Module 8

Guidance
in Action
2357

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY AND

FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION
ISBN 978-81-7450-959-8
 List of Course Material

“If I was to be their real teacher and guardian, I

must touch their hearts. I must share their joys
and sorrows, I must help them solve the
problems that face them, and I must take along
the right channel, the surging aspirations of
their youth.”

– MAHATMA GANDHI
 ISBN 978-81-7450-959-8
First Edition
May 2009 Jyaishtha 1931
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 About the Module
This module deals with application of concepts, principles and methodology
of guidance already discussed in Module-1. As you already know there is an
emphasis on the role a guidance worker/counsellor can play in creating a
wholesome school atmosphere. Unit 1 of this module further explains the factors
that can facilitate a positive and healthy environment in school and a teacher’s/
counsellor’s role in preventing and dealing with behavioural and other discipline
problems in schools. As the counsellor has no role in enforcing discipline on
students, Unit 1 presents strategies towards inculcating self-discipline in tune
with attaining the overall educational goals.
A well trained counsellor plans and organises a systematically planned
programme of guidance based on the developmental and situational needs of
students to maximise their educational, career and personal-social development.
Unit 2 explains the steps, procedures and sample activities to facilitate
development of students with respect to each of these areas.
A comprehensive guidance programme however has to be geared to meet the
unique needs of every child in school including that of normal, disadvantaged,
physically, learning and intellectually disabled. Unit 3, in three sections, discusses
guidance needs and the strategies to guide and counsel each of the three groups.
Unit 4 presents the importance of evaluating guidance activities to establish
their identity as an integral part of school education. Feedback provided by the
consumers of guidance, i.e. students, teachers, administrators and parents can
help to continuously improve the programme and establish its effectiveness in
the school system.
The module also has self-check exercises and activities with every unit as was
given in earlier modules. A summary has also been given at the end
to give an overview of the unit. References and additional
readings provide the readers with additional sources of
information.
Module Development Team
CONTRIBUTORS
Indrani Bhaduri, Reader, DEME, NCERT, New Delhi
Kusum Sharma, Professor, DEGSN, NCERT, New Delhi
Nirmala Gupta, Professor, DEPFE, NCERT, New Delhi
S. K. Goel, Professor, Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational
Education, Bhopal
Usha Grover, Lecturer, National Institute for Mentally Handicapped, New Delhi

CONSULTING EDITOR (INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN)

Bruce Thompson, British Columbia, Canada

TEAM LEADER, EDITOR AND PROJECT IN-CHARGE

Nirmala Gupta, Professor, DEPFE, NCERT, New Delhi

MEMBERS OF THE REVIEW TEAM (OCTOBER, 2016)

Anil Kumar K., Associate Professor, RIE, Mysore
Gowramma I.P., Associate Professor, RIE, Bhubaneswar
R.K.Saraswat, Professor, DEPFE, NCERT (Retd.), New Delhi
Ruchi Shukla, Assistant Professor, DEPFE, NCERT, New Delhi
T.V.Somashekar, Assistant Professor, RIE, Mysore
Vinay Singh, Professor, DEGSN, NCERT, New Delhi

MEMBER COORDINATOR
Anjum Sibia, Professor and Head, DEPFE, NCERT, New Delhi
Prabhat K.Mishra, Associate Professor, DEPFE, NCERT, New Delhi
Shraddha Dhiwal, Assistant Professor, DEPFE, NCERT, New Delhi
 Acknowledgements
National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) gratefully
acknowledges the partnership and support of Commonwealth of Learning
(COL), Vancouver, Canada for development of course material. This has been
a gigantic task which has been possible with the help and cooperation of a
large number of persons whose contribution we wish to acknowledge.
We gratefully acknowledge the continued support and encouragement provided
by Professor Krishna Kumar, Director, NCERT all through the different stages.
Special thanks are due to Professor Sushma Gulati, Head, DEPFE, NCERT
for her constant guidance and leadership in steering the work through its various
stages and to Professor D. K. Bhattacharjee, the former Head of the Department
for his help in initiating this work.
Besides the contributors thanks are also due to Dr. Nalini Deka, Reader, I. P.
College, Delhi, Professor B. Phalachandra, RIE, Mysore, Ms. Hemlata Chari,
Practising Counsellor and Senior Executive, Kohinoor Consultants, Mumbai
for offering suggestions for improvement while reviewing the module.
We are also thankful to Dr. P. K. Mishra, Senior Lecturer, DEPFE for his
painstaking efforts in content/language editing and coordinating the printing
work.
Thanks are also due to Junior Project Fellows Ms. Gauri Pruthi, Ms. Surbhi
Batra and Ms. Poornima M. who have assisted in collection of material, preparing
exercises and activities, and proof reading and making corrections in the
manuscripts. We thank Mukesh Kumar, Computer Assistant and Tanveer
Ahmed, DTP Operator for typing, formatting and preparing graphics for this
module.
Our grateful thanks are also due to Mrs. Usha Nair for language
editing. The help provided by the Publication Department
for preparing illustrations, layout and designing, and getting
the material printed is also gratefully acknowledged.
 Contents
About the Module iii

Unit 1 Guidance for Promoting Self-discipline 1

Unit 2 Planning and Organising a Guidance Programme 22

Unit 3 Guidance and Counselling for Children with Special Needs

Part I Guidance and Counselling for Children with 53

Intellectual Disability

Part II Guidance and Counselling for Children with 66

Learning Disability

Part III Guidance and Counselling for Children with 81

Physical Disability
Unit 4 Evaluation in Guidance and Counselling 98
 Guidance ffor
or PPrromoting
Self-discipline

1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 What is Discipline?
1.3 Why Discipline?
1.3.1 External and Internal Discipline
1.3.2 Importance of Self-discipline
1.4 Causes of Indiscipline
1.5 Techniques of Maintaining Discipline
1.5.1 Reinforcement
1.5.1.1 Types of Rewards
1.5.2 Anger Control
1.5.3 Yoga and Meditation
1.5.4 Peer Helping
1.6 Self-management
1.6.1 Self-instructions
1.6.2 Self-disclosure
1.6.3 Self-records or Diary Entry
1.7 Counselling Approach to Improving Discipline
1.8 Summary
Self-evaluation Exercises
Answer Key to Self-evaluation Exercises
Answer Key to Self-check Exercises
References
Suggested Readings
Websites
 Guidance for Promoting
Self-discipline

1.0 INTRODUCTION
In Module-1, you learnt about the guidance techniques used in the classroom in the
group situations. It is important for you to build rapport with your students to do your
guidance and teaching activities effectively with students. In your interactions with
students, however, you may have come across situations such as irregularity,
inattention, and behavioural problems inside or outside your classroom that disturb
the teaching and learning process. You may have used strategies to solve these problems
which were not always totally effective. Teachers often wished that they knew how to
minimise occurrence of such indiscipline problems and deal with them more effectively.
Cases of indiscipline are also often referred to a counsellor or a teacher counsellor for
correction of student misbehaviour.
This unit is aimed at providing you with an understanding of the meaning,
importance and causes of indiscipline. The unit will also help you to learn how, as a
teacher or a counsellor, you could prevent indiscipline. It is a well-known fact that it
is better to prevent indiscipline than to manage the indiscipline problems. It is important
to understand the difference between self-discipline and imposed discipline in learning.
Self-discipline can be inculcated in the students by using some self-monitoring and
self-regularising teacher managed or student managed strategies.

1.1 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to:
• explain the meaning and importance of discipline.
• identify the discipline related problems, its causes, in and outside the classroom.
• differentiate between externally imposed discipline and self-discipline.
• discuss the importance of self-discipline.
• use the techniques/strategies for prevention of indiscipline and inculcation and
maintenance of self discipline.
1.2 WHAT IS DISCIPLINE?
Discipline generally means abiding by rules, regulations and conforming to the set
norms without questioning or challenging them. In the school situation also it means
following the school rules and yielding to the authority, obeying the teachers’ orders
and maintaining order in the class and school. Those who break the rules and
regulations are generally punished in schools and homes causing pain, fear, injury, etc.
Since ancient times, law breakers or offenders were given physical punishment to
weaken their will and motivation to commit offence. Such measures however build
fear or resentment in the rule breaker. Issues related to disciplining children so that
they wilfully follow rules and norms set by the society have often plagued teachers
and parents. Discipline in its truest sense is exercising self-restraint and self-control
in a natural manner which supports and promotes growth in a system be it an
educational system or any other system.

1.3 WHY DISCIPLINE?

As teachers you are aware that learning proceeds in a structured environment that
takes for granted that the students are somewhat disciplined and interested to work
seriously and independently without continuous rewards or punishment from external
sources to be at work. As agents of socialisation, teachers and parents want students
to be disciplined and behave in mature and responsible ways but at times they face a
great challenge in behaviour management of students. Questions such as how much
freedom may be allowed? In what manner should limits or restrictions be imposed?
How to instill a sense of right and wrong in children often come to the mind of
adults.
Given below are examples of some common problems that teachers generally
face and some punitive strategies used by them to deal with these situations.
Read the following situations:
• Nitish doesn’t concentrate on the task assigned. If he does, he does it in a
sloppy manner. He fights with other students around and disturbs the whole
class during teaching by his pranks. He is often beaten by the teacher for
doing this and many times made to stand outside the class.
• Dinesh, since last 3 months, comes late to class, does not bring homework
and keeps bullying other students of the class. Reports of his misbehaviour
have often been sent to his parents.
• The students of the 8th class have finished their maths class. They need to go
to the science laboratory for practicals for the next class. They take lot of time
to go and during this time make lot of noise and indulge in teasing, pushing
each other, fighting, bullying, etc. All such children are made to do sit ups or
made to sit holding their ears with hands pressed under legs.
As seen in above situations, teachers often resort to physical punishment. Giving
physical punishment is a common practice in schools as reported by children, parents,
teachers and media in many South Asian countries such as India, Bangladesh, Bhutan,

GUIDANCE FOR PROMOTING SELF-DISCIPLINE 3

Nepal, Maldives, etc. It not only hampers the physical and psychological growth of
children but also contributes significantly to children dropping out of school (UNICEF,
2001) (see box, below).
Corporal Punishment in Schools
Every day, in South Asia as elsewhere
in the world, children are beaten in their
schools as a means of discipline.
Corporal punishment means to inflict
punishment on the body. Such violence
may be a deliberate act of punishment
or simply the impulsive reaction of an
irritated teacher, parent, adult or even
an older child. No matter what form the
violence, it is always a violation of
children’s fundamental human rights
(Hammarberg, T. & Newell, P., 2001).
Though most of the countries have rules
and regulations concerning corporal
punishment in schools, law enforcement
is often weak. Some of the common
ways of punishing children in schools
are: making children stand on the bench,
making them raise hands, caning and
pinching, making them stand for the
whole day in the sun, scolding, abusing and humiliating or suspending them for a
couple of days, calling names or labeling, detention during the break or lunch, locking
them in a dark or store room, making them sit on the floor, clean the premises, not
allowing them to participate in games, extra-curricular activities, etc. In extreme
cases, it can take the form of torturing the child, child sexual abuse, giving electric
shock and all other acts leading to insult, humiliation, physical and mental injury,
and even death. Beyond violating this fundamental right, beating a child causes
pain, injury, humiliation, anxiety, anger and vindictiveness that will have a long term
psychological effect.Various studies have also shown that child abuse and physical
violence in the early years contribute to children turning violent (Karr, & Wiley,
1997). Physical abuse reduces a child’s sense of worth and increases his/her
vulnerability to depression (Sue, D., Sue, D. W. & Sue, S., 2000). Children subjected
to repeated violence exhibit dysfunctional behaviour such as poor communication,
aggressive behaviour towards themselves and others. Furthermore, it produces
feelings of guilt, violation, loss of control and low self-esteem (SCF-Sweden &
EPOCH, 1993). To address the issue of corporal punishment, the root causes of
violence must be addressed, and child-friendly, child-centred teaching-learning must
be promoted. —UNICEF, 2001. Corporal Punishment in Schools in South Asia.

4 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 In order to plan and organise suitable preventive and remedial measures for students
misbehaviour and other discipline related problems, it is necessary to understand the
true meaning and goal of discipline, and causes of such problems.
Let us first differentiate between the two kinds of discipline: external and internal.
1.3.1 External and Internal Discipline
What is external and internal discipline? External discipline is imposed by the external authority
or teacher by using punishment/reward to elicit the desired behaviour. In case of internal
discipline the restraint is exercised by the person himself/herself for regulating behaviour.
Some of you must be using externally imposed practices such as making the child
stand outside the class or shouting. But many of us have tried to find out ways to
inculcate internal discipline by finding out why the child was behaving in that way, and
tried to address the cause to motivate the child to behave in a socially desirable manner.
Normally in the process of socialisation children acquire understanding of right
or wrong. Psychologists have found that this understanding undergoes change as the
child matures. In early years, the ability to restrain is largely dependent upon the
limits set by parents/teachers/older siblings and guidance and understanding provided
by them. Some theorists believe that the child generally responds to reward and
punishment orientation and acquires the behaviour that is rewarded or approved and
avoids whatever is punished. However according to another point of view, the child
uses insight and reasoning as he/she matures to respond to situations from the acquired
ability to understand the codes of discipline, sometimes on the basis of self-generated
reasons (internal discipline) or by understanding the need to follow rules and regulations
set by others for maintaining discipline. Therefore significant persons need to provide
opportunities to the children to express their opinions and take decisions on issues
which are of concern to them and others around them.
Which practice is a better practice?
Punishment is used in many cases even today. Students who do not obey school rules
are given physical punishment to weaken energy and motivation to indulge in violence
or misbehave which crushes the healthy development of personality. This approach
does not help in disciplining the faculties of mind, instead may set the foundations of
fear and anger in children. Therefore disciplining in such a way is likely to have temporary
effects. For example outside the class, a particular child may revert to original undesirable
behaviour. The students may appear to be disciplined and well mannered outwardly but
so far as their attitude and behaviour are concerned it may remain unchanged.
The other approach would require understanding the person and the cause of his/her
wrong behaviour helping him/her to rectify the wrong behaviour, and then empowering
him/her to control their behaviour so that indiscipline does not occur. This is the discipline
of mind, heart and actions which could lead to internal discipline or self-discipline.
1.3.2 Importance of Self-discipline
Self-discipline is a gradual process of acquiring notions of right and wrong. You may
have observed that a very young child responds well to external discipline. A child
GUIDANCE FOR PROMOTING SELF-DISCIPLINE 5
understands and accepts that whenever he/she wilfully breaks rules, consequences
follow. Gradually he/she begins to internalise the approved ways of behaviour and
sets own limits. Given the opportunity to exercise reason or logic for maintaining
discipline, children also learn to put restraints or control on themselves. Self-discipline
thus is ability to exercise control or act in a socially accepted and desirable way.
A child could be self-disciplined when he/she utilises the following techniques:
• Comprehends the need for self-restraint.
• Is able to give reasons for behaving in a particular manner.
• Is also a party to the creation of the rule.
• Is able to postpone or delay satisfaction or reward.
Now that you have learnt what discipline is, why it is important and the difference
between external and internal or self-discipline, we shall discuss how this approach
can be used while handling disciplinary problems. In order to handle disciplinary
problems, the first step is to understand the causes that lead to indiscipline.

Self-check Exercise 1
State whether the following statements are true or false. True False
1. Discipline can only be imposed by an outside authority
or by significant adults and cannot be self acquired.
2. A child is said to have self discipline when he/she can
delay gratification.
3. Physical punishment is needed and has to be used
sooner or later.
4. There should be active involvement of students in the
disciplining process.
5. It is easier to discipline a child as compared to an adult.

1.4 CAUSES OF INDISCIPLINE

Various reasons for misbehaviour of children could be classified in the following broad
categories:
• Home or familial factors – Unhealthy home environment characterised by abuse,
fighting among parents which sets wrong role models for children, lack of routine,
regularity or monitoring at home, lack of quality time given to children by parents,
pampering excessively or always giving into child’s demands may result in
indiscipline in children.
• School approach, teacher’s behaviour, etc. – How far the school programme,
practices, rules and regulations are in tune with children’s needs and are providing
opportunities for their all-round growth and development. Furthermore, teacher
behaviour, e.g. harsh or authoritative tone, inability to handle class, use of punitive
methods of behavior management, poor teaching techniques, poor motivation,
etc. have been found to be causes of student inattention, lack of interest and
indiscipline in school.
6 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
• Child’s personality - Sometimes deficiency in the child himself/herself can cause
discipline problems, e.g. a child’ aggressive behaviour, hyperactivity may cause
discipline problems, if not dealt with adequately.
After identifying the reasons for misbehaviour we could use this information in
devising different techniques for maintaining discipline. For if the causes of indiscipline
are removed, discipline would be a logical consequence.

Activity 1
Read the following three situations and see if you can determine what the
root cause for the problem might be.
• Peter was hit by his neighbour and in turn Peter also hit his neighbour
back. The neighbour was badly hurt. Peter came home running and told
his father. Peter’s father only heard and kept quiet. A few days later
Peter was involved in the same type of incident in school and Peter was
severely punished for it.
• Radha has a history of being a good student in all her subjects. She is
often praised and rewarded for it. Now since Radha is accepted as a
bright girl, she is no longer receiving praise and reward. One of the
teachers Neera scolds her for every little mistake. Radha started to lose
interest and is not concentrating in Madam Neera’s class and is therefore
not performing well. According to other teachers she is one of the best
students of their class.
• Class 8th students are told by the class teacher to go to the football ground.
The teacher does not give any instructions as to what they will do, what
games to play or who will supervise them. The students go to the
playground, few play and the rest are seen bullying, teasing, and fighting.
•

For the above examples can you determine what the possible causes of
misbehaviour might be?
In the first situation, conflicting rules at home and school are the reasons
which are likely to create confusion in the mind of the youngster. In the
second situation, teacher attitude may be the most predominant cause of
deviant behaviour, in the third situation, lack of clarity of rules is perhaps
creating indiscipline.
Let us now find out, what can you do to maintain discipline in the
classroom.

GUIDANCE FOR PROMOTING SELF-DISCIPLINE 7

1.5 TECHNIQUES OF MAINTAINING DISCIPLINE
You as a teacher counsellor can play an important role in preventing indiscipline and
maintaining discipline. Identification and analysis of the situation/behaviour is the
key to solving various indiscipline problems. However, creating healthy teaching
learning/school climate could be one of the significant measures for preventing
indiscipline in school.
Following dos and don’ts may prove helpful for teachers and counsellors.
• Show respect to every child and give unconditional acceptance and respect
individuality.
• Don’t use sarcasm but use appreciation and encouragement.
• Don’t lose temper and encourage discussion and also respect decisions.
• Don’t embarrass or make students loose face in front of friends, respect every
child irrespective of his/her background or achievement.
• Be consistent, fair and firm.
• Don’t continuously threaten the students but explain the need to follow rules.
• Plan sufficient material to teach and be well prepared for teaching or any
other activity.
• Avoid reporting small problems to higher authorities but deal with them at
your own level and try to resolve them amicably.
• Take initiative to develop good rapport with students.
• Accept every child but not his/her bad behaviour.
• Have clarity of speech in communication.

Activity 2
Mr. Thakur teaches history to 8th class. He always comes unprepared and
finishes his class 10-15 minutes early leaving students with no task. Students
start talking and misbehaving. Mr. Thakur as usual loses temper followed
by shouting at students. Out of the group he identifies two or three
rebellious students and takes them to the principal. The situation is repeated
frequently but misbehaviour of students is increasing everyday. Can you
identify some of the ‘don’ts’ that are being used by Mr. Thakur.

Yes, you are correct! Out of the several don’ts that you have mentioned above,
Mr. Thakur is using most of these. The result is that Mr. Thakur is not able to maintain
discipline.
Let us further understand the concept of “rules” for maintaining discipline. We
often make rules but these are seldom followed. Teachers are often heard saying ‘you
are not following the rules’ or ‘you have broken the rule’. Teachers should reflect and

8 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
discuss with students why rules are made? Before the rules are implemented, the
following may be kept in mind.
1. Explain reasons for making rules, so that the students know how these will benefit
them.
2. Involve students in forming rules.
3. Explain the rules to all at the beginning of the school session.
4. Make rules clear. For example, ask students to respond to the question, ‘why is it
important to maintain silence’, a discussion on the above may lead to understanding
the need for maintaining silence.
5. Repeat rules when necessary.
6. Create rules to govern transition periods such as time lag from one activity
to another.
7. Make penalties and rewards very clear.
Let us look at the following situations to find out what is causing indiscipline and
what is required of a teacher to maintain discipline. Two situations are described below.
• Mr. David teaches English to 6th grade. He takes the English class using same
method of teaching over the entire session. All students seem motivated and well
behaved in the first three months. Gradually problems of talking, poor homework
and poor attention starts.
• Miss Ruby is a very serious teacher. She takes science for 9th class . Students
appreciate her sincerity and seriousness in delivering the subject matter but she
likes complete silence in class, does not encourage questioning, discussion and
any interruption in class by students. Students are afraid of her, they do not like
her and the science class.
In the first situation, need for introducing variety and innovation in the method
of teaching and in the second situation bringing in more participation or involvement
of students in teaching are some of the strategies which could prove useful.
Some other techniques are being suggested below which can help to introduce
variety and create interest in the students in a learning activity. Some authors, have
suggested methods which may be useful to deal with classroom deviancy.
• Change the Channel – Use of multiple modes of communication such as audio,
visual, tactile and so on help to introduce variety and also take care of various
levels of learning and understanding in class. Similarly use of methods such as
quiz, discussions, projects, assignments, etc. can also help in encouraging innovation
and creativity. Continuous use of only one method (e.g. talking) could become
monotonous, if students are getting disinterested, the teacher can change the
topic or the strategy or shift to another mode of delivery to explain the concept
under discussion.
• Time out is a non-punitive approach to handle indisciplined behaviour. If there
is a constant interruption or disturbance in the class by a student, he/she can be
told politely not to interact with the peers/teachers for a small duration of time say
10 min until he/she is ready for the class again.
• Catharsis is the process of releasing the built up aggressive energy in the
individual. The longer the energy is built up, the greater will be the amount of

GUIDANCE FOR PROMOTING SELF-DISCIPLINE 9

 aggression displayed when it is discharged. Therefore one should provide
opportunities to children to “air off grievances” allowing them to talk about his/
her problems with friends/peers. Children would approach a teacher who has non-
judgmental attitude and is easily accessible.
• Visual Prompting/Signaling is the use of non-verbal cues in class like eye contact
or hand signal towards the students creating the problem to stop the problem
behaviour. It maintains the normal flow of the ongoing activity without interrupting
the lecture and also helps in checking the disturbing behaviour. For example if a
student is looking around or is inattentive, one way to reduce it may be simply to
point towards the book. Teacher should be able to read the student signals as well
as be able to give signals to the students. For example Mrs. Arora locates students
engaged in talking and not concentrating in the class. She gives an angry look and
stands close to these students. Such signals may end inattention without allowing
it to escalate into a bigger problem.
Teacher also can signal to the students and let them know that they see what
is going on? In the above case, a teacher moved near the inattentive students, and
made angry eye contact. Such signals do not interrupt the lesson and are effective.
• Ripple Effect If a child is creating a problem, how a teacher prevents its further
spread by being clear with her commands and using firmness in handling which
may have beneficial effect on the other students. It is called so, because the
interaction between a teacher and a deviant student in a classroom is witnessed
by other students also. So, along with one student other students are also affected
by a negative or positive action of the teacher.
• Focus Control In this technique the focus is centred on the relationship between
the teacher and the deviant which can be used to correct the misbehaviour.
Consider the following example:
Madam Sahnaaz tells Reena who is often late, “I
am disappointed that you are coming late to school
in spite of my telling you not to do so. Being a
sincere and respectful child I always thought you
would never break the rules and annoy the
teacher and you will listen to what I say”.
In the above example, the teacher has used
‘approval focus’ whereby the child is made aware
of teacher expectations which may help in
minimising the indisciplined behaviour.
The next situation is an example of ‘Task-
focused approach’. The teacher focuses on the
task, which a child is required to do, lest the child is not able to achieve well. It is not
necessary to be overtly serious while doing this.
“You need to concentrate during the class or else you will not be able to answer
the questions later. I will not repeat this lesson”.

10 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
• ‘Physical Proximity’
Given below are examples of using ‘Physical Proximity’ to correct misbehaviour
of the students. If a teacher brings the distance closer between him/her and the
student and stands near the offender, it is often found that minor misbehaviour
stops.
• ‘Post Mortem Session’
It is called so, because the teacher has decided to get into a detailed analysis of
student’s misbehaviour, e.g. Aslam misbehaves in the class; the teacher tells him
generally to meet her after the class, to have a discussion regarding his habit of
talking in class. Sunil disturbs other students and looses interest in class often.
Madam Anita makes him sit just next to her in the class and ensures that he
sits close to teacher’s desk in other classes as well.
Some other methods of disciplining, which have been widely and successfully
practised, are discussed in the next few paragraphs.
• ‘Abuse it- lose it’
The students not behaving well during games period or students damaging the
play materials are not allowed to go to the games class for two sessions. Any child
who misbehaves or shows misconduct in one situation, can be denied the benefit
in similar or related situation.
Do you think this technique of loosing the privilege on not following it can
work with your children?

Activity 3
List out five such situations where you can use the above techniques.
•
•
•
•

Self-check Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks from the alternatives given below:
a. Visual prompting b. Time out
c. Abuse it– lose it d. Catharsis
1. is a non punitive approach to handle indiscipline in the
classroom.
2. is the process of releasing the pent up emotions.
3. Use of non-verbal cues in class like eye contact or hand signal towards the
child/student creating the problem is called .
4. The child is punished by denying the benefit or losing the privilege in
technique.

