What school counsellors say students need, and where social work fits in

Why it matters

Students do not leave their problems at the school gate. Bullying, family difficulties, and social isolation affect learning, and school counselors are often the first to notice. In Türkiye, school social work exists in law and in debate but has not yet taken root in schools. Until now, research had rarely asked counselors themselves what they think it could add.

What the researchers did

Mehmet Gedik and Sena Öksüz Poplata (Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University) and Yavuz Emrah Demir (Ministry of National Education) interviewed 20 school counsellors in December 2022. The counsellors worked in 15 primary and middle schools in the Tuzla district of Istanbul. Each was asked:

• what problems students bring to them;
• how they currently respond;
• what role a school social worker could play.

What they found

• Students’ needs go beyond the individual. Counselors described emotional difficulties, peer bullying (the most common behavioral problem), and trouble with friendships and communication. These problems are often tied to life at home and in the neighborhood.
• Families are the missing link. The most frequent obstacles were low parental involvement and families that did not attend school meetings or parent training. When asked how to strengthen ties between school, family, and community, most counselors pointed to parent education.
• Counsellors are open to social work, but not all know it well. Eight of the 20 said they knew the field well, six knew it partly, and six did not know it. Asked which professionals they would most like to work with, they named social workers more often than any other group.
• The roles they described:
  • visiting homes and assessing a student’s family and social environment;
  • linking families to social services;
  • reporting risks to the right authorities;
  • freeing counsellors to spend more time with students.

What it means

The authors argue that school social work should complement school counseling, not replace it. Hiring social workers is not enough on its own. Schools would also need:

• clear roles and boundaries between the two professions;
• agreed referral pathways;
• working links with health, social services, and child protection.

They recommend pilot programs in different kinds of schools and regions before any national roll-out.

The study is small and based in one district, and it reflects counselors’ views rather than measured outcomes. Its value is in giving practitioners a voice in a debate usually held among policymakers.

Read the article

Gedik, M., Öksüz Poplata, S., & Demir, Y. E. (2026). Students’ Multidimensional Needs and School Social Work: A Qualitative Study. Journal of Social Solutions, 1, e0001.
https://mjournals.org/journal/social-solutions/article/2026.0001