Guidance for Effective Learner

The Concept of Guidance

there are many ways of facilitating learning at all levels. guidance is one of these approaches. unfortunately, there is the belief that guidance is only for poor academic achievers, the quarrelsome and the rule-breakers. then there is the nation that guidance is only for those in the lower levels of the educational ladder.

the foregoing are legitimate domains of guidance. guidance encompasses the poor perfomer, quarrelsome, and the rule breaker. but it also includes those with good academic performance, the obedient child and those in the higher years in the educational ladder including graduate students. this leads us a definition of what guidance is. school guidance is the process by which the learner is helped to develop and maximize his potentials. this means that the school and the academic community assist the learner to grow within his potentials. in school, every learner is seen as one who is in the process of becoming and whose potentials will be developed with a supportive environment and proper guidance. for this purpose, guidance programs are imperative in schools. these programs are:

designed to help students in improving their interpersonal and intra-personal relationship; discovering their aptitudes, interest, personalities; abilities, and talents for their maximum utilization; facilitating their academic adjustment; discovering what scholastic and social skills they lack and helping them learn such skills as communication. (DLSU-Student Handbook 1983-84)

to carry its guidance functions, some schools have organized guidance programs with full-time guidance personnel. in some, there are full-time guidance coordinators. most schools however, have neither full-time nor part-time guidance personnel. regardless of setting, the teacher plays a very crucial role in the guidance of the learners. more than any other school personnel, the teacher has more contacts with the learners which can be opportunities for guidance purposes.

development vs problem-oriented guidance

from the definiton, one sees that guidance is development rather than problem-oriented. this means that gudance focuses on the development of the learner and not merely on his problems. guidance seeks for preventive measures in the same way that it institutes solutions to pupils' problems. but its main thrust is to facilitate the individual's growth. with this basic framework, every pupil needs guidance.

taken in its totality, guidance could affect what is going to be learned, where to learn, how one learns, why one learns, rate of learning, how much is learned, and how is this learning is to be utilized. clearly, the effects of guidance go beyond the academe and transcend the present.

educational psychology and guidance

as previously defined, educational psychology refers to that area of specialization in psychology that focuses on the application of psychological principles and theories to the teaching-learning situation. in a more limited scope, guidance utilezes these principles and theories to enchance learning for the total development of the learners. with this perspective, guidance is seen as a part of educational psychology.

guidance and counseling differentiated

guidance and counseling are not synonymous although are used interchangeably. guidance refers to the total helping process of helping individuals to develop their potentials whereas counseling is generally defined as the relationship of an individual or group who seeks help from another person who is professionally competent to give this help (FAPE, 1975). all counseling is guidance, but not all guidance is counseling. a guidance worker is not mecessarily a counselor, while a counselor is necessarily a guidance personnel.

the difference between guidance and counseling needs to be emphasized for two reasons. first, the functions of the two vary even if they have the same ultimate objectives. secondly, guidance is inherent in the teaching process while counseling is not. with his training, the ordinary classroom teacher cannot be a counselor. even a re-orientation may not make him one. but the teacher can always do guidance functions in the performance of his teaching responsibilities. this does not mean that the teacher with no formal training in counseling cannot be an effective counselor. for indeed, there are classroom teachers who are even more effective counselors than the so-called professional counselors. but they are a rare breed, counseling being a demanding professional job that requires training.

the classroom teacher as a guidance worker

the teacher goes to classroom with very minimal training in guidance if ever he had any. this can be a limitation or an asset. we are interested in the guidance potentials of the classroom teacher for wo reasons. first, he can facilitate learning among the learners if he performs his guidance functions. second, teachers can possibly incrase the holding power of schools and minimize dropout.

education is still the most viable means for developing individual potentials for productivity, a prerequisite to self-fulfillment. in philippine society, it is also a means for social mobility. the number of school dropouts however is staggering. every dropout is a human resource wasted. just like the proverbial "drop in the bucket", every dropout is a potential menace to society as his chances for gainful employment is more limited since his potentials remain undeveloped.

using the enrolment data during the school year 1968-1982, one study (as reported by DepthNews in the Daily Express, 1983) had the following findings:

1. of an average 100 seven-year olds who attended grade I classes in 1968, only 70 completed the primary course or reached grade IV.

2. of the 70, only 56 finished grade VI.

3. only 43 of the grade VI graduates enrolled in high school of this number, 33 graduated from the secondary level.

4. the 33 enrolled in college but only 11 finished a course, the 22 dropping out before they reached third or fourth year.

guidance is not cure-all. but is a positive approach to minimize dropping out from school and to prevent its negative effects. for as the researchers said, "dropping out has human cost consisting of lost educational opportunity on the part of the dropouts, frustrations on the part of the parents, and deprivation of the nation of needed educated and skilled manpower."

it is said that the efficient guidance worker whether he be a professional in the trade or simply an amateur like the classroom teacher is one who continuously strives for self-understanding and self-acceptance. the teacher brings into the classroom and his relationships with the learners, no less than himself. he faces his students with his strengths and weakness, "airs" and inferiorities, prejudices and biases, frustrations and successes, the products of his own education and culture, the teacher cannot possibly divorce himself from his guidance functions. many times, his actions speak louder than his words. it is then important that the teacher continuously strives for self-understanding and self-acceptance for him to be guidance-oriented. guidance-orientation means that the teacher is sold to the philosophy of guidance. there is no substitute for this guidance-orientation. no amount of knowledge, guidance techniques and strategies can substitute for the teacher's guidance-orientation. any guidance activity is futile if the teacher himslef does not believe in the role of guidance in learning.

reference:

Educational Psychology (Anselmo, L. 1989. Manila)