GUIDANCE FOR PROMOTING SELF-DISCIPLINE 11

1.5.1 Reinforcement
We all know that positive reinforcement increases the probability of occurrence of
the desired behaviour in similar situations. The reinforcement can be introduced in
the form of rewards. In above examples the reward is reduction in teacher’s checking
the student and motivation to get more marks.
There are different ways in which the reinforcement can be provided. The timing
and frequency of intervals is referred to as schedules of reinforcement.

Schedules of Reinforcement Description

Continuous Reinforcement Schedule Reinforcing behaviour every time it occurs.
Partial reinforcement Schedule Reinforcing behaviour sometimes but not
always.
Fixed Ratio Reinforcing behaviour only after a certain
number of responses are made.
Variable Ratio schedule Reinforcement after varying number of
responses rather than a fixed number.
Fixed Interval A schedule that provides reinforcement for
a response only after a fixed time period.
Variable Interval Schedule A schedule whereby the time between
reinforcements varies.

1.5.1.1 Types of Rewards

Studies show that rewards
elicit positive feelings and they
increase the probability of any
behaviour.
Rewards can be divided
into two categories: primary
and secondary. Primary
rewards are those which
satisfy some biological needs
and work naturally regardless
of previous experience. They
are also referred as immediate
needs of a person such as
food, water, etc. Secondary
rewards are the ones which
become stimulating because of its association with the primary reinforcer, either signal/
indicate the occurrence of primary rewards or are associated with them such as, a
praise, pat, smile, etc. Rewards can be of several types:
• Material Rewards – Material rewards are things and articles liked by children,
e.g. marbles, balls, kite, bangles, etc.
12 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
• Social Rewards – Social rewards are verbal praises or signs of appreciations liked
by children, e.g. ‘good’, ‘well done’, ‘excellent’ or non verbal like smile, nod, hug, etc.
• Activity Rewards – Activity rewards are actions or behaviours liked to be
performed by children, e.g. listening to music, watching T.V, drawing pictures,
riding bicycle, playing games, etc.
• Privileges – Giving special privileges or special status, e.g. making a child monitor,
captain, or leader of the group, etc.
• Token Rewards – Token rewards are items though valueless in their own right,
gain value through association with other things. They are given to children
following the performance of a desired target behaviour, e.g. giving a star, giving
a badge, tick mark, card or certificate, etc.
You may use any of the above rewards but remember you have to first find out
what would be rewarding to the child. Therefore you need to know which reward is to
be used with whom before starting to use it to reinforce or modify the behaviour,
because different rewards may carry different value for different students.
There are some principles, which need to be followed for using rewards.
• Provide reinforcement immediately after the occurrence of desirable behaviour.
• Reinforce target behaviour each time in the initial stages and then slowly reduce
the frequency of rewards to teach the student to learn to postpone motivation for
reward.
• Use intermittent reinforcement, after achieving the target behaviour.
• Pair material reward with social reward or other secondary rewards to reduce
tangible habit for material reward.
• Gradually introduce self-reinforcement.
As an example let us closely study the reinforcement delivery in the following
situations.
Radha is a hardworking student. She always prepares the lessons to be taught in
class and attends her classes regularly. Whenever the teacher asks questions in the
class or gives assignments, Radha always raises her hand. As the teacher fails to notice
her and does not call her to answer she has stopped raising her hand and does not feel
motivated to participate in class.
Yes! Without adequate reinforcement, the desirable behaviour is not maintained
and learning of new behaviour is not possible.
By using the method of rewarding appropriate behaviour, frequency of such a
behaviour can be increased. Mr. Mehta announced “All students who complete the
run without a single stop shall get a special badge on a sports theme”. The class of 30
students ran, most of them ran without stop in between. Mr. Mehta failed to identify
the students who halted midway for one or more time. He could not give reward to
anyone. Do you think that next time these students are going to follow Mr. Mehta’s
instructions? Probably not! Because he failed to keep his promise to give rewards to
the successful students.

GUIDANCE FOR PROMOTING SELF-DISCIPLINE 13

 Activity 4
Select situations where primary reinforcer like food and drink will work best.
•
•
•
•

Self-check Exercise 3
Match the following
1. Immediate reinforcement for a. in initial stages
desirable behaviour.
2. Target behaviour is reinforced b. articles liked by children like
each time kites, marbles, balls, etc.
3. Example of material rewards are c. principle of reinforcement delivery.
4. Activity rewards are actions or d. making a child monitor of the
behaviours liked by children such as group, etc.
5. To give special privilege or special e. listening to music, watching T.V.,
status may involve things like playing games, etc.

Is it wise to continue providing tangible things in all situations? No, hence pairing
of tangible reinforcer with social reinforcer is a must. This can help fade the tangible
reinforcer gradually. With small children tangible rewards may work better.
1.5.2 Anger Control
Let us visualise the following situation:
Shamim Ahmed is the class teacher of 8th grade. He identified some students who
indulge in bullying and fighting. They are often found to be indulging in screaming,
hitting and pushing others whenever they lost temper. Shamim Ahmed trained these
students some relaxation exercises, asked them to close their eyes and lips and
concentrate on something good. After repeated practice for about a month, the
aggressive behaviour of students reduced.
In the above situation, the child is helped to replace his angry thoughts/feelings
with more pleasant ones. This helps in teaching the students that they can exert control
over their behaviour and handle situations effectively. Another example is the “Turtle”
technique of Robin, Schneider, and Dolnick (1976), in which the teacher teaches
aggressive students to assume a turtle position when upset. The students learn to
place their heads on their desks, close their eyes, and clench their fists. This gives
them an immediate response in anger provoking situations and enables them to engage
in appropriate behaviour and to think of constructive solutions. The key is training
students to delay impulsive response while they gradually relax, they are asked to
think about constructive alternatives.
14 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
1.5.3 Yoga and Meditation
Yoga and meditation have been found to be effective for improving attention,
concentration, anger control as well as for disciplining the body and mind. Yoga and
meditation have been introduced as a compulsory part of the Indian school curriculum.
But these should only be used by teachers properly trained in the techniques. The
school can introduce a regular programme of yoga and meditation for students
conducted by personnel properly trained in the use of these techniques. More on yoga
and meditation has been discussed in Module-2, in the unit on “Alternative Therapies”.
1.5.4 Peer Helping
Children learn a lot from their friends. “Peer tutoring” and “peer helping” have proven
effective in improving student learning and behaviour. The teacher can identify students
with leadership qualities who are motivated and willing to help others. With further
training in listening skills they can help their school/classmates to overcome their
subject related and other personal or social problems. A trained counsellor can help
teachers to organise ‘peer helper’ orientation/training programmes for students.

1.6 SELF-MANAGEMENT
It is certain that students need to be trained in self-control or self-management. Unless
students themselves take active part in making behaviour changes and learn to maintain
discipline, no external pressures will be successful. Self-discipline thus means having
a disciplined mind and habits. A self-disciplined student may feel free to do things in
his/her own way but does not go beyond certain limits. It is an internal capacity
which motivates and inspires a person to act properly in any situation. We shall now
discuss some of the self management/self monitoring methods.
The methods are more successful if the students are first motivated to follow
rules and regulations, understand the advantages of being more planned and systematic
to lead a disciplined life. If there is any problem he/she has to be prepared to bring
about change. Once motivation and willingness is in place, change is faster and is
likely to be lasting. Self-management involves self-observation and self-recording.
The child is oriented or given training to count or regulate habits according to a
schedule. Such strategies are successful because people in the process of observing
their behaviour closely notice what they need to change. The students realise and
understand the problem behaviour and its possible causes, which helps him/her to
initiate changes into his/her actions and thoughts. This insight helps the student to
monitor the behaviour in daily life.
Let us study the following example.
Laxman is a student of class 7th. He frequently looks through the window thus
loses concentration. As a result misses relevant discussion in the class.
Hari a student of class 8th always keeps talking to his partner on the desk in class and
is checked by the teacher thus disturbing the flow of lesson, other students look helplessly.
Laxman and Hari do not realise how their actions are disturbing others.

GUIDANCE FOR PROMOTING SELF-DISCIPLINE 15

 In the above situation, can you guess how a teacher can help Laxman and Hari to
correct themselves?
If teacher orients Hari and Laxman to observe their own behaviour he/she may
ask Hari to enter in the diary the numbers of times he talked to his classmate and is
checked. Similarly Laxman was asked to note each time he looked out of the window.
Hari noted that he was talking and being checked by the teacher five to seven times
in each class. Laxman also noted that he looked out of the window at least ten times.
They both were told to keep a record of their distracting behaviours. They were then
told to reduce frequency of such behaviour each day to reduce frequency of checking
of the teacher and to improve their marks in studies. The teacher noted that both
Hari and Laxman reduced their misbehaviour and their concentration in class improved.
The change that occurred when Hari and Laxman monitored their own behaviour
is known as self-management.
1.6.1 Self-instructions
This technique of thought control through self-instruction is called “think aloud”.
Self-verbalisation, developing alternate response, and helping students in understanding
the cause and effect are techniques to help students develop self-control.
A teacher can regularly ask students to rehearse the following statement to develop
or enhance self-control.
• can control myself. • can learn without help.
• can win friends. • can become competent.
• am O.K. • can be successful.
With the repeated practice of these positive thoughts, the students can ultimately
acquire the ability to achieve their targets.
1.6.2 Self-disclosure
Giving an opportunity to disclose oneself is called self-disclosure. This helps a person
to discuss his assets, limitations, problems in a secure environment.
Example
Father Thomas, the headmaster of the school, has always believed in self-control. He
spent a lot of time discussing with students their problems both individually and in
groups. His friendly behaviour encourages students to disclose their good and bad
habits. The students also get encouraged to discuss with him how they can get rid of
their bad habits.
Self-disclosure during counselling can also mean that a teacher or a counsellor
discloses a personal experience related to the issue or problem being discussed, which
has a therapeutic value and also serves to model the desired behaviour change.

16 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 Activity 5
Give one activity each which you would use in your class for maintaining
discipline using the following techniques:

Techniques Activities
Self monitoring
Turtle response
Self instruction
Yoga and meditation
Self disclosure

1.6.3 Self-records or Diary Entry

Diary entry is another method which can be used for acquiring understanding into
one’s behaviour.
The practice can be emphasised for your students who can be asked to note down in
diary all the significant events and situations of the day and something about their
behaviour they feel good about and the behaviour that they want to overcome. Over
the next few months, they can be asked to closely monitor their diary writing and record
the behaviour they want to improve and discuss with the teacher how they could improve.
Activity 6
Ask students to list out some behaviours, which they can write in the diary
for self-improvement?
• reached school late by 10 minute today; I will never be late again.
• spoke harshly to my partner; I will be soft from today.
•
•
•
•
There can be many such things and the list is never ending. Try to develop the diary

1.7 COUNSELLING APPROACH TO IMPROVING DISCIPLINE

Counselling has been found to be helpful in correcting misbehaviour of children. Counsellor,
to begin with, would create a warm permissive atmosphere which would minimise the
need to misbehave and give opportunity to the child to freely express negative feelings.
Using the counselling relationship as a model, teacher can utilise it to improve the quality
of their interactions with students to reduce their motivation for misbehavior. The teacher
counsellor would provide an opportunity to the offender in an individual or group setting,
to air the mean or the negative feelings. The logic is that misbehaviour occurs from the
repression of mean feelings that need to be released. If these are brought to the level of
consciousness, the basic drive for misbehaviour is lessened (Williamson, 1955).
GUIDANCE FOR PROMOTING SELF-DISCIPLINE 17
 The counselling sessions can also be used to understand the child’s home
environment whether warm or cold. Parental guidance could also be provided to
improve the home environment to make it conducive for discipline. The school
philosophy, its rules and practices, interaction styles also contribute to creating a
climate for discipline. The counsellor can also identify school related difficulties faced
by a child, contribute to designing a curriculum catering to the needs of children and
make the school a satisfying place for the learner.
Research supports active involvement of students in the discipline process to
promote disciplined behaviour (Murphy, 1995; Brophy, 1985). Research also indicates
that actually teaching of responsible behaviour and self management to students can
be helpful in disciplining (Gallagher, 1997; Gottfredson, Gottfredson and Hybl, 1993;
Shockley, and Sevier, 1991; Kyle 1991). Dollard, Christensen, Colucci, and Epanchin
(1996) discovered that giving more responsibility for their own behaviour to students
was found important in case of not only normal but also children with special needs.
Another step in avoiding indiscipline would be its prevention.
Preventing problems before they occur is very important. Without prevention
strategies, one is caught in an endless cycle of short-term solutions. Establishing
classroom rules, procedures for accountability are the initial steps. Being prepared
with practical strategies to deal with the moment of misbehaviour is also very important.
Attention getting, power exercising, revenge, avoidance, impulsive and unmotivated
behaviours all need different strategies to deal with effectively.
Furthermore, giving students the support they need to choose appropriate
behaviour is very important. Teaching responsible behaviour, establishing classroom
harmony, and actively involving students in the discipline process are key to dealing
with the immediate situation, resulting in pro-social behaviours. Parental co-operation
may sometimes also be required for choosing alternative behaviour to disruption.
Furthermore, violence is prevented when students have a positive connection to
the schools (Furlong, Morrison & Pavelski, 2000). Positive teacher-student
relationships promote favourable student attitudes towards school (Murphy, 1995).
Love, understanding and warmth provided along with the firm and fair methods to
put a desired restraint on behaviour can lay the foundation for developing self-discipline.

1.8 Summary
Discipline in and out of the classroom is the major concern of the teachers
and guidance counsellors. The teacher would have difficulties in achieving
learning outcomes without class discipline. Without discipline, no student
can be helped to achieve his/her goals. Guidance counsellors and teachers
can play an important role in maintaining discipline in the school.
A guidance and counselling approach is strictly opposed to externally
imposed discipline. The guidance approach emphasises understanding
the child, the causes of the discipline problem and empowering the
person to control his/her own behaviour.

18 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 1.8 Summary

Conflicting rules, lack of clarity in rules, uninteresting activities,

experiences of failure, uncongenial environment at home, quality of
school organisation and socio-economic factors can cause indiscipline
problems. Identification and analysis of the factors causing indiscipline
and taking remedial measures could be helpful.
Discipline is important for creating a healthy teaching climate. Use
of sarcasm, loosing temper, embarrassing remarks, threatening students,
reporting of small matters to authorities, etc. should not be used as
measures for maintaining discipline. Clarity in rules, speech and
communication, consistency and firmness, taking care of children’s
psychological and physical needs are some other elements for
maintaining discipline. Changing the method of teaching intermittently,
using games, quizzes, humour are some other effective ways.
Reinforcers increase the occurrence of desirable behaviour. Powerful
rewarding consequences need to be provided for sustaining learning. With
the help of reinforcement, self-discipline can be sustained better. Various
principles for delivering reinforcers can give effective results. Depending
upon age, sex, culture and individual preferences reinforcers can be selected.
Self-monitoring, self-instruction, self-disclosure, diary entry, yoga
and meditation, peer helping, etc. are other techniques which have been
presented in the unit to discipline students.

1. Describe with examples any five ways of maintaining discipline in

the classroom.
Self-evaluation Exercises

2. What are the various types of rewards, which teachers or parents

could use in disciplining children?
3. What are the various schedules of reinforcement that can be used in
classroom? Explain with examples.
4. Explain any two techniques of self-discipline with your students and
report the findings.
Answer Key to Self-evaluation Exercises
1. Elaborate on the following
• Discipline can be maintained by external means as introduced by
teachers or other adults or by training children in self-control or
self-management.
• Elaborate on any five external techniques with examples.
2. Elaborate on the following
– Material rewards – Social rewards – Activity rewards
– Privileges – Token rewards
3. Explain the following schedules with examples
– Continuous reinforcement schedule

GUIDANCE FOR PROMOTING SELF-DISCIPLINE 19

 – Partial reinforcement schedule – Fixed ratio
– Variable ratio schedule – Fixed interval
– Variable interval schedule.
4. Explain any two self-discipline techniques like self-instruction or self-
disclosure and explain how they benefited your students.

Answer Key to Self-check Exercises

Self-check Exercise 1
1. F 2. T 3. F 4. T 5. T
Self-check Exercise 2
1. b 2. d 3. a 4. c
Self-check Exercise 3
1. c 2. a 3. b 4. e 5. d

References
Brophy, J. 1985. Classroom management as instruction: Socialising
self-guidance in students. Theory into Practice. 24 (4), 233–24.
Dollard, N., Christensen, L., Colucci, K., and Epanchin, B. 1996. Constructive
classroom management. Focus on Exceptional Children. 29 (2),1–12.
Furlong, M. J., Morrison, G. M. and Pavelski, R. 2000. Trends in school
psychology for the 21st century: Influences of school violence on
professional change. Psychology in the Schools. 37, 81–90.
Gallagher, P. 1997. Promoting dignity: Taking the destructive D’s out
of behavior disorders. Focus on Exceptional Students. 29 (9), 1–19.
Gottfredson, D., Gottsfredson, G., and Hybl, L. 1993. Managing small
adolescent behavior: A multiyear, multischool study. American Educational
Research Journal. 30 (1), 179–215.
Hammarberg, T., and Newell, P. 2000. The Right Not to be Hit: Children’s Rights,
Turning Principles into Practice. UNICEF and Save the Children Sweden.
Stockholm.
Karr-Morse, R., and Wiley, M. S. 1997. Ghosts from the Nursery: Tracing the
Roots of Violence. The Atlantic Monthly Press. New York.
Murphy, C. 1995. Building positive attitudes in the classroom. Schools in
the Middle. 4 (4), 31–33.
Robin, A., Schneider, M., and Dolnick, M. 1976. The turtle technique:
An extended case study of self-control in the classroom. Psychology in the
Schools. 13, 449-453.
Shockley, R. and Sevier, L. 1991. Behavior management in the classroom.
Schools in the Middle. 1 (2), 14–18.

20 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 References

SCF-Sweden & EPOCH. 1993. “The Child’s Right to Physical Integrity

and the UN Convention.” Report to the UN Committee on the Rights
of the Child from End Physical Punishment of Children Worldwide and
Radda Barnen, Swedish Save the Children.
Sue, D., Sue, D. W., and Sue, S. 2000. Understanding Abnormal Behaviour
(6th ed.). Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
UNICEF. 2001. Corporal Punishment in Schools in South Asia. UNICEF
Regional Office for South Asia, Nepal.
Williamson, E.G. 1955. The fusion of counselling and discipline in the
educative process. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 34, 74–79.

Suggested Readings

Bhatnagar, A. and Gupta, N. 1999. Guidance and Counselling: A Practical

Approach. (Vol. 2). Vikas Publication House. New Delhi.
Bichlen, R.F. and Snowman, J. 1993. Psychology Applied to Teaching
(7th ed.). Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
Bull, S. and Solity, J. 1987. Classroom Management: Principles to Practice.
Croom Helm, London.
Clarizio, H.F. 1971. Toward Positive Classroom Discipline. John Wiley and
sons, Inc. New York.
Clark, D.D. 1981. Disruptive incidents in secondary school classroom: A
sequence analysis approach, Oxford Review of Education, 7 (2),111–117.
Copper, J., Heron, T.E. and Heward, W.L. 1987. Applied Behavior Analysis.
Merrill Publishing Company, New Jersey.
Daniel, and Susan, G. 1977. Classroom Management. Pergamon Press Inc.
London.
Good, T. and Brophy, J. 1987. Looking in Classroom (4th ed.). Harper and
Row Publishers, Inc. New York.
Kaplan, P.S. 1997. Educational Psychology for Teachers. West Publishing
Company, New York.
Watkins, C., and Wagner, P. 1987. School Discipline: A Whole School Practical
Approach. Basil Blackwell, England.
Websites
http://www.counselingoutfitters.com/kyle.htm
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/articles/punish.htm

GUIDANCE FOR PROMOTING SELF-DISCIPLINE 21

2 PlPlanning
anning and Organising
Organising
a Guidance PPrrogramme
ogramme

2.0 Introduction
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Guidance Programme : Implementation of the
Guidance Services
2.3 Planning a Guidance Programme
2.4 Understanding Programme Management
2.4.1 Managing Personnel, Finance and
Facilities
2.4.2 Managing Facilitating Activities
2.5 Implementation Models of Guidance
Programme
2.6 A Comprehensive School Guidance Programme
2.7 Organising a Guidance Programme
2.7.1 Guidance Activities for the Elementary
Level
2.7.2 Guidance Activities for Middle Level
2.7.3 Guidance activities for the Secondary
and Senior Secondary Level
2.8 Summary
Self-evaluation Exercises
Answer Key to Self-evaluation Exercises
Answer Key to Self-check Exercises
References
Suggested Readings
Websites
 Planning and Organising
a Guidance Programme 2
2.0 INTRODUCTION PLANNING AND ORGANIZING
GUIDANCE PROGRAMME
School guidance may be viewed both as an
•Identify problems of Students in School
educational philosophy and as a programme •To inculcate Basic AcademicSkills
geared towards the overall development of •Test Taking Skills
•Improving teacher learner relationship
children and youth. As a philosophy, you •Increase enrolment and to reduce dropout
•Improve the Decision making
have learnt that guidance is rooted in the •Capacity of students
belief that every individual is important and •Understanding the diversity of work
•To create awareness about the type of
unique, and needs assistance. To introduce work engaged by people and its
requirements
it as a programme, you would be required •Decision Making

to plan and organise a separate guidance

and counselling programme to meet the
social-emotional, academic and career needs of the students to equip them to meet the
demands of life.
Over the years, the nature of school guidance programmes has changed. In the
past, school counsellors responded to the needs of a small percentage of problem
cases only; they are now providing a comprehensive range of services that address the
varied needs of students from elementary through twelfth grade. They are involved in
classroom interactions, offering well planned guidance activities, keeping in view the
developmental needs of students at a particular age and grade level to help them establish
personal goals, develop future plans and resolve problems.
From the previous units, you are familiar with various guidance and counselling services
and the activities therein. In this unit, you will be acquainted with how, as a counsellor,
you would go about putting them into practice, what are the things that must be kept in
mind, whose help you would take, from where and how you will manage resources.
This unit also aims at providing some exemplar activities at each of the three school
stages: elementary, middle and secondary, which will guide you in planning and
implementation of guidance and counselling as per the needs and resources of your school.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to –
• enumerate the steps in planning a guidance programme in the school;
• identify different competencies and potentials to be developed in students through
organising guidance programmes at different stages of school;
• design a guidance programme with suitable activities for developing the
competencies identified amongst students at different stages of school.

2.2 GUIDANCE PROGRAMME: IMPLEMENTATION OF

THE GUIDANCE SERVICES
The combined involvement of students, parents, teachers and school administrators
is essential in a guidance programme that meets individual student needs as well as
the needs of the institution. The goals of guidance as already discussed in Unit 1 of
Module I can possibly be achieved if the school guidance programme is a comprehensive
one combining the different services of guidance. A guidance programme needs to
have inputs related to orientation, assessment, career information, consultation,
referral, counselling, placement, follow-up, and evaluation. Unit 2 of Module I
describes the guidance activities under each of these components.
Although guidance and counselling have been recognised as an integral component of
school programme to achieve its objectives, it has still not acquired a clear-cut identity.
Guidance and counselling across schools in any country are being organised in different
ways. This unit presents a broad framework for school counselling programmes. The ASCA’s
National Model (ASCA, 2003) presents some guidelines in this regard. The model aims at
promoting competencies in three major areas, i.e. academic achievement, career planning
and personal-social development. It also emphasise that a comprehensive programme has to
respond to the needs of every student in the school. Thus, the total development of the child
is at the forefront, and this forms a bridge between the counsellor and educational personnel.
The programme has to be a collaborative effort of teachers, medical personnel
and other staff members in the school to gain an insight about the student. Providing
consultation to parents, teachers, other educators, and establishing liaison with
community agencies are also part of a guidance programme. Similarly, programme
evaluation, data analysis, follow-up, and the continued development and updating of
guidance resources are other areas of work performed by a counsellor.
But the guidance programme, like any other educational programme, requires careful
planning. In case of limited resources, you need to identify and prioritise the guidance
needs that you would like to address. This will determine which activity you need to
emphasise more in your programme, which in turn will ensure that the guidance programme
responds to the unique needs of students and the institution to which it caters.

2.3 PLANNING A GUIDANCE PROGRAMME

A guidance programme is developmental, sequential, and focused on attainment of
specified student outcomes in three domain areas, i.e. personal-social development,

24 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
educational-academic preparation and career-occupational planning. The guidance
programme, if imposed on students, teachers and parents, will not be accepted by
them and hence will not be effective. To make a guidance programme effective and
acceptable, it has to be aimed at benefiting every student. The goals of the programme
should be in line with the philosophy and mission of the school, and help facilitate
academic achievement, career planning and personal-social development.
Following are the steps in planning of a guidance and counselling programme in a
school setting.
1. Need Assessment
You will have to conduct an assessment of the need for counselling and guidance
services in your school as the first step. Needs assessment, therefore, becomes the
most important activity in planning a guidance programme. The need assessment survey
has a three-fold value (Bhatnagar and Gupta, 1999). It–
• focuses attention on the specific objectives of a guidance programme;
• determines a “starting point”; and
• employs the psychologically sound principle of involving all stake-holders in the
planning phase of the guidance programme.
Rimmer and Burt (1980) have provided a practical step-by-step need assessment
plan for school counsellors.
Step One: Form a Planning Committee
The first step is to formulate a planning committee consisting of parents, students,
teachers, school management representatives, etc. to chalk out the goals and purposes
of the guidance programme in the school. The school counsellor can identify members
in consultation with Head of the school/institution, prepare an outline of the roles
and responsibilities of the various members, and a plan of action for the school session.
Step Two: Define Guidance Programme Goals
After the planning committee is formed, the task of defining the broad goals of the
guidance programme is taken up. These goals emerge out of the needs of the school
and students. For example, the goal of a guidance programme may be to reduce the
dropout rate in the school. Such a goal might have emerged out of the needs of failing
or low achieving students to have educational guidance or parental guidance. Such
goals will help the guidance teacher/counsellor to plan activities in the guidance
programme, which might include identifying potential dropouts, orienting teachers to
meet difficulties of students and other activities which will be discussed later in this
unit. The programme goals must be realistic, achievable and should fall within the
scope of the school system. They should be responsive to the needs of the students.
It should be kept in mind that the actual needs are not always the same as the perceived
needs, or ‘wants’. Counsellors should look for what the students/teachers or
administrators really need, as they may not know what they need, but may have strong
opinions about what they want.

