Guidance: Concept, aims,

objectives, functions,
principles and ethics
-Ms. Apaar binjola
Guidance
Guidance means ‘to direct’, ‘to point out’, or ‘to show the path’.
It is the assistance or help rendered by a more experienced person to a less
experienced person to solve certain major problems of the individual i.e.
educational, vocational, personal etc.
Guidance is a process of helping young persons learn to adjust to self, to
others and to the circumstances.
Guidance is the process of helping an individual to help himself and to
develop his potentialities to the fullest by utilizing the maximum
opportunities provided by the environment.
Definition of Guidance:
 “Guidance is an assistance given to the individual in making intelligent
choices & adjustments.” - A. J. Jones
“Guidance is the assistance made available by competent counsellors to an
individual of any age to help him direct his own life, develop his own point
of view, make his own decisions, carry his own burdens.”- Crow and Crow
“Guidance seeks to help each individual become familiar with a wide
range of information about himself, his abilities, his previous
development in the various areas of living and his plans or ambitions for
the future.” - Chisholm
Definition:
“It is a process of helping young person learn to adjust to self, to others
and to circumstances”.- Skinner
“It is a process of helping every individual through his own efforts to
discover and develop his potentialities for his personal happiness and
social usefulness”.- Ruth Strang
“Guidance involves the difficult art of helping boys and girls to plan their
own future wisely in full light of the factors that can be mastered about
themselves and about the world in which they are to live and work.”-
Secondary Education Commission (1952-53)
Aims of Guidance:
To bring about the desired changes in the individual for self-realisation.
To provide assistance to solve problems through an intimate personal
relationship.
To achieve positive mental health.
To help students to make proper and satisfactory adjustments for
improved academic pursuits and useful life.
To gain personal satisfaction, in as many aspects of his/her life as
possible, and to make his/her maximum contribution to the society.
Kothari commission(1964-66) has given following aims of
guidance at the secondary school stage:
To help the adolescent pupils to know and develop their abilities and
interests.
To help pupils to understand their strengths and limitations and to do
scholastic work at the level of their abilities.
To help pupils to make realistic educational and vocational choices.
To provide information about educational and vocational choices.
To help pupils in personal and social adjustment.
To help the school to understand their students.
Objectives of Guidance:
At primary stage
It is generally believed that guidance is required at the time of career
planning. But we all know that guidance is needed from the very
beginning when the child enters the school. The main objectives of
guidance programme at this stage are:
To assist developing higher attitude towards school activities.
To assist developing positive attitude towards school subjects.
To assist children adapting according to the school traditions and rules
and regulations of the school.
To create the feeling of co-operation in the children.
At primary stage:
Helping pupils to make a satisfactory transition from home to school.
Diagnosing difficulties in the learning of basic educational skills.
 Identifying pupils in need of special education (e.g. the gifted, the
backward, the physically handicapped).
To assist in developing their physical and emotional stability.
To make children self-dependent.
To enable children for crossing over from primary school to next higher
stage.
Objectives of Guidance:
At secondary stage
To familiarize with new school life.
To help in selecting the subjects.
To guide them for co-curricular activities.
To create feeling of cooperation.
 To solve problems related to emotional and individual needs.
 To help potential drop-outs to stay in school.
To assist in plans for their further education or training.
To identify and develop their abilities and interests.
At secondary stage:
To understand their strengths and limitations and doing scholastic work
according to their abilities.
To obtain information about educational and vocational opportunities
and requirements.
To make realistic educational and vocational choices and plans
considering all relevant factors.
To resolve their personal and social problems.
To help students in selecting appropriate vocational career.
Objectives of Guidance:
At college stage
To make available information regarding admissions to colleges and
universities.
To help the children eliminating their financial difficulties.
To provide vocational information to the pupils so that they may take
decision regarding their future.
To help pupils selecting subjects so that they may achieve their future
programme and objective.
To provide information regarding co-curricular activities in the college
and university.
At college stage:
To guide pupils to develop insight into the world of work and favorable
attitudes towards work.
To assist in plans for their further education or training.
Function of Guidance:
 Adjustive: It helps the students in making best possible adjustment to
the current situation, may be in the educational institution, occupational
world, in the home or the community. It enables the students to accept
the things which they cannot change in life and differentiate between
what they can change and cannot change in life. It is for helping pupils to
solve their personal and social problems.
Orientation: It orients one about the problem of career planning,
educational programming and direction towards long-term personal aims
and values. The oriental function of guidance is not only to help one to get
rid of problems but help to check it.
•Developmental: It is concerned with helping the people to achieve
self development and self-realization. It is also an instrument of
social and national development. Guidance services are provided to
help students maintain and develop the whole personality in a steady,
focused and sustainable manner.
Various other function of guidance are:
It helps young people to pursue the right type of education.
It facilitates the smooth transition for children from home to school, from
primary to secondary school, from secondary to higher educational
institutions, and to the world of work.
It helps students to cope with examination anxiety.
It helps students to develop effective study habits.
 It provides students with meaningful educational experiences.
It checks wastage and stagnation in education.
It helps in the scholastic and co-scholastic development of the learner.
•To make the learner informed about various educational opportunities
and aids available for his educational growth and development.
•It helps student to utilize available resources through proper
channelization of his energy to get maximum benefit for both personal as
well as social life.
•It helps student to provide adequate response at the problem so far his
personal adjustment is concerned.
•It helps student to think rationally for society, co-operate and act
profitably and sincerely for social welfare and better community life by
which both the personal development as well as social development of
student can be possible easily.
Principles of Guidance:
Principles of guidance means what are the fundamental sources or basis on
which guidance should be provided.
Principle of all-round development
Principle of individual difference
Principle of universality
Principle of cooperation
Principle of continuity
Principle of extension
Principle of code of conduct
• Principle of flexibility
•Principle of expert opinion
•Principle of self-direction
•Principle of self-pacing

