Guidance process is purposeful process. Without determining the objectives, this process cannot be completed or concluded. Due to the variations in the scope, guidance has a variety of objectives.
Image Source: rantz72.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/guidance.jpg
If we start guidance process without any objective it cannot be concluded because various sub-processes involved in the guidance cannot be given any direction and these activities ramain meaningless.
Objectives of guidance change at each level of education. Every stage of education enjoys different objective of guidance. For example, the functions and objectives of guidance at primary level will be different from those of middle stage.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Similar, objectives of guidance at high school or higher secondary stage will be different from those of middle stage:
(1) Objectives of Guidance at Primary Stage:
Every activity at primary stage includes guidance. At primary stage, there is need to pay special attention towards the health of the children. At this stage there is great need to coordinate the functions of a teacher, guidance worker, school, staff members of medical service and school social service workers.
All these persons help in learning properly essential skills for primary education, for acquiring basic knowledge, for adapting according to the social traditions and for developing proper attitude towards school activities. These too are the objectives of guidance at this stage.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
When a child leaves home and enters into the school environment, he has to make much coordination. School environment is very comprehensive for a child. In school, the child comes in contact with various types of persons, children and teachers.
Also, he lacks security in the school and he becomes very fearful, hesitating and remains suppressed in the school. Those children are more in difficulty who are fully dependent on their parents.
Primary stage ranges upto fifth class. During this period, children make their place in the school. Gradually they get themselves established in the school and they consider themselves an honourable member of the school.
When these children cross over from primary stage to higher stage, they feel suffocated. Behaviours of primary stage sometimes look like a joke. The traditions of new school, rules, administration, curriculum etc., are all new.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
In such situations, the guidance worker plans the guidance programme in order to prepare the children of primary stage, for next higher school stage, such as arranging the visits of primary stage children to high schools, inviting high school teachers to primary schools, explaining the procedure for getting admission to high schools after leaving the primary schools, making them familiar with the curriculum of high schools etc.
In nut-shell we can say that the following are the objectives of guidance at the primary school stage:
1. To coordinate all the activities of all the workers such as a teacher, medical service staff members, school social- workers and the activities of a person providing guidance etc.
2. To assist developing higher attitude towards school activities,
3. To assist children adapting according to the school traditions and rules-regulations of the school.
4. To assist children in developing their physical and emotional stability.
5. Objective of finding out problems regarding adjustment in the school and to control them.
6. Objective of making children self-dependent.
7. Objective of creating the feeling of cooperation in the children.
8. Objectives of making children ready for crossing over from primary school to next higher stage.
9. Objective of supplying various informations to children regarding higher stage such as curriculum of next higher classes and distribution of booklets regarding various school functions among the children and their parents.
(2) Objectives of Guidance at Secondary Stage:
The child leaves primary stage and enters secondary stage. At this stage the scope of guidance becomes more comprehensive as compared to the scope of guidance at primary stage. At this stage, guidance becomes more important as a result of multiple reasons.
At this stage, teachers to teach according to the subjects. Therefore, all the children cannot contact all the teachers. At high and higher secondary schools, only subject specialists teach.
At these stages, personal, social and vocational problems of the children come into light and solution of these problems is necessary. In order to achieve this objective, a comprehensive and organized guidance service is continuously required.
In this way, we see the following are the objectives of guidance at secondary and higher secondary stages:
(i) Objective of familiarizing with New School Life:
A child is not familiar with the life of new school when he leaves the primary school and enters to a new higher school. He has to face a number of problems regarding admission.
Also, it may become difficult for him to coordinate with new classmates and new friends. Hence, the objective of guidance service existing in the school should be to eliminate such problems of the pupils.
(ii) Objectives of Helping in Selecting the Subject:
After reaching at this higher level, the selection of subject becomes necessary. In this task, the pupil may face difficulty. He is unable to understand in which subject he is competent and which subject he should not opt.
The selection of subjects has become very difficult task due to the variety of subjects. Hence, the objective of guidance mould is to understand this type of problem and the same should be solved.
(iii) Objective of Co-curricular Activities:
Co-curricular activities are being considered very important for the physical development of the children, such as debates, sports, cultural activities, programmes of social service etc.
Hence, the important objective of guidance services is to guide the children for such activities so that their physical development may be given proper direction.
(iv) Objective of Fulfilling the Needs, related to Students Health:
The objectives of guidance service existing in the school is to take care of needs related to the health of the children and to inform timely the relevant persons regarding those health deficiencies so that the necessary action can be taken.
(v) Objective of Maintaining the Records:
In schools it is important to maintain the records regarding the development of the pupils, education, psychological development, cultural activities, because the entire guidance programme is to be conducted on the basis of these records.
Hence, the objective of guidance programme workers should be to maintain such record so that the counsellor may feel convenience during counselling.
(vi) Objective of Emotional and Individual Needs:
When an individual enters adolescence, an individual experiences emotional and personal needs. Therefore, the objective of guidance services should be to solve the problems related to such needs.
(vii) Objective of Cooperation:
In solving the problems of the children, cooperation plays an important role. This cooperation is desirable in guidance at all levels. The objective of guidance services should be to create a feeling of cooperation among all the workers involved in this service. This cooperation acts as a substantial base for guidance at the next higher level.
(viii) Objective of Creating Environment:
According to Crow and Crow, the creation of academic environment in accordance with the adolescent stage is very essential so that the pupils may be motivated in order to acquire higher education and they may be helped in selecting the subject according to abilities.
(3) Objectives at College and University Stage:
When a child enters the college he becomes a complete young man and his personality acquires has own pattern. Some of them have clear objectives. Some start feeling their responsibilities.
They are also very serious in their studies because they know the meaning of success and failure. But there are some persons who fail to understand what the college education means.
They come to college without knowing what they can do. After securing admission to the college they face multiple difficulties. They consider their studies meaningless. That is why they go to college without any objective.
In such situations, the objective of college guidance programme is that the needs of such students should be looked into immediately who are unable to make progress in the college affairs and who can use their talent in their activities on providing proper educational facilities.
In college, the objective of guidance service should also be to help the pupils in selecting the subject so that they can acquire specialization because such specializations help the pupils in their future vocational plans.
Similarly other objectives of guidance service include organized programmes of tutorials and providing help to the pupils for making progress by studying the books existing in the library.
It would be very meaningful if the students are made aware of objectives, nature and scope of college educations before its commencement in the college.
According to other objectives of guidance service, the pupils should be informed regarding the various facilities existing in the college such as library facilities. If such is not informed, it would lead towards the wastage of pupil’s time.
In this way, we see that there is no much difference between the functions and guidance objectives of high, higher secondary and college stage. Hence, the guidance objectives at college and university stage can also be presented in the following manner:
(i) To make available information’s regarding admissions to college and university.
(ii) To provide information’s regarding co-curricular activities in the college and university.
(iii) To help pupils selecting subjects so that they may achieve their future programme and objectives.
(iv) To provide vocational information’s to the pupils so that they may take decision regarding their future.
(v) To arrange for testing the pupils.
(vi) The help the children eliminating their financial difficulties.
(vii) To make aware the pupils regarding the existing hostel facilities so that the problems of their boarding and lodging can be removed.
The objectives of guidance can also be expressed as follows:
(a) Objectives from pupils’ point of view.
(b) From institution’s point of view.