Part Two
Guidance Services: Concept and Importance
CONTENTS
• Objectives
• Introduction
• 4.1 Concept of Guidance Services
• 4.2 Types of Guidance Services
• 4.3 Importance of Guidance Services
• 4.4 Agencies of Guidance at Different Levels
Objectives
• After reading this unit students will be able
to:
Discuss concept of guidance services
Explain the types of guidance services
Describe the importance of guidance services
Explain the agencies of guidance at different
levels
Introduction
Students of the present day are faced with a number of problems during the
various styles of school life. These problems may be related to personal, behavioural,
educational or vocational or personality factors. Enabling students to overcome these
problems and become self-reliant in future is one of the major aims of the guidance
programme. However, one is also aware that the implementation of guidance
programme in the prevailing schools is hardly noticeable. This situation still persists,
inspite of various recommendations been made by the government since the last few
decades. One of the likely causes for the non-implementation of this programme is
largely due to the lack of adequate knowledge among the required or concerned
staff regarding the planning and organization of the guidance programme in schools.
This part deals with the various services involved in a guidance programme and
the functions performed by each of these services. Subsequently a brief is made on
the planning and organisation of guidance programme in the schools. This is finally
followed by a description of various steps involved to evaluate the guidance
programme.
Concept of Guidance Services
• A school guidance service constitutes a cluster of activities which enable
the students to overcome their educational, vocational, personal or social
problems that they face during the different phases of development. It
forms as an integral part of school education and is non-instructional in
nature.
• A guidance programme constitutes of various services. Guidance service
as defined by Smith (1957) is as follows :
“The guidance process consists of a group of services to individuals to
assist them in securing the knowledge and skills needed in making
adequate choices, plans and interpretations essential to satisfactory
adjustments in a variety of areas”.
Basic Guidance Services
1. Orientation Service
2. Individual Inventory Service
3. Occupational Information Service
4. Counseling Service
5. Placement Service
Orientation Service
• It is always advisable to begin any educational course or programme with
an orientation activity.
• Some of the objectives of the orientation service are :
1. develop awareness regarding the rules and regulations, functioning
patterns and available infrastructural and physical facilities in the school
or institution or work place.
2. acquaint the students with the concerned staff and also the student body.
3. provide opportunities for the staff members and student body to interact
with the new comers.
4. develop favourable attitudes among the students both towards the
school and the staff.
Orientation Activities
1. Pre-admission Orientation : This is one of the, service which is lacking in our schools. It helps to acquaint
students with the Institution, its tradition, purpose, its rules and regulations, curricula, extra curricular,
activities, the staff and the student body.
• Activities : Some of the suggested activities could be :
a. visit to schools along with the staff or parents;
b. arranging conferences and talks with the parents, since they also play a major role;
c. issuing handbooks or pamphlets giving information about the school, its courses and activities;
and
d. arranging exhibitions to expose them to the activities that students are undertaking.
2. Post-admission Orientation : This service can be provided throughout the year. It helps the teacher in
determining the abilities of students and there by adopt their teaching styles and activities according to
the student needs.
• Activities
a. Conducting various games like “get-acquainted” games where the student can talk about
themselves, such as their interest, hobbies, etc.
b. Arranging group activities, where in the students are provided opportunites to interact witheach
other and exhibit their abilities.
Individual Inventory Service
• Objectives of individual inventory service
1. to identify the various abilities of the students by administration of
various tests; and
2. maintain various records concerned to each students and to update
them periodically.
• The type of data generally collected are personal, family data,
psychological data, achievement, health data, etc. This obtained data
helps a counselor and career teacher in their counseling process and
career guidance programme respectively.
Methods of Collecting Information
1. Observation
a. Anecdotal records
b. Rating scales
2. Self-Reports
3. Cumulative Record
4. Case Study
Occupational Information Service
• This is a service which can be provided by the integrated effort of a
teacher, counselor and a career teacher. The main objective of the
service is to provide the students information about the educational
opportunities in various levels, related training programmes
conducted and occupations available.
• This helps the students to be aware of the options open to him with
respect to a particular course or subject in any of the above areas.
Further the student is also exposed to the world of work, nature and
pattern of work and the skills required for performing the work.
The objectives of information service are to :
i. create an awareness of the necessary occupational and educational information;
ii. develop a broad and realistic view of the various educational, training and
occupational opportunities; and
iii. help the student obtain and interpret the information he/she needs in making
specific plans for his/her future career.
• This service needs to be more emphasized at the secondary and higher, secondary
levels. The various aspects informed to the students through this service are about
the job or occupation positions, duties performed, educational and professional
requirements, conditions of work, rewards offered, promotional avenues, etc. Such
information are collected and disseminated by the guidance worker in the form of
career talks, conferences, etc.
Counseling Service
• This service is considered to as be the most fundamental part of the guidance process. The
purpose of it is to assist the students in the process of all round development. It provides an
opportunity to the individual to discuss their plans and problems with a professional or
counselor in a conducive environment. The process ultimately makes a person capable of self-
directed and self-sufficient.