(Refer ‘Essentials of Guidance and Counseling by Dr. Marami

Goswami’ Page no.17-19)
Ethics:
Ethics is a scientific study of morals, which deals with basic principles that
guide human conduct. It is a study of the principles relating to right and
wrong conduct. These morals are shaped by social norms and practices.
Ethics are beliefs about what is right, in terms of human behavior.
These ethical codes offer counselors an outline of what are considered
acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. In some region where counseling is
not regulated through licensing, ethical codes provide a valuable tool for
developing and maintaining ethical conduct. It is the counselors’
responsibility to be familiar with relevant codes and regulations governing
their area of practice.
Corey outlines five principles which form the basis of ethics:

Beneficence: A counselor must accept responsibility for promoting what is

good for the client with the expectation that the client will benefit from
the counseling sessions.
No maleficence: Doing no harm.
Autonomy: To encourage client’s independent thinking and decision
making.
Justice: It’s the counselor's commitment to provide equal and fair service
to all clients regardless of age, gender, race, etc.
Fidelity: Being honest with the client and faithfully honoring the
commitment to the client’s progress.
Important ethical considerations of guidance involve the
following:
Respect for the rights and dignity of the client
Privacy and confidentiality
Keep adequate records
Informed consent and freedom of consent
Competence
Responsibility
Managing and maintaining boundaries and professional relationships
Professional responsibility
Relationship with other professionals
•Extended responsibility
•Straightforwardness and openness
•Professional relationships
•Limits of competence
•Reveal information about the clients only with the consent
•Obtain clients’ agreement to the attendance of trainees and other parties
•Engage in self care
•Seek support and/or supervision

(Refer ‘Guidance and Counseling by Dr. Bharti Dimri et al’ page

no.14-20)
American Counseling Association Code of Ethics:
All ACA members must abide by the code. The code has eight sections:
Counseling relationship
Confidentiality, privileged communication, and privacy
Professional responsibility
Relationships with other professionals
Evaluation assessments and interpretation
Supervision, training and teaching
Research and publication
Resolving ethical issues