Educational Guidance: Role of Teacher, Preparation and Training, School Curriculum and Guidance

 Educational Guidance

     Educational guidance is assistance provided to students to adjust to schools, curricula and school life. It is concerned with assistance given to pupils in their choices and adjustments concerning schools, curriculum, courses and school life.

     It is related to every aspect of the school: the curriculum, the methods of instruction, disciplinary procedures, attendance, scheduling problems, extracurricular, the health and physical fitness program and home and community relations.

Role of a Teacher

      In an educational institution, the teacher is closest to the students. The teachers have to play multiple roles, one of them being a guide. He interacts with students daily and is well-versed in the behaviour of students. The teacher’s role in the guidance program can be outlined as follows.

1. Establishing Personal Contact with Students - By remaining in constant touch with the students, the teacher can gather adequate knowledge about a student’s environment, activities and friend circle.
2. Understanding Students - Students differ at individual levels; hence, a teacher should be conversant with psychological theories and principles to understand these differences and unique characteristics.
3. Making Available Vocational Information – Teachers should also inform students about essential educational qualifications and skills for taking up a particular occupation.
4. Identifying Maladjusted Youngsters - A teacher, by identifying maladjusted youngsters, can help them make adjustments. A teacher can progress by personally guiding them.
5. Serving as a Link - Teacher can also act as a link between guidance experts, guardians and youngsters.
6. Promoting a Healthy Environment - Teachers must create a healthy classroom environment so students feel free to express themselves.

Preparation and Training

काक चेष्टा, बको ध्यानं,

स्वान निद्रा तथैव च ।

अल्पहारी, गृहत्यागी,

विद्यार्थी पंच लक्षणं ॥

     The students must be prepared and trained to deal with fast-paced technological growth. The demands of industry need to be central in the curriculum design. Preparation and training are essential avenues for development. The students must be prepared and trained to handle different life situations. The training enhances job-related performance, helps engender behavioural changes, and develops life skills that lead to personal growth. Training equips students with the competencies that help them to cope with the day-to-day problems of living, and to manage and improve interpersonal relations and effectiveness. Training focuses on developing knowledge and competencies appropriate to work and life situations.

Following are a few points for preparation and training: -

1. Soft and hard skills,
2. Preparing technological base,
3. Evaluative and analytical skills,
4. Developing creative skills,
5. Learning through self-exploration and strength,
6. Application of class room learning outside the class,
7. Tech resilience and academic patience,
8. Importance of knowledge economy,
9. Health and mental health,
10. Social and personal values,
11. Nationalism and the importance of Indigenousness, and
12. Cultural and traditional practices.

School Curriculum and Guidance: -

     The NEP 2020 (3.7) recommends that efforts be made to involve community and alumni in volunteer efforts for enhancing learning by providing at schools:

1.   one-on-one tutoring;

2.   the teaching of literacy and holding of extra help sessions;

3.   teaching support and guidance for educators;

4.   career guidance and mentoring to students, etc.

     In this regard, the support of active and healthy senior citizens, school alumni and local community members will be suitably garnered. Databases of literate volunteers, retired scientists/government/semi-government employees, alumni, and educators will be created.

School Curriculum and Guidance: -

     The school curriculum should be designed based on the principle of NEP-2020, “The purpose of the education system is to develop good human beings capable of rational thought and action, possessing compassion and empathy, courage and resilience, scientific temper and creative imagination, with sound ethical moorings and values. It aims at producing engaged, productive, and contributing citizens for building an equitable, inclusive, and plural society as envisaged by our Constitution”.

The curriculum must include the contents that help in (NEP-2020): -

1. Recognizing, identifying, and fostering the unique capabilities of each student,
2. Flexibility, so that learners have the ability to choose their learning trajectories and programmes,
3. Multidisciplinarity and a holistic education across the sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities, and sports,
4. Creativity and critical thinking,
5. Promoting multilingualism and the power of language

6. Promoting multilingualism and the power of language,

7. Learning life skills such as communication, cooperation, teamwork, and resilience,
8. Synergy in curriculum across all levels of education
9. Developing a rootedness and pride in India,
10. Extensive use of technology,
11. Developing respect for diversity & respect for the local context, and
12. Understanding total equity and inclusion.

Guidance is not an isolated phenomenon. It has its base grounded in the school curriculum. The curriculum designs and shapes the ambitions and aspirations of students. The curriculum and guidance are the building blocks of the school program. Curriculum is concerned with all the learning experiences at school, while guidance is a specific planned effort of the school to meet individual needs and provide for individual differences. The primary focus of guidance is development.

