Vol. 2 No.

1 December, 2013 ISSN: 2320 - 2653

SIGNIFICANCE OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING IN SCHOOL EDUCATION

Dr. P. Karthikeyan
Principal, Durai Vidhyalakshmi College of Education,
Chennangkuppam, Vellore Dist - 632 209, Tamil nadu

Abstract
The complex and changing nature of the world of work poses a great challenge to
the young learners today. Many students in secondary schools experience difficulties in
making informed career decisions due to lack of adequate career decisions due to lack of
adequate career information and guidance which hampers their career development. The
study recommends that there is need for the teacher counselors to be professionally
trained in career guidance and counseling so as to adequately assist their students to make
informed career decisions. There is need for the schools to equip the guidance and
counseling department with adequate and necessary career information resources in order
to diversify the students’ level of career awareness and exploration.

Introduction
Presently the major problems in the school system are inadequate knowledge of the
proper subject combination and course combination, which describes the intellectual
ability of the students guidance counselors are ever ready to attend to students especially
to guide them early in order to prevent the problems ahead of time or before it is properly
developed. The fact is that if guidance counselors are not authorized to handle these
students it will be very difficult for them to involve themselves with it and if there is no
quick response in the provision of guidance and counseling to these students the problem
accumulates and future adjustment becomes very difficult.

Impact of Guidance and Counseling services on High School pupils

The impact of guidance and counseling service offered in high schools in order to
ascertain its relevance to the changing needs of children in schools. The study was guided
by the following objectives.

To establish the status of guidance and counseling services in schools.

To find out whether pupils are guided in the choice of subjects to study

To determine whether pupils are exposed to entry requirements to higher
education

To determine whether pupils receive help in the selection of their career path

To find out how pupils with interpersonal problems receive help in school and

To determine causes of indiscipline among pupils in schools.

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School Guidance and Counseling Services

School Counseling has undergone a transformation from a program of entitlement
to one of performance and continuous improvement School counselors now focus on
improved student results that measure the impact of goals and objectives. The essential
question becomes how has student academic achievement improved as a result of what
counselors do?
School counselors must use data to assess students needs, establish measurable
goals and measure the results of guidance and counseling activities. This helps to ensure
accountability. Data is collected disaggregated and analyzed to determine areas of student
strength and areas in need of improvement.

Major roles and functions for school counselors

The roles of a school counselor are somewhat different at various grade levels,

Elementary school level

In elementary schools counselors spend their time with children individually in
small groups or in classrooms thus having some connection with every student in the school.
With the advent of systems thinking the elementary school counselor now has a working
relationship with students families and with community social agencies although the roles
of school counselors vary among settings common tasks include individual counseling small
group counseling large group or classroom presentations involvement in school vide
behavior plans for promoting positive and extinguishing negative behaviors and consoling
with teachers parents and the community.

Middle and High School level

Like elementary school counselors the role of middle and high school counselors
very depending on the district and the school administrators. Counselors deal with a vast
array of student problems personal academic social and career issues. Typically these areas
get blended together when working with a student on any one topic hence it is impossible
to separate the duties of a counselor on the basis of a particular problem. Counselors in
middle and high school have experience with all these areas and work with others in the
school and community to find resources when a need arises.

Need for Guidance and counseling

The student life is getting complex day by day. Guidance is needed to help the
students for optimum achievement and adequate adjustment in the students in the schools

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shows the need of guidance and counseling services in the education, profession, vacation,
social, health, moral, personal and marital areas.
Guidance and counseling programme needs to be introduced in our colleges and
universities to meet the varied needs of the educational system, administration and
students.

To help in the proper choices of course

To help in the proper choices of careers

To help the students in vocational development

To develop readiness for choices and changes to face new challenges

To minimize the mismatching between education and employment and help in the
efficient use of manpower

To motivate the youth for self employment

To help fresher’s establish proper identity

Guidance and counseling service is needed to help students deal effectively with
the moral developmental tasks of adolescence and face life situations boldly.

To identify and motivate the students from weaker sections of society.

To help the students in their period of turmoil and confusion

To help in checking wastage and stagnation

To identify and help students in need of special help

There are such students as the gifted backward, the handicapped who need special
opportunities. They need special attention and opportunities

To ensure the proper utilization of time spent outside the classrooms

The manner in which students spend their non-class hours clearly affects their
success in achieving both academic competence and personal development

To help in tackling problems arising out of students population explosion

To check migration to prevent brain drain

To make up for the deficiencies of home

To minimize the incidence of indiscipline
Majority of the students lack a sense of direction a sense of purpose and a sense of
fulfillment and indulge in destructive activities which lead to social damage and loss.
Adequate guidance and counseling facilities is the only answer to help and guide the youth
to worthwhile channels and help them realize the goals of optimum academic personal and
social development. All points out the need for the counseling services. Guidance and
Counseling have a challenging role to play in every developing economy, much more so if it
is a labour surplus one.

