Principles and techniques of guidance services as applicable to secondary education counsellors in Nova Scotia

Abstract

In writing a treatise on guidance services, one soon realizes that the complete field cannot adequately be covered in two or three volumes. It is this writer’s purpose , then to select those aspects of the guidance field which appear to him to be the most significant in relation to secondary education in Nova Scotia and to expand upon such features in the light of personal experience gained in Nova Scotia. There has been during recent years, increased recognition of the need for special services in schools to assist students in matters related to future planning, to help them make the most of present opportunities, and to enable them to deal with various personal problems. Organized services along this general line are often referred to as “Guidance Programs.” Accompanying this recognition there is a host of theories, backgrounds and subsequent opinions that provide the speculative or motivating force behind guidance activities. Both the general theory and the practical day-to-day provision of guidance services should be considered and integrated if the guidance field is to be adequately analyzed. The purpose of this paper then is to consider both the theoretical and practical areas of guidance services. In doing this, this writer hopes to draw on experiences within the province of Nova Scotia and the city of Dartmouth and examine, select, and integrate the ideals and aspects of the guidance field which one might consider most significant. It is also hoped that those now operating in guidance services or those interested in making a career in this field might find this work particularly significant for their immediate or long range interests. Most of the first half of the treatise will be devoted to the theoretical aspects of guidance services. Direct application to practical situations will be used only to exemplify or to back up a theoretical viewpoint. The sociological and psychological basis for guidance will be reviewed as well as reasons and aims for such services. Different counseling theories will be analyzed, selected and summarized. Such theoretical viewpoints that would be most applicable to the immediate secondary school area will be considered. As the paper progresses, more practical day-to-day procedures come under review. Such methods will be brought to view and selected in the light of what is possible and available for guidance counselors in this province.