When guidance and curriculum collaborate, we observe some of the following results.

1. Provision is made for maximum flexibility in the curriculum.
2. Emphasis is placed upon understanding the individual and permitting each pupil to progress at his own rate.
3. Teaching procedures are individualised.
4. Emphasis is placed upon assets and successes.
5. An enriched curriculum is provided, which permits each child to proceed with the most significant self-discipline acceleration possible for him.
6. The child is helped to realise his most significant potential and develop more realistic self-concepts.
7. In mostself-discipline instances, independent study is provided in areas where the child has a genuine interest.
8. The emphasis is on the ultimate goals of education and hence on self discipline.
9. There is a genuine concern about enhancing the individual's worth.

 

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Educational Guidance Nature, Pupil Personnel work, Pupil appraisal information

 Educational Guidance

         Educational guidance refers to supporting the students, teachers and parents in informed decision-making in achieving academic goals. Educational guidance is limited to educational goals and educational institutions. The support can be in the following domains: -

1. Course and program selection,
2. Competitive Exam preparation,
3. Writing answers,
4. Improving learning experience,
5. Assignment and project preparation,
6. Using educational opportunities,
7. Academic activities,
8. Personal development,
9. Time management, and

10. Options for further higher studies.

 Nature of Educational Guidance

Life is too short to learn everything from experience. Human faces challenges and problems at every step of life. Human needs are the genesis of these challenges hence, to overcome challenges and problems, human being require guidance from others. One of the major domains that generate several challenges is the educational sector. To overcome these challenges, educational guidance is an imperative need. It involves at least two individuals, one seeking guidance and the other providing guidance. Individual faces. Our choices and decisions are essential in determining what we will be. So, helping each individual to solve his problems and develop skills in making choices and adjustments at each stage of growth is the most critical task of guidance. Guidance helps the individual to be aware of his strengths and limitations. Guidance is an individualised process where each individual is considered unique and endowed with specific abilities and traits. The students are helped to choose courses and programs suitable to them regarding their talent and capability; guidance can contribute to the more efficient use of manpower. The educational guidance spreads options open for the students to fix realistic life goals and plan the course of action according to their ability, taste and temperament and pursue them realistically to find satisfactory results for their talents. Educational guidance helps students to make choices at various stages of their educational career. EG helps in the following ways:

1. Provide information regarding their potentialities.
2. To assist the students to understand, accept and utilize his talent.
3. To help the students to choose educational programs best suited to them.
4. To help the students to solve their personal problems.
5. To help the students to make successful adjustments to the environment.
6. To help the students to handle their emotional problems effectively.

Pupil Personnel Work (PPW)

Pupil Personnel Work is a term used in education to describe the work of professionals who provide guidance and support to students. This work is often carried out by school counselors, social workers, and psychologists, among others. The goal of Pupil Personnel Work is to help students achieve their academic, personal, and social goals by providing them with the resources and support they need to succeed. According to a Arthur J. Jones, Pupil Personnel Work is viewed as an aspect of personnel work that is concerned with bringing the pupils of the community into the educational environment of the schools in such condition and under circumstances as will enable them to obtain the maximum of the desired development.

It is primarily concerned with the student’s success in educational career. It relates to the student’s adjustment to school and to the preparation and carrying out of suitable educational plans in keeping with his educational needs, abilities and career interests. It include school counselors, school psychologists, social workers associated with school and child welfare and attendance providers. The personnel involved in providing guidance services to the pupil first must understand the unique needs of the children:

1. Child needs reliable information regarding school, self, immediate environment and social set up.
2. Child needs scope of opportunities, tryouts, explorations, and curious to learn about her abilities.
3. Child needs sympathetic understanding, wise counsel, watchful care and few friends.

Only after understanding the needs of the child the pupil personnel workforce of the educational organisation should offer guidance to the child. The child is kept at center of all affairs in PPW model. Each personnel have specific duties and responsibilities towards child. They must be made aware of their role in providing guidance services.

Pupil Appraisal Information

     It refers the process of gathering and analyzing data about students to help them achieve their academic, personal, and social goals. This information is gathered and subsequently used by professionals which includes school counselors, social workers, and psychologists. These professionals are jointly known as component of Pupil Personnel Services (PPS). The cardinal purpose of the this information is to provide guidance and support to students.