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Meaning of counseling
Counseling is the service offered to the individual who is undergoing a problem and
needs professional help to overcome it. The problem keeps him disturbed high strung and
under tension and unless solved, his development is hampered or stunted Counseling
therefore is more specialized service requiring training to personality development and
handling exceptional groups of individuals. Counseling services are therefore required for
individuals having developmental problems because of the handicap they suffer in any area
of emotional either because of hereditary factors or environment conditions. Generally
such cases are only about five to seven percent in a population and therefore counseling is
required only for such a small number as compared to Guidance Counseling involves a lot of
time for the client to unfold the problem gain an insight into the complex situation.
Counseling techniques involve active listening, emphatic understanding releasing
the pent up feelings, confronting the client and so on. Counseling therefore is offered to
only those individuals who are under serious problem and need professional help to
overcome it.

Need of counseling
Counseling is an integral part of an over-all programme of guidance. ‘Counseling is
a specific process of assistance extended by an expert in an individual situation to a needy
person’. This means the counseling situation arises when a needy person is face to face
with and expert who makes available his assistance to the needy individual to fulfill his
needs.
There is an urgent need of introducing and strengthening the counseling service in
the schools and colleges of our country to meet the various needs of the students
administrational and the educational system.

Significance of counseling at secondary level

Counseling is a process of assistance extended by an expert in an individual
situation to needy person. According to Carl Rogers, “counseling is a service of direct
contact with the individual which aims to offer him assistance in changing the attitudes and
behavior”.

Characteristics of Adolescence
Adolescence is best defined in relation to puberty. This is the period which begins
with puberty and ends with the several cessation of physical growth it emerges from
adulthood. Adolescence is a critical period in the development of personal identity A.T.

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Jersild observes adolescence is that span of years during which boys and girls move from
childhood to adulthood mentally, emotionally, socially and physically.

Impact of counseling in schools

Guidance and Counseling is a process of education through which individuals obtain
solution to confronting problems. Thus Guidance and Counseling has to be available in the
schools in order to help an individual student or group of students find possible solutions to
their problems through the help of the school’s guidance counseling personnel.
Initially the problems faced by the school system ranged from drug addiction
truancy cultism to examination malpractice. These were the effects of poor study habits
and unconducive environment. Today the story has changed.
There is a saying that “Prevention is better than cure”. If the initial problem of a
student is not solved it would give birth to another problem and this can happen in the life
of a student as a result of lack of guidance and counseling service unit in the school which
can easily compound the student’s academic problems. It may lead to the situation that his
or her capability for growth would be completely hampered. To avoid this situation
degenerating to the worst state, the students can be helped by a skilled guidance
counselor. This can be provided adequately within the school environment. If such services
are provided in schools, most of the students who fail and repeat classes could have been
helped in the right choice of subjects thereby avoiding unnecessary failure and class
repetitions.

Guidance and Counseling Service in needed at every level of formal education

For the proper behavioral and courses /subjects combination, pupils, students and
even undergraduate students need guidance and counseling seriously. This will help shape
and sharpen the individual’s lives and intellects. The impacts of guidance and counseling in
schools cannot be over emphasized. Investigation reveals that students who are guided by
guidance counselors in schools find themselves in the right courses of study. Guidance and
counseling is of great importance to the school system. Government should establish and
enforce guidance and counseling service units in every school institution. This will better
both the lives of the students the school system and the general society at large.

Conclusion
The general public tends to view counseling as a remedial function and emphasizes
immediate goals, such as problem solution, tension reduction and the like, counselee may
refer to the resolution of a particular conflict or problem situation. Counseling in its spirit
and essence is generative, it aims at assisting the individual to develop such that he

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becomes psychologically mature and is capable at realizing his potentialities optionally.

The secondary school counseling needs a meaningful realistic practical frame of reference
constituent with the short term nature at school counseling.

Reference
1. Guidance and counseling - A. Devid
2. Elementary guidance and counseling reshmi age well
3. Cory, J.C & Elsner. D (2005) school counseling program implementation surrey
unpublished assessment instrument
4. Lopan, R.T. Gysbers, N.C., & Resun. Y (1977)
5. The impact of more fully implemented guidance programs on the school
experiences of high school students A state wide evaluation study. Journal of
counseling & Development 75, 292-302

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