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A History of Secondary-School Guidance in Queensland

1940-1985

Rod Hardaker

Guidance Officer

1990

Foreword

The original intention of this document had been to write a history of Guidance practiced in State schools in Queensland. It quickly became apparent that this was too big a task, and so the decision was made to confine the review to secondary guidance. This was incapable of being achieved because a very high proportion of students did not go to high school in the late ‘40s and ‘50s, and a lot of what we would now regard as ‘secondary guidance’ was practised in primary schools.

Even this restricted, the scope of this paper was further limited by excluding:

a) special education (with which guidance of ‘normal’ students was, and still is organisationally seemingly inextricably associated); and

b) organisational changes, except insofar as they impinged on the functioning of personnel whose responsibility it was to provide guidance services to secondary-school students.

Also excluded were those functions of the original Research & Guidance Branch which are now the province of the Division of Planning and Services.

Despite these progressive limitations in scope, the paper is vastly in excess of the length specified. It is hoped that this will be excused by readers, who should gain a much better appreciation of the topic than would have been the case if the paper had been restricted to the specified length.

The comparative lack of detail from 1971 onward is due to the fact that the annual reports of the Branch to the Director General of Education could not be found. (probably due to the re-location of the Branch to Little Edward Street), and the principal references for those latter years were the Minister’s Reports to Parliament.

A section which was to have been entitled ‘nature of service’ – the writing of which was left until last – has had to be omitted because of lack of time.

Rod HardakerGuidance Officer

(Note: For this edition, some names have been added later where appropriate)

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CONTENTS

Foreword 3

1.0 The Early Days 7

2.0 Changes to the System 9

3.0 The Provision of the Service, Staffing and Workload 11

4.0 Extra-curricular Aspects of the Service 17

5.0 Training 19

6.0 ‘Marginal’ Guidance Activities 21

7.0 Accommodation, equipment and travel - some comments 23

8.0 The Future - some thoughts 25

References 27

Appendices 29

Appendix 1: Sequence of Guidance Expansion across Queensland 29

Appendix 2: Location of Guidance Offices in Queensland in 1985 31

Appendix 3: Queensland State High Schools at which Guidance Officers are Based33

Appendix 4: List of Key Head Office Personnel 1960s -1990s 35

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1.0 The Early Days

It may be said that guidance started in Queensland schools with the appointment in 1940 of Mr Jim Pratt (BA, B Ed), who was already a teacher employed by the Department of Public Instruction, as an Educational Guidance Officer. His job description was “To advise teachers on the application of mental tests,…. to survey the occupations open to boys and girls and advise them on the school course most suited to their abilities and aptitudes” (Berkeley, 1984, p1).

In the period between then and Pratts’s joining the Army as a psychologist, a comprehensive guidance program for schools was prepared. Teachers in more than 50 schools were designated as (presumably part-time) guidance officers to “Provide educational and occupational information to children leaving school” (Berkeley, 1984, p1). This scheme was short-lived owing to the entry of Japan into World War II and the joining-up of the majority of male teachers. After the War, Pratt stayed on in Army Psychology and was not replaced in the Department.

One of the results of World War II was that a number of men who had been teachers before the War returned to ‘civvy street’ with a good background in psychology. William Wood (ex RAAF Education) was one of those, and in April 1948 he was appointed Acting Senior Educational Guidance Officer. By July of that year he had produced a Report on the Establishment of a Guidance Service in Queensland Schools. (Some of the points made in this Report are equally valid today - for example, from Page 1: “Guidance is not something to be plastered on to the educational structure. It is an integral part of the educational service”).

In 1949, Research and Guidance Branch was established, Wood’s position was upgraded to Principal Research and Guidance Officer, and he was joined by Bill Brown (Senior Guidance Officer), Sam Rayner (Research Officer) and Len Stewart (Guidance Officer), all of whom had been in the Royal Australian Medical Corps’ Psychological Services (later to become the Australian Army Psychology Corps). When a regular service to schools commenced in July 1949, they were supplemented by three vocational guidance officers and a clerk-typist from the recently disbanded Juvenile Employment Bureau.

In those days, there was only five State high schools in the Brisbane metropolitan area – Brisbane SHS, Industrial High School (in Alice Street), State Commercial High School and Domestic Science High School (both in the grounds of the Central Technical College – became the QIT Campus – now the Gardens Point Campus of the Queensland University of Technology, QUT, where Research and Guidance Branch was also located), and Wynnum State High School and Intermediate School.

However, the guidance service was not confined to secondary schools, because “At least 40 per cent of pupils are not completing 7th grade” (1949 report, p7) and it was therefore necessary to provide vocational advice to students in primary schools also. In this first year, 15 primary schools were serviced (as was Nambour High and Rural Schools).

Even in 1949, in his second annual report, the Principal Research and Guidance Officer (Bill Woods) was pointing out the need for a guidance officer to be permanently stationed in the Central and Northern regions (centred on Rockhampton and Townsville respectively).

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2.0 Changes to the System

In the 36+ years since the establishment of the Branch, a number of significant changes have occurred in Queensland education, and these have had direct and indirect effects on the provision of guidance services. One of these was the enormous increase in the number of secondary school students and in the number of high schools. (For example, during the period of office of one Director of Secondary Education from 1957 to 1964, the number of enrolments rose from 12,561 in State high schools to 66,175, and the number of State high schools rose from 36 to 84 (Quest, 1972).

This was due partly to the post-War ‘baby boom’, partly to increased retention rates, partly to the abolition of the Scholarship examination after 1962, and largely to the incorporation of Grade 8 into the high schools from 1964.

The shifting of Grade 8 from primary to secondary schools had a profound impact on the provision of non-clinical guidance services. Whereas the ‘modus operandi’ had been for a Guidance officer (GO) to service a secondary school and its ‘feeder’ primary schools, from 1964 there were no more visits by educational and vocational guidance officers to primary schools.

