(EDC 625) Academic Counseling and Classroom Guidance
Syllabus of Record
Catalog Description: This course provides the student with strategies to support and
enable children and adolescents in schools to experience academic success. It includes the
acquisition of skill in decision-making, problem solving and goal setting, critical thinking,
logical reasoning, and interpersonal communication applied to academic achievement.
Individual and group counseling practice as well as ethical and legal issues related to
academic counseling in K-12 schools will be examined.
Unit Mission, Philosophy, Values:
Our Mission:
“Teaching, Leading and Learning in a Democratic Society”
The College of Education prepares candidates who enhance the individual growth of their
students while working to establish policies and practices that promote the principles of
democratic education. The College articulates this mission as Teaching, Leading, and
Learning in a Democratic Society.
Philosophy:
Student Potential, Ethical Implications
Believing that schools function as social and political entities as well as for the growth of
individuals, the College of Education prepares teachers and leaders
a) to enhance the academic and personal potential of their students
b) to evaluate the social and ethical implications of educational policies and practices.
Values:
“Expertise, Equity, Liberal Education, Social Responsibility”
The College of Education values expertise to guide our practice, equity to guide our
interactions, liberal education to guide our perspectives, and social responsibility to guide
our commitment to democratic education. We value these ideals in our preparation of
candidates, our development of faculty, and our relationships with the larger community we
serve.
Unit and Program Standards:
Common Unit Standards: Michigan Department of Education, National Council for the
Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)
Course Standards and Assessments:
Standard: Individual and group counseling theory as it relates to the developmental and
educational goals of children and adolescents
Common Assessment: Development of Counseling Group for Academic Development
Major Topics:
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ASCA Academic Development Standards
Group Dynamics in the Classroom
School Counselors in the Classroom
Classroom Assistance Interventions
Proactive Interventions
Individual Interventions to Improve Academic Performance
Improving Academic Performance
Interventions to Modify Behavior
Interventions to Enhance Social Competencies
Working with Special Needs Children
Academic Planning for Postsecondary Options
Relationship of Academics to World of World
Course Objectives:
 to develop an understanding of the role of school counseling in the academic success
of school children
 to learn individual strategies and interventions that enable school children to
experience academic success
 to gain knowledge of the ASCA National Standards for Academic Development
 to understand group dynamics and group process in the classroom
 to develop classroom guidance activities related to academic success in children
 to examine ethical and legal issues in academic counseling as they relate to issues of
diversity and special needs.
Knowledge Base
Michigan Curriculum Framework (1996)
K-12 Program Standards of Quality (1991)
Michigan Board of Education Policy and Position Paper on Comprehensive Guidance and
Counseling Programs (1987)
National Career Development Guidelines (1989)
Safe and Drug Free Schools
American School Counselors Association National Guidance and Counseling Standards
(1999)
School-to-Work Legislation and the Michigan’s Career Pathways Program
Michigan Comprehensive Guidance and Counseling Program (2005)