Evaluating 8th Grade Guidance Program: School Counselors’ Insights into 21st Century Skill Development

Year 2025, Volume: 7 Issue: 4, 167 - 182

Gülşen Çelebi , Savaş Karagöz

https://doi.org/10.55236/tuara.1704215

Abstract

One of the primary objectives of guidance services is to provide professional
support to individuals throughout their lives as they strive toward selfactualization. In this context, it is essential to both understand the individual and
assist them in gaining self-awareness, enabling them to express themselves
effectively in accordance with the requirements of the society in which they live.
This study was conducted to examine the extent to which the 8th-grade guidance
curriculum fosters 21st-century skills, based on the perspectives of school
psychological counselors working in middle schools. A case study design was
employed within the scope of qualitative research methodology. The study group
consisted of school psychological counselors and guidance teachers working in
public middle schools during the 2023–2024 academic year. Specifically, 20 school
counselors and guidance teachers were selected through a simple random
sampling method from public middle schools in the province of Aksaray. Data
were collected through a semi-structured interview form, and individual
interviews were conducted with the participants. The data obtained from these
interviews were analyzed using content analysis. The findings were systematically
categorized into codes, categories, and overarching themes for interpretation.
According to the results of the study, based on interviews conducted with the
school counselors, four participants stated that the 8th-grade guidance program
effectively fosters 21st-century skills; twelve participants indicated that it partially
does so; and four participants expressed the opinion that it does not contribute to
the development of such skills at all. The findings of this research are expected to
make significant contributions to the field of school counseling—particularly in the
planning, development, and implementation of classroom guidance programs that
incorporate outcomes aligned with the competencies required in the modern era.

Keywords

21st centruy skiils , Guidance Program , program evaluation , Guidance services , Classromm guidance program

References

• Yalçın, S. (2018). 21. yüzyıl becerileri ve bu becerilerin ölçülmesinde kullanılan araçlar ve yaklaşımlar. Ankara Üniversitesi Eğitim Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi, 51(1), 183–201. https://doi.org/10.30964/auebfd.405860