Grade 8 then became an introduction to the wide range of high school subjects, and provided an opportunity to be ‘exposed’ to the subjects which had to be chosen for Grade 9 and 10. One effect of this shift was a substantial drop in the number of parents interviewed: “Prior to 1964, about 70 per cent of 8th Grade parents were interviewed in the primary schools. Since the 8th Grade students have attended high schools, only a very small percentage of those parents have been interviewed in the schools. A letter has now been prepared to invite more parents of Senior and Junior students to be interviewed by guidance officers….” (1965 Report, p2)

In 1965 the Queensland Institute of Technology (QIT) opened, and “the provision of full-time and part-time diploma and certificate courses” was hailed as “of tremendous importance in encouraging students to pursue technical studies as post-Junior and matriculation levels”. Furthermore, “The availability of such courses has given scope to, a ‘group of students’ who were not quite academically fit to proceed to degree studies at a university, but were capable of further study after secondary school. The new Institute courses… provided a long sought solution to both an occupational and an educational vacuum that had provided a guidance dilemma for many years”. (p2).

In 1966, campuses of the QIT opened in Toowoomba and Rockhampton, and these later developed into the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education (DDIAE) and the Capricornia Institute of Advanced education (CIAE) respectively. There was already a Townsville College of the University of Queensland, which later became James Cook University of North Queensland. The Branch provided a service to students of this College until counselling staff were employed at that institution in 1968. It must have been a relief to many parents in country areas to have post-secondary courses available other than in the south-east of the State.

Although not part of the education system, the Child Welfare and Guidance Clinic (part of the State Department of Health) was established in 1959, and must have been welcomed by guidance officers as an agency to which cases of severe disturbance could be referred – although for some years it existed only in Brisbane.

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A comment was made in the 1975 report that there was little contact between the schools and the public: that, in most instances, the guidance officer provided the only contact. Whilst that cannot be said today, it seems to be the case that it is the lot of the GO to explain educational innovations to parents, particularly those involving assessment. Thus the abolition of external exams (the last Junior exam was in 1970 and the last Senior in 1972) and their replacement with internal assessment, as proposed by the Radford Committee, was an innovation which took much explaining to both parents and employees as well as to students, in much the same way as the Review of School Based assessment (ROSBA) has to be explained (and justified!) now.

An aspect of State education in Queensland which has not had a ‘high profile’ has been the increased tendency, in the past decade or so, to integrate students with handicaps (special needs) into ‘normal’ (regular) schools. Whilst this has undoubtedly been of benefit to the social development of the students concerned, it has increased the demands placed on classroom teachers, and there is a general expectation that guidance staff are the people to turn to in helping with the integration and continued management of these students.

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3.0 The Provision of the Service, Staffing and Workload

In the first four years of operation from 1949, only metropolitan schools and the Nambour High and Rural Schools were visited by guidance staff. In 1953, Maryborough and Bundaberg were added, in 1954 Beenleigh and Cleveland, in 1956 Beaudesert, in 1957 Townsville and Charters Towers in 1958 Cairns, Mackay. Rockhampton, Gympie, Toowoomba, Warwick and Ipswich, and in 1959 all State high schools in Queensland were visited (15 metropolitan and 30 country high schools) – as well as 45 metropolitan primary schools. It should be noted that the staff available to provide this service consisted in 1959 of one Senior Guidance Officer, seven guidance officer and five seconded teachers - although the Principal Research and Guidance Officer (PRGO)spent some of his time on country visits as well.

Given that “It was the guidance officer’s responsibility to raise record cards for new students, to put record cards into forms and to ensure that there is a record card for each student on roll” (1958 Report, p5) – in addition to testing, interviewing and giving class talks – it is not surprising that the PRGO should complain (about country visits). “The burden of work was intense, with virtually every minute of the day occupied under high pressure” (p7). The workload on country trips was added to by the preparation of selection reports, visits to CES offices, newspaper interviews and preparation of audio tapes for broadcast, and evening lectures to service clubs and groups of parents. The time devoted to service clubs, especially Rotary, does not appear to have been resented, as, starting in 1956, Rotary clubs helped to organise visits by students to places of work.

The Branch appeared to be in a ‘no win’ situation. The 1955 Report stated: “Despite the extension of the service in the schools, the numbers who seek educational and vocational guidance at the office have increased in the same proportion” (p1). By 1957, because of the number of “school and vocational problems seen at the Branch office, it was necessary to reduce the school programme of several experienced officers” (p4). Consequently, a need was seen to for a “vigorous recruitment campaign” (p2) to gain more staff for the Branch.

In 1960, obviously in an attempt to cut down the workload of guidance staff in schools, a 10 hour seminar was held in late November for secondary teachers on “all aspects of guidance in secondary schools… including means of involving teachers more closely in student guidance “ (p8).

1960 seems to have been a particularly busy year, as “by late October, almost all available appointments for testing and interviewing were filled to the end of January 1961. It is estimated that during November and December, approximately 600 requests by parents for guidance for their children could not be satisfied” (and a good proportion of those sought information and advice by telephone subsequently) (1960 Report, p5).

The staffing situation deteriorated: the 1961 report noted that there had been “considerable expansion in secondary education, but no corresponding increase in trained guidance staff”, and the 1962 Report that despite an increase in the number of high schools, guidance staff was fewer than in 1961. “No suitably qualified teachers offered for training in 1962 to offset the loss of an experienced officer who was appointed to the Teachers College. It is a matter of some concern that here has been little increase in guidance staff during the last four years” (p1).

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Part of the reason for this could be that “Teachers in country high schools are reluctant to apply for secondment to (the Branch) when they observe the pressure at which guidance officers work” (1962 Report, p17). Another reason for the poor staffing situation was that graduates could see excellent promotion opportunities in the rapidly expanding high-school sector and little opportunity for promotion within the Branch. Some graduate teachers approached to apply for secondment did in fact become high school principals (Brown, 1984).

Another problem was the number of Branch personnel who went on to academic appointments. Those known to the author include, Rupert Cochrane, Sam Rayner, John Damm and Graham Maxwell (to the University of Queensland), Mal Colston (to UQ, then the Australian Senate) Col Power (UQ then Flinders University), Barry McGraw (to Director of Planning and Services then Murdock University, then to Director, ACER), Norm Hart (Mt Gravatt Teachers College), Enzo Bellogoi and Bryan Webber (Kelvin Grove Teachers College) and Gordon Devereaux, (RAAF Psychology then Kelvin Grove CAE). In addition, Tom Gooch left to head up Guidance Services in the Territory of Papua New Guinea.

The 1962 Report also recommended that an extra 10 to 12 officers be approved to meet the demand in 1964 (when Grade 8s would move to high school). This did not happen: in 1964 “There were only 14 officers working on educational and vocational guidance – one more than in 1959”.

