Guidance
is an umbrella term covering many services provided to the individual(s) to
help him deal effectively with his needs and problems of life. The guidance
services therefore are the formalized actions taken by the school or other agencies
to make guidance operational and available to students and other needing
guidance.
In most
of our schools, guidance services are organized to help student to understand
themselves, that is for students to have a better knowledge of themselves, know
their likes, dislikes, abilities, inability. The aim is to help them become
more capable in making and executing informed and wise decisions with regards
to their educational, vocational and personal social needs.
One of
the major reasons for this guidance services is due to the problem of
transition from education to employment. Therefore it is important to
understand whether and how guidance services are able to guarantee support to
students, providing a range of guidance services instrumental in the
construction of pathway and effective choices.
Guidance
is made up of many services, these include:
a. orientation
service
b. counseling
service
c. information
service
d. appraisal
services
e. follow-up
service
f. personal
social guidance service
h. educational
guidance service
i. planning
and replacement
j. referral
service
It is
good to note that these services do compliment one another
Orientation
service
This
orientation service is a tool for lifelong learning, supporting the person in the
act of building his or her own life project, a project that can be developed
despite many difficulties, but at the same time can be continuously disputed by
the new opportunities that life presents.
It is
to acquaint new student teachers, youth corpers and any new employees to their
new environment. This service helps individuals to adjust well in their new
environment.
It
provides skills, rules, regulations, norms and values guiding the
establishments it also helps for the emotional balance and stability of the
individual in his new place, especially if it is provided during the transition
period from one school to another, one class to another or from school to work
place to another.
A tour
of the new environment is necessary in orientation to familiarize the new
entrants with important and strategic features in the new environment.
In
schools or industries for instance, the heads of different departments could
give short but concise talks about their departments.
Information
service
Information service is designed to provide students and individuals who
need guidance service with a greater knowledge of educational, vocational and
social opportunities in the locality or beyond so that they may make better
informed choices and decision in an increasing complex society.
Zerran
and Riccio (1962) see information service as the assistance given to a student
to understand, accept and utilize his abilities, aptitude, interests and
attitudinal patterns in relation to his aspiration.
Information
given to students should cover the following areas. Occupational, educational
and personal social information .
An
effective counselor should obtain and give out information that will help
students in thinking through important personal issues with which they are
confronted. Help the students become self-regulatory.
Counseling service
Counseling
is a service by which one individual rendered to another to grow into
integrated harmonious personalities.
It is
often regarded as the bed rock of any guidance programme. It helps the client
or the trouble individual to overcome obstacles to his growth and helps him in
achieving maximum development of his personal resource through a special
interaction with counselor.
The
ultimate goal of counseling is to help the individual resolve personal
conflicts and become more self directive.
The
three counseling services to consider are;
v Vocational counseling
v Academic counseling and
v Personal counseling
Appraisal
service is designed to collect, analyze, and use and variety of objective and
subjective personal, psychological and social data about each pupil for the
purpose of better understanding of pupils as well as assisting them to
understand themselves.
When
the pupils understand themselves in terms of their potentialities weaknesses,
strengths they can make rational decision and choices.
The
data needed for the appraisal (evaluation) of the student cover his family
background, mental abilities, interests, and social skills.
This
information is housed or stored in the student’s cumulative folders or pupils
inventory.
Referral Service
Referral
service is the act of directing or sending and counselee to another person
(professional) who can help resolve his difficulty condition better.
This is
done when the counselee’s problem is beyond the competence of the counselor. These
kinds of referral could be made to counselors, Nurse, Doctors Dentists, Police,
Opticians and Parents.
Planning and replacement Service
These
are services provided by the counselor or teacher counselor in facilitating the
development of the students by assisting them in selecting and making use of
all available opportunities within their environment.
In
placement service, students are informed through vocational guidance about jobs
and job opportunities in their environment. In the school placement, the
students are assisted in solving their educational vocational and
personal-social problems by sleeting appropriate curricular and core curricular
activities.
Follow-up Service
It is
the responsibility of the counselor or teachers to follow up these students who
had counseling relationship with him to know how they are faring or coping in
the school or after school life. Follow-up service offers the opportunity of
monitoring individuals. This will help to obtain regular progress reports on
their performance and how well adjusted or not they are in their place of work
or in academics.
Follow-up
service also will help to discover areas of deficiencies on the part of the
client.
Follow
up service is therefore a necessary part of the counseling process which the
counselor must engage in the purpose of population education is to enable
students to explore personal values, attitude and beliefs as well as develop
their abilities to choose freely from a rational course of action.
Personal-Social Guidance Service
Personal-social guidance service is concerns with the
kinds of help given to individual to get along or maintain cordial
interpersonal relationships with others. The task of the school counselor is to
furnish the individual with such information that would help him in his
personal adjustment and interpersonal relationships through personal-social
guidance. Such personal-social information may deal with such conditions and factors
as:
·
Achieving
self-insight and understanding
·
Achieving mature
relationship with the same and the opposite sex.
·
Understanding
masculine and feminine roles
·
Developing
healthy personalities
·
Understanding
one’s behaviour and characteristics
·
Understanding how
one differs from others and in which ways one is like others
·
Adjusting,
accepting and, understanding home conditions, family members and parental
expectations.
·
Knowledge of
courtship, sex information, marriage responsibilities
SUMMARY
In most
of our schools, guidance services are organized to help student to understand
themselves, that is for students to have a better knowledge of themselves, know
their likes, dislikes, abilities, inability. The aim is to help them become
more capable in making and executing informed and wise decisions with regards
to their educational, vocational and personal social needs
·
Orientation
services which are designed to assist pupils to adjust adaptively when found in
new school environments.
·
Appraisal services,
which involves the collecting, administration, interpretation and clinical
usage of variety of, test devices in order to provide effective counseling
services to students.
·
Information
services: This service is designed to provide students with data about
educational, social and vocational opportunities in their environment.
·
Placement
service: The goal of this service to ensure that students achieve effective
placement either on programme of study, a career, work-study or even a medical
treatment programme. All placements must be based on appropriate information on
students seeking placement.
·
Follow – up, research
or evaluation services: The goal to provide periodic feedback on the
effectiveness of school guidance through research into the concrete outcomes of
school guidance.
REFERENCES
Shertzer, B. and Stone S. C. (1976), Fundamentals of
Guidance Boston Houghton Miftlin
Company
Zeran, F. r. and Riccio, A. C (1962) Organization and Administration Guidance, Chicago Rard
MCNally