The following points highlight the three main types of guidance. The types are: 1. Educational Guidance 2. Vocational Guidance 3. Personal Guidance.
Type # 1. Educational Guidance:
The term ‘educational guidance’ has been defined in various ways.
The important definitions have stated as follows:
“Educational guidance is concerned with the assistance given to pupils in their choices and adjustments with relations to schools, curriculum courses and school life.” —Arthur J. Jones
“Educational guidance may be defined as a conscious effort to assist in the intellectual growth of an individual. Anything that has to do with instruction or with learning may come under the term educational guidance.” —Brewer
“Educational guidance is a process concerned with bringing about between an individual pupils with his distinctive characteristics on the one hand and different groups of opportunities and requirements on the other, a favourable, setting for individual development or education.” —G.E. Myers
“Educational guidance is intended to aid the individual in choosing an appropriate programme and in making progress in it.” —Rath Strang
“The emerging school theory recognizes that guidance is an aspect of all proper learning and must therefore be centred in the intelligent management of the learning situation.” —Hopkins
Educational guidance offer methods of diagnosing the abilities, background and needs of an individual students.
Under the definitions, the following Characteristics of Educational Guidance have been enumerated as follows:
1. It is an assistance given to pupils in their adjustment.
2. It centres in the intelligent management of effective learning situations.
3. Its adjustment is in relation to school courses curriculum and school life and
4. It is an aid to an individual in making progress.
It is essential for the pupils in making progress in academic career.
It services the following functions:
1. Appropriate selection of study subject in school.
2. The awareness is provided for future education.
3. It assists the pupils for the adjustment in new courses and curriculum or new situations.
4. It provides the knowledge and understanding about the educational opportunities.
5. It prevents from, the problems of wastage and stagnation.
6. It involves in the effective process of learning, and
7. It helps the pupils in making progress in academic field.
Objective of Educational Guidance:
The following are the main objectives of educational guidance:
1. To enable to pupils for selecting appropriate study subjects according to their abilities and interests.
2. To assist the pupils for self-learning self-study.
3. To provide the necessary awareness about the national and state competitive tests.
4. To give the knowledge about the educational opportunities.
5. To help the pupils to adjust in new situations courses and curriculum.
6. To prevent the pupils from the problems of wastage and stagnation in education.
7. To stimulate the pupils to set up worth-while.
8. To enable the teacher for organizing effective teaching in the classroom. The objectives can be realized by providing educational guidance at various stages in view of their needs, social and mental development. Educational guidance is an integral process of teaching, training and instructions.
Principles of Educational Guidance:
The following are the main principles of educational guidance:
1. Educational guidance is made available for all students.
2. The related and appropriate information are collected.
3. The problem of the student should be solved at early stage.
4. The standardized tools are employed in guidance.
5. There should be continuity in studying the pupil’s problems.
6. There should be close contact @Head A = teachers and guardians of the students.
These principles should be considered for organizing effective and meaningful guidance programme. Educational guidance is for all students but is both type—individual and group guidance. The adjustment problems are crucial for the educational guidance. The principles are useful for diagnosing the weakness of the students and providing remediation for it.
Specific Functions of Educational Guidance:
Educational guidance has related functions which are as follows:
1. To plan the educational programmes according to the abilities and interest of the students.
2. To help the students for preparing educational opportunities above the school level.
3. To assist the students for the academic progress and for better educational attainment.
4. To suggests the principles and management to modify the courses and curriculum to fulfill the student’s needs and requirements.
Procedure of Education Guidance:
The following steps are used in educational guidance:
1. Initial conversion for emphasizing the importance and need of educational guidance in classroom.
2. Personal interview of introduction to have report with the pupils.
3. To study cultural and socio-economic background of the students.
4. To administer psychological test—intelligence, interests personality and achievement tests and adjustment inventories.
5. Physical check-up of the student’s health.
6. Final interview with students for collecting remaining information.
7. To prepare profile for the students individually.
8. To prepare report about the student, and
9. To organize the follow-up programme.
Type # 2. Vocational Guidance:
The vocational guidance is a process of helping an individual to choose an occupation, preparing for it and bring excellence in it.
The term ‘Vocational Guidance’ has been defined as follows:
“It concerns primarily with helping individuals make decisions and choices involved in planning a future and building a career decisions and choices necessary in effecting satisfactory vocational adjustment.”
According to Donald Super:
“Vocational Guidance is the process of helping a person to develop and accept on integrated and adequate picture of himself and of his role in the world of work, to test this concept against reality with satisfaction to himself and benefit to society.”
According to ‘International labour organization’ (1949):
“Vocational guidance is the assistance given to individual in solving problems related to occupational choice and progress with due regard for the individual characteristics and their relation to occupational opportunities.”
According to Jones J. Myers:
“Vocational Guidance is fundamentally an effort to conserve the priceless native capacities of youth and the costly training provided for youth in the school. It seeks to conserve there richest of all human resources by aiding the individual to invest and use them where they will bring greatest satisfaction and success to himself and greatest benefit to society.”
Under these definitions, the following characteristic has been emphasized of vocational guidance:
1. It is an assistance given for choosing an occupation, preparing for it, entering in it and progressing in it.
2. It is an effort to conserve the priceless native capacities to bring greatest satisfaction and success to himself.
3. It is an investment and use native capacities to bring greatest satisfaction and success to himself.
4. It is for the benefit to society and bringing excellence in the job his occupation.
Vocational Guidance is essential due to individual differences and occupational variations. There is rapid changes and development in occupation. The occupational excellence is needed in the present situation.