By 1967, whilst the overall staffing situation had improved, the relative situation had declined: the ratio was one guidance officer to 4500 secondary students, whereas in 1957 it had been one officer to 2500 students (1967 Report, p2). “Had this Branch retained all officers trained since 1957 all secondary schools would now be receiving a satisfactory educational and vocational service” (p3). Despite the existence of three Regional Guidance Officers by 1967, it was no longer possible to boast – as it was in 1959 – that all high schools were serviced: of the 96 high schools, 13 were not visited at all, and only 3 of the 67 secondary departments were visited.

Statistics about numbers of students tested and interviewed, parents interviewed and class talks are cited in and appended to annual reports until 1977. These were given such emphasis because they were used to argue for increased staff (Brown, 1984). Nevertheless, some statistics are worth citing. Throughout the 1960’s all secondary guidance officers (including regional guidance officers) spent at least 9 weeks, sometimes 11 weeks away from their bases. In 1961, each officer averaged on the country trips alone 974 students tested, 345 student interviews, 297 parent interviews and 23 class talks. In addition, in 51 metropolitan primary schools, the 16 officers (Senior Guidance Officer, five guidance officers, six seconded teachers and four trainees) tested 6042 students, interviewed 5,689 students and 3,768 parents and gave 420 class talks and in 22 metropolitan secondary schools, interviewed 3,669 students and 364 parents and gave 196 class talks. As well as the work in schools, almost 3,600 students (usually with their parents) were seen at Branch Office. Despite these herculean efforts, only 74% of Grade 12 students in State secondary schools were interviewed (up from 56% in 1960 and 43% in 1959).

Other statistics worth quoting are that in January 1962, 2363 people were seen at the Office, and inward phone calls averaged 130 to 160 a day throughout the month. The workload was such that seconded teachers were called in for three of their seven weeks holidays (and were paid $30 per week!). Also in 1962, in seven country high schools, 319 requests for parent interviews could not be satisfied.

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In 1964, the one big annual country trip was ‘given notice’ in that, for the first time, ‘testing-only trips’ were made, followed later in the year by ‘interviewing’ trips. After the establishment of regional and other permanent guidance officers, some schools received a ‘testing’ visit and all other guidance work was done by the guidance staff located in the area.

Regional guidance officers were opened in Townsville (Ifill Buhot) and Toowoomba (Hilton Smekel) in 1966 and in Rockhampton (Kev Dowe) in 1967. (The need for offices in Townsville and Rockhampton was foreshadowed by W. Wood in the 1949 Report, and in Toowoomba in the 1954 Report). Each office was staffed by only one officer, and it was soon apparent that this was not enough. In his first annual report, the Regional Guidance Officer, Townsville concluded: “The people who looked to Townsville for special services came from such a huge area that it was impossible for one officer to give anything like an adequate service” (p21). The ‘normal’ work of the RGO Townsville involved his servicing five State high schools. (despite this, seven in his Region were not serviced).

At Pimlico SHS (then with 1,500 students), only Seniors and ‘academic’ juniors were interviewed, and ‘very few parents’. In Mt Isa ‘it was necessary to interview at night to complete the programme in two weeks’ (p19). The ‘abnormal’ work of the RGO included: testing and interviewing Senior students at Townsville Grammar School (with a note that “this service to private schools will have to be extended in 1967 as the CES Office in Townsville no longer has a guidance officer on their establishment” (p19); visiting inmates at Stuart Prison each Thursday night when the RGO was in Townsville (approximately 50 were taking correspondence courses; others were taught elementary maths and/or reading); and the testing of ‘cases’ referred by medical specialists, speech therapists, Crippled Children’s Home, State Children’s Home, Bush Children’s Home, Welfare and Guidance (which at that stage had no office in Townsville), the Sub-Normal Centre and Opportunity Schools. (One reason why so many agencies referred cases was that a vacancy for a psychologist at Townsville General Hospital could not be filled).

In 1967 the future in Townsville looked a little brighter: “Townsville’s dearth of psychologists should be relieved in 1968, when the vacancy at the CES is filled and the Child Guidance Clinic opens…. However, in 1967 as in 1966, this office tried to meet impossible community demands. There was a carry-over of almost 70 new cases into 1968” (pp20-21).

In the first annual report of the RGO Rockhampton, he requested either additional staff at Rockhampton, or district guidance offices at Mackay, Gladstone, Biloela Emerald and Longreach. The following year (1969), the RGO Townsville recommended that a regional guidance office be opened in Cairns and also requested more staff for the Townsville office (the need for which was obvious from the statement that “the RGO handled most clerical and administrative work and much typing outside normal hours” (p 26), and the fact that the RGO personally serviced 13 secondary schools.

Some relief came to the regional offices in 1970, with the appointment of a guidance officer to Rockhampton (Jean Millikin) and a seconded teacher to Toowoomba ( ). Also in 1970, a guidance officer was appointed to Southport ( ), and the Wide Bay Regional Guidance Office (Sid Parry) was opened. As happened with the initial appointment of RGOs in other regions, the vast majority of the RGO’s time was spent in servicing secondary schools (For example, Sid Parry visited four on a weekly basis, and the other seven high schools and 12 secondary departments were serviced in conjunction with Brisbane-based staff).

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The Staff Inspector (Bill Brown) noted in his 1970 Annual report that: “At the present rate of guidance provision, the average secondary school student will be interviewed by a guidance officer only once in his five–year secondary school career” (p22).

In the following decade, decentralisation of guidance services proceeded steadily. The first metropolitan guidance officer (Brisbane North, Tom Robertson) opened in 1972; that year also saw guidance offices located permanently in Bundaberg (Neil Wex) and Cairns (Don Barringhaus), and the Mackay office (Bob Knowles) opened in 1973. Two other metropolitan regional guidance offices were opened at Mt Gravatt (Brisbane South, Gil Court) and Ipswich (Brisbane West, Leo Cuskelly) and offices were opened in Mt Isa (Gil Court), Gympie (Peter Everest) and Nambour (Cliff Ree), in 1974. In 1975, the offices in Cairns (Don Barringhaus), Mackay (Bob Knowles) and Southport (Ray Overland) were upgraded to district offices, and district offices were opened in Kingaroy (Blake Leonard) and Kenmore (Mick Collins).