PLANNING AND ORGANISING A GUIDANCE PROGRAMME 25

Step Three: Techniques for Assessing the Needs
There are several basic assessment techniques. You have learnt in detail about some of
these techniques in Module 6, Unit 2 and Unit 4. Use one or any combination of these
as appropriate–
• direct observation • surveys with the help of questionnaires
• consultation with informed persons • interviews
• focus group discussions • psychological tests/inventories
• record and reports of studies on needs and problems of students.
For example, a focus group discussion may be held with student representatives
concerning the barriers to student achievement. Holding such discussions may help
you to identify the academic needs of the students. Questionnaires and checklists are
popular methods of collecting information about student needs. Mooney developed
the problem checklist for identifying student problems (Mooney and Gordon, 1950).
Guidance Resource Centre at DEPFE, NCERT has an Indian adapted version of this
checklist which has 200 statements pertaining to six problem areas, viz. health, money,
social life, home relations, vocation, school work and the like. Students are asked to
put a tick mark on the problems faced by them. Sample statements are given below.
1. Tired very easily
2. Have less money than my friends
3. Difficulty in getting acquainted with people
4. I am being treated like a child at home
5. Worry how I impress people
6. Want advice on what to do after high school
7. I am afraid to speak up in class discussions
You may use a similar standardised questionnaire or a checklist that may be available,
or you can prepare a similar questionnaire for assessing the problems of students in
your school.
Step Four: Administer the Tools
The school counsellor administers the tools on a selected sample, ensuring personal
contact that provides in-depth information from students, parents and teachers.
Step Five: Implement the Results
This step of the need assessment process helps in setting the goals, and plan and work
for the implementation of the guidance programme to meet the expressed needs of the
student population. More on the development of guidance programme is discussed in
Section 2.6 of this unit.
Step Six: Evaluation and Follow-up
Evaluation and follow-up is conducted to find out whether the guidance programme
has met the needs of the target population. The follow-up is to be done after the
programme is introduced in the school.

26 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
2. Identification of Student Competency
The next step in the planning process is the identification of the competencies to be developed
at a particular stage. Competencies are knowledge, attitudes or skills that are observable
and can be transferred from a learning situation to a real life situation with measurable
results. This should be the main focus of a counsellor in formulating a guidance programme.
3. Develop a Calendar
Development of a calendar for the proper execution of the guidance services is also
an important step in the planning process. A master calendar of events helps
counsellors to make an analysis of the time that is used within the programme. Master
calendar helps in identifying targetted domain goals, grade levels, dates and activities.
A master calendar displaying the weekly and monthly schedule of counsellor can be
published and distributed to students, staff, parents and community, so that students
can avail the services that they require at the right time.
4. Develop a Written Curriculum
A necessary and integral part of a comprehensive guidance programme is the development
of a curriculum plan. The written curriculum serves as a guide and a blue print in delivering
the guidance and counselling services, and in setting the parameters for a well planned
programme. Curriculum is mainly formulated to help students in attaining, developing and
demonstrating competencies within the domains of academic, career and personal development
(ASCA Model, 2003), which has been discussed in subsequent section of this unit.
5. Creating an Advisory Council
The next step in the planning process is to create an advisory council consisting of
people representative of the population you serve. The main task of such a council is
to help set programme goals, provide support, offer advice, review activities and
advocate for the school counselling programme within the community. The committee
would provide a two-way system of communication between the school and the
community, which is essential to all educational programmes. The council should
consist of members from the community of students, parents, teaching and non-
teaching staff, counsellors, principal and other administrators of the school.

2.4 UNDERSTANDING PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT

Once the programme has been conceptualised at the theoretical level, i.e. after knowing
exactly what is to be done, a counsellor needs to look into the implementation aspect.
From a management point of view, it is possible to identify two basic areas of
functioning. They are–
• First, those that deal with the managing of basic resources such as personnel,
finance and facilities.
• Second, those that focus on organising and facilitating activities such as
coordination, communication, cooperation, decision-making and evaluation. The
following section will give details on these aspects.

PLANNING AND ORGANISING A GUIDANCE PROGRAMME 27

2.4.1 Managing Personnel, Finance and Facilities
Personnel
Guidance, as you are already aware, is a team venture. The prerequisite for any
programme is to identify people who will work as guidance and counselling personnel.
As a coordinator for organising the guidance and counselling programme, your
initial responsibility may begin with identifying people who will be involved with it.
You need to deliberate thoroughly before assigning responsibilities to those concerned.
To begin with, the following points should be considered–
• Qualifications – Although academic qualifications are not the sole criterion for
performance, it cannot, at the same time, be totally ignored;
• Versatility – Staffing personnel from differing backgrounds should provide a wider
range of special skills;
• Adaptability – It is important that persons selected to work in providing guidance
and counselling understand the characteristics of the community from where the
student population is coming, such as socio-economic, cultural and geographical
make-up. The person selected should be able to survey the community and adapt
the programme according to the needs of the community or area as you have
already read in Module I Unit 7 on Utilising Community Resources for Guidance;
• Assigning of responsibility – Each staff or team member should have specific
activities for which he/she is responsible. In assigning responsibilities, you need
to capitalise upon the special skills, experiences and personal characteristics of
the staff/team member.
Finance
Availability of finances for organisation of programme cannot be over emphasised.
As a counsellor/teacher, you need to know where to get the funds. Good sources of
funding are business houses, clubs, or from parent groups who may be willing to make
socio-financial contributions to the programme. You will also need to know how to
do the budgeting. Each budget item is related to an activity that, in turn, is related to
specific goals or objectives of the programme. It is important for you to understand
the reason for expenditure. For example,
Activity : Data collection for needs assessment
Budget : Rs. 1000/-
Specific Objective : To assess needs of the students to design a guidance programme
or
Activity : Career Exhibition
Budget : Rs. 5000/-
Specific Objective : Dissemination of career information
Facilities
For organising a Guidance and Counselling programme the necessary facilities should
include–
• Adequacy • Accessibility

28 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
Adequacy pertains to the number of facilities available and their quality. Accessibility
means that it should be within the reach of those for whom it is meant.
Size, furnishings and general décor determine the atmosphere in which one works
or participates. The room should be neatly maintained and furnished with comfortable
furniture, plants, flowers, etc. to create a pleasant ambience. Schools in most developing
countries cater to a large number of students and may face a shortage of space. Ideally,
a separate room should be available to a guidance teacher or a counsellor. In addition
to a table and a few chairs, it should have 2-3 almirahs and a display board/racks to
display materials, posters and charts. Often facilities that are provided for organising
a guidance programme reflect the priority/importance given to the programme by the
school administrator.
2.4.2 Managing Facilitating Activities
These may include–
Coordination
This involves the regulation or monitoring of the different activities planned in a
guidance and counselling programme so that there is proper linking and integration
resulting in a harmonious operation. Coordination is established to facilitate effective
implementation of the programme. For example, collection of pupil data, career
information, counselling should have proper linking and they should be complementary
to each other. Work done by counsellor, social worker and special educator should
also be coordinated to meet the goals and objectives set for guidance.
Cooperation
Cooperation refers to the efforts made to elicit collaboration of those involved in the
guidance programme towards commonly agreed upon goals. The different persons
involved in the guidance and counselling programme should work together as a team.
The work of one individual should complement, support and augment the work of
the other individuals. All the activities are directed towards achieving a common goal.
Effective Communication
Communication often determines whether a programme is managed efficiently or not.
For effective communication, care must be taken that the personal touch is not lost
and feedback is obtained. There should be opportunities for planned interaction such
as frequent meetings, get-togethers for interaction amongst the members of the
guidance and counselling programme, etc. Such opportunities enable them to exchange
ideas, thoughts and experiences with each other.
Evaluation
Evaluation is an important component of programme management. It is important
that every activity of the guidance and counselling programme be evaluated. The
entire programme is also evaluated in totality. Details have been discussed in Unit 4
of this Module.

PLANNING AND ORGANISING A GUIDANCE PROGRAMME 29

 Activity 1
As a counsellor, you are to organise a teacher-training programme on
‘understanding children’.
• Who would you involve?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

• How will you plan your budget?

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

• What all facilities would you ask the authorities to provide?

_______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

Thus, programme management provides some order and structure to the activities
that have been developed. Now that you have learnt about the management of a
guidance programme, the next section will familiarise you with the organisational aspects.

2.5 IMPLEMENTATION MODELS OF GUIDANCE PROGRAMMES

There are various kinds of models that are being used in schools for implementing
guidance and counselling programmes. Three such models are discussed here.
Specialist Model
In the specialist model, guidance and counselling activities are offered by full time
professionals who are certified/licensed educators trained in school counselling with
the unique qualifications and skills to deal with the developmental needs of school
children (The ASCA National Model, 2003). In countries like US, Canada, Australia,
New Zealand, France, UK, etc. where guidance and counselling services are fairly
well established, guidance/counselling is being offered as a specialised programme by
full-time counsellors. This model is being used to a very limited extent in India and
other developing countries as there is shortage of trained personnel and resources
required to offer it.
The models of guidance being followed in countries across Asia, such as in Japan,
China, and Hong Kong show that specialist counsellors working in schools are scarce.
Guidance functions and activities are carried out through the involvement of teachers.

30 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
Career Teacher Model
In places, where the resources are scarce and specialists are not available, the guidance
activity is visualised to be performed by adults who can establish facilitative and
nurturing relationships with youngsters and give them a sense of worth and direction
in life. Therefore, it is suggested that teachers oriented in theory and practice of
guidance can play a crucial role in guiding children. Teachers, being in close contact
with children, are ideally suited to play the role of a mentor and a guide.
Teachers with short-term training (2 to 6 weeks) organise guidance programmes
in the form of career information and career education related activities, but they
devote the majority of their time to their teaching work. The model is followed in
Indian settings where resources are scarce. Activities included are generally of the
type dealing with career information/career guidance and placement. However, the
importance of a full time counsellor has been recognised in India in recent years.
In some places, it is seen that the functions of these career teachers providing
career information/career guidance are supported by guidance workers/administrators
based in state education/labour departments and by volunteers in community agencies.
Teacher Counsellor Model
Under this model, teachers receive full-time counsellor training and do both guidance
and teaching work complementary to each other. The teacher-counsellor usually
focuses on group techniques such as career counselling or general counselling in groups
or conduct classroom guidance activities catering to personal-social needs of the whole
class.
Greater insight into human development processes, facilitative, and interactive
skills can especially equip the teacher to perform this role effectively. Large scale
efforts are needed to train professionals, as well as teachers and administrators, to
provide specialised services. These trained individuals can integrate guidance/
counselling philosophy and programmes into the entire educational process.

Self-check Exercise 1
Highlight the main points of differentiation amongst the specialist, career teacher
and teacher counsellor models.
Specialist counsellor Career teacher Teacher counsellor

PLANNING AND ORGANISING A GUIDANCE PROGRAMME 31

2.6 A COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL GUIDANCE PROGRAMME
A school guidance programme is organised for personal, social, educational and career
development of all students. It usually consists of three focused components–
• Counselling and developmental services;
• Information and assessment; and
• Teaming
The counselling and developmental component of the programme includes
individual counselling, small group counselling, and will also involve group work with
large number of students such as career education classes, workshops, group
discussions and consultation. School counsellors must have the skills firstly to identify
the needs of the learners and then to conduct the individual and group work.
Counselling and developmental services assist young people in solving their educational
problems, facilitating career development experiences and moving towards emotional
and social adjustment.
Information and assessment helps the counsellor to develop an insight about the
student. Testing and non-testing techniques provide information appropriate to the
student’s development in the areas of personal, social, educational growth and career.
Knowing oneself helps a student to make best use of educational experiences in school
and outside and the available opportunities. Information in the area of careers enables
the student to make decisions related to the world of work so that they may have positive
and satisfying careers. It also fosters student growth and development as a person.
Team activities consist of consultation, collaboration and coordination. The
consultation role is one in which counsellor uses his/her expertise to assist those who
live and work with the students. In this regard, the counsellor consults the teachers,
parents, school administrator etc. who have the occasion to influence the development
of the student. Collaboration and coordination are less direct functions in the teaming
component. Each of these activities emphasise the inter relationship of school
personnel seeking cooperation and collaboration of all for the task of assisting students
in particular area of adjustment. Utilising outside school resources, coordinating with
community agencies to help students, building a relationship between home and school
are important aspects of this work.

2.7 ORGANISING A GUIDANCE PROGRAMME

Guidance activities should meet the needs and differences in the population and
settings of the school. A comprehensive guidance programme as stated by the ASCA
National Standards uses the four components: guidance curriculum, individual student
planning, responsive services, and system support in delivering guidance services to
students at all levels of schooling. Below are descriptions of these four components
of the guidance programme.
Guidance Curriculum
Curriculum is a written document, which is proactive, comprehensive in scope, and
developmentally appropriate. The curriculum component provides a method by which

32 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
students receive the framework of a guidance curriculum in a systematic way. The
responsibilities of a counsellor in terms of the curriculum includes, planning,
formulating, implementing and evaluating of a guidance curriculum. Delivery of a
guidance curriculum is provided through classroom instruction, small group discussion,
etc. Curriculum helps a student in acquiring knowledge, attitudes, and skills in the
areas of academic achievement, career development and personal growth.
Individual Student Planning
The student planning component provides an opportunity to every student to reflect
on his/her personal growth and development. A student can work closely with his/her
parents or teachers to plan, understand and monitor his/her activities. Students are
able to plan their next steps with regard to their personal, academic and career
development. The counsellor helps the students in planning and monitoring their progress
and thus works with them in analysing and evaluating their abilities, skills, interests
and achievements. Counsellors develop ongoing activities and guidance programmes
to help each student create a unique plan to meet academic and future career goals.
Guidance service in this regard is provided on the basis of individual counselling.
Responsive Services
Responsive services consist of activities to meet the immediate needs and concerns
of students. Such needs and concerns require counselling, consultation, referral and
peer facilitation. Counsellors offer a wide range of services from early intervention to
crisis response to meet the needs of the students. They also consult with parents/
guardians, teachers, friends etc. to help students. Services provided include individual
or group counselling, crisis management, for example, prevention of substance abuse,
suicide prevention, etc.
• Individual and small group counselling are provided to students when they face
difficulty in dealing with relationships, personal concerns, developmental tasks,
etc. Such counselling is usually short term in nature. Usually school counsellors
do not provide therapy. When necessary, referrals are made to the appropriate
medical practitioner.
• Crisis management counselling provides prevention, intervention and follow-up.
Counselling and support are provided to students and families facing emergencies.
Such counselling is normally short term and temporal in nature.
System Support
System support enables the school guidance and counselling programme to be effective
through a variety of guidance programme support activities like staff development,
programme management, data analysis, curriculum development, etc. and offers
support to other such activities. Counsellors provide planning and management tasks
needed to support activities conducted for offering a comprehensive and developmental
guidance and counselling programme. Counsellors also evaluate data and follow-up
studies, and continue to develop and update guidance activities and resources.
Apart from the modes of delivering guidance services, importance has also been
placed on the time frame that a counsellor should follow for the various components,
PLANNING AND ORGANISING A GUIDANCE PROGRAMME 33
 at each of the school stages. The allocation of time that a school counsellor should
spend for each programme component varies according to the school stages, the
developmental needs of students and the level of resources and programme support.
The following percentage of time for each component has been recommended by the
ASCA model.
Elementary
Middle School Secondary School
School
Guidance Curriculum 35% - 45% 25% - 35% 15% - 25%

Student Planning 5% - 10% 15% - 25% 25% - 35%

Responsive Services 30% - 40% 30% - 40% 25% - 35%

System Support 10% - 15% 10% - 15% 15% - 20%

The planning and organisation of the school guidance activities differ according to
the educational level (elementary, middle, secondary or higher education) they serve.
The next section discusses the specific guidance activities at different levels of
schooling. These are discussed from the perspective
of academic, career and personal/social
Children with Special Needs

Transition to Adultho
Middle Scho

Critical

development as depicted in the following

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Increase Enrolme
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Dropout years. The elementary stage
Test Taking
Skills ACTIVITIES Violence Prevention
covers Classes I to VIII in the
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ing
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children’s academic, personal and social

34 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
needs is essential in removing barriers to learning and in promoting academic
achievement, for which the counsellor’s role is of great significance.
In determining appropriate approaches to programme organisation and
development at the elementary level, you have to consider the developmental
characteristics and demands at that level, and guidance objectives.
Given below are some activities that you can organise as a counsellor. The activities
can be developed based on the objectives that you would like to address so that it is
beneficial to students. You must keep in mind that the guidance activities given below
are only exemplar. As teachers/counsellors you can further modify or adapt the activities
according to the resources available to you.

Academic Development
Competency
Area/Objectives Activities Benefits to Students

Adjustment of • Orientation of parents about • Making a smooth

Students in School school rules, programmes, transition from home
policies, services, facilities, etc. to school
through group discussions· • Makes the student
• Displays/Exhibits/Puppet/ understand the
theatre/songs, etc. to orient the relationship between
children about different school classroom
activities. performance and
• Bridging the gap between school success in school.
and home by encouraging children
to share their most prized
possessions, hobbies, collections
etc (stamps, beads, coins, etc.) to
show to classmates.
To inculcate Basic • Use of learning aids, tools and • Learn to apply study
Academic Skills techniques. skills for academic
• Discuss the techniques to success.
improve memory. • Are trained in
communication skills.
• Identify deficits in learning of
• Demonstrate ability
basic skills.
to work
• Complement study efforts with independently as well
art, music, story, etc. designed for as cooperatively with
studying, if possible. other students.
• Encourage children to participate • Students learn to
in study groups. take pride in work
and achievement.

PLANNING AND ORGANISING A GUIDANCE PROGRAMME 35

 Test Taking Skills • Make home work a positive • Students feel relaxed
experience. and prepared at the
• Encourage children to study for time of exam.
tests by quizzing them in a friendly • Apply time and task
manner. management skills.
• Establish a study routine to
prevent/reduce anxiety at the time
of tests.
Improving • Identify attitudes and behaviour • Makes the student
teacher learner that lead to successful learning. feel that teacher is
relationship • Improving teacher-student interested in them.
relationship by making children • Students will feel
talk about their favourite person, free to approach the
hobbies, etc. in the class. teacher at the time
• Teacher orientation through talks, of difficulty.
discussions, seminars, etc. on the • Increases feeling of
importance of creating a warm belonging, and being
classroom climate to facilitate understood and
development of a positive self- accepted.
concept in children.
• Teacher to learn skills of listening,
body language to communicate
warmth.
Increase • Motivate the children to come to • Get motivated to
enrolment and to school by taking interest in them· attend school and
reduce dropout Prepare assignment book to achieve individual
motivate each child to engage in potential.
practical activity· • Flexible timing of
• Identifying problems (academic/ schooling and
personal) of potential dropouts. attending to
• Providing information about non- problems encourage
formal or open school systems to dropout children to
fulfill the educational needs of the attend school.
child, who is unable to continue in • Students get the
a formal school. motivation to
continue studies
through alternative
ways.

36 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 Improve the • Give choice to children in deciding • Encourages thinking
Decision making what type of home work they like in children, as new
to take home, giving a few options. ideas and answers are
explored.
Capacity of • Discuss childhood stories with • Students learn to
students students, which reveal examples of make choices and
right decision leading to pleasant articulate feelings of
rewards and bad decision resulting competence and
in negative consequences. confidence as
learners.
• Helps a student in
establishing his/her
academic goals·
• Children learn to take
responsibility for their
own actions.

Career Development
Competency
Area/Objectives Activities Benefits to Students

Understanding • To make the children explore the • Students get an

the diversity of world of work in relation to the awareness about the
work knowledge of self so as to make different types of
career decisions. work (traditional and
• Writing work activities of family non traditional jobs).
members and of people in the • Inculcate positive
neighbourhood and community. attitudes towards all
kinds of work.
To enhance • Helping children select and engage • Understand the
awareness about in work activities in school. difference between
the type of work • Help children get awareness about educational
engaged by the basic employability skills (e.g. achievement, career
people and its punctuality, hard work, time success and the
requirements management, etc.). world of work

To shape the • Make the students engage in group • Students learn to

children towards projects at school. work in a team, and
team spirit and learn problem
attitude of work solving and
organisational skills.

PLANNING AND ORGANISING A GUIDANCE PROGRAMME 37

 • Learn to work
cooperatively as a
team member.
Decision Making • Make students select small • Learn to make
assignments and projects decisions and set
according to their interests, to goals.
develop work habits and to utilise • Identify personal
their competencies to the full. skills, interests,
abilities, and relate
them to current
career choices.

Personal and Social Development

Competency
Area/Objectives Activities Benefits to Students

• Developing a • Group activities to identify • Children learn to

positive self- strengths such as “my strengths” develop positive
concept. “I can,” “I like,” “I am proud of,” self-image.
• Social Skill “I enjoy,” “I feel good about,”, • Students learn to
building “Limitations I have to overcome.” understand and
• Developing • Encouraging children to exchange respect self and
appreciation information about their customs, others.
for all students religious practices, festivals, special • Learns to identify
irrespective of food items, costumes, dress, etc. and express feelings
caste, creed, • Have a group discussion with • Distinguish between
religion, etc. children in the classroom about appropriate and
feelings, behaviour of elders inappropriate
towards them. behaviour, physical
contact, etc.
• Recognise, accept,
and appreciate ethnic
and cultural diversity.
Decision Making • Use decision making skills to • Identifies personal
discuss ‘what if questions, with strengths and assets.
children, so that discussion leads • Demonstrates
to positive solutions with knowledge of personal
reflection on appropriate information (telephone
consequences in it number, home address,
E.g., A stranger offers a chocolate, emergency contact,
you are lost in an exhibition, etc. etc.)

38 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 • Make children to take decisions on • Feeling competent
personal issues and family issues. and capable, builds
E.g., Which colour skirt do you like the self-esteem of
to wear red or pink? children.
Discussion on daily schedule, e.g.
timing for bed, morning routines,
time for home work.
Violence • Discussion about various range of • Learn to apply
prevention, incidents/events right from conflict resolution
Conflict fighting, bullying to gun fire, and skills.
resolution and seek the opinion from children. • Learn to stay away
substance abuse • Focus on prevention rather than from the negative
prevention remediation. company of peers.
• Conduct programmes and • Get awareness about
workshop on violence prevention, the negative aspects
substance abuse, gang activities. of violence and drug
• Group discussion on drug use, acts abuse and learn to
of violence, etc. stay safe.
Preparing for • Provide sufficient personal and social • Learns to deal with the
Middle School resources and skills to cope with next developmental
transition tasks in transition period (forming stages of life with
friendship, independence, etc.) confidence.
To contribute to • Identification of children with • Cope with their
the holistic visual-auditory, perceptual deficits limitations.
development of in reading, writing, speaking or • Children learn to use
children with calculating, attention deficits, their strengths and
special needs hyper-activity, memory deficits, etc. potential to the full.
with the help of diagnostic tests, or • Gain confidence.
observation of the child.
• Diagnosing the degree of talent/
special ability/deficit/handicap by
using tests, observations, and
interviews with the child and
parents.
• Utilising community resources,
schemes and programmes for the
rehabilitation of the handicapped.

Thus by providing education, prevention, early identification and intervention for

children at the elementary level, school counsellors can lay the foundation for later
personal and social, career and academic success.

PLANNING AND ORGANISING A GUIDANCE PROGRAMME 39

2.7.2 Guidance Activities for Middle Level
The middle level covers Classes IX and X spanning the age group 14 to 16 years. This
being a period of rapid physical growth and psychological changes is called a stage of
transition. This period is one in which individuals experience many changes, including
biological changes associated with puberty, important changes in relation with family
and peers, and social and educational changes.
During the transition from childhood to adolescence, students are characterised
by a need to explore a variety of interests. They seek to connect their learning in the
classroom to its practical application in life and work. They have high levels of activity
coupled with frequent fatigue due to rapid growth. They often search for their own
unique identity as they begin turning more frequently to peers rather than parents for
ideas and affirmation. Many show extreme sensitivity to the comments from others.
Most students rely heavily on friends to provide comfort, understanding and approval
(The ASCA National Model, 2003). In this stage, reasoning skills and decision-making
abilities also increase, but students also are more likely to engage in risky behaviours.
During this stage, students face many academic and social pressures, which make
this a period of stress. This is a phase marked by the need for greater independence
and responsibility as well as a desire to adopt adult ways of behaviour. Counsellors can
play an important role in creating safer school environments where violence, aggressive
behaviour and other negative aspects are less likely to occur. This would help students
to have successful secondary school experiences. This can be done with school-wide
guidance programmes focusing on the requirements of the students at school.
The following objectives and activities are some useful tips that would facilitate a
counsellor in organising a guidance programme for the benefit of students at the
middle level.
Academic Development
Competency
Area/Objectives Activities Benefits to Students

Development of • Creating positive interest in learning, • Learn to apply the

academic/study by way of involving students in study skills
skills/habits/ active and practical learning, necessary for
attitudes, etc. conducting workshops, projects, etc. academic success.
• Teach different styles of learning, • Use knowledge of
techniques for memory, etc. learning styles to
• Use group guidance sessions, to positively influence
encourage students to talk, discuss school performance.
and listen to others on study related • Demonstrate the
topics. ability to balance
• Use ‘brain-storming’ as an effective school, studies,
approach to teach students creative extracurricular
and unique ways of solving problems. activities.

