Concept and Need of Guidance

by Yuvi - March 21, 2021

Concept and Need of Guidance

“A candle can walk ‘with’ us and show us the way; it cannot walk ‘for’ us.”

Concept and Meaning of guidance

Guidance is some form of help or assistance given by an expert person to an individual to develop his or her personality and achieve proper direction in life.

According to Crow & Crow, guidance is not direction. Guidance is not the imposition of one’s point of view upon the other.

Guidance is making decisions for an individual, which he/she should make for himself. It is not the burden of another’s life.

Guidance is assistance made available by competent persons to an individual of an age, to help him direct his own life, develop his own point of view, make his own decisions and carry his own burden.

An expert guide can greatly help in providing relevant assistance to a child which he may not receive from any other sources.

Characteristics / Nature of Guidance

1)         Assistance – Guidance is personal assistance to anyone of any age.

2)         Expert Service – Everyone cannot provide guidance. It is the work of a competent and expert person.

3)         Guidance is a process – It helps every individual to help himself, to recognize and use his inner resources to set goal, to make plans, to work out his own problems of development.

4)         Guidance is a continuous process – It is needed from early childhood, adolescence, adulthood and even in old age. In simple words, guidance is needed from birth to death.

5)         Focus on individual – Guidance focuses on the individual and not on the problem.

6)         Discovery of abilities – Guidance leads to the discovery of abilities and potentials of an individual.

7)         Self-direction – Guidance leads to self-development and self direction.

8)         Process of adjustment – Guidance is a process of helping a person in adjusting to himself, to others and to his environment.

9)         Preparation for future life – Guidance aims to prepare an individual for future life. It helps him to acquire the essential abilities and capacities. It is not to decide something for him but to make him wiser to decide for himself.

Definitions of guidance

Crow & Crow – “The fundamental of all guidance is the help or assistance given by one competent person to another individual so that the latter may direct his life by developing his point of view, make his own decisions and carry out those decisions.”

Good – “Guidance is a process of dynamic inter-personal relationship designed to influence the attitudes and subsequent behavior of a person.”

M. Brewer – “Guidance is a process by which an individual is able to guide himself.”

Jones – “Guidance involves personal help given by someone. It is designed to assist a person to decide where he wants to go or how he can best accomplish his purposes; it assists him to solve problems that arise in his life.”

Smith – “The guidance process consists of a group of services to an individual to assist him in securing the knowledge and skills needed in making adequate choices, plans and interpretations essential to satisfactory adjustment in a variety of areas.”

Wahlquist & Stoops – “Guidance is a continuous process of helping the individual develop to the maximum of his capacity in the direction most beneficial to himself and the society.”

Need of Guidance

According to Jones, everyone needs assistance at some time in his life. Some need it constantly throughout their entire life, while others need it only at rare times of crisis.

The need for guidance is broadly seen in the following two arenas of life –

Individual Need of Guidance–

1)         Academic Growth – Guidance moulds children into the adults they grow up to become. All educational institutes provide education which is nothing but a form of guidance.

2)         Development of abilities and skills – Every child has some hidden talent and potentials that can be drawn out and developed through guidance.

3)         Removal of subject matter difficulties – A person may have certain disabilities, difficulties or phobias. Guidance is needed to bring him out of these fears so that he may lead a life of normalcy and progress.

4)         For Self-understanding – Guidance helps a person to accept his shortcomings, overcome his complexes, realize his potentials and love himself for who he is.

Social need of Guidance–

1)         Better family life – Guidance shows how to adjust and compromise and live as a happy family for the betterment of all members.

2)         Good Citizenship and Loyalty –We must learn about our duties and civic responsibilities so that we do not take freedom for granted.

3)         Understanding of social values – Man is a social animal. Guidance will help him how to adjust socially to the norms of society and will make him aware of his social accountabilities.

Causes / Reasons for Guidance

1)         Complex/Changing nature of society – Today the entire structure and nature of society is undergoing changes from all angles – socially, culturally, scientifically, economically, politically, etc. due to rapid Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization. More and more individuals feel the need for guidance as newer problems are cropping up and it becomes difficult to achieve satisfactory results. Eg. Economic change, recessions leading to unemployment, mental stress and tensions, negative inflation, economic disparity, poor becoming poorer and rich becoming richer. 2005-2008 food prices have gone up five-fold. Political change – lack of ideal leaders, corruption, malpractices, etc.

2)         Individual Differences – Each individual differs in physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual, personality traits, interests, likings, abilities, achievements, aspirations, etc. Requirements of various occupations also differ. Eg. Engineering versus Medical, Agriculture versus Architecture, etc.

3)         Change in educational and industrial pattern of the country – Previously agriculture based. Now more industry and service-based sectors arising due to LPG.

4)         Conservation of human energy – To make the proper use of vast natural resources and the large population, only guidance services are useful.

5)         Lack of guidance at home – Nuclear families, lack of time. The present home does not provide the necessary moral and social training so school guidance is strongly needed.