This expansion of services was obviously accompanied by a substantial increase in staff. The availability of Schools Commission money for training guidance officers resulted in a substantial increase in staff. See Table 1

Table 1: Numbers of guidance trainees from 1975 to 1983

Year PrimaryTrainees

SecondaryTrainees

GuidanceCounsellors

1975 15 11 61976 8 17 31977 11 151978 7 91979 11 51980 12 201981 12 151982 12 131983 15 13Total 103 118 9

Percent 45% 51% 4%

However, those halcyon days seem to have come to an end.

‘Large-scale country trips’ ceased in the early 1970s, but continued on a smaller scale mainly to provide on the job training to guidance trainees.

The 1975 Report mentions, “For the first time, full-time guidance services in the larger schools”, although according to Knudsen (1984), Brisbane SHS had two full time guidance officers in 1971/2 (Ron Carmock and Lyn McCart/Prince). Certainly, from then on, an increasing number of guidance officers had only one school, although it was not uncommon for an officer to spend, say, 4 days a week in a school and one day a week in regional office.

Decentralisation continued: in 1976, offices were established in Charters Towers and Roma but secondary guidance officers were not appointed to these offices until 1980, and the offices in Bundaberg, Gympie and Nambour were upgraded to district offices. In 1977, district guidance offices

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opened at Clontarf (Tony Burgoure) and Wynnum (Warren Cowan ), and resident guidance offices were appointed to Gladstone (John Meldrum ) and Warwick (Scott Young). Also in 1977, more than 30 high schools had full-time guidance officers.

In 1978, district guidance offices were opened in Roma (Bill Robertson) and Mt Isa (Bill Sultman) and resident guidance staff were appointed to Dalby ( ) and Bowen (Peter Mathams). In 1979, district offices opened in Gatton (John Ledez) and Longreach (Bill Small). In 1980, a resident vacancy was created in Blackwater ( ).

A significant organisational change occurred in 1981 when the position of Regional Guidance Officer was upgraded in classification and retitled Regional Special Education and Guidance Officer – in effect, which functioned somewhat like a staff inspector for their regions for all Guidance and Special Education Branch staff. All existing RGO positions were advertised, as was a new position for RSEGO North-West Region based at Longreach (Cliff Ree). This in turn caused a re-definition of the role of DGOs, who consequently no longer had the time to work in schools, even on a part-time basis.

Also in 1981, a district office was opened at Acacia Ridge (Leo Keller) and a guidance officer was located at Emerald (Ray Ashford). In 1982, Atherton District Guidance Office (Ron Collier) was opened. The current location of guidance offices is as shown on the attached map (Appendix 1), and schools at which secondary officers are based are shown, by region, in Appendix 2.

The present staffing situation as it was follows (1984)

a) 9 RSEGOs and 26 DGOs, some of whom had been secondary guidance officers before promotion. For all practical purposes, none of these worked in school, but they were sometimes available (especially the DGOs) to advise students during vacation periods.

b) 16 permanent secondary guidance officers (many of whom do not work in school – two are at Branch Office, one is at the Inala Family Education Centre, three are office based, and one services Secondary Correspondence School). However, they are available at offices throughout the State during at least part of the long vacation period to give advice to students.

c) 104 seconded secondary teachers (some of whom do not work in ‘normal’ schools – one is based at Branch office, one at a district office, one services the Coorparoo Centre for Continuing Education and one services Milperra Special School).

d) The number of primary guidance officers (permanent GOs and seconded teachers) is 103.

Whilst the staffing situation is the best it has ever been – enabling at least four high schools (Brisbane, Bremer, Aspley and Pine Rivers) to have one full-time and one part-time guidance officer – there is still an imbalance between city and country. Considering only those officers mentioned in sub-paras (b) and (c) above who work in ‘normal’ high schools, the ratio of students to guidance officers is 1,133:1 for the three Brisbane regions (which it should be stated, include many schools outside the Brisbane Statistical Division) and 1,376:1 for the six country regions. When it is remembered that travelling consumes more time for country GOs than for city GOs, this imbalance is even more marked. The situation is particularly bad in the Darling Downs Region, where the ratio is 2,037:1.

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4.0 Extra-curricular Aspects of the Service

As early as 1950 (the second full year of operation), the Branch was supplying reports on students to the Legacy Club and the Repatriation Commission, and was providing an employment selection service to private, government and semi-government organisations. (Detailed numbers of these reports and referrals are supplied in annexes to the annual reports.) In 1951, clinical cases were referred for the first time by School Health Services and the Commonwealth Acoustic Laboratories. In 1952 the Apprenticeship Board requested reports on apprentices who were failing their Technical College courses.

In 1954 the list of client organisations grew again – the Soldiers’ Children’s Education committee and the Services Trust Fund Committee, wanted reports on students applying for bursaries. Later assistance was provided in the selection of candidates for nursing and the Police Department. In 1957, physically and mentally handicapped school-leavers were referred to the branch by the Rehabilitation Section of the Department of Social Services for advice on suitable training courses.

These ‘extra-curricular’ activities continued to represent a significant workload for the Branch for many years, and did not ‘die out’ completely, until the 1970’s. The reasons for their eventual demise were:

(a) The children of soldiers who had returned from WW1 grew up and left school.(b) Employers began to process applicants for jobs themselves (with the huge increase in the

numbers studying behavioural science at tertiary institutions, people were available for appointment as personnel officers), or referred applicants to management consultants.

(c) Government agencies (eg Children’s Services, School Health Services, Commonwealth Acoustic Laboratories) started employing their own psychologists.

However, this was not before the Principal Research and Guidance Officer recommended in his 1961 report that “Until sufficient staff is available to cope more adequately with the essential guidance and counselling work in schools, the provision of selection reports to commercial and industrial firms be discontinued” (1961, p6). Obviously, the workload must have increased substantially on that of 1957, when the comment was: “This service permitted later follow-up studies in guidance work….and the contact with industry and commerce was indispensable in the training of guidance staff”(p5).

An extremely heavy extra responsibility was thrust upon the Branch in December 1951, when the administration of the Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme was transferred from the Universities Commission to the State education departments. To handle the workload, the Branch ‘inherited’ one male clerk – with the result that the Principal Research officer had “To spend most of their time on this early in the year” (1952 Report). Despite the considerable amount of time devoted to Commonwealth Scholars over a 15-year period, the Principal guidance officer stated in his 1967 report: “This (transfer of responsibility to the Commonwealth Department of Education and Science) is to be regretted, as the contact (with tertiary students) enriched counselling sessions in the upper secondary school” (p20).