40 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 • Enhance the students’ self-
understanding, teaching self-
acceptance and self direction
through workshops.
Test Taking Skills • Encouraging students to study for • Students learn to
tests by quizzing them in a friendly take pride in work
manner. and achievement.
• Establish a study routine, to avoid • Students feel relaxed
getting anxious before and during and prepared at the
tests. time of exam.
• Make children to space studying
over days and weeks.
Refine critical • Give regular thinking and reasoning • Learn and apply
thinking skills exercises to students. critical thinking skills.
• Give situations to students and • Learn to make
ask them to give judgment and arguments, give
make analysis. expression to
observation of an
incident.
• Develops intuition.
Decision making • Help adolescents in establishing • Learns to take
challenging academic goals by responsibility for
relating school subjects to later their actions.
educational plans. • Improvement in the
• Role play, giving situations and competence,
asking them to make an capability, and
interpretation of the descision after confidence of the
the role play. student.

Career Development
Competency
Area/Objectives Activities Benefits to Students

Career Exploration • Make students explore the world • Learns to use the
of work by observing actual work various sources to
settings, library sources, access career
newspapers, internet, etc. planning information.

PLANNING AND ORGANISING A GUIDANCE PROGRAMME 41

 • Discussion on topics such as ‘need • Students will be
for life/career planning’, ‘use of aware of strategies
leisure time’, developing hobbies, to achieve future
skills for time management, habits career goals.
to maintain good physical health, etc.
Diversity and • Develop employment readiness. • Students learn to
Career Choice • Providing opportunities for make an analysis of
vocational exploration through traditional and non
project work related to subject traditional
matter areas or through job study by occupations and
observing, interviewing people on relate it to his/her
the job, preparing displays or career career choice.
magazines, job posters, charts, • Understand diversity
arranging career exhibitions, etc. of working world
• Inviting individuals well placed in and its requirements.
their occupations to discuss their
respective occupation/life styles
with students.
Understanding of • Help student make an analysis of • Understand the
self and relation his/her interest in academics and the relationship between
to the world of related field, and helps in identifying academic
work and planning for career options close achievement and
to his/her qualification. career success.
• Help identify abilities, interests, • Select course work
personality qualities using related to career
psychological tests and non-testing interests, potentials,
tools. etc.
• Providing information of the
educational and occupational nature.

Personal and Social Development

Competency
Area/Objectives Activities Benefits to Students

Character • Identification and understanding • Learns to approach

Education of personality traits/values for the problems of life
effective living. in the right ways.
• Enumerating the importance of • Promotes self
developing good traits through discipline in students.
various role models and stories.

42 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 Skills for facing • Have discussion sessions, e.g. What • Identify personal
demands of do you understand by “peer strengths and assets.
adolescents pressure”? What can be done to • Reducing anxiety
reduce peer pressure and about opposite sex.
victimisation by it?
• Creates healthy
• Teach skills of good friendships, paying
communication. less heed to gender
• Teach techniques and tactics to considerations.
manage stress and conflict. • Learns to approach
• Making students understand issues life in a holistic way
related to sexuality, attraction • Improvement in
towards opposite sex to be a normal coping skills
phenomenon.
• Learns to respect
• Brain-storming session to maintain alternative points of
satisfying relationships with parents, view
friends and other adults.
• Learns
• Provide coping skills to students to communication skills
deal with problems. involving speaking,
• Develop interpersonal skills. listening and non
verbal behaviour.

Life strategies • Role plays in small groups on • Learns to resolve

and skills for violence, conflict etc. The students conflict in a peaceful
violence to determine whether the activity way.
prevention, was “safe” or “unsafe” after role play. • Learns how to cope
conflict • Creating peer mediation groups. with peer pressure.
resolution and • Discussion on issues related to • Learns about the
substance abuse drugs and alcohol, smoking, etc. emotional and
prevention physical dangers of
substance use and
abuse.
Enhance • Help students understand the • Differentiate
personal-social difference between aggressiveness, between situations
development assertiveness and shyness through requiring peer
discussions and role-plays. support and
• Help students to develop an action situations requiring
plan to set and achieve realistic adult professional
goals. help.

For students at this stage, it is expected that a comprehensive guidance programme

can enable students achieve academic success and later success in career and personal life.

PLANNING AND ORGANISING A GUIDANCE PROGRAMME 43

2.7.3 Guidance Activities for the Secondary and Senior Secondary Level
In schools where guidance programmes are available to students at the secondary
stage, most activities would continue through the senior secondary stage. However,
some activities specifically required to be organised for these terminal classes need to
be mentioned. This stage covers Classes XI and XII and is the final phase of transition
from adolescence to adulthood, whereby the students explore all the aspects of life.
The students have to be prepared to leave school to enter the larger world. This stage
is marked by a lot of uncertainty about their educational and occupational future.
Educational and career opportunities being very limited, uncertainty about entering
the educational or career fields of one’s preference leads to a lot of anxiety. The
guidance programme should aim at helping students acquire realistic self and
occupational concepts, by providing opportunities to students for self and
occupational exploration.
The activities and objectives at each of the stages discussed present exemplar
activities, which can be further modified and adapted by the counsellors in accordance
with the needs of their school setting.

Personal and Social Development

Competency
Area/Objectives Activities Benefits to Students

Academic/Study • Train students to obtain, organise • Students identify

Skill and apply academic information attitudes and
Development from a variety of sources. behaviours which
• Creating positive interest in learning lead to successful
by way of involving students in learning.
active and practical learning, • Become self directed
conducting workshops, projects, etc. and independent
• Teach different styles of learning, learners.
techniques for memory, etc. • Demonstrate the
• Use group guidance sessions to ability to balance
encourage students to talk, discuss school, studies,
and listen to others on topics which extracurricular
would generate critical thinking. activities.
• Develop interpersonal skills. • Learn that
communication
involves speaking,
listening and non
verbal behaviour.

44 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 Post secondary • Orientation to various educational • Learn to identify
educational institutions by giving pamphlets/ post secondary
planning handbooks options consistent
with interests,
aptitude, attitudes
and abilities.
Decision Making • Planning and undertaking small • Use problem solving
assignments and projects to and decision making
students so that their competencies skills to assess
are utilised to the full. progress towards
• Help adolescents in establishing educational goals.
challenging academic goals. • Learn to take
• Give regular reasoning exercises to responsibility for
students, e.g. brainstorming, quiz, their actions.
etc. • Improvement in the
competence,
capability, and
confidence of the
student.
Critical Thinking • Give situations and ask students to • Learns to apply
give judgment and make analysis. critical thinking skills
• Learn to make
proper arguments,
expression and
observation of an
incident.
• Developing intuition.
Transition from • Help students in understanding the • Students find it easy
adolescence to requirements of the society, in terms to enter the external
adulthood of character traits, employability environment, given
skills, etc. the required
exposure to face the
transition period.
• Learn to successfully
negotiate the school-
to-work/school-to-
higher studies
transition.

PLANNING AND ORGANISING A GUIDANCE PROGRAMME 45

Career Development
Competency
Area/Objectives Activities Benefits to Students
Career Exploration • Conduct career guidance classes and • Understand the
workshops to give a wider exposure importance of
to world of work. responsibility,
• Arranging discussions, visits by dependability,
persons from various fields of work. punctuality, integrity
• Organising exhibits, film shows on and effort in the
careers. workplace.
• Referral/consultation with • Selects course work
community agencies, placement, that is related to
and follow-up of school leavers. career interests
Career choice and • Develop employment readiness. • Develops competency
planning • Relating personal factors to in area of interest
requirements of various training • Makes an assessment
courses and occupations, by of career plans,
organising career discussions/ according to the
workshops, displays, career planning educational
week, etc. with experts from qualifications.
institutions/organisations to provide • Development of
job information. career maturity.
• Training on job-seeking skills such
as preparing resumes, how to appear
in an interview, etc.
• Help students to shape themselves
in acquiring the skills to meet the
requirements of the job market
Diversity and • Use of methods of acquiring career • Understand how
career choice information. Emphasis on changing economic
orientation about new and emerging and societal needs
occupations. influence
• Discussion with students about the employment trends
need to have a wide range of career and future training.
choices/options. • Makes student
understand the
changing nature of
work place, which
requires lifelong
learning and job
market requirements.

46 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
Personal and Social Development
Competency
Area/Objectives Activities Benefits to Students

Facilitate self • Understanding students’ abilities, • Ability to plan for

understanding aptitudes, personality characteristics, short term and long
etc. using assessment procedures. term goals.
• Group guidance activities such as • Learn coping skills
workshops, group discussions to for managing life
enhance self-awareness and self- events.
esteem.
Social skills • Programmes on improving • Students learn to
communication skills, identify and discuss
assertiveness training, etc. Use of changing personal,
group/individual counselling and social roles and
peer counselling to remedy various family roles.
personal and social problems. • Identify alternative
• Debates, group discussions and ways of achieving
drama on various social and goals.
educational issues. • Learn about the
• Create awareness about their duty relationship between
to the society which increases their rules, laws, safety
responsibility. and the protection of
an individual’s rights.
Violence • Group discussion on the various • Gets awareness
prevention, range of violent behaviour and the about the negative
conflict resolution implications which cost heavily. consequences of
and substance • Discussion on the consequences of bullying, fighting,
abuse prevention getting into aggressive actions, suicide, etc.
which would ruin life. • Change in the
• Arranging for talks about drug abuse student’s sense of
and a visit to de-addiction centre to safety in school,
understand the negative impact. attitude towards
• Discussion sessions to help students violence and non
learn coping strategies, stress and violent behaviours.
anger management skills, etc. • Able to have
• Arranging meetings with parents to pleasant interaction
resolve conflicts. with family.
• Brainstorming to deal with anger
without fighting.

PLANNING AND ORGANISING A GUIDANCE PROGRAMME 47

 Role play: Give particular conflict
situations to students; one tends to
fight and the other tries to resolve it
peacefully in the role play. Have a
discussion and make an analysis
after the role play.

The secondary stage is a period full of growth, promise, excitement, frustration,

disappointment and hope (The ASCA Model, 2003). Counselling programmes at this
stage are essential for the students to achieve personal and social goals, and to establish
appropriate career goals thereby making their contribution to the community and
society at large.
A comprehensive guidance programme provides a full range of activities and
services including assessment, information, counselling, consultation, referrals,
placement, follow-up and evaluation. The programme focuses on the competencies
of students, i.e. on building their strengths rather than concentrating on their
deficiencies. As the programme has linkages across all levels (elementary, middle, and
secondary), programme continuity is maintained, it is expected that needs of students
are addressed.

Self-check Exercise 2
Match the following:
1 Guidance curriculum : i. Crisis counselling,
referral, consultation
2 Individual student planning : ii. Programme management,
data analysis, documentation
3. Responsive services : iii. Appraisal, advisement and placement
4. System support : iv. Classroom instruction,
small group discussion

2.8 Summary
A guidance programme should be designed as a constellation of
activities to facilitate the overall development of the student. To organise
such a programme, it is essential to consider several points. Guidance
activities have to be planned keeping in mind the developmental needs
of the child and societal demands. The needs and problems of students
should be surveyed. This is important because programme goals,
objectives, implementation strategies and evaluation techniques would
also depend upon the needs of the target group. School counsellors
should be well versed with need assessment procedures. They should

48 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 2.8 Summary
also survey resources at their disposal in and outside school in order to
utilise them in their work.
There are various models of guidance programmes. Some schools
have full time counsellors while some have teacher counsellors and a
large number of them have only careers teachers. The key input area of
guidance will differ depending on the model implemented.

1. Elaborate the steps you would follow in assessing the needs in a

guidance programme.
Self-evaluation Exercises

2. What are the essential components of a comprehensive school

guidance programme?
3. Outline the activities, with their specific objectives, for a guidance
programme at the secondary stage of school for academic
development.
Answer Key to Self-evaluation Exercises
1. Explain in detail the following steps:
• Form a planning committee
• Define guidance programme goals
• Identify the tools to be used
• Administer the tools
• Implement the results
• Follow-up
2. Elaborate on the following components of a guidance programme:
• Guidance curriculum • Responsive services
• Individual student planning • System support
3. Elaborate on the following activities for the guidance programme at
the secondary stage of schooling:
Personal and Social Development
Competency
Area/Objectives Activities

Academic/Study • Train students to obtain, organise and apply

Skill academic information from a variety of
sources.
• Create positive interest in learning, by way of
involving students in active and practical
learning, conducting workshops, projects, etc.
• Teach different styles of learning, techniques
for memory, etc.

PLANNING AND ORGANISING A GUIDANCE PROGRAMME 49

 • Use group guidance sessions, to encourage
students to talk, discuss and listen to others
on study related issues and problems, which
would generate critical thinking and problem
solving.
Post secondary • Orientation to various educational institutions
and educational by giving pamphlets/handbooks.
planning • See the relationship between school subjects
and other activities, and after-school
educational and career opportunities.
Decision making • Give small assignments and projects to
children so that their competence are utilised
to the full.
• Help adolescents in establishing challenging
academic goals.
Critical thinking • Give regular reasoning exercise to students.
• Gives various situations to students and ask
them to give judgement and make analysis.
Transition from • Help students in understanding the
student to adult requirements of the society in terms of
character and employability skills.
• Development of career maturity in
adolescents.

Answer Key to Self-check Exercises

Self-check Exercise 1
Specialist counsellor
• A professionally qualified person
• Working as a full-time counsellor
Career Teacher
• A teacher with a short-term training
• Provides career information to students
Teacher counsellor
• A teacher with training in counselling and guidance
• Works as a teacher-cum-counsellor in a school set-up
Self-check Exercise 2
1. iv 2. iii 3. i 4. ii

50 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 References
American School Counselor Association. 2003. The ASCA national model:
A framework for school counseling programs. Professional School Counselling.
6 (3), 165-168.
American School Counselor Association. 2004. The Role of the Professional
School Counsellor. Alexandria.
Bhatnagar, A. and Gupta, N. (Eds.). 1999. Guidance and Counselling: A
Practical Approach. ( Vol.1). Vikas Publishing House. New Delhi.
Mooney R.L. and Gordon L.V. 1950. Problem Checklist. Psychological
Corporation. New York.
Rimmer, S. M. and Burt, M. A. 1980. Needs assessment: A step-by-step
approach. The School Counsellor. November, 59-62.

Suggested Readings

Arizona Department of Education. 2007. Handbook of the Arizona Model: A

Framework for School Counselling Programs. Phoenix, AZ.
Caroll, M. R. 1980. Standards for guidance and counselling programs. The
School Counsellor. November, 86-86.
Gibson R. L. and Mitchell, M. H. 2007. Introduction to Counselling and Guidance.
Prentice Hall. New Jersey.
Gysbers, N. and Hendersons, P. 1988. Developing and Managing Your School Guidance
Program. American Association for Counseling and Development. Alexandira,
VA.
Humes, G. W. and Hohenshil, T. H. 1987. Elementary counselors, school
psychologists, school social workers: Who does what? Elementary School Guidance
and Counselling. 22, 37-45.
Iowa Department of Education. 2008. Iowa School Counselling – A Program
Framework: One Vision, One Voice. Des Moines.
Massachusetts Department of Education. 2006. Massachusetts Model for
Comprehensive School Counselling Programs. Amherst.
Kellett, M. and Nind, M. 2003. Implementing Intensive Interaction in Schools: Guidance
for Practitioners, Managers and Coordinators. David Fulton. London, UK.
Scales, P. C. 2005. Developmental assets and the middle school counselor.
Professional School Counselling. 9(2), 104-110.
Wigfield, A., Lutz, S. L. and Wagner, A. L. 2005. Early adolescents’ development
across the middle school years: Implications for school counselors. Professional
School Counseling. 9(2), 112-119.
Websites
www.ade.az.gov
www.iowaschoolcounselors.org
www.mtschoolcounselor.org/MT_School_Counseling_Program_Model/
Process_Model.html
www.masca.org
www.schoolcounselor.org.

PLANNING AND ORGANISING A GUIDANCE PROGRAMME 51

 Guidance and Counselling
for Children with Special Needs

Part I Guidance and Counselling for

Children with Intellectual
Disability

Part II Guidance and Counselling for

Children with Learning
Disability

Part III Guidance and Counselling for

Children with Physical
Disability
3
Part I
Guidance and Counselling
for the Children with
Intellectual Disability
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Characteristics of Intellectual Disability
3.3 Identification of the Needs of Children with
Intellectual Disability
3.4 Guidance of the Child with Intellectual
Disability
3.5 Suggestions for Educational Guidance
3.6 Counselling for Socio-emotional Development
3.7 Environmental Interventions
3.8 Working with Parents of Children with
Intellectual Disability
3.9 Vocational Rehabilitation of Students with
Intellectual Disability
3.10 Summary
Self-evaluation Exercises
Answer Key to Self-evaluation Exercises
Answer Key to Self-check Exercises
References
 Guidance and Counselling for

3.0 INTRODUCTION
The term Intellectual Disability is used to describe people whose Intelligence Quotient
(IQ) is below the normal intelligence. Intellectual disability is the currently preferred
term for the disability historically referred to as mental retardation. The change in the
way of addressing people in a humane way is a step forward in fostering positive
attitudes in society towards people with limited intelligence. This would make a better
impact on the lives of such people.
The following case is an example of a child with intellectual disability.
Raju developed much more slowly than his older brother Ramu, which caused
some concern to his parents. His speech was developing so slowly at the age of 6
years that the parents suspected hearing loss. However, the audiologist found
nothing wrong with Raju’s hearing and he referred Raju to a psychologist who
conducted a series of observations and administered a standardised intelligence
test. The test score indicated an intelligence quotient (IQ) of 60 – much below the
average of 100. Although chronologically Raju is now 7 years old he functions like
a child 3-4 years younger. He has acquired the required self-help skills for his age
level like dressing, feeding, personal hygiene, etc. but he sometimes gets aggressive.
Raju is a child suffering from mild intellectual disability.
The above case gives a picture of the suffering that a child with limited intelligence
undergoes. It is generally perceived that children with limited intellectual ability are
below normal in IQ and that such children are unable to learn or to care for themselves.
Although children with intellectual disability have significantly low IQ and considerable
problems in everyday functioning, most of them can learn a great deal and as adults
can lead at least partially independent lives. This unit discusses the characteristics of
the intellectually challenged and the nature of physical, personal and emotional
problems they face in schools and in everyday life.
 Although the preferred term is intellectual disability, the authoritative definition
and assumptions promulgated by the American Association on Intellectual and
Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD, previously, AAMR) remain the same as those
found in Mental Retardation.
According to the Rights of Persons with Disability Act. 2016 (RPWD, 2016)
intellectual disability, a condition characterised by significant limitation both in
intellectual functioning (reasoning, learning, problem solving) and an adaptive behaviour
which covers a range of everyday, social & practical skills.
It does not mean that a person with intellectual disability can never be independent in
taking care of his/her needs. This unit will discuss how, with proper support, education
and training they can become partially independent. In this regard, parents and teachers/
counsellors play a prominent role in providing better life for the children with intellectual
disability who can become independent to some extent with the support of teachers.
3.1 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to–
• describe the meaning of intellectually disabled and how they are different from
other children;
• explain the special needs and problems faced by this group of students and their parents;
• identify their strengths and, plan and organise guidance and counselling activities
for furthering their growth and better adjustment.
3.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY
The major characteristics of intellectual disability include–
• Intellectual deficiency or limitation, leading to impairment in the learning process,
memory, attention and reduced ability to generalise and conceptualise.
• Deficient ability in adaptive skills which covers a range of everyday social and
practical skills.
• Low academic achievement with significant deficiency in the area of reading and
mathematics
• Delayed speech and language development and limited vocabulary
• Low tolerance for frustration
• Short attention span
• Inability to cope with strict and rigid environment
• Low motivation for any work
• Poor self image
3.3 IDENTIFICATION OF THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN WITH
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY
As they grow up and master activities of daily living, they have increased need for
support since they find it difficult to do things on their own, like eating, dressing,
bathing and grooming. Things need to be explained in a language that they understand,
i.e. there is need for more repetitions and practice, use of concrete materials and
examples for learning.

GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING FOR THE MENTALLY CHALLENGED/INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED 55

 It is very essential to maintain detailed
assessment and programming of each child.
There is also need to monitor the progress made
by them by special educators, teachers, and
counsellors. This can be done by functional
assessment tools. There are different
functional assessment checklists for children
from pre-primary to pre-vocational levels. The
areas for training are grouped under five
domains: personal, social, academic,
occupational and recreational.
A child with intellectual disability in a school setting will face a number of problems
such as: other children may ridicule his/her appearance, his/her being dull or slow as
compared to them. Some of the major problems a child may face are given below–
• Inability to cope with their surroundings
• Feeling of neglect/rejection by peers and others
• Feeling of worthlessness due to repeated failure
• Feeling of frustration if unable to achieve goals
• Poor self-concept/low self image/negative body image
• Play interests below those of age peers
• Afraid to venture on new tasks
• Aggressiveness, indulging in breaking things or making funny noises, etc.
• Have problems in interacting with strangers
• Are unaware of their strengths or talents
• Give up easily or make no or very little effort

3.4 GUIDANCE FOR CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

It is important for you as teacher counsellors to understand the strengths and specific
abilities, interests, ambitions, family background and study requirements of the child.
The guidance of the child with intellectual disability would include:
• Assessment of the basic profile of the child.
• Providing a warm and encouraging environment to accept and adjust the
shortcomings and strengthen the positives.
• Identifying reasons for poor self concept/low self esteem; encouraging others to
compliment him/her whenever possible.
• Engaging in constructive endeavours leading to success and to encourage taking risks
through role-plays and use of play materials like puppets, figures, dolls, etc.
• Developing optimism and positive thinking through providing success experiences
in different situations, such as writing to family and speaking about their strengths
to others.
• Providing appropriate learning opportunities according to the level of learning ability.
• Inculcating vocational skills to make them capable of earning a livelihood.

56 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
• Encouraging the child to perform small tasks and duties to develop positive attitude
as per his/her capability towards self and others, and working out ways of
rewarding strengths of the child in the classroom by the teachers, peers and at
home by the siblings and parents.
• Ascertain his/her weaknesses and fears, and work on these areas to boost their
confidence.
• Be alert to their personal difficulties and adjustment problems.
• Make sincere efforts to avoid embarrassment, and help them accept compliments
and praise for their accomplishments.
• Prepare for a vocation based on the child’s aptitude, potential interest, family
background and resources for providing the possible opportunities.
• Encourage to develop wholesome and constructive attitudes towards him self/
her self and others.
• Plan and involve the group in a career education program suited to their needs.
• Carry out assessment of interests, aptitudes and other strengths with the help of
standardised instruments, tests and tools, interviews with parents and other family
members, and observations.
• Provide opportunity for work study programme at vocational training centres.
• Arrange for camps/orientation programmes through group guidance activities,
individual counselling etc to prevent vocational and general adjustment problems later.
• Provide opportunity to learn right behaviours so that he/she and his/her families
do not have to go through unnecessary embarrassment and frustration. This can
be done by talking to them about real life examples of successful people with disability.
• Form clubs and organise activities to foster social interaction, involving their
families and others. It is a good idea to organise programmes involving parents as
volunteers in the school.
• Provide opportunities for social interaction, as their social milieu and anxiety often
prevents them from trying to find out information, especially in the face of
opposition to the experience of sexuality by them. Impart such information so
that their queries are addressed.
• Consider the student’s feelings of wanting to be like their peers and the resultant
apathy, despair or anger when this does not happen; organise more activities in
the classroom which help in enhancement of self esteem of the students by bringing
out their special strengths.
• Help resolve the anxieties as teenagers may have through group or individual discussions.
• Motivate students for decision-making and self-help by organising group activities
and rewarding them for taking initiative.
• Develop warm, accepting and effective relationships with all students.
• Adapt the environment to the unique needs of the students by breaking down the
day’s routine into small tasks and by alternating between formal and informal activities.
• Promote acceptance of differences, regard for others among all children in the class.

GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING FOR THE MENTALLY CHALLENGED/INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED 57

 It can be concluded from these given facts that it is extremely important to be alert to
personal difficulties and adjustment problems of children with intellectual disability. The
other children in the class and school have to be motivated to include children with
intellectual disability in various group activities and give a chance to perform to the
extent possible. Parental guidance is another responsibility, as parents need to adjust to
the realisation of difficulties their child has in learning. Parents are required to be informed
about the diagnostic and prognostic aspect of the child. Parents need to talk to parents
of children with similar problems to get adequate suggestions regarding bringing up their
child. The child with intellectual disability benefits more from individualised intervention
and concrete experiences. S/he can be motivated by praise. The teacher/counsellor needs
to be aware of the actual learning capacities of the students.