     Pupil Appraisal Information is an essential component of Educational Guidance. It involves gathering, organizing, and interpreting information about the student’s academic performance, aptitude, interests, personality, and other relevant factors that can help in developing suitable educational plans for the student.

The information collected in Pupil Appraisal Information includes:

1.  Academic Performance - This includes information about the student’s grades, test scores, and other academic achievements.

2.  Aptitude - This refers to the student’s natural abilities and potential for learning in different areas.

3   Interests - This includes information about the student’s hobbies, passions, and other activities that they enjoy.

4.  Personality - This refers to the student’s temperament, character traits, and emotional makeup.

5   Family Background - This includes information about the student’s family history, socio-economic status, and other relevant factors that can impact their education.

 

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Personal Guidance: Nature of Emotional Problems

Introduction

          Generally, there are four aspects of an individual’s life—social, family, physical and mental. The non-fulfilment of needs developed due to these four aspects gives rise to varied problems in an individual’s life. The help that is rendered for resolving these problems is called personal guidance. Personal guidance concerns an individual’s personal and social adjustment problems because it aims to assist in his physical, emotional, social, moral and spiritual development and adjustment. The idea of personal guidance is designed to make the client understand himself and his unique characteristics.

Objectives of Personal Guidance

1. To help the client in dealing with challenging situations.
2. To assist the client in understanding self and designing the future course of action.
3. To help the individual in modifying his behaviour to suit his/her personality needs.
4. To assist the individual in identifying their strengths and weaknesses.
5. To strengthen the client’s decision-making ability and improve conflict resolution capacities.
6. To help the individual in psycho-social adjustment.

Salient Features of Personal Guidance (PG)

1. The concept of PG focuses on the individual rather than the problems faced by the individual.
2. It is dedicated to enhancing the psycho-social capacities of an individual.
3. It is concerned with self-awareness and identification of self in the context of the immediate psycho-social environment.
4. Personal guidance is related to developing empathy, skills and other abilities.
5. It offers a platform for balancing emotional intelligence and expressing situation-specific emotions.
6. The PG assists in setting personal objectives in consonance with unique strengths and abilities.
7. The PG transcends beyond explaining vocational and educational guidance.
8. PG is the combination of all types of guidance models.

Nature of Emotional Problems in Context of Personal Guidance (PG)

Personal guidance is a combined model that includes educational and vocational guidance models. The thrust area of PG is making the individual capable of handling life challenges and making decisions. The individual who finds it hard to manage his/her emotions and expression usually faces difficulties in decision-making and working personal relations. When emotions override pragmatism and ground realities, the individual feels incapable of decision-making. The most common emotional issues that are addressed through personal guidance are: -

1. Management of stress and developing coping strategies,
2. The persistent feeling and consequent expression of sadness, hopelessness and helplessness.
3. The life challenges occurring due to transitions and other factors related to the psycho-social adjustment.
4. Addressing the emotional distress due to discord in personal, family and social relationships.
5. Addressing the emotional imbalances developed due to grief and loss.
6. Dealing with borderline mental health issues, in other words, the behavioural peculiarities that have the potential to interfere with day-to-day life activities.
7. General as well as specific individual issues that are likely to hinder the development of an individual.
8. The emotional problems crop up due to unmet expectations and over-ambitiousness.

 

The most common emotions experienced during challenging situations include fear, sadness, anger, frustration, anxiety and hopelessness. These emotions unconsciously modulate human behaviour in the direction undesired by the individual. The resultant behaviour further gives negative feedback, further escalating the intensity and frequency of these emotions. For example, fear leads to anxiety, anxiety overestimates the threat, and overestimation leads to excessive and exaggerated responses. The continuous fear is likely to develop primary phobic reactions. In this context, the PG often involves a combination of active listening, empathetic support, goal-setting, and skill-building. Tailoring the guidance to the individual's specific needs is essential, considering their unique circumstances and preferences.

          The following are the significant problems associated with emotional experience and expression: -

1. Escalation of undesired response.
2. Enhanced intensity and frequency of expression and experience of emotions.
3. Continued experience of negative emotions may lead to the development of mental disorders.
4. Issues related to conflict resolution.
5. Cognitive block due to lack of space for emotional expression.
6. The resurfacing of memories related to the traumatic events resulting in behavioural abnormality.
7. Self-defeating behaviour due to self-perceived low self-esteem.
8. continuous failure can result in low self-confidence, likely compromising psycho-social competencies.

 

 

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