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In 1957, the Branch undertook the responsibility of helping State Teacher Fellowships holders to plan suitable courses of study. This responsibility continued until the practice of ‘bonding’ teacher trainees was discontinued in the late 1970’s.

Several other activities were (and still are) undertaken by what started as Research and Guidance Branch and has since become embedded in Divisions within the Department of Education.

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5.0 Training

For several years, the training of personnel in guidance work seems to have been no more than an internship during which interns observed the experienced officers. Newly inducted officers were not permitted to work independently until the middle of their first year.

The first formal ‘training’ seems to have occurred in 1957, when a series of Friday afternoon lectures were given by representatives of employing authorities and post-secondary educational institutions. Those Friday afternoon sessions continued for many years.

What formal training was undertaken initially by officers new to the Branch is not clear, but mention is made for the first time in the Report for 1959 of a training program of 100, one-hour lectures, conducted by the Principal Research and Guidance Officer, Senior Guidance Officer, Senior Guidance Officer (Clinical), Research Officer and the Officer in Charge of Speech Correctionists, on Philosophy and Aims of Guidance, Techniques and Practices of Guidance, General and Clinical Psychology, Statistics, and Speech Correction.

Guidance Officers who wanted to improve their academic background could take a number of courses offered by the Departments of Education or Psychology at the University of Queensland. Perhaps the single most relevant course was the Diploma in Educational Psychology; the first time this was awarded was 1952. The subjects offered in this Diploma remained unchanged until 1970, and were: Child Psychology; Mental Hygiene of Children and Adolescence; Intelligence and Attainment Testing; Statistical Treatment of Test Scores; Diagnostic Testing and Remedial Work; Case Studies and Clinical Methods; School Records; Testing of Personality and Temperament; The Education of the Subnormal Child; Backwards in the Basic Subjects; and Maladjusted and Delinquent Children.

In 1971, the structure of the Diploma changed, and the subject titles were: Personalities Theories; Educational Guidance; Basic Principles of Counselling; Dynamics of Classroom Behaviour; Techniques of Individual Counselling; Techniques of Group Counselling; and Vocational Guidance. These changes probably reflected the increasing numbers of remedial and resource teachers in schools and the subsequent change to the guidance officer’s role. Minor changes were made in 1974, and in 1976 the qualification changed title to Diploma in School Counselling and for the first time there were elective subjects. The latest changes occurred in 1980, and saw a further liberalisation of subject choice.

The greatest single change in the in-service training occurred in 1972, when, following the appointment of two training officers (Ian Smith, primary and Ian Lynagh, secondary), the first one-year full-time training course was held. This course later included academic work towards the Diploma in Educational Psychology.

Dr Sam Beavers from the University of Michigan was appointed to the staff of the University of Queensland and a co-ordinated course between the University of Queensland and Guidance & Special Education Branch was negotiated. The University provided academic coursework towards what subsequently became the Diploma of School Counselling and the Master of Educational Studies in School Counselling. Specific attention with practicum supervision was paid to the development of counselling skills.

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The Guidance Services component focussed on the framework and skill development of the supervised guidance carried out by primary and secondary guidance personnel.

In 1976, the amount of academic work in the training course was for the first time equivalent to a full-time University load. (45 credit points per semester). Since that time, an increasing proportion of trainees have undertaken study towards qualification other than the UQ Diploma in School Counselling – eg Diploma in Psychology at UQ or the Diploma in Counselling at Brisbane CAE or the Masters in Educational Studies at UQ.

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6.0 ‘Marginal’ Guidance Activities

As the provision of secondary guidance staff came closer to one full-time officer per school, so did the involvement of guidance officers increased in activities which could be regarded as marginal to guidance. Such activities are:

• pastoral care (GOs had a significant input in some schools);• work experience (in at least one Brisbane school, the GO allocated students to placements and

liaised with employers);• career education (departmental policy was that guidance officers be available – at least in a

consultative role – for about one teaching period per week);• school leadership or ‘getting to know you’ camps for cohorts of students such as all Grade 12

students in a school early in the Grade 12 year;• retrieval programs where typically, the GO was involved in the selection of students and in

activities during the program which were designed to support students with social and behavioural issues);

• special programs for academically disadvantaged students; and• transition education (in some schools, GOs are timetabled for one period per week with

transition course students.

The Transition Education Resource Unit was established in 1980 (Col McCowan), the staff of which was absorbed into the Information Section of the Branch in 1984), It focussed on getting students to stay on from Grade 10 to Grade 11 and 12 but also promoted the establishment of transition programs in both Grade 10 and in Grade 11 to assist students with their transition from school to work.

In addition, some administrative matters (such as processing QTAC, State Public Service and TAFE application forms), which would otherwise have been handled by the Principal, Deputy Principal or office staff, are handled in many schools by the GO. Some may regard these as unworthy of a GOs time, but they provide points of contact with students at an important decision-making stage.

For the record, it should perhaps also be stated that GOs have undertaken a number of administrative tasks (dating not doubt from the era where schools did not have State Public Service clerks). For example, the GO at one large Brisbane school was responsible for transcribing the results of end-of-semester results onto student record cards.

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7.0 Accommodation, equipment and travel – some comments

The history of bureaucracies is littered with examples of inefficiencies being investigated and tolerated in the name of economy. Not unexpectedly, guidance officers suffered because of lack of forethought and flexibility.

Accommodation (or the lack of it) was an official gripe as early as 1954, when the Principal Research and Guidance Officer stated that (a) accommodation for the Research Officer and his assistant was “Urgently required”, (b) “As many as four guidance officers have had to interview parents or children in the one room at the one time – a highly unsatisfactory situation for all concerned” (p 2), and (c) there was “Embarrassing congestion” in the December-March period (when, among other things, parents and their students from outside Brisbane would make appointments and Commonwealth Scholars would have to be advised).

It seems incredible that, in a wholly-Government-owned group of buildings comprising the Central Technical College, State Commercial High School, Domestic Science High School, several departments of the University of Queensland and Research and Guidance Branch, congestion of any sort – embarrassing or otherwise – should occur at a time of the year when space was available in adjacent buildings.