Vocational guidance is needed due to the following point of views:
1. There is great variation among the individuals in their abilities, interests and aptitudes.
2. There is great variation in vocations or occupational opportunities.
3. There is a rapid change in society in values, needs, requirements and economic conditions.
4. There is an urgent need to utilize the human potentialities adequately.
5. There is need for the day to bring excellence in occupation for the satisfaction of the individual and to serve the society effectively.
6. The physical and mental health can be maintained by joining an appropriate occupation. It brings happiness to the individual. He enjoys the occupation.
7. It maintains or established co-ordination a vocation in between the family and vocational life.
Vocational guidance is equally important as educational guidance for the progress and welfare of the individual, vocational guidance contributes in well adjustment of an individual. It makes the proper use of educational guidance for the human life. It helps in utilizing human man power in the appropriate direction and aid in the national development. It also prevents from the mental ailments—worries and anxieties of the students. To-day we are talking about self-employment; it also need vocational guidance for the individuals or youths.
Objective of Vocational Guidance:
The following are the main objectives of vocational guidance:
1. To assist the pupils for choosing an occupation according to their potentialities and interests.
2. To provide the awareness about the different occupations and institutions where the facility of training are available.
3. To utilize the native capacities for greatest satisfaction and success to himself.
4. To give the information’s about the working conditions and future prospects of different occupations.
5. To provide the understanding of job analysis of the physical, social emotional and intellectual requirements of different occupations.
6. To conserve the nature capacities of youth for his satisfaction and benefit to society.
7. To develop an adequate picture of himself and his role in the world of work.
8. To bring the excellence in the job performance by accepting and occupation as a vocational for him.
Factors Considering While Choosing an Occupation:
The following factors are taken into consideration in the choice of an occupation:
1. Importance of the occupation or vocation.
2. Nature of work and conditions of the work.
3. Required abilities and potentialities for the job.
4. The future scope and opportunities for the progress in the occupation.
5. Duration of training and working hours.
6. Retrospective phase of the occupation.
7. Placement and desirable experiences and
7. Organization, administration and material.
Type # 3. Personal Guidance:
Guidance is usually a personal process, whether it is educational or vocational guidance. Basically guidance is a personal process. Therefore, the term ‘Personal Guidance’ is highly confusing to the students. Lester D. Crow and Alice Crow have tried to explain this term more clearly.
“Correctly interpreted ‘personal guidance’ refers to help given to an individual towards a better adjustment in the development of attitudes and behaviour in all areas of life.”
The area of personal guidance is the individual adjustment. The personal guidance helps in developing ‘self-concept’ and personal adjustment in the life situations, may be related to education or vocation or any other area of life situation. The personal adjustment of an individual also influences the education and vocational environment. It is an individual has the maladjustment in the areas of health, social, emotional or mental.
It would have direct effect on his study and efficiency in his vocation. It is more difficult to obtain the remedy or solution for the personal problems-choice of life partner, choice of friends, leisure time activity, and establishing relation to organization, selection of games and sports etc. The problems of the adolescence require the personal guidance.
The personal guidance is required for the adjustment problems of an individual.
The needs of personal guidance have been listed as follows:
1. It is required for the personal adjustment.
2. It is essential for developing individual competence.
3. It is needed for avoiding the interpersonal tensions and conflicts.
4. It is used for setting up a harmonious environment between family life and vocational life of an individual.
5. It is required for maintaining necessary patience and poise during emergency and normal situations.
6. It provides help in taking decisions with regard to personal matters or personal problems.
7. It brings happiness, peace and feeling of satisfaction in the life of an individual.
The personal guidance is related to different aspects or areas of life, for bringing excellence, satisfaction, peace and adjustment in home, health, social, emotional and mental areas. It helps in developing self-confidence in the individual.
Objectives of Personal Guidance:
The following are the main objective of personal guidance:
1. To help the individual in analysing the understanding the personal problems of an individual.
2. To make the sensitive above his environment and the possibilities objectively.
3. To assist the individual for solving the problems of his own related to family, school, vocation and adjustment in the society.
4. To enhance the adjustability of an individual.
5. To understand the personal complexity and causes for speaking the solution.
6. To help in developing good relations with their family members relatives to have maladjustment and performing his role in better way.
7. To develop understanding and insight into the various life situations so that he may bring excellence and adjustment in new situations.
It is an individual guidance and also need-based. The following steps are used for the personal guidance:
1. The first steps are to establish the rapport with the individual so that he may express his problem frankly.
2. The information’s are collected about the individual’s interest, Personality characteristics, and area of maladjustment by employing reliable and valid tools and techniques.
3. The analysis is done for his needs and his problems. The projective techniques may be used. If necessary some physical test may be done.
4. The analysis provides the basic for giving guidance or counselling for helping the individual in solving his problem.
5. The awareness is given to the individual for taking decision for seeking types of guidance or counselling.
6. The problems are discussed with the individual by using conference technique occasionally.
7. The problem of the individual may require a team of experts, for helping the individual.
8. Follow-up is the last step of personal guidance to evaluate the effect of the guidance provided to him.
The main purpose of personal guidance is clinical and remediation, therefore, follow-up is essential step in personal guidance.