Group Counseling Tutorials at Open University of Cyprus: Health Care Management Students’ opinions

Abstract

Even though our University holds Group Counseling Tutorials (GCT) since its first day, up to now there hasn’t been any research on how GCTs contribute to the educational process. Group Counseling Tutorials and, particularly, their content and the educational techniques utilized the role of the counseling professor and the emotional states of the students are the
three subjects studied in this research. The achievement of this goal a specially-designed questionnaire was used, so as to record the organizational type, the techniques used in a GCT, the role of the counseling professor, as well as the students’ perceived levels of stress.
Out of 181 students participating in the research, 159 are part of the “Healthcare Management” Programme. Τhe educational needs of the students are covered in a large degree during the GCTs. However, some of the students believe that the content of the GCTs is structured according to their experiences while others state that GCT content is based on preexisting knowledge. Most of the participants believe that the counseling professors are guides, catalysts, friends, masters of their field, spirit uplifters, intermediators and partners.
At the same time, some of the participants wish, mainly, to have the counseling professor as a partner and guide. Mastery of field, meaning the counseling professor teaching conventionally and imparting knowledge, is rated last. Essentially, the research findings and the contextual statistical analyses show that, in a great degree, the participants’ needs and demands are met and that the theoretical frame of distance learning for the education of adults is fully deployed.