Accommodation was also complained about in the 1955 Report, but this time it included what was available in schools. In some, “A table and two chairs placed on a verandah constitute the only space available” (p1), and a plea was made for a “special services room in schools of reasonable size” (p2).

Minor improvements in accommodation were effected periodically, but the situation in 1960 was still “most inadequate” in December and January when almost 100 people per day were interviewed in accommodation which generally “offers no semblance of privacy “and in which the comments of many parents interviewed in such conditions have become most embarrassing”(p5). The situation eased when in 1961, the Research Section moved to the Treasury Building.

When at last a regional guidance office was opened in Townsville in 1966, it was in “the Technical College (which) was the only Government building in Townsville with vacant rooms” (p19), and – not surprisingly - the accommodation was not satisfactory “because of overcrowding”. After a full year in this accommodation, however, it was found to be unsatisfactory on climatic grounds. The point was made in the 1967 report (and subsequently) that the room used for testing and interviewing (one other room was available and was used for administration) “can comfortably be occupied after midday only in the winter months” (p19). One wonders to what extent the erection of external louvres would have stretched the State budget.

The powers-that-be were not lavish, either, in the supply of equipment. In the 1962 report, the need for the Branch to have its very own Gestetner duplicating machine was first raised. (The Branch had been using the equipment of the State Commercial High School). In November 1965 they got one and the need was demonstrated by the fact that in its first 13 months of operation, more than 250,000 pieces of paper passed through it.

That something so relatively inexpensive as a duplicating machine should rate a mention in an annual report is humorous enough, looking back nearly 20 years. Even better is mention in the 1958

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report that the Director General has approved plans for the acquisition of a cabinet for the storage of occupational information.

Mode of travel to distant schools was a great consumer of time. From the first really long-distance guidance trip (to Townsville and Charters Towers) in 1957 to the cessation of country trips undertaken by Brisbane-based officers in 1981, travel by train was the rule – because the railways were Government-owned and it therefore cost nothing to transport teams of guidance officers.

In terms of economy of time, it would have been better to fly officers to, say, Cairns, Rockhampton, Mt Isa, Longreach and Charleville and travel down towards the coast by train, stopping at schools on the way. Given that officers typically spent 10 weeks on country trips in the 1960s, the time involved in train travel both out and back could hardly be regarded as the policy of a benevolent employer.

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8.0 The Future - some thoughts

Delving into one’s past isn’t a lot of use unless it can give pointers to the future. Some of the following suggestions arise from a reading of past events, the rest arise from the author’s experiences and (let’s be honest) prejudices.

1. Allocate staff to country areas on at least as generous a scale as to metropolitan regions. Part of the problem is that most guidance staff want to come to Brisbane, or at least to the coast, for all sorts of reasons. Just having an equitable staffing scale is not enough; country students deserve stability and a continuity of service just as much as their city cousins. Incentives to keep guidance officers in country areas for reasonable periods are obviously needed.

2. Investigate the implications to the Branch of the State government recently announced policy on permanent part-time work. There must be many ex-guidance officers who would welcome an opportunity to work two, three or four days a week. There are 56 schools in Queensland with enrolments of more than 1000, and for many, if not all of these, the provision of one full-time and one part-time GO would be desirable.

3. Locate offices (other than those in school) where they can be easily identified and near public transport. (A high proportion of people who need to visit a guidance office are new to the area).

4. Locate offices away from Special Education Units – there is still a stigma, and the association tends to confuse people about the role of a GO.

5. Provide decent accommodation to GOs in schools. Students and parents are not likely to want to come to a room in which to display pamphlets, etc, is necessarily untidy, which gets direct sunlight in summer and none at all in winter, and which. Because of ill-fitting glass louvres, is draughty as well. Clients are not likely to feel comfortable about revealing information about themselves in a room in which they can be seen by passing student and staff traffic, and in which they can hear student and teacher talk in the adjacent classroom, especially when the conversation is interrupted by bodies of furniture colliding with the separating partition.

6. The location of the guidance officer within the school needs to be looked at – not close enough to the offices of the Principal, Deputy Principal or Senior Mistress to be identified with them, but close enough for easy consultation when necessary and close to school records to which the GO might need access; and positioned so that the students don’t have to make a special or conspicuous effort to get there.

7. Conduct a publicity campaign about what guidance officers do, including radio. How many parents listen to talk-back and ‘chat’ shows on radio? How many people pay more attention to what they hear rather than what they read – especially if it comes from a trusted voice? How many parents don’t know what a GO does despite the current good efforts of schools? The sorts of parents we need to reach are those who don’t come to meetings at schools and who don’t read what comes home from school. There is also a need to educate teachers and medical practitioners in the GO role.

8. Co-ordinate the content of printed and other information supplied to schools. We have gone from a dearth of information to almost an embarrassing over-supply, with several agencies (both Commonwealth and State) providing input. The advent of the Queensland Career Information Index

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(QCII) has helped enormously in this respect, but there is still a problem of overlap (and therefore waste) and more importantly, inconsistency – some information is out of date, sometimes inexcusably so.

9. Involve guidance officers a good deal more in the production of audio and/or visual material. A great deal of money is now being spent on material designed to inform or to help in decision-making, but a lot of it is wasted because the production is done by people who don’t know much about their target audience. Guidance officers do, and they should be involved at all stages of production – from concept to editing.

10. Ensure that all officers are constantly updated and, if necessary, retrained. How many of us, for example, are as familiar as we need to be with all aspects of the training undertaken by this year’s trainees – or even last year’s or those of five years ago?

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References

Berkeley, G. F. Dinner address – Conference of District Guidance officers, 5 March 1984.

Brown, W. J. Personal communication, 1984.

Knudsen, P.A. Personal communication, 1984.

Queensland Department of Education. Annual Reports of the Principal Research and Guidance Officer, 1949 to 1963.

Queensland Department of Education. Annual Reports of the Principal Guidance Officer, 1964-1968.

Queensland Department of Education. Annual Reports of the Staff Inspector (Guidance and Special Education), 1969 to 1970.

Queensland Department of Education. Education office Gazette, 1979 to 1982.

Queensland Parliament. Annual Reports of the Minister for Education, 1971-1982.

Quest. “We talk to Mr Black on the eve of his retirement”. Quest No 10, May 1972, pp 8-10.

