Encouraging and Discouraging Factors for Taking Educational Counseling as a Career in the West Bank Government Schools in Palestine

This study aimed at identifying the encouraging and discouraging factors for taking educational counseling as a career in the West Bank Government schools in Palestine. Given the importance of these factors in the development of the counseling profession better, as a recent one in Palestine, the Ministry of Education began employment of educational counselors in 1996. To identify these factors, the researcher investigated four dimensions: economic, social, professional and personal. He also investigated whether these factors differed according to the following variables: sex, experience, specialization and governorate. The population of the study comprised all counselors working in the Palestinian National Authority's public schools in the West Bank governorates. Their total number was 227. However, 217 counselors responded; therefore, they were considered the study population. The researcher used two questionnaires. In his design of both of them, he depended 011 a questionnaire pertinent to encouraging and discouraging factors for taking teachers as a career (developed by Salah Yaseen), The researcher made the necessary changes to adapt it to the nature of working ill counseling. The researcher also made use of Al- hattab and Al-Fars study of counselor's job satisfaction. To check the questionnaires' validity and reliability, the researcher presented them to referees and used Kronbach Alpha for internal consistency. The total validity coefficient for the encouraging factors came to 0.87 where as for the discouraging factors, it was 0.82. the two questionnaires consisted of 67 items distributed among the study domains: 32 items related to encouraging factors and 35 items related to the discouraging factors. To come up with the conclusions, the researcher used the arithmetic means, standard of deviations and percentages. Findings 1. It was found that the professional dimension had received the first rank among the domains of encouraging factors for taking counseling as a career. Percentage (response was 73.6% Personal dimension came second (68.6%), followed by the soci. dimension (67 .2%), and the last was the economic factor. Degree of encouragers was low (56.6%). 2. It was also found, from the factors of the study, pertinent to the ids discouraging factors, that the economic dimension had ranked first in terms of discouraging. Percentage or response was 56.40/0. Professional dimension came second(530/o). The percentages I'm . the discouraging factors, among the dimensions, I were close and the degree or discouraging factors was low. The total percentages far the discouraging factors were (52.8%). The study findings also revealed that the encouraging and the discouraging factors, for taking educational counseling as a career, differed according to the following variables. I. The results revealed an effect of sex Oil both the encouraging and the discouraging factors for taking counseling as a career. However, the encouraging factors, among males, were higher than among females I Moreover, the discouraging factors among males were higher than among females. 2. It was also found that experience had an obvious effect on the encouraging discouraging factors. It was found that the more years of experience one had, the encouraging factors one had for taking counseling as a profession. 3. The academic specialization had an effect on the encouraging and discouraging factors On the encouraging factors, the educational counselors in other majors, had a hig degree of encouragement followed by social work major. Psychology majors receive! the lowest degree of encouragement. On the other hand, psychology and psychological; counseling majors received the lowest degree of encouragement. Other majors receive the highest degree of encouragement followed by social work majors. 4. The governorate variable had also an obvious effect on both the encouraging and the discouraging factors, Pertaining to the encouraging factors, Tulkarm, Qalqilya Jerusalem, including its suburbs, and Jericho received the highest degrees encouragement. Concerning the discouraging factors, Nablus and Salfit recorded the highest degree ( discouragement while Jericho, Tulkann, Qalqilya and Jerusalem, including its suburb got the lowest degrees of discouragement.