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Comprehensive guidance and counseling programs are being implemented throughout the United States. One of the most widely used programs, the Missouri Model, includes a guidance curriculum as one of its central program elements. The authors discuss the results of a study exploring the national trends in the use of school counseling guidance materials. Implications for comprehensive guidance and counseling program implementation are included.
The American School Counselor Association (ASCA, 1997) clearly supports a comprehensive guidance and counseling orientation through its policy statement, the publication of the National Standards for School Counseling Programs (Campbell & Dahir, 1997), and the ASCA National Model (ASCA, 2003). Variations of the comprehensive guidance and counseling program model (CGCP) have been adopted throughout the United States (Sink & MacDonald, 1998). Given its widespread acceptance, this approach is likely to serve as the foundation for delivering guidance and counseling services to schools for many years to come.
One of the most used programmatic orientations has been the Missouri Model (Gysbers & Henderson, 2000, 2005; Sink & MacDonald, 1998). This model has four major components: guidance curriculum, individual planning, responsive services, and system support. Although each element of the model is important, perhaps the guidance curriculum component is the most innovative. It helps transform and focus school counseling from a collection of practices to an educational program, integrating the CGCP into the academic mission of a school district (e.g., ASCA, 2003; Borders & Drury, 1992; Gysbers & Henderson, 2000, 2001; Lapan, 2001, 2005; Watkins, 1994).
A review of the literature describes several dimensions of the guidance curriculum component. Numerous writers have suggested the guidance curriculum component must include developmentally appropriate student competencies (e.g., ASCA, 2003; Gysbers & Henderson, 2000, 2001, 2005; Hughey, Gysbers, & Starr, 1993; Lapan, 2001, 2005; Lapan, Gysbers, Multon, & Pike, 1997; Lapan, Gysbers, & Sun, 1997; Sears, 2005; Starr & Gysbers, 1993), educationally focused classroom presentations (Hughey et al., 1993; Hughcy, Lapan, & Gysbers, 1993; MacDonald & Sink, 1999), and guidance classroom activities (ASCA, 2003; Gysbers & Henderson, 2001, 2005; Hughey et al., 1993; Lapan, 2001, 2005; Lapan, Gysbers, Multon, & Pike, 1997; Lapan, Gysbers, & Petroski, 2001; Lapan, Gysbers, & Sun, 1997). Research studies have indicated that guidance curriculum activities have a positive impact on student development...