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Appendices

Appendix 1: Sequence of Guidance Expansion Across Queensland

Year Office Location Person1966 RGO** Townsville Ifil Buhot

RGO Toowoomba Hilton Smekel1967 RGO Rockhampton Kev Dow1970 G Office Rockhampton Jean Millikin

Sec Teach Toowoomba Blake LeonardG Office Southport Ian LynaghRGO Maryborough Sid Parry

1972 RGO B North Chermside Tom RobertsonG Office Bundaberg Brendan O’BrienG Office Cairns Don BarringhausG Office Mackay Bob Knowles

1973 RGO B South Mt Gravatt Gil CourtRGO Ipswich Leo CuskellyG Office Mt Isa Gil CourtG Office Gympie Peter EverestG Office Nambour Peter Rawlins

1975 DGO Cairns Don BarringhausDGO Mackay Bob KnowlesDGO Southport Ray OverlandG Office Kingaroy Blake LeonardG Office Kenmore Mick Collins

1976 G Office Charters Towers?G Office RomaDGO Bundaberg Neil WexDGO Gympie Peter EverestDGO Nambour Cliffe Ree

1977 DGO ClontarfDGO Wynnum Warren CowanG Office Gladstone John MeldrumG Office Warwick

1978 DGO Roma Bill RobertsonDGO Mt Isa Tony BougoureG Office DalbyG Office Bowen

1979 DGO Gatton John LedezDGO Longreach Bill Small

1980 G Office BlackwaterDGO Ipswich Bill Robertson

1981 RSEGOall changed+ Longreach Cliffe ReeRoma Geoff Simpson

DGO Acacia RidgeDGO AthertonG Office Emerald

1984 9 RSEGOs 26 DGOs+ G Office(3 regions were added ; Sunshine Coast & GC & PENN

** The grey shading means the names and positions have been verified by a number of people

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Appendix 2: Location of Guidance Offices in Queensland in 1984.

(In the authors original notes these were presented as locations on an actual map of Queensland)

Regional Guidance Offices1. Townsville Ifil buhot2. Longreach Cliff Ree3. Rockhampton Roger Marks4. Maryborough Don Barringhaus5. Roma Steve Miller6. Toowoomba Hilton Smekel7. Ipswich Barry Dent8. Chermside Leo Cuskelly9. Mt Gravatt Brendan O’Brien

District Guidance Offices1. Cairns Ross Clarke2. Atherton Ron Collier3. Mt Isa Bill Sultman4. Bowen Peter Mathams5. Mackay Tony McDonald6. Gladstone John Meldrum7. Bundaberg Neil Wex8. Gympie Richard Cameron9. Kingaroy Peter Kennedy10. Nambour Peter Rawlins11. Gatton John Ledez12. Clontarf Tony Borgoure13. Stafford Ian Crease14. Caboolture Bob Christie15. Gold Coast Ray Overland16. Wynnum Warren Cowan17. Woodridge Bob Knowles18. Kenmore Bill Robertson19. Acacia Ridge John Elich

Guidance Offices1. Innisfail Peter Williams2. Ayr3. Emerald Ray Ashford4. Charleville Alan Trent5. Caboolture6. Dalby7. Warwick Scott Young

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Appendix 3: Queensland State High Schools at which Guidance Officers are based (Alphabetical within Regions)

Brisbane North:Aspley, Banyo, Burnside, Caboolture, Caloundra, Clontarf, Craigslea, Dakabin, Everton Park, Ferny grove, Hendra, Kedron, Kelvin Grove, Maroochydore, Mitchelton, Morayfield, Nambour, Newmarket, Pine Rivers, Sandgate, The Gap, Wavell.

Brisbane South:Balmoral, Beaudesert, Beenleigh, Benowa, Brisbane, Camp Hill, Capalaba, Cavendish Road, Cleveland, Coorparoo, Holland Park, Keebra Park, Kingston, Loganlea, MacGregor, Mansfield, Merrimac, Miami, Mt Gravatt, Palm Beach-Currumbin, Rochedale, Shailer Park, Southport, Springwood, Woodridge, Wynnum, Wynnum North.

Brisbane West:Acacia Ridge, Bremer, Bundamba, Corinda, Inala, Indooroopilly, Ipswich, Kenmore, Lockyer, Milperra, Oxley, Richlands, Rosewood, Salisbury, Sunnybank, Toowong, Yeronga.

Central:Biloela, Blackwater, Gladstone, Glenmore, Mackay, Mackay North, Moranbah, North Rockhampton, Rockhampton, Sarina.

Darling Downs:Centenary heights, Harristown, Toowoomba, Warwick.

Northern:Atherton, Ayr, Bowen, Cairns, Gordonvale, Heatley, Ingham, Innisfail, Kirwan, Mareeba, Pimlico, Smithfield, Townsville, Trinity Bay.

North-Western:Kalkadoon, Longreach, Mt Isa

South-Western:Charleville, Chinchilla, Dalby, Roma.

Wide Bay: Bundaberg, Gympie, Hervey Bay, Kepnock, Kingaroy, Maryborough, Noosa District.

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Appendix 4: List of Key Head Office Personnel 1960s -1990s