3.5 SUGGESTIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL GUIDANCE

Though these children are slow in learning, it is a well known fact
that by applying the right kind of educational techniques, it is
possible to impart the basic skills of reading, writing and
arithmetic to the children with intellectual disability by a
little effort on the part of the teacher as explained below:
• Meet the student periodically to maintain a
contact report to assess progress.
• Use techniques such as going from concrete
to abstract for making them learn new
things, make use of colourful textbooks
and play material along with behaviour
modification techniques of reinforcement,
punishment, etc. This is especially
effective with younger children.
• Identify and recognise interests, talents,
needs and career goals of the challenged Guidance and Counslling for Children
students to suggest need-based programmes. with spcial needs
• Plan vocational activities or work study
programmes during the secondary school years which may be useful for the
challenged student. Orient them to the reality of the world in which reward is
related to the work done on the job and productivity, by rewarding them for the
work done by them.
• Collaborate with special educators in providing basic and remedial education
coupled with reorientation of the individual to academic goals and settings.
• Help the family by educating them on preventive services available in the
community which can save the challenged student from other subsidiary
concomitant problems.
Some more tips for the teachers:
• Show, demonstrate and model.
• Utilise multisensory learning.

58 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
• Break information down into smaller units.
• Utilise peer tutoring and cooperative learning.
• Use a developmentally appropriate approach.
• Make information as concrete as possible.
• Provide small groups of instructions.
• Read test materials to the student.
• Find out how the student learns best, and utilise this learning channel.
• Provide opportunity for continuous success.
• Use consistent vocabulary when teaching a new skill.
• All students should be encouraged and given time to work collaboratively and
solve problems upto whatever levels they can attain.
• Give students a chance to share and justify their thinking in different ways.
• Make greater use of problem driven tasks and open-ended questions.
• Increase expectations for student’s reasoning and encourage multiple solution
strategies.
• Lay greater emphasis on inter student dialogue and collaboration.
• Make less use of teacher directed instruction.

Self-check Exercise 1
Read the following statements and mark true or false. True False
1. Intellectual disability refers to significant limitation both
in intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviour.
2. Overprotection by parents improves the coping ability
of a child with intellectual disability.
3. The child with intellectual disability gains more from
individualised intervention.

Activity 1
In the context of the school with which you are associated, identify the
factors in the areas mentioned below that hinder the education of children
with intellectual disability and list them in column A. In column B write the
interventions that may be necessary to remove those hindrances.
Suggested Areas Column A Column B
Text Books
Teaching/Learning
Process
Classroom Organisation
Evaluation

GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING FOR THE MENTALLY CHALLENGED/INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED 59

3.6 COUNSELLING FOR SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Adequate parental counselling in the initial stages is very essential. Doctors,
psychologists and social workers can make a big difference by correctly explaining to
the parents the condition and the options for treatment available, as well as clarifying
their doubts. Parental counselling also involves providing emotional support and
guidance, and strengthening morale. Once the parents get a grasp of the condition,
they need to learn appropriate ways of rearing and training the child. Parents continue
to need such assistance, guidance and support as the child grows up, especially during
adolescence, early adulthood and during periods of crisis.
In developing countries, additional factors like religion, superstitions, social
attitudes, etc. further complicate the situation. Furthermore, there may be claims that
certain drugs and herbal preparations can improve intelligence.
It is important to ensure that parents do not spend a lot of their valuable money
and time in pursuing treatments that are doubtful or of no value.
Individual counselling sessions by a professional counsellor and a psychologist
may range in duration from one or two interactions to a series of sessions lasting over
extended periods of time. It has been observed that:
• Over-protection leads to dependence of the child upon others that extends well
beyond the realities of the individual’s disabilities. Therefore, encourage them to
be independent. However workout a proper and realistic balance between the
needed support and encouragement of independence, as over protection represents
an unfavourable attitude towards the intellectual disability but encouraging too
much independence may sometimes prove to be dangerous or difficult.
• Play the advocacy role to help other students to understand the students with
intellectual disability better. Foster a more favourable school climate to respond
appropriately to a student with intellectual disability.
Individual counselling may be helpful in dealing with issues of dependence/
independence and other socio-emotional issues faced by older children and parents.
Family counselling can bring the family together to discuss the child and the difficulties,
and help improve family relationships and reduce interpersonal pressures at home.
The counselling techniques, successful with the students having intellectual
disability are the same as those used with others. However, special counselling skills
may be needed to counsel parents to bring about greater acceptance of the child.
Counselling should help and encourage to become independent at a level that is
consistent with their potential despite environmental restraints and internal reinforcers
of dependency.
Counselling approaches would be effective only if the strengths and limitations
of the child are kept in mind and if the counselling approaches are adapted to meet
the child’s needs.

60 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
3.7 ENVIRONMENTAL INTERVENTIONS
There are various types of environmental risks a child with intellectual disability may
be exposed to such as deprivation, stigma, physical and sexual abuse, and limited
opportunities for development because of typical assumptions concerning intellectual
disability, or because of their inability to deal with it (Furey, 1994; Tharinger, Horton
and Millea, 1990).
Thus, an inappropriate environment further delays the development of such
children. Therefore it is very important to–
• identify those aspects of the child’s environment which are creating difficulty in the
family, financial limitations, problems of working parents, etc. which constitute barriers
for the development of the child and arrange support for them;
• orient the supporting school staff to improve their understanding and acceptance
of the child;
• undertake organised efforts by involving principal and experts such as special
educators and other concerned teachers; bring about change in the attitudes of
teachers and other professionals; plan and organise social and recreational activities
for the group.
• advocate for enabling environment and creating a barrier free scholling.
• arrange for meaningful evaluation of the strengths of all students, remedial classes,
activities and opportunities by providing support for teaching in inclusive classes
which are compatible with the needs and abilities of the child.
3.8 WORKING WITH PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY
It is immensely important to work with parents of children with intellectual disability
as they face a multitude of challenges. One of the challenges faced by these parents
is social isolation. Friends and family members may not understand the special needs
of a child with intellectual disability and thus, may not be able to provide the child-
care support often available to families with more typical young children.
A second challenge frequently reported is that parents of children with intellectual
disability are subject to stigma. Most community or neighborhood members are not
exposed to or educated about individuals with intellectual disability. Further, the general
public has low tolerance for behaviour outside of the norm. Families of children with
intellectual disability are often sensitive to drawing negative attention to their families
in public places.
Thirdly, parents of children with intellectual disability often express concern
regarding balancing the needs of the child with those of other siblings. Discipline
techniques need to be tailored for the child with intellectual disability. Involvement
with educational and other institutional systems can be of help to the parents.
You as teachers/counsellors have to orient the family to accept the child and also
the parents of other children to bring about a change in their attitudes towards disability.

GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING FOR THE MENTALLY CHALLENGED/INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED 61

 You can provide examples of the parents who have accepted their child’s limitations
so that the parents of the concerned child could accept the disability of the child,
come together and form an association. Parents can be made aware that the disability
could be managed very effectively though not cured.
3.9 VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION OF STUDENTS WITH
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY
To maximise the potentials of the child and achieve an optimum level of functioning
that is more consistent with the capacities and opportunities for the students with
intellectual disability you can–
• help in development of work habits and attitudes;
• help in diagnosis and evaluation;
• provide greater self direction;
• facilitate early training in daily living skills and coping with other life’s situations;
• help in better utilisation of student’s abilities in the pursuit of appropriate
educational, social, vocational and interpersonal goals;
• seek information about the child, about his/her preferences of work to prepare a
rehabilitation plan, and help in its implementation;
• provide the disabled with the tools and skills that they need to make the most of
their life;
• help the child contribute to national or social goals by making them productive
and self sufficient.
Role of the Parents
No one is prepared to be the parent of a child with disability. The parent(s) primarily
learn about their child through an experience of family living, and the professionals
working with these parents must focus on their experiences which are unique in every
individual case. Although parents may share common problems and reactions, the
combinations of possible reactions, the intensity of the reactions, and the duration
of the reactions are some factors that necessitate each family to be considered
individually.
Parental adjustment may consist of any or all the following stages–
• Awareness of the problem • Recognition of the problem
• Search for a cause • Search for a cure, and
• Acceptance of the child.
The parents should bear the following in mind–
• Foster feelings of self-esteem in the child.
• Do not compare the performance of the child with other siblings.
• All children have strengths and competencies, and these strengths must be
identified and reinforced.
• Parents who convey hope provide a major force in helping children overcome
adversity and become resilient.

62 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
• Parents can help children develop a sense of responsibility and contribution to
their family.
• Parents can provide opportunities for their child to make choices and decisions,
and promote self-discipline.
• Parents can help the children deal effectively with their mistakes and failures.
• If possible, parents should attend training programmes along with the community.

Self-check Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks from the following alternatives.
a. Social b. independent
c. self-esteem d. environmental
1. A child with intellectual disability must be encouraged to be _____________.
2. Deprivation, stigma, physical and sexual abuse are _____________ risks which
a child with intellectual disability may be exposed to.
3. One of the challenges faced by parents is _____________ isolation.
4. Parents should foster feelings of _____________ in their child with disability.

Activity 2
Organise a meeting with the parents of children with intellectual disability
of your school or community and encourage them to form an association
catering for the needs of their children.

3.10 Summary
The unit gives a detailed account of the concept of intellectual disability
in children. The characteristics, needs and inclusion of children with
intellectual disability in school setting has been mentioned.
Teacher’s role in identifying their strengths and abilities has been
highlighted and various suggestions for educational guidance have been
given in detail.
Furthermore, the role of counsellor in providing necessary counselling,
i.e. helping parents accept the disability of the child and providing
emotional support, has also been mentioned.
The unit also provides guidelines for vocational rehabilitation of
the students with intellectual disability.

GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING FOR THE MENTALLY CHALLENGED/INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED 63

 1. Explain briefly the problems a child with intellectual disability may
face in an integrated setting.

Self-evaluation Exercises
2. Explain the significance of counselling, for parents of a child with
intellectual disability.
3. What are the various possible environmental risks for a child with
intellectual disability.
Answer Key to Self-evaluation Exercises
1. A child with intellectual disability in a school setting will face a number
of problems ranging from his/her being ridiculed by other children for
different physical appearance to his/her low academic achievement.
2. Elaborate on the following points:
Counselling the parents of the children with intellectual disability
will help them in accepting the disability of the child and learning
appropriate ways of rearing and training the child.
3. Various environmental risks a child with intellectual disability may
face are deprivation, stigma, physical and sexual abuse, neglect and
risk of various physical diseases.

Answer Key to Self-check Exercises

Self-check Exercise 1
1. T 2. F 3. F 4. T
Self-check Exercise 2
1. b 2. d 3. a 4. c

References
American Psychiatric Association. 1994. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders (4th ed.). Jaypee Brothers, New Delhi.
Bromley, B. E. and Blacher, J. 1991. Parental reasons for out-of-home placement
of children with severe handicaps. Mental Retardation. 29, 275–290.
Furey, E. M. 1994. Sexual abuse of adults with mental retardation: Who
and where. Mental Retardation. 32, 173–180.
Furey, E. M., Niesen. J. and Straunch, J. D. 1994. Abuse and neglect of
adults with mental retardation in different residential settings. Behavioural
Intervention. 9, 199–211.
O’Brien, K. F., Tate, K. and Zaharia, E. S. 1991. Morality in a large
southeastern facility for persons with mental retardation. American Journal
on Mental Retardation. 95, 397–403.

64 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 References

Tharinger, D., Horton, C. B. and Millea, S. 1990. Sexual abuse and

exploitation of children and adults with mental retardation and other
handicaps. Child Abuse and Neglect. 14. 301–312.
The Right of Persons with Disablility Act. 2016. The Gazette of India.
Rousey, A. B., Blacher, J. B. and Hanneman, R. A. 1990. Predictors of
out-of-home placement of children with severe handicaps: A cross-
sectional analysis. American Journal of Mental Retardation. 94, 522–531.

Suggested Readings

Burack J. A., Hodapp, R. M. and Zigler, E. 1998. Handbook of Mental

Retardation. Cambridge University Press, New York.
Editorial Board. 1996. Definition of Mental Retardation. In J. W. Jacobson and J.
A. Mulick (Eds.), Manual of Diagnosis and Professional Practice in Mental Retardation
(pp. 13–53). American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.
Jalka A. 2014. Including Children with Special Needs, (Primary Stage) NCERT,
New Delhi.
Julka A. 2014. Including Children with Special Needs. (Upper Primary Stage).
NCERT, New Delhi.
Luckasson, R., Borthwick-Duff, S., Buntinx, W. H. E., Coulter, D. L.,
Craig, E. M., Reeive, A., Schalock, R. L., Snell, M., Spitalnik, D. M., Spreat,
S. and Tasse, M. J. 2002. Mental Retardation: Definition, Classification and
Systems of Support. American Association on Mental Retardation.
Washington, DC.
Mash, E. J. and Wolfe, D. A. 2002. Abnormal Child Psychology (2nd ed.).
Thompson Learning Inc., California.

Websites
http://www.disabilityaffairs.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/
RPWD% 20ACT%202016.pdf

GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING FOR THE MENTALLY CHALLENGED/INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED 65

Part II
Guidance and Counselling ffor
or
Children with LLearning
earning Disability
3.11 Introduction
3.12 Objectives
3.13 Concept of Specific Learning Disability
3.14 Differentiating Learning Disability from other
Learning Difficulties
3.14.1 Intellectual Disability
3.14.2 Underachievement
3.14.3 Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
3.14.4 Autism Spectrum Disorder
3.15 Causes of Learning Disability
3.16 Characteristics of Children with Learning
Disabilities
3.16.1 Learning Characteristics
3.16.2 Behavioural Characteristics
3.16.3 Social Characteristics
3.16.4 Academic Problems
3.17 Characteristics of Adolescents with Learning
Disability
3.18 Guidance and Counselling of Children with
Learning Disabilities
3.18.1 Suggestions for Parents
3.19 Summary
Self-evaluation Exercises
Answer Key to Self-evaluation Exercises
Answer Key to Self-check Exercises
References
3.11 INTRODUCTION
You know by now how to meet the needs of children who are deficient in intellectual
ability to perform the day-to-day tasks. In this section we shall discuss children who
appear to be intelligent (have an IQ level of average and above) but do not learn to
read, write, or spell at the grade level expected of them, no matter what methods of
instruction you may use. Such a situation is puzzling if you can sense that a student’s
poor performance is not essentially due to laziness. In fact, many of these failing
pupils may be the most industrious members of the class. Nor can their failure be
attributed to defective intellect. These particular ‘non-readers’ usually exhibit
brightness in oral fluency. Inspite of their best efforts, these children fail to reach the
proficiency of their grade level in reading, writing and arithmetic.
Such conditions are identified as learning disability. Researches show that ten to
fifteen per cent of the school age population experiences the inability to handle
language symbols, in spite of good intellectual ability, comfortable economic status,
or instructional efforts within the classroom. Children with Learning Disabled (LD)
are found in nearly every classroom of the world, including those serving our most
advantaged areas. Two or three can be found in most typical classrooms and are not
able to sustain the systematic demanding effort required to learn the basic skills of
arithmetic, reading and writing.
The phenomenon of failure quickly becomes a way of life for most of the children
and hence the dropout rate of such children is alarmingly high. The child, who is
unable to perform certain academic tasks, will resort to the use of maladaptive
behaviour to divert the teacher’s attention away from the academic work. Hence,
early detection and remediation of the problem becomes very essential.

3.12 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to–
• describe the meaning of specific ‘learning disability’
• explain the characteristics of children with learning disability
• identify children with learning disability in class
• list the causes of learning disability
• explain the role of counsellor in helping children with learning disability.
3.13 CONCEPT OF LEARNING DISABILITY
“Specific Learning Disabilities” means a heterogeneous group of conditions wherein
there is a deficit in proccssing language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself as
a difficulty to comprehend, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations
and includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia,
dyspraxia and developmental aphasis (RPWD Act. 2016). These children experience
difficulty in any one or more of the following academic areas–
1. Oral expression
2. Written expression
3. Listening comprehension
4. Basic reading skills
5. Mathematical abilities
6. Mathematical reasoning
7. Spelling
8. Language
A learning disability arises as a result of a dysfunction in the central processing
system of the brain resulting in disorders or inefficiencies in the reception, analysis,
synthesis and symbolic use of information.
In early childhood the problems appear in different forms such as poor co-
ordination, perceptual disorders, short attention span, lack of mastery of concepts,
delayed milestones of language development or behavioural problems such as
hyperactivity and distractibility. Parents get upset about why their child is not doing
well. These children do not get identified in the primary classes. Other students may
find them immature.
3.14 DIFFERENTIATING LEARNING DISABILITY FROM OTHER
LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
Learning disability is a neurobiological disorder; people with LD have brains that
learn differently because of differences in brain structure and/or function. If a person
learns differently due to hearing or visual handicaps, intellectual disability, emotional
disturbance, or cultural or economic disadvantage, it is not called a learning disability.
But, many students who do not perform well in school may be labelled as LD
even though there are different reasons for their failure. Some of the children with
LD may be interpreted as intellectually disabled or aphasic (explained below) or
underachiever or one suffering from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Hence, these terms are differentiated here.

68 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
3.14.1 Intellectual Disability
Children with an IQ lower than 70 are usually characterised as having intellectual disability
or intellectual deficiency, and they are not to be included under the definitions of learning
disabilities because their learning difficulties are related directly to their intelligence and
not to learning disability that has been mentioned under section 1.2. You have already
read about the characteristics of intellectual disability in the previous unit.
3.14.2 Underachievement
An underachiever is a child with intellectual potential that is significantly higher than
actual academic performance. In case of underachievement, poor performance of
the child could be due to various reasons like peer pressure, emotional sensitivities at
home or may be due to the child’s interest in something else which does not form part
of the school curriculum. If this discrepancy between potential and achievement is
due to intrinsic reasons like problems in nervous system or trouble in information
processing, then underachievement could be seen as learning disability.
3.14.3 Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is often studied in connection with
learning disabilities, but it is not actually included in the standard definitions of learning
disabilities. An individual with ADHD may struggle with learning, but he/she can
often learn adequately, once successfully treated for the ADHD. In order to understand
the difference, imagine that someone with a learning disability is affected in only one
or a few areas. However, people with ADHD are often affected in all areas.
3.14.4 Autism Spectrum Disorder
“Autism Spectrum Disorder” means a neuro-developmental condition typically
appearing in the first three years of life that significantly affects a person’s ability to
communicate, understand relationships and relate to others, and is frequently associated
with unusual or sterotypical rituals or behaviours.
Differentiating learning disability from other types of disability alone is not
sufficient to cater to the needs of the LD children. The causes for learning disability
have to be identified so as to facilitate effective guidance.

Self-check Exercise 1
a. Intellectual disability, b. Aphasia, c. Learning disability
d. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, e. Underachievement.
1. If a child’s academic performance is less than his/her intellectual potential, it
is called as ________________.
2. _____________________________________ is a kind of disorder, under
which, a child may be have learning difficulty in one or few areas.
3. _________________ is a neurobiological disorder.
4. Children with an IQ lower than 70 are characterised as having ______________.

G UIDANCE AND C OUNSELLING FOR C HILDREN WITH L EARNING D ISABILITIES 69

3.15 CAUSES OF LEARNING DISABILITY
With the development of sophisticated techniques in the late 1980s, detection of
brain abnormalities has become much easier. Professionals began to hold the view
that learning disabilities occur because of some kind of differences in brain structure
or functioning, and the major cause of learning disabilities is neurological rather than
environmental.
Some other important factors as possible contributors to learning disabilities are:
hereditary factors, teratogens factors, medical factors and environmental factors.
• Heredity plays a significant role in many cases of learning disabilities. Researchers
have found that around 35% to 45% of children with first degree learning
disabilities have reading disabilities. Similar is the case for speech and language
disorders (Beichtman, Hood and Inglis, 1992; Lewis, 1992) and spelling disabilities
(Schulte-Korne, Deimel, Muller, Gutenbrunner and Remschmidt, 1996).
• Use of teratogens agents such as alcohol and cocaine by the expectant mother can
cause neurological damage to the foetus, leading to learning disabilities in children.
Children exposed to lead prenatally and postnatally are also at risk.
• Medical factors such as premature birth, early onset of diabetes in children,
meningitis, cardiac arrest and pediatric AIDS are also associated with learning
disabilities.
• Diet deficiency in essential vitamins and minerals, for example vitamin D deficiency,
iodine deficiency, affects brain development and can lead to learning disabilities.
Therefore, dietary factors such as malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies may cause
learning disability in some children. Malnutrition impacts learning ability of
children and people who survive a malnourished childhood are more prone to
learning disabilities.
• Several environmental factors like poverty, parental illiteracy, lack of exposure to
literacy skills in the home environment and lack of command over medium of
instruction may affect the learning ability of children. But it should be remembered
that environmental factors like cultural differences or bad teaching are not
responsible for learning disabilities.
3.16 CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES
Children with learning disabilities become very depressed and their disability to learn
makes a negative impact on their life. They may isolate themselves from the society
as they may feel–
• Ashamed of the types of difficulties they struggle with, such as poor literacy
skills, attention or memory difficulties
• Fear of failure, criticism, ridicule or rejection
• Fear of discrimination
• Fear that others may think that they are stupid or incapable
• Feeling left out of every day discussions due to lack of understanding.

70 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 Children with learning disabilities make a very heterogeneous group. The characteristics
used for identification of learning disabilities include one or more of the following.
3.16.1 Learning Characteristics
• Average or above average intelligence
• Persistent academic difficulties in one or more areas
• Discrepancy between the student potential and actual performance
• Difficulties in both reading (i.e. children may find it difficult to recognise words
or to understand the meaning) or writing language (they may have problems in
spelling, or writing or in organising the ideas to write)
• Difficulties in oral expression, listening and comprehension, math performance,
calculation, reasoning, memory and meta-cognition (one’s knowledge concerning
one’s own way of thinking or anything related to them)
• Perceptual disorders which involve difficulties in discrimination, identification,
association, sequential ordering, visual-perception, and analytical thinking to identify
part to whole relationships.
3.16.2 Behavioural Characteristics
• Hyperactivity with problem of inability to sit in their seat for long periods
• Aggressive or withdrawn behaviour
• Hypoactivity (diminished activity)
• In-coordination (lack of visual, speech and action coordination)
• Show perseverance as they keep on studying even when discouraged
• Over-attention or attention fixation.
3.16.3 Social Characteristics
• Misinterpret social cues
• Exhibit inappropriate, socially unacceptable behaviours in certain situations
• Unable to predict consequences of
behaviour or anticipating the
behaviour of others
• Difficulty in changing or adapting
their behaviour
• Poor verbal and non-verbal skills
• Poor self-confidence
• Difficulty in deciding/selecting
from alternatives.
3.16.4 Academic Problems
• Difficulty in counting
• Lack of concentration or easily
distracted by the surroundings,
either at home or school
• Difficulty in sitting quietly in the
classroom
• Inability to write down the spoken
words correctly
G UIDANCE AND C OUNSELLING FOR C HILDREN WITH L EARNING D ISABILITIES 71
• Confusion between Right & Left
• Unreasonable difficulty in remembering the verbal instructions
• General difficulty in memorising the things
• Extreme restlessness which significantly interferes with the timely completion of
various tasks
• Reverses letters or symbols too frequently while reading, for example, b as d, saw
as was, etc.
• Reverses numbers too frequently while reading or writing, for example, 31 as 13,
6 as 9, etc.
• Poor in mathematical calculations
• Problems in accurate copying from common sources like a book or a blackboard,
even though vision is normal
• Writes letters or words either too close or too far (spacing problems)
• The child appears to comprehend satisfactorily but is not able to answer the
questions.
Note
(i) If the answer to any of the above 3 to 5 statements is positive, the child should be
carefully examined by a qualified psychologist/pediatrician/or a special educator
for initial screening and further consultations.
(ii) One of the main characteristics of children with learning disability is that their
verbal skills are often much better than the writing skills. Therefore, they should
be formally tested in order to elucidate their disability in detail.
Activity 1
Identify children in your class/neighbourhood who are experiencing some
of the above mentioned problems.

3.17 CHARACTERISTICS OF ADOLESCENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITY

As a result of physiological changes taking place at this stage, pre-dominant problems
adolescents may face are–
• Alienation from family: As the adolescent becomes functionally independent
and mobile, steps out of home and school, s/he gets alienated from the family as
s/he is influenced more by the peer group and yields quickly to their social pressures.
However in case of LD, ability to survive without adult support in the family gets
further weakened.
• Identity crisis: The adolescent tries continually to establish an identity. The onset
of sexual development brings problems and sets tasks that are different for boys
and girls. Accordingly, expectations of other people from them also change. The
need for independence and rebellion against authority comes in the way of their
attaining it. An added factor, which makes the process of identity formation
difficult, is learning disability, which further aggravates the problems in different
areas of development. The conflict is seen in their being unpredictable and
ambivalent in how they react to the world.
72 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
• Self-concept: As an LD student’s performance is inconsistent in different areas,
it is difficult for others to understand whether he/she is intelligent or not and in
what areas he/she is good at. This elicits inconsistent appreciation and criticism
from others and the adolescent becomes diffident or confused. Thus he/she may
develop a negative self-concept and low self-esteem.
• Limited generalisation: Generalisation is based on sufficient number of
experiences that are consistent. However, such a thing does not happen in case of
students with learning disabilities due to limited consistent experiences. Hence
establishment of rules takes longer and generalisations are difficult to make.
• Daydreaming: With the onset of puberty, expectations, wishes and aspirations
about present and future from self and others increase. If their expectations are
not met, frustrations in life make them revert to imagined success experiences in
different aspects of life and it leads to daydreaming.
• Severe underachievement: As the perception of the adolescent is severely
affected, it affects their academic achievement in all areas. In addition they have
short attention span, which affects their recall in exams. Even if they have good
intellectual potential, achievement in all subjects can be poor. This perpetual failure
induces frustration in them.
• Poor concept formation: Normally, as the child develops intellectually, his/her
abstract thinking abilities improve. He/she can understand different perspectives
of a situation. He/she understands, manipulates, thinks and attacks problems
with abstract rules and generalisations. However, in an adolescent with learning
disability, learning problems cause confusion. A student who can’t read well but
can think at a formal level, masks the basic problems, such as in reading, by
making excuses like: he/she is tired, is not well, will read later, etc.
• Emotional problems: Adolescents generally like to conform to peer norms,
especially in behaviour and dress. In their effort to conform and yet establish
independent identity, their behaviours may appear impulsive and erratic. It is
difficult to get him/her to focus attention in desirable directions. In case of learning
disabled, consistent failure in academics and frequent reprimands from everyone
may cause anxiety and frustration in the adolescent, leading to aggression. Lack
of patience, combined with the need for independence and conformity, may result
in unacceptable social behaviour.
• Adjustment problem: The necessity to cope with rapid physiological and
concomitant psychological changes, poses adjustment problems for any student.
This is more so when an adolescent has learning disability.
Like any other adolescent, the adolescent with learning disability shows the above
mentioned characteristics because the problems of adolescent stage are further
aggravated as a result of being learning disabled. They are also highly influenced by
their peers. Consistent failure in school along with lack of support from family may
make them feel lonely. Thus they are likely to have adjustment problems as they are
not able to meet parental expectations of excelling in academics. They experience
low self esteem because of their low performance in different school activities.
G UIDANCE AND C OUNSELLING FOR C HILDREN WITH L EARNING D ISABILITIES 73
 Activity 2
Observe and identify an adolescent with learning disability in your class/
surroundings. Interview the student and assess the nature of academic, social
and emotional problems such a student may have.

