What is guidance?

Guidance is a process of helping the individual to become adjusted to his present situation so as to provide the
maximum development for him and to help him plan for his future in terms of his interest, aptitudes, capabilities
and needs.

Some of the important misconceptions are listed below:

• Guidance and counseling deal only with severe psychological problems and, hence, are not required for
schoolchildren.
• When dealing with schoolchildren, there is not much relationship between the theory and practical
aspects of guidance and counseling.
• Guidance is always provided in group form, as many students have more or less similar issues on which
they need guidance.
• Counseling is always counselee-centred, and the counselee plays a proactive role.
• There is a single theory of guidance and counseling that can be applied to all scenarios.
• Counseling is a complex process that can only be facilitated by professional experts. A teacher cannot be
a counselor.
• Every teacher can be counseling without undergoing any counseling training, as it does not require
specific skills.
• Counseling cannot be given in a classroom situation because it involves the utilization of various
resources.
• Counseling for personal, emotional, and social problems is the responsibility of the parents, not the
teacher.
• Counseling is only for children who are experiencing problems, and not for children who are bright and
happy at school.
• A counselor can provide a readymade solution to all problems.
• Guidance is a service or process that should be employed to address an emergency situation.
• Counseling is for developed countries.
• Counseling is concerned only with educational issues.
• No ethical issues are involved in counseling.
• Counseling is a one-meeting problem-solving strategy.

Principles of guidance
1. Guidance is concerned with the whole student not with his intellectual life alone
2. Guidance is concerned with all students, not only with special case
3. Guidance is primarily concerned with prevention rather than cure
4. Guidance is more than just the activity of a specialist; it involves the whole staff
5. Guidance can exist without the specialist; the full time teacher is its backbone
6. Guidance is concerned with the choices and decisions to be made by the student
7. Guidance is concerned with developing student self-understanding and self-determination
8. Guidance is “counsel” not compulsion
9. Guidance is a continuous process throughout the school life of each individual/ student
10. Guidance is fundamentally the responsibility of parents in the home and of the teachers in school.

History and development of guidance In the Philippines, the genesis of guidance was incidental. As teachers
taught, they needed to treat problems of misbehavior. The following are landmarks of the history of guidance in
the Philippines:
1. In 1932, Dr. Sinforoso Padilla started the Psychological Clinic, which treated cases of student discipline
as well as emotional, academic and vocational problems
2. In 1934 counseling tests were administered to the convicts of Bilibid Prison
3. In 1939 tests were administered to the inmates of Welfareville
4. In 1939-40, Psychological tests were used for guidance purposes in private schools 4 Marjorie Arandela-
Caipang
5. In November 1945, the 1st guidance institute was opened
6. In 1952- guidance services were established in public schools
7. In 1945 the National Teachers College was selected as site of the first Guidance Institute 8. In 1953, the
Philippine Association of Guidance Counselors was organized