Year Director Staff Inspect/ADSS

PrincipalGuidanceOfficer

SGOPrimary

SGO Special

SGOSecond

Training Officer Primary

Training Officer Secondary

Informat Officer

1949 Bill WoodP R&G Of

Bill Brown

Bill Wood John Damm Norm Hart

Bill Brown

1968 Bill Wood Bill Brown

Margaret Outridge

Sid Cliffe John Eckersley

Albert Dorfield


MargaretOutridge


Albert Dorfield


Margaret Outridge


AlanStewart

1971 BillWood

Bill Brown

Margaret Outridge


AlanStewart

1972 GeorgeBerkeley

Bill Brown

Margaret Outridge


Ian Smith Ian Lynagh

1973 GeorgeBerkeley

Bill Brown

Margaret Outridge


Ian Smith Ian Lynagh John Low

1974 GeorgeBerkeley

Bill Brown

Margaret Outridge


Ian Smith Darryl Driver John Low

1975 GeorgeBerkeley

Bill Brown

Margaret Outridge


Ian Smith Daryl Driver John Low

1976 GeorgeBerkeley

Bill Brown

Margaret Outridge


Ian Smith/Jeff Simpson

Paul Knudsen John Low

1977 GeorgeBerkeley

Bill Brown

Margaret Outridge


Ian Smith Paul Knudsen John Low

1978 Pat Briody Bill Brown

Margaret Outridge



1979 Pat Briody Margaret Outridge

Sid Parry Sid Cliffe John Eckersley


1980 Pat Briody Margaret Outridge

Sid Parry Sid Cliffe John Eckersley


1981 Gerald Ashby

Sid Parry Ian Smith Sid Cliffe John Eckersley

Graeme Davies Paul Knudsen John Low

1982 Gerald Ashby

Sid Parry Ian Smith Sid Cliffe Paul Knudsen

Graeme Davies John Elich John Carroll

1983 Denis Long Sid Parry Ian Smith Sid Cliffe Paul Knudsen

Graeme Davies Col McCowan John Carroll

1984 Denis Long Sid Parry Ian Smith Sid Cliffe Paul Knudsen

Graeme DaviesLyn Watts

Col McCowanKit Cameron

John Carroll

1985 TomRobertson

Sid Parry Ian Smith Sid Cliffe/ Sid Cliffe Paul Knudsen


Col McCowanKit Cameron

John Carroll

1986 Tom Robertson

Sid Parry Ian Smith Sid Cliffe/ Sid Cliffe Paul Knudsen


Col McCowanLyn Thiele

John Carroll

1987 Tom Robertson

Sid Parry Ian Smith GeoffSimpson

Sid Cliffe Paul Knudsen

Richard CameronChris Butler Smith

Col McCowanLyn Thiele

John CarrollTony Lyons

1988 KenRobertson

Sid Parry Ian Smith Graeme Davies

Sid Cliffe Col McCowan


Lyn ThieleMary McMahon

Greg Kiorgaard

1989 Ken Robertson

Sid Parry Ian Smith Sid Cliffe Col McCowan



Greg Kiorgaard

1990 Ken Robertson

Sid Parry Bill Robertson




Greg Kiorgaard

1991 RobynSullivan

Bill Robertson


Pam ClaytonPeter Jordan


Greg Kiorgaard

1992 RobynSullivan

Pam ClaytonRobyn Webber

Mary McMahonAnn Marie Boyle

Ros Lim

1993 RobynSullivan

Pam ClaytonPeter Jordan

Mary McMahonAnn Marie Boyle

Ros Lim

1994 RobynSullivan

Pam Clayton Ann Marie Boyle Ros Lim

Centre for Leaning and Adjustment Difficulties (CLAD ) John Holbeck 1987

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RGO / RSEGO1988)

1982 1984 1985 1987 1988

Townsville Ifil Buhot Ifil Buhot Ifil Buhot Ifil Buhot Ron CollierToowoomba Hilton Smekel Hilton Smekel Hilton Smekel Hilton Smekel John ElichRockhampton Steve Miller Roger Marks John Elich John Elich ?Maryborough Don Barringhau Don Barringhaus Don Barringhau Don Barringhaus Don BarringhausLongreach Cliff Ree Cliff Ree Peter Kennedy Peter Kennedy Ron CollierRoma Peter Everest Steve Miller Geoff Simpson Graeme Davies Ron KohlerIpswich ( BW) Barry Dent Barry Dent Cliff Ree Cliff Ree Cliff ReeMt Gravatt (BS) Brendan O’Brien Brendan O’Brien Barry Dent Barry Dent Barry DentChermside (BN Leo Cuskelly Leo Cuskelly Brendan O’Brien Brendan O’Brien Brendan O’BrienNambour (S C) Geoff SimpsonSouthport (GC) Peter KennedyCairns (Penn) Peter Everest

DISTRICT G OCairns Ross Clark Ross Clark Ross Clark Ross Clark Tom DunnAtherton Ron Collier Ron Collier Ron Collier Ron Collier Nello RacitiTownsville Darryl Kane Bill Sultman Darryl Kane Darryl Kane Darryl KaneThuringowa Ray AshfordBowen Peter Mathams Peter Mathams Peter Mathams Peter Mathams Scott YoungMackay Jim Renshaw Tony McDonald Tony McDonald Tony McDonald Tony McDonaldRockhampton Bill Sultman Ian Feeney Ian Feeney Doug Wyer Doug WyerGladstone John Meldrum John Meldrum John Meldrum John Meldrum John MeldrumBundaberg Neil Wex Neil Wex Neil Wex Neil Wex Neil WexMaryborough Graeme BurnsGympie Richard Camero Richard Cameron Richard Camero Richard Cameron Peter MathamsKingaroy Jim Seaton Peter Kennedy Jim Seaton Owen Cary Owen CaryMt Isa Bob Christie Bill Sultman Doug Wyer Ian Crease Graeme SpottiswoodToowoomba Mick Turnbull Mick Turnbull Mick Turnbull Mick Turnbull Mick TurnbullNambour Peter Rawlins Peter Rawlins Peter Rawlins Peter Rawlins Peter RawlinsRedcliffe Tony Borgoure Tony Borgoure Tony Borgoure Tony Borgoure Tony BorgoureStafford Blake Leonard Blake Leonard Blake Leonard Blake leonard Ian CreaseGeebung Peter Kennedy Bob Christie Bob Christie Bob Christie Bob ChristieMt Gravatt Dave Bassett (A Jim Renshaw Jim Renshaw Jim Renshaw Jim RenshawWynnum Warren Cowan Warren Cowan Warren Cowan Warren Cowan Warren CowanWoodridge Bob Knowles Bob Knowles Bob Knowles Bob Knowles Bob KnowlesSout’t/B’beach Ron Kohler Ron Kohler Ron Kohler Ron Kohler Col KeenanIpswich Bill Robertson Bill Robertson Jim Seaton Jim Seaton Jim SeatonKenmore Leo Kellar Leo Kellar Leo Kellar Leo Kellar Leo KellarAcacia Ridge John Elich John Elich Dave Bassett Dave Bassett Dave BassettGatton Des Hare John Ledez John Ledez Ian Feeney Ian FeeneyBrisbane Roger Marks Roger Marks Roger Marks Roger Marks Roger Marks

GUIDANCE OFFICESInnisfail Peter Williams Bryan LaurensThursday IsAyr Derek CroftEmerald Ray Ashford Ray AshfordCharleville Alan TrentMaryborough Bill Small Bill SmallCabooltureDalby Neil Cole Phillip HoultWarwick Lee Wells Lee WellsInala Doug Wyer Ian Houston Ian Houston

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