• This service can be practised only by a counselor. However, some assistance can also be
provided by the teacher in a school. This is because a teacher is one who spends maximum
time working with the students in the classroom and when comes across any student who
displays deviant behaviours, he/she can always refer the case to a school counselor. Further,
observations made and recorded by the teacher about the certain students can help the
counselor in the counseling process. The counseling service includes individual counseling
and group counseling.
• It must be noted that counseling is not only restricted to normal students but to any student
who is either retarded or handicapped.
Placement Service
• The placement service makes an effort to help those students, secure employment, who
are either in school or those after they leave school. The school provides certain facilities
through which the employment needs of the students are met either through special
placement personnel or by integration services of the other guidance personnel. It is an
activity which requires the co-operation of the principal, counselor, teacher, career
master, state employment agencies, private agencies and also the community. This
service is more significant for the students at the secondary and higher secondary level.
The placement service here is concerned for those :
i. Who withdraw from the formal education before they complete school (drop-outs).
ii. Who prefer part time work while going to school or may be during the vacation or
after school hours or during weekends.
iii. Who terminate formal education after higher secondary level.
Follow-up Service
• Purpose of this Service
i. It draws upon information from the former students regarding the extent of
influence or effectiveness of the school guidance programme.
ii. Based on the feedback obtained, make relevant changes in the school
guidance programme.
• The three steps that are dealt in a follow-up programme are :
i. A systematic gathering of data from the alumni.
ii. Interpretation and presentation of that data to all the concerned personnel,
i.e. student, parent and community.
iii. Suggest a modified framework of educational programme based on the
findings made.
Organizing Guidance Services at School
and
College Level
• In order to organize school guidance services, certain principles
should essentially be followed.
• Jones has insisted not to separate guidance from the normal school
life. According to him, this can be focused in some specific part of the
subject. It cannot be restricted to the office of the counselor or a
headmaster. Jones has assigned the responsibility of providing
guidance to every teacher. In this exercise, co-operation of all it
desirable. Hence, for organizing school guidance service, application
of certain principles is must.
General Considerations in the Organization and Conduct of Guidance:
• Humphry and Traxler, in their book entitled ‘Guidance Services; have mentioned
some basic things for organizing school guidance service, which are as follows :
1. Defining the Objectives Clearly: The objectives of entire guidance programme
should be clearly defined at the time of organizing school guidance service.
While defining these objectives, the school ideals and needs of the pupils must
be kept in mind.
2. Defining the Tasks: All the activities are to be performed through the guidance
programme must be enlisted before hand.
3. Allocation of Duties: The success of the guidance programme depends upon the
allocation of duties to the persons involved in this job in advance so that every
person should have a clear idea what he is to perform. The allocation of these
duties should be according to theabilities of the persons of workers.
4. Defining the Powers: The workers should be made aware of their powers just like their
duties.
5. Defining the Relations: The relations of employees working in the guidance programme,
whether full-time or part-time, must be defined clearly. Inspite of this, their relations
should be defined in accordance with their guidance responsibilities with other
employees.
6. Nature of Guidance Organization: It is proper to decide about the structure of school
guidance service prior to its beginning, such as number of its employees, finance, size etc.
he basis of its composition should be the objectives of the institute, financial resources
and the number of students in the school etc.
7. Simplicity: The organization of school guidance service should not be of complicated
nature. The framework of its structure should remain simple as far it is possible, because
every person will start taking interest in such a simple framework of the organizaton.
Forms of Organization of Guidance
Services
• The following can be the forms of organization of guidance services :
1. The Centralised Form : The guidance work should be performed by
the experts because the teachers are not trained in this guidance
job.
• The teachers cannot provide properly any assistance to the pupils
who need the same to solve their problems. The central form of
the guidance programme means conducting and controlling most
of the guidance activities from the central guidance office. All the
teachers also perform their duties according to the supervision of
central Guidance Bureau and itsorders.
2. Decentralized Form : The decentralized form of the guidance means
providing guidance as a responsibility of the teachers. The teacher
remains in close contact with the pupils of his class. He understands
the needs and problems properly of his pupils. Due to this reason
the teacher can help the pupils in a better way. Some people also
believe that if a separate department is opened for guidance in the
school, the teacher will not show any interest in guidance work and
he will not consider guidance as his responsibility. Hence, it would
be better if the responsibility of guidance work in schools lies with
the teachers.
3. Mixed Form : The centralised and decentralized form of the
guidance have their own merits and demerits. No form of guidance
is practically possible independently. Hence, some experts express
their views that the form of guidance programme should be mixed
one. The mixed form means-guidance provided by the teachers and
experts collectively. Crow and Crow also said, supporting the mixed
form, that the school guidance programme includes the
coordinated services of administrators, teachers, exployees and
social institutions etc. There are certain jobs in guidance
programme which the teachers can do better, such as, collection of
informations related to the pupils.
Exercises
1. Describe and chart the guidance organization in the school in which
your are working or in any other school familiar to you. Include the
guidance duties of the counselor, the librarian, and teachers. Tell what
provision is made for counseling, individual inventory service,
gathering and disseminating occupational information, educational
and vocational placement, and research.
2. Outline an ideal guidance program for the school in which you work or
some other school with which you are familiar. Take into the account
the school personnel presently working, the financial support
possible, community desires as you perceive them and the public and
private agencies available to help with guidance activities.