3.18 GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING OF CHILDREN

WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES
A guidance counsellor/teacher counsellor could deal with the problems associated
with learning disabilities by identifying–
• the child’s own perception of his/her difficulties
• the attitude s/he develops towards herself/himself and also the attitudes and
behaviour of significant others around him/her
• the inconsistent self concept, low academic achievement
• the inability to make choices, solve problems, etc.
Before dealing with the children with LD, a teacher/counsellor should have
knowledge about the strong and weak areas of the child with LD. Some children can
perform well with visual mode of teaching, whereas some are good at auditory skills
and there are others who can learn more if they are taught in the kinesthetic mode of
teaching. The following table gives a picture of the different needs of children with
learning disability (Cutter, Barston and Benedictis, 2008).
Visual Learners Audio Learners Kinesthetic learners
See the world in images They are good listeners They process information
or pictures through body movement
and touch
Excels in the traditional Do well in lecture Have trouble sitting still in
classroom because most based learning class. They must touch,
material is presented and environment and are explore and create in order
tested visually active in classroom to learn. They are unable to
discussions process or retain material
just by seeing or listening
They need to see to learn Enjoy reading, looking Memory is linked to
at pictures, watching movement
people and thrive
with interaction and
verbal repetition
They love to draw, write Thrive in sports, drama,
and are good organisers dance
Tools that can be offered: Tools: talk, discussion, Tools: skits, note taking, art
books, videos, computers, debate
posters

74 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 A counsellor/teacher, in order to maximise the potential of children with LD,
should know the strengths of children with learning disability or LD. When counselling
efforts are focused on the strengths of LD children it can create a positive attitude
among the children towards their own abilities.
Identification and Assessment of Skills
Teachers/counsellors can identify the types of tasks the child can do and the senses
that function well. By using the senses that are intact, many children can develop
needed skills. These strengths offer alternative ways the child can learn. A counsellor
can help a child by identifying a student’s learning disability at an early stage. Making
proper assessment of the problems of a child can help in identifying the specific
deficit areas such as low self-esteem or inadequate academic skills or behaviours
affecting academic performance, etc.
Building the Skills
After assessing the child’s strengths and weaknesses, the guidance teacher/counsellor
can design an Individualised Educational Program (IEP) (Neuwirth, 1993). The IEP
should outline the specific skills the child needs to develop as well as appropriate
learning activities that build on the child’s strengths. Many effective learning activities
engage several skills and senses. For example, in learning to spell and recognise words,
a student may be asked to see, say, write, and spell each new word. The student may
also write the words in sand, which engages the sense of touch. Many experts believe
that the more senses children use in learning a skill, the more
likely they are able to retain it. This is also referred to as
multi-sensory learning.
Referral
Sometimes the children with learning disability
cannot be provided the right kind of care or
teaching method that is needed. At times the
behaviour of the children with learning
disabilities and attention disorders may
be very violent because of the trouble
they face in making friends with peers.
There are also children with speech and
language or articulation disorders which
require listening skills, or practising some speech sounds. In such instances, without
professional help, the situation can spiral out of control. So when the school guidance
teacher is not able to handle the children with LD, it would yield better results if they
are referred to a professional counsellor or a special educator.
You can help the learning disabled in the following ways–
• Receiving an immediate reward can help children learn to control their own actions,
both at home and in class. A school counsellor can use behaviour modification

G UIDANCE AND C OUNSELLING FOR C HILDREN WITH L EARNING D ISABILITIES 75

 and other techniques (as discussed in Module-II, Unit 6 on ‘Behavioural
Interventions in Counselling’) and help parents and teachers set up appropriate
rewards for the child.
• Teacher/counsellor can figure out how the child learns best and should know
about his/her special skills, talents and interests. This can help the counsellor in
motivating and fostering the child to learn. The teacher/counsellor should
encourage the practice of multi sensory learning as stated above.
• Encourage the child to work on their special talent. When they can really shine in
some area, it helps them feel successful.
• Help the child understand the learning problems and talk about them. Focus on
coping skills.
• Help them to correct the errors and mistakes by showing or demonstrating what
they should do.
• Can talk to parents about academics and behaviour in class and can discuss
homework strategies with the parents.
Teachers during classroom teaching can use the following ways to help these children.
• Classroom intervention typically focuses on environmental modifications such
as: locating a child close to the front of the classroom to remove extraneous
distractions, providing written notes for children who have difficulty reading or
processing auditorily presented information, providing a classroom aide to assist
with delivering instructions and staying focused, using multi-sensory learning
processes to help a child absorb information when weaknesses may exist in one
modality of processing.
• Frequent repetition and practice are needed almost always for children who are
underachieving due to learning disabilities.
• In case of visual and reading problems, try to provide enlarged print for books,
papers, worksheets or other materials which make tasks more manageable for the
child with LD.
• The child’s learning ability should be assessed every time so as to modify the way
of teaching as per the child’s needs.
• Simplify verbal instructions in class (for example give two commands instead of
three, slow the rate of speech, and minimise distractions).
• Read enjoyable stories to them and with them. Encourage them to ask questions,
discuss stories, tell stories, and to read stories.
• Further their ability to concentrate by reducing distracting aspects of their environment
as much as possible (provide them with a place to work, study and play).
• Increase the novelty of lessons by using films, tapes, flash cards, or small group work.
• Show, demonstrate and model.
• Break information down into smaller units.
• Utilise peer tutoring and cooperative learning.
• Make less use of teacher directed instruction and use participatory approach.
• Use a developmentally appropriate approach, i.e. use teaching methods and
materials suitable to age and grade level of students.

76 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
• Use consistent vocabulary when teaching a new skill.
• Encourage them to learn at their own pace.
• Show confidence in student’s reasoning and encourage multiple solution strategies
through discussion and collaborative efforts among students.
Thus, counsellors/teachers can play a key role in fostering the potentials of LD
children, due to their understanding and insight of the unique needs of the special
group children. To promote holistic development of LD children, it is essential to
orient parents about the causes of LD.

Self-check Exercise 2
(a) tetratogenic (b) audio (c) kinesthetic (d) visual
1. ____________learners process information through body movement and
the touch.
2. ____________learners are offered, books, videos, posted, etc as a tool for
learning.
3. Use of _______agents by expectant mother can cause neurological damage
to the foetus
4. ____________learners perform well in lecture based learning environments.

3.18.1 Suggestions for Parents

Every child needs to grow up feeling competent and loved. When children have learning
disabilities, parents may need to work harder at developing their children’s self-esteem
and relationship-building skills.
If parents think that their child may have LD, they should not delay in getting
help for their child. The first step that a parent can take is to contact the child’s
school and request the school authorities to arrange for testing and evaluation. They
can talk about this to the school teacher or counsellor, and discuss about the ways in
which the needs of the child can be met. The counsellor/teacher can provide support
to the parents and can instruct the parents to–
• Give the child unconditional love and support.
• Make the child realise that mistakes do not equal failure and show them that,
mistakes can be useful and lead to solutions.
• Join a support group for parents of kids with LDs. A support group can help the
parents feel less alone, get information and learn strategies from other parents.
• Stay in close touch with the child’s teacher/counsellor.
Further, the parents should be oriented to–
• identify and nurture strengths of their child to foster feelings of self-esteem in the child.
• not to compare the performance of their child with other siblings.
• recognise strengths and competencies of the child to overcome feelings of
helplessness.
• developing in the child a sense of responsibility and contribution to the family by
assigning tasks that he/she may be capable of doing.

G UIDANCE AND C OUNSELLING FOR C HILDREN WITH L EARNING D ISABILITIES 77

• providing opportunities to the child to make choices and decisions, and acquire
self-discipline.
• helping the child to overcome his/her mistakes and failures.

3.19 Summary
An attempt has been made in this unit to explain the causes,
characteristics and the problems faced by children with learning
disability. The difference between a student’s ability and actual
performance may indicate a learning disability. The unit discusses the
characteristics of LD which include such conditions as perceptual
disabilities, language or articulation disorder and other disabilities in
reading and writing due to minimal brain dysfunction. The needs of
LD children are distinct from those of children with intellectual
disability, aphasia or underachievement. Hence specific needs of LD
children and the causes contributing to learning disability have to be
identified. It is essential to make an assessment of the characteristics
of children with LD and also their adolescent age problems so that
they can be guided to overcome the effects of having LD. In order to
cater to the educational needs of children with LD, it is important for
teachers/counsellors to identify what the student’s specific disabilities
are. They can make the parents understand the problems of the child
with LD. Teachers/counsellors can assist the LD children in actualising
their potential. With assistance from teachers, counsellors and parents,
it is possible to enhance the efforts of children with learning disability.

1. Differentiate between intellectual disability and learning disabilities

in children.
Self-evaluation Exercises

2. Explain briefly the causes of learning disability.

3. Write briefly on some of the major problems an adolescent learning
disabled is likely to face.
Answer Key to Self-evaluation Exercises
1. Intellectual disability in a child refers to sub average intellectual
functioning (an IQ of approx 70 or below with an onset before 18
years of age) along with associated deficit in communication, social,
academic and sensorimotor skills, self help skills and vocational skills.
Children with learning disabilities have an IQ level of average or
above average. They experience one or more problems in listening,
speaking, reading, writing, reasoning and mathematics.
2. Elaborate on the following–
- Hereditary factors
- Use of tetratogenic agents such as alcohol and cocaine by the
expectant mother

78 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 -
Medical factors such as premature birth, early onset of diabetes
in children, meningitis, cardiac arrest and pediatric AIDS
- Environmental factors such as low socioeconomic status,
extremely poor parenting and teaching.
3. Elaborate on the following–
- Peer and social pressure
- Identity crisis
- Poor self-concept
- Limited generalisation due to limited consistent experiences
- Underachievement
- Poor concept formation
- Problems of lack of motivation and behaviour management
- Adjustment problems

Answer Key to Self-check Exercises

Self-check Exercise 1
1. e 2. d 3. c 4. b 5. a
Self-check Exercise 2
1. c 2. d 3. a 4. b

References
Beichtman, J. H., Hood, J. and Inglis, A. 1992. Familial transmission of
speech and language impairment: A preliminary investigation. Canadian
Journal of Psychiatry. 37(3), 151–156.
Cutter, D., Jaffe-Gill, E., Barston, S. and Benedictis, T. B. 2008. Learning
disabilities: Types, Symptoms, and Interventions. Helpguide.
Galaburda, A. M., Sherman, G. F., Rosen, G. D., Aboitiz, F. and Geschwind,
N. 1985. Developmental dyslexia: Four consecutive patients with cortical
anomalies. Annals of Neurology. 18, 222–233.
Hammil, D. D., Leigh, J. E., McNutt, G. and Larsen, S. C. 1981. A new
definition of learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly. 4, 336–342.
Lewis, B. A. 1992. Pedigree analysis of children with phonology disorders.
Journal of Learning Disabilities. 25(9), 586–597.
Neuwirth, S. 1993. Learning Disability. NIH Publication No. 93-3611,
National Institute of Mental Health. Silver Spring, MD.
Schulte-Korne, G., Deimel, W., Muller, K., Gutenbrunner, C. and
Remschmidt, H. 1996. Familial aggregation of spelling disability. Journal
of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 37, 817–822.

G UIDANCE AND C OUNSELLING FOR C HILDREN WITH L EARNING D ISABILITIES 79

 Suggested Readings

Beschler, B. D., Elis, E. S. and Lenz, B. R. 1996. Teaching Adolescents with

Learning Disabilities: Strategies and Methods. (2nd ed.). Love Publishing, Denver.
Clark, D. B. and Uhry, J. K. 1995. Dyslexia: Theory and Practice of Remedial
Instruction. York Press, Timonium, MD.
Hallahan, D. P., Kaufman, J. M. and Lloyd, J. W. 1999. Introduction to
learning disabilities (2nd ed.). Allyn & Bacon, Boston.
Johnson, D. and Johnson, R. 1986. Mainstreaming and co-operative
learning strategies. Exceptional Children, 52(6). 553–61.
Mash, E. J. and Wolfe, D. A. 2002. Abnormal child psychology (2nd ed.).
Wadsworth, California.
McCathy, G. 1984. The Physically Handicapped Child. Fiber & Faber Ltd.,
London.
Rieser. R.. 2008. Implementing Inclusive Education. A Common Wealth Guide
to Implementing Article 24 of the UN Convention on the Right of Persongs with
Disablility. The Publication Section, Commonwealth Secretariat,
Marlborough House, Pall Mall Landon. U.K.
Sharma, K. 1987. Identifying and Validating Competencies Needed by Regular
Educators and Special Educators to Integrate Children with Special Needs,
University of London, U.K.
Volkmar, F. R. 2000. Medical Problems, Treatments, and Professionals. in
Powers, M. D. (ed.). Children with Autism: A Parent’s Guide. (2nd ed.) (pp.
73-74). Woodbine House, Bethesda, MD.
Lovaas, O. I. 1987. Behavioral treatment and normal educational and
intellectual functioning in young autistic children. Journal of Consulting
and Clinical Psychology, 55, 3–9.
Nielsen, L. B. 2002. Brief Reference of Student Disabilities: With Strategies
for the Classroom, Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, California.
Whitney H. Rapp, Arndt. L.K. 2012. Teaching Everyone. An Introduction to
Inclusive Education. P.H. Brooxes Publishing Co. U.S.A.
Websites
http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/learning_disabilities.htm
http://www.ldinfo.com/learning_disability.htm
http://www.med.umich.edu/1Libr/yourchild/ld.htm
http://www.medicinenet.com/learning_disability/article.htm
http://www.pediatricneurology.com
http://www.disabilityaffairs.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/
RPWD% 20ACT%202016.pdf

80 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
Part III
Guidance and Counselling ffor
or
Children wih Physical Disability
3.20 Introduction
3.21 Objectives
3.22 The Child with Physical Disability
3.23 Locomotor Disability
3.23.1 Types of Locomotor Disability
3.23.2 Guidance for Children with
Locomotor Disability
3.24 Speech and Language Disability
3.24.1 Speech related disorders
3.24.2 Guidance for Children with
Speech Disorders
3.25 Hearing Impairments
3.25.1 Levels of Hearing Loss
3.25.2 Indentification checklist for Children with
Hearing Impairment
3.25.3 Guidance for Children with Hearing
Impairment
3.26 Visual Impairments
3.26.1 Characteristics and Needs of Children with
Visual Impairment
3.26.2 Guidance for Children with Visual
Impairment
3.27 Some General Strategies to Help Student with
Physical Disability
3.28 Summary
Self-evaluation Exercises
Answer Key to Self-evaluation Exercises
Answer Key to Self-check Exercises
References
Suggested Readings
Websites
3.20 INTRODUCTION
You have already read in the
beginning of this section about
the differential needs of children
with special needs. You are also
familiar with how the children
with special needs can become
self-sufficient and accepted
members of the society if they
receive appropriate guidance
from the very beginning. In the previous two units you read about guidance for the
children with intellectual disability and children with specific learning disability. In
this unit you will read about children who are physically disabled and the importance
of educational, socio-psychological and career guidance and assistance required by
them to make appropriate choices and adjustments at various stages of schooling.
3.21 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you would be able to –
• describe various types of physical disabilities
• identify the children with physical disabilities and refer them to specialised agencies
for further assessment and help
• provide guidance and counselling services to children with physical disability
children and their families.
3.22 CHILDREN WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITY
Children with physical disabilities are those individuals whose physical impairments
interfere with their mobility, co-ordination, use of senses, communication, learning,
or personal adjustments.

82 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 There can be many conditions resulting in physical disability, e.g. locomotor
disability due to damage in the areas of brain. You may have heard about ‘cerebral
palsy’. It is only one of many physical disabilities that occur in children before age six.
There are also children who suffer from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, which results in
stiffness and deformity of the limbs. There may be a child who has lost limbs due to
an accident. In addition there are also problems like squint, colour blindness and
blindness. Some children may ask the teacher to repeat whatever is being said and
some may scratch their ears or turn their heads frequently to follow the direction of
the sound. Have you ever watched people communicating with each other through
sign language? Children with disabilities may have visual and auditory sensory
impairments. Some of the above physical impairments may be evident in your school
and therefore their resulting effects on emotional and mental progress have to be
dealt with.
Physical impairments limit or act as a barrier to the normal growth and development
of the individual, be it physiological, social, emotional or mental. Teachers and
counsellors have a responsibility to address the social, emotional and behavioural
needs of students with physical disability.
Now we will look at the categories of people with physically disability.
The physically disabled can be grouped in the following categories–
• Locomotor Disability • Speech and Language Disability
• Hearing Impairments • Visual Impairment
3.23 LOCOMOTOR DISABILITY
Locomotor Disability according to the RPWD Act, 2016 is ‘a person’s inability to
execute distinctive activities associated with movement of self and objects resulting
from affliction of musculoskeletal or nervous system or both’.
Disability in locomotion affects the vitality of the child, meaning the child’s health
and ability to sustain life. Difficulty in movement that make it difficult for a child to
enter a building, move easily from room to room and floor to floor, or travel in a
crowded place, or use toilet facilities, all cause serious problems.
We will now briefly describe the two types of locomotor disabilities, viz., cerebral
in origin and non-cerebral in origin.
3.23.1 Types of Locomotor Disabilities
(A)Locomotor Disabilities (Cerebral in origin)
Locomotor disability that is cerebral in origin and is caused by damage to the brain
before/during or after birth is called Cerebral Palsy (C.P). C.P according to RPWD
Act, 2016 means a Group of non-progressive neurological condition affecting body
movements and muscle coordination, caused by damage to one or more specific
areas of the brain, usually occurring before, during or shortly after birth. It is
characterised by impaired motor coordination. It is a non-progressive disorder as
the brain damage does not worsen and the disability does not increase with age.
The term is applied to a general category of motor deficits (rigidity, spasticity,

G UIDANCE AND C OUNSELLING FOR THE P HYSICALLY CHALLENGED 83

 tremors). The child is often limp and sloppy, slow to hold up his/her head or move
around, has difficulty in feeding, is irritable, slow in beginning to speak, displays
restless behaviour and has difficulty in controlling and balancing the body. These
children may need physical and occupational speech therapy. Some will need
minimal extra attention, whereas others will need a great deal of assistance to
develop to their full potential.
(B)Locomotor Disabilities (Non-cerebral in origin)
Other disabilities that affect muscle control and development, cause impaired
movement. The following are often seen in school children–
• “Muscular dystrophy” means a group of hereditary genetic muscle disease that
weakens the muscles that move the human body and persons with multiple
dystrophy have incorrect and missing information in their genes, which prevents
them from making the proteins they need for healthy muscle. It is characterised
by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins, and the
death or muscle cells and tissue (RPWD Act, 2016).
• Spinal muscular atrophy affects the spinal cord and results in progressive
degeneration of the motor nerve cells, which lead to problems in coordination
of physical activities. Muscles that pull too hard or that are unequally balanced
can cause curvature in the spine called scoliosis.
• Poliomyelitis (infantile paralysis) is a viral infection that affects or destroys
the cells in the spinal cord. When these nerve cells are destroyed, the muscles
that they serve eventually die or become paralysed. The paralysis may affect
the entire body or just parts of the body. Many people with polio are bedridden,
confined to a wheel chair, or dependent on braces and crutches for ambulation.
• A clubfoot is a disorder in which children are born with one or both feet
turned down and inwards.
• Amputation means missing limbs. This can be either as a result of disruption
in the early foetal development of the limbs or due to accidents and sometimes
due to life-threatening physiological disorders and diseases. It can be partial
or complete.
• “Leprosy cured person” means a person who has been cured of leprosy but is
suffering form–
• Loss of sensation in hands or feet as well as loss of sensation and paresis in the
eye and eye-lid but with no manifest deformity.
• Manifest deformity and paresis but having fufficient mobility in their hands
and feet to enable them to engage in normal economic activity.
• Extreme physical deformity as well as advanced age which prevents him/her
from undertaking any gainful occupation, and the experession “leprosy cured”
shall construed accordingly.
• “Dwarfism” means a medical or genetic condition resulting in an adult height
or 4 feet 10 inches (147 centimeters) or less.
• “Acid attack victims” means a person disfigured due to violent assaults by
throwing of acid or similar corrosive substance.

84 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 Self-check Exercise 1
Fill in the blanks from the following alternatives–
a. motor incordination b. poliomyelitis
c. movement
1. Children with cerebral palsy face .
2. Locomotor Disabilities are associated with difficulty in .
3. is viral infection that affects or destroys the cells in the
spinal cord.
4. Uncontrolled electrical discharges in the brain result in .

3.23.2 Guidance for Children with Locomotor Disability

Now that you know the characteristics of children with locomotor disability, let’s see
what kind of problems these children face in school and what can be done to help them.
Guidance will be required in the following areas–
• School attendance • Pains and chronic illness
• Postural difficulties • Academic problems
• Social and emotional problems
School attendance is a major problem for some students with locomotor disability
students. For example, they may have their school days interrupted due to physical and
occupational therapy sessions. Interruptions in school schedules due to pains, postural
difficulties and other health impairments result in a student not being able to attend the
school for a full day. Sometimes treatments mean that they miss school for long periods
of time. Such students have limited opportunities to learn, and miss academic content
leading to academic problems and low achievement. To help them overcome the resulting
socio-emotional problems, the guidance teacher needs to help such children with their
school work, facilitate movement and communication with others.
They can make efforts to provide for extra assistance by arranging tutorials or peer
assistance, etc. They can also create a cooperative learning atmosphere where children
learn together in small groups. Each member is accountable, helps each other using
collaborative skills. The guidance teacher maintains high expectations from all, provides
leadership opportunities. S/he creates awareness in the general category of children
about the difficulties of these children through discussions, role plays, films, etc.
Need to express frustration may be due to anger against the locomotor disability
itself, uncaring parents or significant adults in their surroundings. The children with
these disabilities may often feel frustrated by not being included in any sports or
physical activities. Reactions of parents and other caregivers as well as teachers and
students also influence the social and emotional behaviours they exhibit in school.
Limited motor skills, self-help and self-care skills can limit students’ social interactions.
However they may achieve a high degree of competence, especially if their mental
abilities are not impaired. The major problem faced by these children is the attitude
of others towards locomotor disability. Therefore, it is important to help them to
develop a cheerful attitude. Providing opportunities to interact with others, involving

G UIDANCE AND C OUNSELLING FOR THE P HYSICALLY CHALLENGED 85

them in simple tasks that they can perform, helps to build their self-esteem, and
personal and academic independence (Julka, 2007).
The inclusion of these children in normal school would require removal of
architectural barriers as sometimes the layout of the building may cause a lot of
problems, constraints and frustrations. Making provision of simple ramps, handrails
and wide doorways, proper toilet arrangements and seating arrangements are necessary.
Use of assistive technology, modification of assessment procedures, creating a peer
support group to help in managing books, school materials, etc. need to be provided.
Numerous studies confirm that persons with locomotor disability are often regarded
less favourable than the non-disabled. Such attitudes need to be changed as they are
constrained in a limited sense only and can do wonders in other areas or interests.
One of the primary targets for the counsellor is to move the children with locomotor
disability from dependence to independence. Children with locomotor disability have
certain skills and abilities,
referred to as residual
functioning, that should be
used to help them become
more independent. Using
residual functioning means
that children with locomotor
disability focus on what they
can do rather than what they
can’t do. For example, a
person with lower body
paralysis uses his or her arms
to get around in a wheel chair.
Counsellors may have to
help them to increase their
tolerance and acceptance of the disability to reduce the frustration, which they are
likely to have. The counsellor would need to create an atmosphere of acceptance for
the children with locomotor disability in the classroom and involve the child in learning
activities as an equal partner with their peers. There is a need to encourage peer
interaction on the basis of mutual respect, whole-hearted support and cooperation.
This can be facilitated by orienting other children about the implications of locomotor
disability. The counsellor would also have to help them to adjust to the supportive/
assertive devices and gadgets used by them.

Activity 1
Interact with one person with locomotor disability on the “attitude towards
locomotor disability” in their daily lives. Prepare a brief write up (about 200
words) on what can be done to change such attitudes.

