Original title: "Double-line progress" to break the dilemma of counselor title promotion.
As the main force to carry out the ideological and political education of college students, college counselors shoulder the mission of the times of establishing morality and cultivating people. In order to strengthen the construction of the counselor team, the Ministry of Education issued the "Regulations on the Construction of the Counselor Team of Ordinary Colleges and Universities" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"), which proposes that the counselors of colleges and universities shall implement the dual leadership of the school and the college (department). The revised "Provisions" further points out that the "double-line" promotion requirements for full-time counselors should be implemented, and the professional construction of the counselor team should be promoted. The promulgation of the "Regulations" has effectively alleviated the dilemma that college counselors cannot be promoted and personnel are "unable to be retained", but due to the ambiguity of professional roles, the lack of assessment standards, and the limited development platform, counselors are still facing the practical dilemma of difficulty in promoting their titles.
Obstacles to the evaluation of counselors' titles still exist.
First of all, the professional role is blurred. The promotion of counselor titles is trapped by the dual identity of "teacher" and "manager", which leads to the lack of internal motivation and core competitiveness of their title promotion. Most counselors not only need to deal with student work such as "ideological and theoretical education and value guidance", "study style construction" and "mental health education and counseling", but also undertake professional work such as daily teaching and scientific research. According to a national questionnaire survey conducted in 2020 by the Counselor Work Research Association of Shandong University and the Office of the Ideological and Political Training Center, "in the context of the Ministry of Education's vigorous promotion of counselors' academic qualifications, nearly half of the counselors' academic qualifications are still at the undergraduate level or below. This means that college counselors may not only be entangled in the complicated work of students, but also lack the core competitiveness of teaching and scientific research ability due to low academic qualifications, so that their self-confidence and sense of effectiveness in title promotion will be reduced. It can be seen that although the dual identity provides a dual-track track for counselors, if they are not treated properly, they may also be transformed into "roadblocks" on the road to their upward development.
Secondly, the assessment standards are out of touch. The promotion of counselor titles is subject to the dual requirements of "soft power" and "hard indicators", resulting in a lack of clarity in the focus of their work. Affected by dual status, there are also "double requirements" for the indicators of counselors' promotion titles: in addition to the "soft power" such as years of student work, degree education, and work performance, ** publication and project hosting are also important "hard indicators". Therefore, in order to enhance their core competitiveness, some college counselors pay more attention to the output of scientific research achievements with greater distinction, which leads to a series of problems such as "emphasizing scientific research over students, emphasizing project approval over project completion, and emphasizing the quantity of achievements over the quality of achievements". The evaluation criteria for the promotion of "weightless" titles will not only increase the work pressure of counselors, but also cause many contradictions that do not match their main responsibilities, work characteristics and professional backgrounds, resulting in the reality of "taking care of one and losing the other".
Finally, the development platform is limited. The promotion of counselor titles faces the embarrassing situation of "changing every time is excellent" and "stagnating", which is not conducive to the formation of a dynamic and balanced flow mechanism for counselors in teaching, administration, scientific research and other positions. As the selection and employment unit of counselors, colleges and universities assume the responsibility of providing them with a platform for career development. However, compared with full-time teachers with clear positioning, the role of counselors is more ambiguous, which leads to many obstacles in the road to professional title promotion. As a result, counsellors who are able to meet the promotion criteria are more inclined to switch to full-time teachers in order to seek brighter career prospects. According to a 2018 survey by the Education Development Research Center of the Ministry of Education, "when asked whether they would remain in their posts when asked if they had the opportunity to transfer, 32. .6% said they would not remain as counselors, compared to 22One percent would say they would choose the profession again, and less than nine percent of full-time counsellors would like to do it for a long time. "The reality of seeing counsellors as a transition to career development or a springboard to the job search has seriously affected the professionalism and continuity of the workforce of this group.
To enhance competitiveness, refine rules and regulations to seek breakthroughs.
How to break through the practical dilemma of counselor title promotion?
First of all, anchor the dual role positioning, establish a multi-level and all-round post-service education service system, and enhance the core competitiveness of counselors. On the one hand, it gathers the joint efforts of "ministries, provinces, schools" and social education, actively improves the counselor training system, develops high-quality courses, and provides them with rich learning resources. At the same time, counselors are encouraged to upgrade their academic qualifications to consolidate their teaching and scientific research capabilities, and empower counselors to play the role of "teachers". On the other hand, experienced and sentimental experts, scholars and party and government cadres are invited to carry out special training for counselors, and impart relevant theories, knowledge and working methods unique to the position of counselors, so as to improve the students' work ability of counselors and increase the efficiency of their role as "managers".
Second, continue to improve and refine the rules and regulations for the promotion of professional titles, formulate assessment standards that are in line with the nature of counselors' work, and provide a scientific basis for their professional title promotion. On the one hand, we should uphold the principle of "soundness first, refinement secondary", and improve the diversity and pertinence of the evaluation criteria for the promotion of counselors. On this basis, counselors should be encouraged to produce academic results with the characteristics of "student work", break the "one-size-fits-all" practice of comparing the promotion standards of counselors and full-time teachers, and create more opportunities for their professional title promotion. On the other hand, on the basis of respecting the main responsibilities and work characteristics of counselors, a certain degree of policy preference should be given to them. For example, the proportion of students' work and scientific research achievements in the assessment criteria should be reasonably delineated, the requirements for scientific research achievements should be moderately reduced, and the focus should be placed on the assessment of the work effectiveness of counselors, so as to reduce the negative emotions of "lack of heart" in the process of title promotion.
Finally, optimize the development platform, broaden the in-depth channel for professional title promotion, and create a broader career development path for counselors. In terms of horizontality, colleges and universities should set up a professional "counselor work team" based on their own advantages, guide team members to support each other, give full play to the team advantages of "1+1>2", and provide counselors with a sense of professional belonging and identity. Colleges and universities should also provide special career plans for counselors, effectively streamline the categories of counselors' work, and avoid "grabbing eyebrows and mustaches". In terms of verticality, colleges and universities should draw on the existing advanced experience, based on their own development status, formulate a professional grading system for counselors covering multiple ranks and titles, draw a clear promotion path for them, and strive to break the "ceiling" of counselor promotion. In short, colleges and universities should deeply understand and grasp the core keyword of "double line", and on the basis of following the principles of "one school, one discussion" and "double line going hand in hand", strengthen the team building of counselors, improve the assessment and evaluation methods, and ensure that counselors "have conditions for work, a platform for officers, guaranteed treatment, and space for development".
Zhu Wenhui and Xu Jiamei are professors of the Faculty of Education of Northeast Normal University and doctoral students of the Faculty of Education of Northeast Normal University
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