, disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar depression, Wang, & Gao, 2009). Chinese scholars described the obsessive-compulsive disorder, and social phobia. These rural children as the “left-behind” children (Luo et al., disorders account for 20% of hospitalization in the 2009; Zhao, Liu & Shen, 2008). These children suffer country (Fei, 2006). Suicide is the leading cause of death from low life satisfaction, low self-esteem, and higher for Chinese individuals between the ages of 15 and 34 (Ji, levels of depression (Sun et al., 2015). Whereas in urban Kleinman, & Becker, 2001). Xinhua News Agency China, given the country’s One-Child Policy and limited reported that out of 340 million youth under the age of educational opportunities, parents often put a great deal 17, 10% experienced mental and/or behavioral problems, of pressure on their only children to succeed including anxiety, depression, alcoholism, and criminal academically. Therefore, urban children are mainly activity (Radio Free Asia, 2006). Houri, Nam, Choe, suffering from education-related problems, such as test Min, and Matsumoto (2012) compared mental health anxiety and academic pressure, loneliness, social conditions among Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean discomfort, internet/video game addiction, self- youth, finding that Chinese youth experienced centeredness, and reclusion (Davey & Zhao, 2015; significantly more depression than their counterparts. In Worrell, 2008). Previous research identified factors that addition to mental health concerns, there are many other contribute to Chinese youths’ mental health problems. reasons for Chinese youth to seek psychological help; The primary reasons suggested were academic pressure among the most common are school-related problems, (Dwyer & McNaughton, 2004; Thomason & Qiong, family relationships, peers and teachers, and test anxiety 2008; Worrell, 2008), being an only child (Liu, (Chang, Tong, Shi, & Zeng, 2005). Munakata, & Onuoha, 2005; Thomason & Qiong, 2008), In the current literature on school-based counseling physical abuse (Wong, Chen, Goggins, Tang, & Leung, in mainland China, there exists a variety of terms that 2009), lack of coping skills (Tang, 2006), and a have been used to describe school counseling. These generation gap between children and their include school mental health education (Caldarella, parents/caregivers (Thomason & Qiong, 2008). Chan, Christensen, Lin, & Liu, 2013), comprehensive In addition to educational and psychological needs, Shi, 17 SCHOOL-BASED COUNSELING IN CHINA Journal of School-Based Counseling Policy and Evaluation Volume 1(1) Chinese students require career guidance and counseling. be provided. Policy implications are discussed in the This need increased exponentially in the late 1970s and closing section. 1980s (Zhang, Hu, & Pope, 2002) after the Cultural Revolution ended and China became more open to Historical Context Western counseling ideas. However, there has been no Upon reviewing the literature, the historical proper career guidance and counseling services in development of school-based counseling in mainland primary and secondary schools in China and most China has progressed through three major stages: Chinese were largely unfamiliar with the term career Infantile (early 1900s to late 1970s), exploration (late guidance and counseling (Zhang et al., 2002). Teachers 1970s to early 1990s), and development (early 1990s were the ones who provided students career guidance, but until now). the assistance was only based on minimal personal experience and limited information (Zhang et al., 2002). Infantile (Early 1900s to Late 1970s): No School Counseling Despite such prevalent and urgent counseling needs, school-based counseling has not kept pace (Leuwerke & In the early 1900s, Western missionaries influenced Shi, 2010; Shi, Liu, & Leuwerke, 2014). Chinese mental health services in China (Pearson, 1991). Prior to students normally solicited advice from teachers about 1949 when the People’s Republic of China was founded, academic problems, asked for help from friends China only had eight psychiatric hospitals providing regarding peer and family relationships, and some mental health services and the profession was not students received no counseling services for their recognized by either the government or the professionals problems (Houri et al., 2012). This reluctance of Chinese (Yip, 2006). After 1949, mental health services students to seek counseling might be related to the culture improved slowly and gradually until 1966 when China’s and political background in China. Collectivism has Cultural Revolution started. During those 10 years of been always valued in China and hence individuals are Cultural Revolution, the profession of psychology instructed to engage in “self-criticism and mutual paused and practitioners were exiled to work in the criticism… to get rid of their individualism and countryside (Pearson, 1995). There was no school capitalistic thinking” (Yip, 2005, p.110). Moreover, counseling practice in this stage. harmony and filial piety, the most important Chinese Exploration (late 1970s to early 1990s): First traditional value and the most basic components of Government Policy Issued Confucius’ overall vision of society, could impact Chinese people’s help-seeking behavior. Chinese In the late 1970s, the Chinese government initiated students are less likely to share their concerns or the open door and economy reform policy, which not problems with people outside of their family or close only opened doors for economy development but also friends circle because they feel shameful to let their brought increasing government support for psychology parents lose face (Hou & Zhang, 2007; Thomason & (Tisdell, 2008). This government support resulted in the Qiong, 2008). A recent survey conducted by Wu, Huang, advancement of Chinese mental health education. In Jackson, Su, and Morrow (2016) among 1,891 high 1985, Chinese Association for Mental Health (CAMH) school students in a southern city in China showed that was formed (Hohenshil, Amundson, & Niles, 2015), 25% of the adolescents expressed needs for mental health which was a significant milestone in the identity of services but only 5% of the sample reported having used Chinese mental health professionals. With the formation school-based