86 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
3.24 SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DISABILITY
We will now discuss children with Speech and Language Disability. Speech and language
disability means a permanent disability arising out of conditions such as laryngectomy
or aphasia effecting one or more components of speech and language due to orgnic or
neurological causes (RPWD Act, 2016).
3.24.1 Speech Related Disorders
• Articulation disorder is defined as “the abnormal production of speech
sounds”. For example “thilly” for silly or “wed” for red.
• Voice disorder is defined as “the absence or abnormal production of vocal
quality, pitch, loudness, resonance, and/or duration”. Individuals with voice
disorder sometimes sound very hoarse, or speak very loudly or in a very high
or low pitch.
• Fluency disorder is defined as the abnormal flow of verbal expression,
characterised by impaired rate and rhythm, which may be accompanied by
struggle behaviour which refers to interruptions in natural smooth flow of
speech due to inappropriate hesitations, pauses and/or repetitions,
prolongation of sounds, syllables, words or phrases, involuntary silent pauses
or blocks and person’s inability to produce sounds.
The following summarises behaviours or characteristics of children with speech
and language disabilities.
• Observable deformity of the speech organs
• Natural breaks while speaking words and phrases
• Frequent mispronouncing despite corrective efforts made by the teacher.
3.24.2 Guidance for Children with Speech Disabilities
People behave differently towards those who have trouble with their speech. This
can cause emotional problems such as withdrawal from social situations, feeling
of rejection and a loss of self-esteem.
The child with speech problems like stuttering and stammering may feel
embarrassed and emotionally insecure. S/he may withdraw, refuse to speak and
not express his/her thoughts especially during excitement.
The teacher/counsellor can help the child to release tension of the conflict-
arousing situation by talking to the child using counselling skills and techniques to
find out the reasons for emotional insecurity and help in bringing about desired changes.
The counsellor can–
• use special materials such as manual alphabets, sign language systems, and
oral/manual communication activities to facilitate learning of children with
speech disability. For example activities centered around art, “cut”, “draw”,
“colour”, “paint”, “tear”, “fold”, “make”, could be used to practise single-
word utterances. This will make the child learn particular words repeatedly
and later participate in interactions requiring use of those words.
• provide good role models for appropriate speech, i.e. to speak slowly and
clearly, to acquire good pronunciation, etc.

G UIDANCE AND C OUNSELLING FOR THE P HYSICALLY CHALLENGED 87

 • give speech practice to enable the child to speak frequently rather than
emphasising the ability to speak well.
• point out the positive qualities and involve the student in related activities to
bring out strengths.
• orient other members of the child’s environment to praise genuine
accomplishments rather than achievements through speaking.
• dramatise or role-play to show the difficulties and success of a person with
speech and language disabilities.

Activity 2
Design a role play or a drama involving children in your class showing problems
experienced by children with speech problems and how they were helped by
the teacher and the peer group.

3.25 HEARING IMPAIRMENTS

Hearing is the main sensory pathway through which speech and verbal communication
develop. As hearing influences learning and other aspects of maturation, hearing
impairment can become a great barrier to the normal development of the language.
The hearing impaired is not a unitary group as it has different levels of hearing
losses (mild, moderate, severe and profound). Hearing losses or impairment in hearing
capacity needs to be understood in terms of degree of hearing loss, the age at which
loss occurs and the type of loss.
3.25.1 Levels of Hearing Loss
Webster, (1986) has given the following four levels of hearing loss.
Category Loss in Decibel (db) Learners
Normal Up to 25 dB Minimal in adults
Mild 20 – 40 dB Difficulties in listening in noisy
situations such as classrooms
Moderate 41 – 55 dB Difficulty in normal listening in quiet
environments
Severe 59 – 90 dB Need for amplification to process speech
Profound > 90 dB Limited and distorted speech sounds
even with hearing aids
However some of the common characteristics include–
• Communication characteristics – Barriers in the use of language and understanding
the language used by others.
• Social characteristics – As children with hearing impairment use their eyes more to
view the world than their ears, they have to look closely at the other person to do
lip reading, use body and hands to communicate, hence their behaviour sometimes
appears to be strange or even rude to people.

88 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
• Educational characteristics – Because of language difficulties, students who are hard
of hearing are underachievers in both reading and math. Reading problems could be
in three general areas: vocabulary, syntax and figurative language including idioms.
Vocabulary:- Knowledge of the meaning of words.
Syntax:- Ways in which units of meaning are combined with one another.
Figurative language:- When letters are given a physical structure. When you see objects,
you extract information about their physical appearance and form a mental copy or
schema that allows you to recognise the object when you see it again.
3.25.2 Identification Checklist for Children with Hearing Impairment
With early intervention, children with hearing impairment are able to pick up language,
read and gain information about their surroundings.
As a guidance teacher you may have to refer a student to an expert in audiology. You
should look for some common signs in hearing impaired student and refer him/her as
soon as possible for correction. The following common signs may be indicative of
hearing loss.
• difficulty in paying attention in school
• favouring one ear for listening purposes
• difficulty in hearing when spoken from behind
• speaking too loudly or too softly
• exhibiting voice problems due to mispronunciation
• tuning the radio/T.V. too loud
• answering questions irrelevantly
• keeping away from age mates
• understanding only after few repetitions
• focusing on the speaker’s face while listening and understanding speech
• seeking help from other students in taking down notes given by the teacher
• complains of frequent earaches or ear discharge
• scratches ear frequently
• has observable deformity of the ear

Self-check Exercise 2
Match the following columns:
1. Fluency disorder a. Mental schema
2. Moderate category of hearing loss b. Limited and distorted
speech sounds
3. Figurative language c. Struggle behaviour
4. Profound category of hearing loss d. Combined units of meaning
5. Syntax e. 41-55 dB

G UIDANCE AND C OUNSELLING FOR THE P HYSICALLY CHALLENGED 89

3.25.3 Guidance for the Children with Hearing Impairment
The children with hearing impairment will only be found in a regular school if the
school has provisions and orientation to take care of the needs of a child with
hearing inpairment. For example, the school should have a guidance teacher or
resource teacher and other facilities discussed below. Depending on the severity of
the hearing loss, adaptations in the curriculum and teaching methods would be
suggested and done by the guidance teacher. For deaf students, teaching of sign
language is important. Language signs include using the hands, fingers and the
arms to form whole words or phrases.
Other provisions would include making the hard-of-hearing child sit in the front;
preferably slightly off centre towards the window to enable the child to hear better
and for lip reading. Light should be directed towards the teacher’s face and away from
the child’s eyes. If the hearing impairment involves only one ear, or if the impairment
is greater in one ear than the other, the child should be seated in a front corner seat so
that his better ear is towards the teacher. Encourage the child to watch the face of the
teacher whenever she/he is talking to the child. The teacher should speak at the
child’s eye level whenever possible. The teacher should also pay attention to the posture
of the hearing impaired child’s head as the habit of extending the head or twisting the
neck to hear better can become firmly fixed. The teacher should also not speak loudly
or use exaggerated lip movements when speaking to the hard-of-hearing child.
Children with hearing impairment should be referred to an audiologist for
audiological evaluation and auditory training. The teacher can help by encouraging
the hearing impaired child to turn around to watch the faces of children who are
reciting. Encourage interest in music and participation in vocal music. Participation
of the child in play and all other activities, which involve speech should also be
encouraged.
Teachers should watch carefully for any illness in hearing impaired child. Colds, influenza,
throat and nose infections, tonsillitis, and other ailments should be treated as soon as
possible as these may cause an ear infection and could cause further damage to hearing.

Activity 3
Visit a school or an NGO in your city catering to students with hearing
impairment. List and describe ten activities conducted by them to help
these children.

3.26 VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS

The basic function of eye is to collect visual information from the environment and
transmit it to the brain. Nearly 80-90% of information about the outside world is
collected through our eyes. This input is denied to the visually impaired.
Visual impairment has been defined as the diminishment of the ability to see
(Nielsen, 2002). The terms partially sighted, legally blind, low vision, and totally
blind are commonly used to describe visual impairments.

90 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 Visually impaired children are those who are facing difficulty in terms of visual
acuity, field of vision and visual efficiency. Visual impairment is a condition in which
a student’s vision is deficient to such an extent that it affects normal functioning. The
most severe effect of visual impairment is complete blindness.
However, most visually impaired children are not totally blind as approximately
two-thirds of all visually impaired children have some vision. Different countries have
defined the term blind, and low vision, and partially sighted legally in different ways.
You must see the legal definitions in your country to understand these two terms. The
definition given here is in the Indian context. A majority of cases of blindness are
either preventable or curable. Visual impairment leads to difficulty in reading books
or from the blackboard in the classroom which creates several learning problems.
Major problems with vision can be divided into two categories–
a. Blindness b. Low vision
The National Programme for Control of Blindness in India has given a simple
definition of blindness describing it as the inability of a person to count fingers
from a distance of 6 metres or 20 feet. The Rights of Persons with Disability Act.
2016 (equal opportunities, protection of rights and full participation) divides the
inability to see under two categories – blindness and low vision.
Visual Impairment–
“Blindness” means a condition where a person where a person has any of the
following conditions, after best correction–
i. total absence of sight; or
ii. visual acuity less than 3/60 or less than 10/200 (Snellen) in the better eye with
best possible corrections; or
iii. limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of less than 10 degree.
“Low-vision” means a condition where a person has any of the following
conditions, namely–
i. vision acuity not exceeding 6/18 or less then 20/60 upto 3/60 or upto 10/200
(Snellen) in the better eye with best possible corrections: or
ii. limitation of the field of visual subtending an angle of less than 40 degree upto
10 degrees.
3.26.1 Characteristics and Needs of Children with Visual Impairment
Visual impairments are generally measured by (1) acuity and (2) field defects (area
that a child can see when looking straight ahead), which affect the child’s exposure
to variety of experiences. The population of students with visual impairments is
very heterogeneous. However, these have some common characteristics and needs
that include–
• Limited opportunities for incidental learning
• Limitations in the range and variety of experiences
• Limitations in the ability to go around and interact with the environment
• Limitations in academics and communication
• Limitaions in acquiring self-confidence.

G UIDANCE AND C OUNSELLING FOR THE P HYSICALLY CHALLENGED 91

 The identification of these needs may require close observation of the child for
any eye related problems and functional assessment of the level of functioning a
child may have in different circumstances. The child may not be able to do close eye
work for long periods and may need to learn to move about in the school environment.
He/she may also require medical help. Sometimes because of the optical aids that are
being used for visual impairments, these children may be teased by others. Thus, they
may develop low self-esteem or negative self-concept. The identification checklist
given below indicates several other difficulties faced by them.
• observable deformity in the eye(s)
• frequent reddening of eyes
• excessive rubbing of eyes
• holding of objects and books close to eyes
• covering one eye and tilting the head forward
• blinking eyes frequently
• asking other children for help while taking notes from the black/white board in
classroom
• complains of headache following close eye work
• watery eyes
• different size of pupils
• sensitivity to light
• inattentiveness
• tense while trying to distinguish the distance of objects
• taking false steps while walking
If a child displays some of these behaviours, the teacher may refer him/her to
Public Health Centre or hospital for eye check-up and medical treatment.
3.26.2 Guidance for Children with Visual Impairment
Coping with sight loss has to take place at the perceptual, behavioural, cognitive
and emotional levels as these are closely interrelated to one another. For example,
because of loss of vision how does the child view himself/herself? Are these
perceptions positive or negative? What sort of behaviour is exhibited? Is it aggressive
or withdrawn? What kind of thoughts and feelings are generally being expressed
etc. need to be seen. Emotional states such as anxiety and depression are common
in people who have recently experienced sight loss. Thus, many students with visual
impairment are pessimistic, make gloomy predictions about their future and thus
suffer a loss of self-esteem.
Children with Visual Impairment (CVI) also tend to lag behind their seeing peers in
school achievement. The teacher/counsellor should place the child in the most suitable
educational environment possible, which will facilitate his/her learning. The next point
to consider is the curriculum that will best meet his/her needs.
Parents need to be made aware about the strengths and abilities of their child
with visual impairment. They need to be informed that with a little effort and training,
the child can be made functionally independent in day-to-day life.

92 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 For improving academic achievement, the counsellor may look into some of the
following guidelines to help CVI–
• make the CVI seated in front so that they may be able to read from the white/
black board without much difficulty.
• write on the white board with bold and clear letters and speak loudly whatever
you write.
• supply books with large print (18 points or more) to cater to the needs of CVI.
• provide opportunities for participation in physical education games.
• give more auditory and tactile aids to compensate for visual loss.
• provide more verbal cues while explaining any concepts in the class.
• supply hand lens, magnifying glasses, etc. from a Rehabilitation Centre/ Hospital
in your area to the child whose correction is beyond the spectacled lens.
• provide compensatory aids like a cane for mobility, Braille slate and stylus for
learning to read and write, Braille, abacus to learn numerical concepts and
braillemate to cope up with speed of taking dictation in classroom.
• give training in listening skills.
The ultimate goal of guidance is to enable these children to realise their full
potential, so that they have a respectful place in the society and lead a happy and
prosperous life as far as possible.

Activity 4
Blind fold yourself for an hour and note down the problems or difficulties
faced by you in your daily routine.

3.27 SOME GENERAL STRATEGIES TO HELP STUDENTS WITH

PHYSICAL DISABILITY
Guidance for a child with physical disability will be determined by the onset of the
impairment and the age of identification. The counsellor may look into some of the following
interventions, which may help the children to make adjustments to a considerable extent.
The counsellor needs to look into the following important issues.
Fostering independence
As already discussed, students with any kind of physical disability have a wide
range of personal and social problems that make them dependent on others. This
feeling of dependence may give them a sense of inferiority or guilt and develop a
poor self-concept. Counsellors should plan activities for these students which enable
them learn social and communication skills as needed to foster a realistic balance
between independence and dependency or over-dependency. In school, group
activities may be organised to encourage socialisation among regular and special
students. Providing services according to the needs of the students also helps in
fostering independence. For example, the teacher teaches a child to use a wheel
chair. Children with physical disability may also have difficulties to use instructional

G UIDANCE AND C OUNSELLING FOR THE P HYSICALLY CHALLENGED 93

materials and classroom equipments, such as, a student cannot hold a book or turn
pages, use classroom tape recorder. In such a case, book stands to hold a book, elastic
or rubber bands and larger paper clip to secure pages on either side of the open book,
etc. could be used.
Removing attitudinal barriers
The biggest hindrance to the success of children with physical disability in any
environment has been the negative attitudes of teachers and others in the community
towards them. This barrier can be removed or minimised by sensitising the people
through mass media, orientation programmes, distribution of printed literature and
success stories of persons who are physically disability and counselling. Persons with
physical disability who are highly successful may be involved in the community
awareness programmes to provide a role model. Having activities like holding a disability
day at school, inviting guest speakers from the community, having a contest for all
children, involving physically disabled could be other strategies.
Empowerment
The following are a few other suggestions for empowering people with physical disability–
• provide fora for sharing their concerns and help in acceptance of the impairment.
• sensitise other children towards the needs of the child with physical disability by
involving them in planning and in decision-making.
• educate parents about the needs of children with physical disability so that they
can provide full support to their child from birth.
• provide full access to educational programmes, employment and training
opportunities to the disabled to enable them to get suitable employment.
• instill confidence among them with the help of success stories and biographies/
autobiographies of eminent personalities.
Parental involvement
Orientation programmes for parents should
orient them to allow the child to do
everything by himself/herself in order to
foster in him/her a sense of independence
and self-confidence. Parents may be
sensitised to be patient with the child and to
provide enough time and support to their
child in all academic, social and other
activities. They should be encouraged to seek
the cooperation of the professionals and the
school staff, if they require any help at any
time for the benefit of their child. The parents
should also be sensitised not to be ashamed
of their child; not pay attention to the
neighbours, friends and relatives when they

94 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
make derogatory and embarrassing statements about the child. Parents should allow
the child to mix with others in all situations. They need to be made aware not to
expect any miracles to happen as there may not be any possibility of cure of the
ailment and they may be helped to accept this reality and express their love for their
child as they are.

3.28 Summary
In this unit, we have discussed the special needs resulting from physical
disabilities. Physical impairments limit or act as a barrier to the normal
growth and development of the children, be it physiological, social,
emotional or mental.
Various types of physical disabilities have been discussed like locomotor
disabilities, speech and learning, hearing and visual disability.
Furthermore, identification checklists for the various physical
impairments have been provided for use of the teachers and counsellors
for timely identification and for planning programmes and activities
for the children with physical disability.
Early intervention is especially important for the children with
physical disability. They need to develop as much independence as
possible, while learning to have realistic expectations and accept help
when they need it.
The counsellor needs to make efforts to create awareness and
acceptance of the children with physical disability by the parents
and general public, and help these students become as self-sufficient
and socially acceptable as possible.
The essence of counselling is to build a support system with the families
of children with physical disability. An on-going relationship needs to
be built to help the parents cope with the problems and to promote the
child’s welfare in every possible way.

1. Describe in brief what kind of problems children with physical

disability face in school and what can be done to help them.
Self-evaluation Exercises

2. Describe in brief the role of a counsellor in guidance for children

with speech and language disability.
3. Describe in brief the characteristics of children with hearing impairement.
Answer Key to Self-evaluation Exercises
1. The answer should cover the problems related to–
• school attendance
• pains, chronic illness

G UIDANCE AND C OUNSELLING FOR THE P HYSICALLY CHALLENGED 95

 • postural difficulties
• academic problems
• social and emotional problems
Strategies for help should focus on providing extra assistance by
arranging tutorials or peer assistance; creating cooperative learning
atmosphere, maintaining high expectations from all, providing
leadership opportunities, creating awareness through discussions, role
plays, films, etc. removing architectural barriers, use of assistive
technology, use of assessment procedures, creating a peer support
group, involving them in tasks that they can perform to build their
self-esteem.
2. Counsellor can use special materials such as manual alphabets, sign
language systems, etc. and provide good role models for appropriate
speech, give speech practice, use drama or role play to emphasise
positive qualities, orient other members in the environment to help
children with speech and language disability.
3. Elaborate on the following points:
Communication characteristics
Social characteristics
Educational characteristics

Answer Key to Self-check Exercises

Self-check Exercise 1
1. a 2. d 3. b 4. c
Self-check Exercise 2
1. c 2. e 3. a 4. b 5. d

References
Julka, A. 2007. Meeting Special Needs in Schools: A Manual. NCERT, New
Delhi.
McCormick, L. and Schiefelbusch, R. L. 1990. Early Language Intervention:
An Introduction (2nd ed.). Merrill Publishing Company, Columbus.
Nielsen, L. B. 2002. Brief Reference of Student Disabilities: With Strategies
for the Classroom. Corwin Press, California.

96 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
 Suggested Readings

Suggested Readings

BPA and NIVH. 2002. Learning Through Doing. Blind People’s Association,
Ahmedabad.
Gerealis, E. (Ed.). 1991. Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Parent’s Guide.
Woodbine House, Rockville, MD.
Goel, S. K. 1985. Blindness and Visual Impairment. Socio-Psychic Scientific
Information Bureau, Delhi.
Goel, S. K. 2000. Improving Quality of Life in India: Challenges and Emerging
Concerns. in Kenneth D. Keith and Robert L. Schalock (Eds) Cross-cultural
Perspectives on Quality of Life. American Association on Mental Retardation
(Chapter 20, pp 231–239), Washington, DC.
Lynch, E. W., Lewis, R. B. and Murphy, D. S. 1993. Educational services
for children with chronic illnesses: Perspectives for educators and families.
Exceptional Children, 59, 210–220.
Reisner, H. (Ed.). 1993. Children with Epilepsy: A Parent’s Guide. Woodbine
House, Rockeville, MD.
Rezen, S. V. and Hausman, C. 1985. Coping with Hearing Loss: A Guide for
Adults and their Families. Dembner Books, New York.
Rezen, S.V. and Hausman, C. 2000. Coping with Hearing Loss: A Guide for
Adults and their Families (3rd ed.). Dembner Books, New York.
Singleton, P. 1992. We can! Empowerment of people who are deaf: An
empowerment agenda for the 1990s and beyond. OSERS News in Print,
5(2), 12–15.
Sahu, S. M. 2005. Education of Children with Special Needs. Anmol
Publications, New Delhi.

Websites
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/peterheadcentral.pr/lang%20unit%20
Images/cartoon%206.GIF
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/images/voicehallucination/
www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/smc/department/printable
www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/
0000019b/80/28/03/db.pdf
www.honeybeeits.com
www.theindian.com/newsportal/lifestyle/people-must-sensitize-
themselves-to-the-needs-of-the-physically-challengedsoni_10029132.html.
www.therightresort.com/images/accessibility
http://www.disabilityaffairs.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/
RPWD% 20ACT%202016.pdf

G UIDANCE AND C OUNSELLING FOR THE P HYSICALLY CHALLENGED 97

4 Evaluation in Guidance
and Counselling

4.0 Introduction
4.1 Objectives
4.2 What is Evaluation?
4.2.1 Meaning of Evaluation
4.2.2 Purpose of Evaluation
4.2.3 Principles of Evaluation
4.3 Criteria for Evaluation
4.4 Types of Evaluation
4.5 Phases of Evaluation
4.5.1 Process of Evaluation
4.5.2 Models of Evaluation
4.6 Methods of Evaluation
4.6.1 Survey Method
4.6.2 Case Study Method
4.6.3 Experimental Method
4.7 Summary
Self-evaluation Exercises
Answer Key to Self-evaluation Exercises
Answer Key to Self-check Exercises
References
Suggested Readings
4.0 INTRODUCTION
In this module, you have learnt
about the activities and programmes
which could be organised by you as
a counsellor or teacher-counsellor in
Guidance
the school. But you also need to see Programme Outcomes

how far the programme organised by

Weighing the worth of guidance programme can
you has been effective enough. One only help improve it further
needs to follow a scientific way of
valuing or determining the effectiveness of the activities carried out, or to see whether
the activities have actually resulted in the desired outcomes. This unit explains the
need and methods of evaluation. Evaluation is the act of judging the worth, quality
or significance of an activity or a thing. In guidance and counselling, evaluation refers
to the measures taken to find out the effectiveness of a guidance or counselling
programme. Besides helping a school counsellor in assessing the effectiveness of school
counselling services, evaluation has a vital role in creating effective school counselling
programmes and also in enhancing professional development of school counsellors.
In this unit you will learn what evaluation is, what are the different types and
methods of evaluation, how to determine the criteria for evaluation and what could
be the difficulties that may be encountered while conducting an evaluation.

4.1 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to–
• describe the importance of evaluation in guidance and counselling
• enumerate the purposes and principles of evaluation
• specify the criteria for evaluating a guidance and counselling programme
• identify a suitable model of evaluation and the steps involved in carrying out the evaluation
• explore the methods, tools and techniques involved in evaluation.
4.2 WHAT IS EVALUATION?
4.2.1 Meaning
Evaluation means measuring the success or failure of a programme in terms of its
pre-determined goals or objectives. Counselling programme evaluation refers to the
ongoing use of evaluation principles by counsellors to assess and improve the
effectiveness and impact of their programmes and services (Astramovich, Coker and
Hoskins, 2005).
Evaluation not only helps school counsellors in determining the extent to which
a counselling programme has made a positive impact on students, it also helps them
in identifying the barriers that retard the success of students, thereby guiding them in
designing effective programmes for the students they serve. Thus evaluation helps in
attaining the aims and objectives of the programme.
4.2.2 Purpose of Evaluation
Let us further discuss the need to conduct an evaluation. An evaluation may be carried
out for the following reasons:
• To find the appropriateness, need and meaningfulness of a programme
• To locate the weaknesses/limitations or strengths of a programme
• To find out whether students are satisfied with the services rendered
• To make an analysis of the kind of interventions that are helpful for students
• To monitor the progress of students with the help of guidance and counselling
programme
• To set a baseline for remedial actions and to improve subsequent efforts
• Assist the administrator/teacher/counsellor to assess the proper use of resources.
To sum up, the purpose of evaluation is to acquire an understanding of how
current services are being utilised and to determine areas that need additional emphasis
(Vacc, Rhyne and Poidevant, 1993). That is, it is done to determine the value of
various activities and the resources used, in order to make decisions about the nature
of the programme or revise it for the future. Evaluation can be an ongoing process
which provides information to ensure continuous improvement of a guidance
programme. It thus provides the direction for necessary changes to a particular
programme and helps in–
• avoiding meaningless innovation and in continuing the practices which may be
student friendly
• increasing insights, by which a counsellor can become more knowledgeable and
can have better understanding about students and the factors that influence them,
and the potential consequences that they are likely to face
• improving decision making to formulate a programme in an inclusive way, meeting
the needs of all students
• placing responsibilities on concerned persons and decreasing the probability of
everyone claiming responsibility for the success and no one claiming the failures.

100 GUIDANCE IN ACTION

4.2.3 Principles of Evaluation
Guidance and counselling services are usually evaluated on the number of students
receiving help, the kind of services offered to students and the satisfaction level of
students after going through the programme. In order to meet the needs of students in
a more effective way and to evaluate the success of the counselling programme in a
more scientific manner, it is good to understand the principles which would guide the
evaluation process.
An effective evaluation requires–
• Establishment of predetermined goals or objectives, against which a programme
can be evaluated.
• Setting up of valid criteria, which make the evaluation more meaningful.
• Application of the evaluation criteria, which necessitates the use of appropriate
tools and techniques.
• Involvement of all those connected with the counselling programme, i.e. students,
peers, parents, other faculty members of the school, school administrator, etc.
• Proper feedback and follow through, which helps in programme improvement
and development.
• Continuous evaluation, i.e. evaluation should be an ongoing process, which would
help in rectifying the weaknesses of the programme.
• Establishment of credibility and confidentiality, so that students, parents and
peers would be willing to share the information.

