ABSTRACT
Background
School counselling accessibility has received increasing research attention. However, existing studies have predominantly explained accessibility from students’ individual help-seeking behaviours, with comparatively little attention paid to how schools’ organisational capacity shapes students’ opportunities to obtain counselling. This study examined students’ reported accessibility to school counselling services and explored the organisational conditions influencing accessibility in Vietnamese public high schools.
Methods
A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was employed. The quantitative phase involved a survey of 310 students from 10 public high schools in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, followed by semi-structured interviews with 10 students and 10 members of school counselling personnel. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Results
Students reported only moderate accessibility to school counselling services despite the availability of school counselling services. Accessibility varied across counselling domains, with career guidance and life skills counselling showing the highest accessibility. No gender differences and only limited grade-level differences were identified. Qualitative findings indicated that schools’ organisational capacity was an important factor shaping school counselling accessibility, particularly through the allocation of counselling responsibilities, professional competence, coordination among counselling personnel, resource availability and organisational priorities.
Conclusions
School counselling accessibility depends not only on students’ help-seeking behaviours but also on schools’ organisational capacity. Strengthening schools’ organisational capacity is essential for translating school counselling policies into equitable and accessible services.