Activity 1
Visit websites/library to read articles on evaluation of guidance and
counselling programme. Select any one article and check for validation of
the principles of evaluation followed in it.
Hint: You can refer the website www.schoolcounselor.org; if you are visiting
the library you can look for articles in the journal School Counselor/Professional
School Counseling/Journal of Counseling and Development.

4.3 CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION

Effectiveness of a guidance and counselling programme can be determined if the
criteria for evaluation are properly established. Criteria are a set of principles, standards
or a measure, which help in assessing something. In terms of guidance and counselling,
criteria help to establish or assess whether the counselling rendered is in line with the
objectives framed. For example, if the goal of a guidance programme is to enhance
the achievement of students in the classroom, the evaluation criteria for the same
would be improvement in grades and classroom activities, relationship with peers and
teachers, school attendance and study attitudes, etc. In case of individual counselling,

EVALUATION IN GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING 101

if the goal of counselling is to make a student abstain from substance abuse, then the
criteria for evaluation could be–
• Improvement in coping skills of the student (evident by greater perseverance,
hard work, positive attitude in spite of difficulties)
• Improvement in relationships (indicator may be more time spent and more sharing
with others, willingness to help others)
– with the family members
– with peers (in the school)
– with other members in the neighbourhood
• More information and awareness about consequence of drug use, etc.
Criteria formulated may be evaluated using a checklist/interview/rating scale or
a questionnaire for the family members, teachers, friends and other people. The data
collected can be analysed and interpreted against the realisation of the goals of the
guidance and counselling activities. Sometimes the criteria set for the goal are directly
observable and measurable, for example, better marks or grades to show improvement
in academic performance. The improvement in academic achievement can also be
assessed through standardised tests or teacher made tests. This kind of evaluation is
simpler and also easier, as the performance in the test can be easily assessed.
Problem arises when the goals to be achieved are not easy to assess. For example
if the degree of positive feeling experienced by a student as a result of counselling is
to be determined. In such a case the criteria for evaluation will be the enhanced
positive feeling as experienced by the student and also as experienced by other people
around the student. In such cases the data collection becomes difficult, in terms of
tools and techniques to be used.
Thus on the basis of criteria that are established, the stated objectives of the
guidance and counselling programme can be evaluated. At the same time care should
be taken while establishing the criteria so that changes can be observed or easily
measured. Different set of criteria should be established for different set of goals, as
it is not necessary that the same criteria would be applicable to every guidance activity.
A counsellor must find criteria that generally apply to all the students receiving a
counselling programme but that are specific enough to reflect what that particular
programme is trying to achieve (Lewis, 1983).

4.4 TYPES OF EVALUATION

Evaluation is a phase that enables you to recommend changes for the future to ensure
success. Based on what you want to achieve through the evaluation, it may be broadly
classified into three types as–
– Formative Evaluation (FE) – Summative Evaluation (SE)
– Diagnostic Evaluation (DE)
The three types of evaluation i.e formative, summatives and diagnostic are
compared in Table 4.1

102 GUIDANCE IN ACTION

 Table 4.1 : Comparison of Types of Evaluation
Formative Evaluation Summative Evaluation Diagnostic Evaluation
Formative Evaluation is Summative Evaluation is Diagnostic Evaluation is
done ‘in between’, i.e. done at the end of the done at any time, if there
midstream into the programme. It evaluates is something wrong with
programme, before the whether the starting the programme and it had
termination of the objectives have been to be pin pointed.
intervention and at any realised. It may evaluate Diagnostic evaluation is
time after starting it. the efficacy of the useful to change the
Formative evaluation is programme as a whole. course of the programme
typically conducted during to increase its efficacy.
the development or
improvement of a
programme and it is often
conducted more than
once with the intent to
improve the programme as
it progresses.
For example, if a In the same example, In the example, if
programme chart had been summative evaluation something seems to be
designed for group occurs if the evaluation is wrong during the course
counselling, the content done after the group of group counselling
and mode of operation counselling session with session, diagnostic
can be checked by the students. evaluation can be used.
formative evaluation.
This would give This would give a picture This would help the
immediate feedback for of the programme’s worth counsellor in rectifying the
further revision of the at the end of the problems faced then and
programme. programme. there, which would help in
improving the session.
FE is helpful in the early SE is useful to judge the DE is essential at critical
stage of development of a worth of a programme on stages when the
programme. completion. programme has to be
stabilised.

Thus all the three types of evaluation are essential, right from the time of designing
a programme, to the stage of implementation and even afterwards so as to find out
the worth of a programme. A counsellor can use all the three types of evaluation, as
and when the need arises.

EVALUATION IN GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING 103

 Self-check Exercise 1
Fill in the blanks from the following alternatives.
a. formative b. evaluation c. criteria
d. summative e. diagnostic
1. ______________ is the scientific way of measuring the success or failure of
a programme based upon predetermined goals or objectives.
2. Evaluation which is done when things go wrong is known as
________________ evaluation.
3. The objectives of a counselling programme can be evaluated in an effective
manner if __________________ for evaluation are formulated in advance.
4. ___________________ evaluation is done to know the worth of the
programme on completion.
5. ________________ evaluation gives immediate feedback about the
programme for further revision.

Activity 2
List two situations each wherein you would use the different types of
evaluation.
Formative Summative Diagnostic
1.

2.

5. Follow up 1. Goal Identification 4.5 PHASES OF EVALUATION

4.5.1 Process
Evaluation can be viewed as a cyclic process
that includes five phases as shown.
4. Reflection 2. Planning Goal Identification
This is the first phase when one identifies the
objectives of the guidance and counselling
programme and also makes an assessment of
what is to be evaluated. The focus can be on the
3. Analysis
total counselling programme or any particular
Figure 4.1 - Evaluation Process part of it. The programme objectives should be
104 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
stated in clear, concise and measurable terms. For example, establishment of goals
like increase in motivation level of students and adjustment in career planning is
difficult. Simple goals like number of career planning sessions with children in a month
are easy to measure.
Planning
Once the objectives for the programme evaluation are formulated, the next step is to
establish an overall plan for evaluation. The type of evaluation to be used (formative,
summative or diagnostic) should be determined, and the criteria for judgment and
appropriate assessment strategies to gather information on student’s progress should
also be planned at this stage. The choice of evaluation strategies/techniques and
tools depends on the goals and objectives of the guidance and counselling programme.
During this phase the counsellors/teachers should identify the strategies/techniques
(survey/case-study/experimental) constructs/tools (test/inventories) and also specify
the types of data to be collected and the ways to collect it. Thus the overall planning
for evaluation has to be properly developed at this stage.
Analysis
It is that phase of a programme that analyses the data collected to determine success,
examine weaknesses or strengths, and enables a counsellor to recommend changes
for the future. Analysis is an essential aspect of a comprehensive guidance programme.
Effective programmes are not guided merely by the intuition, preferences and desire
of counsellors and teachers; rather they are based on the assessed needs of students,
set criteria for evaluation and measured outcomes of the services provided.
Reflection
Evaluation phase is of no value if introspective thinking is not made on the outcome
of the analysis. In this phase, the results of analysis need to be considered and it has
to be correlated with the direction of the counselling and guidance programme. This
would pave way for subsequent follow up and would help in the improvement of the
programme in future.
Follow-up
This stage deals with the actual implementation of the new phase of the programme,
with recommended changes based upon analysis and reflection. The process of
evaluation will be of little use if the follow up is not made. Follow-up helps a counsellor
in rectifying the errors committed in the programme and to create a programme which
is effective and beneficial to the students.
4.5.2 Models of Evaluation
Various models have been tried out for evaluating counselling programmes like Goal
Attainment Scaling Model (Glicekn, 1978), Discrepancy Evaluation Model (Pine,
1975), Accountability Bridge Model (Astramovich, Coker and Hoskins, 2007) etc. In
this unit, one such model, Accountability Bridge Model of Evaluation, has been
explained as an example.

EVALUATION IN GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING 105

 Under this model, as depicted in Fig. 4.2, there are two reccurring cycles of
evaluation, Programme Evaluation Cycle and Context Evaluation Cycle. In the
Programme Evaluation Cycle, four stages – Planning, Implementation, Monitoring
and Assessment are involved.

Outcomes Feed back from

Assessment Stakeholder

Communicate
Results

Counselling
Programme Counselling Context
Accountability Strategies
Monitoring/ Programme Evaluation Planning
Refinement Bridge
Evaluation Cycle

Programme Needs
Implementation Assessment
Programme Service
Planning Objective

Fig. 4.2 Accountability Bridge Counselling Programme

Evaluation Model (Astramovich, Coker and Hoskins, 2007)

In the planning stage, the counselling programmes and services are planned, and
the types of intervention required and the resources needed for implementation are
also planned. In the implementation stage, the counselling programmes are actually
executed based on the plan formulated. Any flaw in the programmes is rectified, by
way of formative evaluation, done with the help of feedback received from the Context
Evaluation Cycle. In the monitoring and refinement stage, the programmes are thoroughly
monitored so as to find out whether they need any adjustments. In the outcome assessment
stage, counsellors make a final assessment of the outcome of the programme or
intervention provided to students.
All the above mentioned aspects have been in existence for a long time as a part
of the process of evaluation. What is new in this model is the accountability bridge
which communicates the outcomes of the programme evaluation to the various
stakeholders involved in the process of counselling and guidance. The stakeholders
may include the other counsellors in the school, students, parents, school authorities,
teachers etc who have a key role to play in making the counselling programme effective.
Communication of the outcome can take several forms including reports, summaries,
presentations and discussions.
The second cycle, the Context Evaluation Cycle, which involves four stages,
feedback from stakeholders, strategic planning, needs assessment and service objective.
In the feedback from the stakeholders stage the outcomes are communicated to the
stakeholders and the feedback is solicited from them. The next stage is the strategic
planning stage, in which school counsellors engage in strategic planning which can include
a thorough examination and possible revision of the vision, mission and purpose of the

106 GUIDANCE IN ACTION

overall school counselling programme. The needs assessment stage gathers the needs/
requirements from different sources, apart from students and parents, which would be
of help in redesigning and reformulating the overall counselling programme. The service
objective stage incorporates the results of all the previous stages and, based on the
outcomes, feedback and assessment of needs, strategies for intervention are designed.
After establishing the service objectives, the evaluation cycle starts again, with the
feedback from Context Evaluation Cycle reaching the planning stage of the Programme
Evaluation Cycle.
Thus the Accountability Bridge Model can be an effective model of evaluation,
indicating the importance of the views of various stakeholders. It also demonstrates
the importance of analysing the impact of programme outcomes.

Self-check Exercise 2
State whether the following statements are true or false. True False
1. Analysis stage precedes the planning stage in the process
of evaluation.
2. The process of evaluation will be of no use if follow
up of the results is not made.
3. Three cycles of evaluation are involved in
Accountability Bridge Model of Evaluation.
4. The key aspect of the accountability bridge model of
evaluation is that the programme outcomes are
communicated to the stakeholders.

4.6 METHODS OF EVALUATION

The essential requirements for an effective evaluation are–
• Goals and objectives of the guidance programme should be well stated and defined.
The objectives should be observable and measurable.
• The method of evaluation should be valid.
• The process used for evaluation should be reliable.
• The person conducting the evaluation should have the required expertise.
The following methods are used for collecting data to judge the effectiveness of
a programme.
4.6.1 Survey Method
This involves identification of a sample of participants in a guidance programme.
The participants may be drawn from parents, teachers, students and administrators.
The participants are asked to give their opinion or feedback through an interview
session or written questionnaire. The feedback is then compiled and analysed to decide
about the effectiveness of the programme. This is an important method wherein the
perception of teachers/parents/administrators about the guidance and counselling
programme can be taken through questionnaire/rating scale/interviews, etc.

EVALUATION IN GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING 107

The steps involved in this process are–
1. Identify the sample size and population
2. Subject the sample to a survey
3. Compile and analyse the data (qualitative/quantitative as discussed in the
statistics unit)
4. Generalise the results.
5. Formulate recommendations.
One major limitation of this method is that a true sample is not available. This
may occur especially in cases where students have left the school. You can give them
a questionnaire to be filled but often it is not returned or sometimes it may be incomplete
when returned. A major cause of concern is also the reliability of participant responses.
This can be overcome if, while framing the questionnaire, care is taken that it is not
too long and language used is clear with a specific purpose for getting the information.
4.6.2 Case Study Method
As the name implies, it is the study of the progress made by an individual in achieving
the desired change after being exposed to the programme. Though it is individualistic
and time consuming, it makes an in-depth study and is reliable. However, being
idiographic (based on individual) and not nomothetic (based on generalised populace),
it is considered less scientific. Generalisation of the data/result to a larger population
is not possible but it may be used for specific groups and specific categories. In a case
study, the following type of information is collected.
• Preliminary Information
• Name, Age, Sex, Occupation, Income, Education of Parents
• Past History which includes–
Birth history, birth order of the child, development after birth in terms of physical,
mental, emotional and social development, etc. Socioeconomic background, relationship
with parents, siblings, friends or others, record of school achievement (curricular/co-
curricular) in the past are also collected so as to make a comparison with the steps taken
during the actual counselling process. This facilitates evaluation of the counselling
programme and helps in understanding the students in the context of the past.
• Present Condition
Home environment, school environment, achievement level, abilities, special
aptitudes, interests, interaction with peers, authority figure, subordinates, attitudes,
behaviour characteristics, motivational level, personality characteristics.
Collection of the above mentioned details in a case study method helps a counsellor
to make an evaluation against the background information and the present condition
of the client.
4.6.3 Experimental Method
This is the most scientific way of evaluation. It may incorporate
• one group design (Pre test/Post test design)
• two group design (Experimental/Control design)

108 GUIDANCE IN ACTION

One-group design
There is only one group in which the guidance intervention is conducted. A pre test
(questionnaire, attitude scale, rating scale) is administered to find out the initial level
of attainment, attitude, and understanding of the group about certain concepts or
behaviour. In the next step, the intervention (guidance programme) is carried out.
The third step, involves the post test in order to find out the change in the level of
attainment. If there is an increase in the level of attainment, then it can be concluded
that the guidance intervention has been successful.
It may be schematically depicted as
Pre Test “Intervention” Post Test
(T1) (Guidance Programme) (T2)
T2 > T1(Indicates the success of the programme)
T2< T1 (Intervention is not successful; steps should be taken to strengthen the
intervention)
Two-Group Design
As the name implies, two groups are selected. Care needs to be taken that the groups
selected are comparable in their scores obtained (at the initial level) on the particular
criterion under evaluation as well as personal-social characteristics, e.g. age, scholastic
achievement, etc. One group is the control group and the other is the experimental
group. Control group is not exposed to intervention (i.e., no guidance and counselling
programme). Intervention is carried in the experimental group. After the intervention
post test is administered to both the groups on the set criteria to find out whether
there is any difference in the scores obtained by both the groups. If the scores obtained
by the experimental group are significantly higher, then the programme has been
successful.
This may be schematically represented as

Experimental Group Control Group

T1E T1C where T1E ~ T1C

Intervention No Intervention

T2E T2C

If T2E > T2C, then the intervention has been successful.

As an example, consider there are two sections in Class VII, VII A & VII B. We
develop a questionnaire to find out their initial awareness level about the world of
work. The mean scores obtained by class VII A and VII B are represented by T IE and
TIC respectively. These two scores are comparable, i.e. they do not differ significantly
from one another. We carry out an intervention, say, a career guidance programme,
with our experimental group, Class VII A. The control group Class VII B is given no

EVALUATION IN GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING 109

exposure to guidance programme. We administer the questionnaire after the
intervention to both the classes to find out their level of awareness about the world
of work. Let T2E be the mean score obtained by Class VII A and T2C be the mean score
obtained by Class VII B in the second questionnaire. Now if the mean score obtained
by Class VII A (i.e. T 2E) is significantly greater than the mean score obtained by
Class VII B (i.e. T2C) then it can be concluded that the guidance programme has been
successful. If T2E<T2C, then it can be concluded that the career guidance programme
conducted for the experimental group is not effective and it needs serious follow up
and modification so as to make the programme effective.
Apart from these methods there are other methods too that can be utilised for
evaluating guidance and counselling programme, which are described next (Fairchild
and Seeley, 1995).
Need Assessment : Under this method, the needs of the students are assessed. To
identify such needs, inputs can be collected from students, teachers, parents, etc.
through rating scales. For example, a list can be collected from all such groups regarding
the service that is needed, or the kind of guidance or assistance needed by students
which they believe require increased attention (like addressing issues of loneliness,
self image, peer pressure, study skills, coping with stress, dealing with emotional
aspects of adolescents). By making such an assessment, counsellor can evaluate
whether the programme carried out by them meets the requirements of the students.
Tabulation : This is the most frequently used method of evaluation, which is simple
to follow and easy to evaluate. Under this method, the kind of counselling services/
programmes provided and the number of such sessions conducted is tabulated. For
example, the number of counselling sessions conducted, parent education classes
offered, classroom guidance activities provided, parent conferences held etc are
tabulated on a regular basis. This method provides the counsellor a quick review of
the counselling services offered to students. For example, if a counselling programme
goal is to increase guidance in career related issues and review of a monthly tabulation
summary form reveals little or no activity in this area, then the counsellor is prompted
to address the goal. Thus, this method provides quick evaluation and follow-up.
Whatever be the method a counsellor uses for evaluating the programme, he/she
should have a thorough understanding of the type of data to be collected and the
data collection tools that are available, so as to make the evaluation as effective as
possible. The types of data to be collected can be categorised as three types as
enumerative, process and outcome. Enumerative data include recording the extent
of time devoted to the provision of various services or keeping a track of the frequency
with which various activities occur (i.e., the number of counselling sessions, time
spent in group guidance or the number of parenting classes taught). Process data
includes information on the personal characteristics and professional skills of the
counsellor (i.e., communication skills, work habits, time management and follow-
through). Outcome data provide information regarding behavioural changes which
occur as a result of the counselling program and involvement of the counsellor (i.e.,
student development, better stress management skills, students’ grades improved,
110 GUIDANCE IN ACTION
students’ self-esteem increased). In the same way, there are various methods of data
collection like tabulation, rating scales, questionnaires, time analysis, interviews, case
studies, observation, peer review, etc. However, a counsellor has to take much care
in using the tools as each has its own proper use depending upon the information
being sought and each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
A counsellor can make use of any of the above methods or the methods can be
used in combination, in order to evaluate the success of the programme and activities
carried out at school.

Activity 3
Formulate an Evaluation Model for a Career Counselling Programme using
a few of the evaluation methods and tools which you have come across so
far. For further clarification about the methods and tools of evaluation and
their application, you can either visit internet sources or library.

4.7 Summary
Evaluation of a guidance and counselling programme is very vital,
which is closely tied up with the success of the counsellor and the
students. A thorough understanding of the evaluation principles and
knowledge about the types of evaluation would enable a counsellor
to efficiently design a programme evaluation strategy. In order to make
evaluation a routine practice and an integral part of school guidance
and counselling programme, a school counsellor needs to understand
the methods and tools available for evaluation. Several such methods,
and particularly a method known as the accountability bridge model
of evaluation, has been discussed in this unit. Counsellors should make
every effort to evaluate their work in order to improve and devise
better strategies to achieve guidance goals. They need to identify
suitable criteria which are observable and measurable so that they are
more confident of the outcomes achieved.

1. What are the purposes of evaluating a guidance and counselling

Self-evaluation Exercises

programme?
2. Which principles can be followed to make an evaluation effective?
3. Write a short note on the three types of evaluation.
4. Give a brief explanation of the Accountability Bridge Model of
Evaluation.
5. Mention a few available methods of evaluation.

EVALUATION IN GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING 111

 Answer Key to Self-evaluation Exercises
1. Elaborate on the following purposes of evaluation:
• Useful for avoiding meaningless innovation
• Useful for measuring the improvements in students
• Helps the counsellor in gaining knowledge about the factors
that affect the development of students and the resultant
consequences
• Helps in decision making, etc.
2. The following principles help in effective evaluation:
• Establishment of objectives and setting up of criteria
• Proper application of evaluation criteria
• Involving various stakeholders in the counselling programme
• Use of appropriate tools and methods
• Maintaining credibility and confidentiality.
3. The three types of evaluation are formative, summative and
diagnostic. Formative evaluation is one which is conducted mid
stream in a programme and it gives immediate feedback. Summative
on the other hand, makes an evaluation at the end of a programme
so as to find the worth of the total programme. Diagnostic
evaluation is done at any stage when something goes wrong in the
programme. This increases the efficacy of the programme. Examples
for each type of evaluation can also be mentioned.
4. Elaborate on the following points with a diagram, giving a brief of
the model:
• Two cycles of evaluation, namely, the Programme Evaluation
Cycle and Context Evaluation Cycle, are involved, each
containing four stages.
• The four stages in the programme evaluation cycle are planning,
implementation, monitoring and outcome assessment. The other
four stages of the context evaluation cycle are feedback from
stakeholders, needs assessment, strategic planning and service
objective.
• The outcomes of the programme evaluation cycle are
communicated to the context evaluation cycle. This feed back
of various stakeholders are processed. This comes across various
stages and is reflected again to the programme evaluation cycle.
• This model can effectively evaluate the guidance and
counselling programme and can help the counsellor in
professional development and also in improving the programme.
5. The few methods of evaluation that are available are survey method,
case study method, experimental method and other methods like
tabulation, needs assessment, etc

112 GUIDANCE IN ACTION

Answer Key to Self-check Exercises
Self-check Exercise 1
1. b 2. e 3. c 4. d 5. a
Self-check Exercise 2
1. F 2. T 3. F 4. T

References
Astramovich, R. L. Coker, J.K. and Hoskins W. J. 2005. Training school
counselors in program evaluation. Professional School Counseling.
9(1), 49-53.
Astramovoch, R.L., Coker, J.K and Hoskins,W.J. 2007. Program
evaluation: The accountability bridge model for counselors. Journal of
Counseling and Development. 85(2), 162-172.
Fairchild, T.N and Seeley, T. J. 1995. Accountability strategies for school
counselors: A baker’s dozen. The School Counselor. 42 (5), 377-392.
Glicken, M. D. 1978. Counseling effectiveness assessment: A practical
solution. The School Counselor. 25, 196-198.
Lewis, J. D. 1983. Guidance program evaluation: How to do it. The
School Counselor. 31, 111-119.
Pine, G.J. 1975. Evaluating school counseling programs: Retrospect and
prospect. Measurement and Evaluation in Guidance. 8, 136-139.
Vacc, N. A., Rhyne-Winkler, M. C. and Poidevant, J. M. 1993. Evaluation
and accountability of counselling services: Possible implications for a
mid size school district. The School Counselor. 40 (4), 260-266.

Suggested Readings

Boarders, L. D. 1991. Supervision evaluation. The School Counselor.

38 (4), 253-255.
Curcio, C.C. Mathai, C. and Roberts, J. 2003. Evaluation of a school
district’s secondary counseling program. Professional School Counseling.
6(3), 296-303.
Fairchild, T. N. 1993. Accountability practice of school counselors: 1990
national survey. The School Counselor. 40 (5), 363-374.
Geysbers, N. and Moore, E.J. 1981. Improving guidance programmes.
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs. NJ.

EVALUATION IN GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING 113

 Suggested Readings

Gupta, M. 2003. Effective Guidance and Counselling: Modern Methods and

Technologies. Mangal Deep Publishers. Jaipur.
Hartman, R. A. H. 1998. A counselor role: Curriculum development
and evaluation. The School Counselor. 35 (4), 377-382.
Johnson. S. and Johnson. C. D. 2003. Results-based guidance: A systems
approach to student support programs. Professional School Counseling.
6(3), pp.180-184.
Lombana, J.H. 1985. Guidance accountability: A new look at an old
problem. The School Counselor. 32, 340-346.
Matthay, E. R. 1998. A study of school counsellor evaluation procedures.
The School Counselor. 35 (4), 383-393.
McLeod, J. 2001. Quantitative Research in Counselling and Psychotherapy. Sage
Publishers. New Delhi.
Morrel, J.1979. Follow-up Research as an Evaluation Strategy: Theory and
Methodologies. in T. Abramson, C.K Title ,and L. Cohen (Eds), Handbook
of Vocational Educational Evaluation (pp.217-248). Sage, Beverely Hills,
CA.
Muro, J.J. and Kottman T. 1995. Guidance and Counselling in the Elementary
and Middle Schools. Brown Communication. Wn.C U.S.A.
Myrick, R. D. 2003. Accountability: Counselors count. Professional School
Counseling. 6(3), 174-179
Olives, L.W. 1979. Outcome measurements in career counselling. Journal
of Counseling Psychology. 26, 217-226.
Schmidt, J. J. 1990. Critical issues for school counselor: Performance
appraisal and supervision. The School Counselor. 38 (2), 86-94
Schmidt. J.J. 1995. Assessing school counselling programs through
external reviews, The School Counselor. 43(2), 114-123.
Sharma T.C. 2002. Modern Methods of Guidance and Counselling. Sarup
and Sons. New Delhi.
Wiggins, J. D. and Moody, A. H. 1987. Student evaluation of counselling
programs: An added dimension. The School Counselor. 34 (5), 533-361.

114 GUIDANCE IN ACTION

 List of Course Material

“If I was to be their real teacher and guardian, I

must touch their hearts. I must share their joys
and sorrows, I must help them solve the
problems that face them, and I must take along
the right channel, the surging aspirations of
their youth.”

– MAHATMA GANDHI
 Module 8

Guidance
in Action
2357

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY AND

FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION
ISBN 978-81-7450-959-8