INTRODUCTION
How to Manage Stress In School as a Student For Effective Learning: Group counselling in schools is a process whereby small groups of students work with a school counsellor on “a specific topic or skill. Group counselling in schools can be related to a variety of topics ranging from personal development, emotional growth, communication and is used that are unique to individual studies.
Merit and demerits of group guidance
- It is both economical and efficient
- It aids the normal student
- It helps in having more contact with student
- It offers students the opportunity to discuss common problems
- It helps improve student’s attitudes and behaviour
- If focuses collective judgment on problems that are common to the group.
Group guidance activities in a school setting
- Orientation to the students
The purpose of the orientation programme is to help each person feel at home in new surroundings. It is assumed that every new situation makes the individuals feel uncomfortable ad possess difficulty accepting and adjusting to it very easily. Transitioning from home to school for every school child the nursery class level ad index from one school to another is a very difficult process. Remember the day one you joined the college didn’t you even have the feeling, oh I wish someone would have told me about this facility. I didn’t know whom to approach for the book bank facility someone please tell me where is the canteen etc. oriental helps in such situations.
The orientation can present information about the institution, its physical layout, personnel and administrative arrangement to help students become acquitted with one another etc. The newly admitted.
Students can be given a piece of brief information about the school, the various facilities available, the rules and regulations, the course curriculum what is expected of them, etc. Further, they can be arranged further re-counselling services can also be introduced here.
Orientation thus begins when the parent first takes a child to a nursery school. This is not the end. Orientation should be provided for each individual moving into the school during the term as he moves into the new class.
An orientation programme will not be the same for elementary, secondary and senior secondary students. It has to be different levels depending on the need.
- Career Conferences
In this, a carefully planned series of meetings are arranged for students to provide information on themes, etc which will be helpful to them to plan their future professional and educational careers. It provides the students with occupational information and makes the teachers parents and the community, in general, aware of the significance of the guidance programme.
The planning of the career conferences calls for a collective effort on part of the counsellor, school faculty and students. Further, a planning committee consisting of representatives of all these groups should be formed to give the entire school sense of involvement. The parents can be taken as resource persons.
Certain guidelines can be drawn while planning a conference These re;
The students should be informed beforehand about the purpose of the conference.
Through the checklists, the occupational interest of the students may be determined so that the approach speakers in those areas may be invited.
The names of the guest speakers to be suggested in the meeting and the person who is going to take charge to be appointed.
The day to be discussed on which the conference is to be had. The exams should not be approaching during that time period e.g in that case students will not show interest.
The day’s schedule of talks discussion groups, and film shows is to be arranged.
Duties to be assigned to the staff members and volunteer students.
Prepare pamphlets for due publicity. A note to sent to be parents informing them about the conference.
Suitable charts could be arranged for the students by providing them will ideas pertaining to the topic theme of the career conference.
Steps in planning the conference
The career conference requires months of planning in advance the following steps are important.
- The idea of organizing the conference should be presented at least 45 days in advance. Once approval has been enriched, the students can be unformatted about it. Informing the students beforehand is very must be required because then they can offer themselves as volunteers.
- A list of the volunteer teachers and students to be made and duties to be assigned to them like arranging for Mike, lecturers, refreshments, distribution of pamphlets etc.
- Letter to the grafted for sending to principals of other schools and parents. The aim of the career conference and a brief outline of the plan to be sent to them.
- A detailed programme of talks, and discussion film charts are to be made.
- Arrangements of Mike, seats, and video cassette are to be made before and distributed to be printed beforehand.
- The session-wise programme schedule should be decided well in time and intimated to the students and other participants.
- Prepare a list of speakers for each session. It is generally to have 2 or 3 speakers for each session so that in case of unavailability of one, the other can be inundated. The resources person could be the parents, alumni, or staff members.
- Prepare an outline for the speakers related to the topic on which one talk is to be delivered. once the conference takes place successfully, a discussion can be held so as to know about the shortcomings. These can be considered for the next conference.
Class Talks
This is one of the effective ways of imparting group guidance. Class talks can be arranged for the students of a class who have common interests E.g a class talk can be given on “Time management” to standard xi students certain points are to be kept in mind while writing a class talk.
The topic selected should be according to the need level of students. Ruther, it should not be a monotonous one.
It should be presented in simple terms with lots of examples and illustrations from daily life. The use of difficult and vague words should be avoided.
Instead at following a lecture method, the students should be involved in the participation.
This can be done by asking questions, by asking students to give examples from their day to day life. This will make the students feel interested and involved in the talk.
- Charts, posters pamphlets etc can be used to highlight the major points more effectively.
- The talk should not be very lengthy, 35-40 minutes are sufficient for the talk and the discussion.
- Tables/figures etc. can be prepared. While organizing class talk, certain points are to be considered.
- The talk should not be very long.
- The number of students should not be more than 40.
- The students should be informed in advance about the schedule, theme, venue and other details at the talk.
- Supplementary materials like charts, posters, and films are to be kept handy and if blackboard to be used chalk is to be kept which is convenient. A few topics of class talk have been mentioned below.
- Effective study materials.
- Role of co-curricular activities in schools
- Importance of homework.
- Expenditure planning (how much to spend on birthday gifts)
- Time Management
- How to prepare for examination>
- Confidence is the key to success.
Career Talks
Career talks are different from the class talks the topics for the class talk are general and varied while career talks concentrate on information about various careers. For example, the topic for the class talk could be effective study habits; Time management, whereas the topic for the career talk will be careers in chartered accountancy.
While writing the career talk, the general points are the same as for the class talk, certain additional guidelines while writing the career talk are:
The talk should state the objective of the talk the future prospect of the career, the educational qualifications required, the institution offering the course duration of the course, the mode of selection hostels, faculties, positive and negative points associated with the career, etc.
The topic of the career talk should be of interest to all E.g if the students want to have a career talk no engineering and not about medicine, then giving a talk on medicine will lead to a waste of time as they want to be interested in listening.
Plant Tours
Plant tours provide an excellent opportunity to be students to be aware of the various occupations available. These tours to industrial and business establishments for class groups can be arranged as a part of group guidance programmes.
The main purpose of the plant hours is to increase the awareness of the student through their interaction with people at work in the occupation.
Organization of a Plant Tour: The idea of the plant tour should be first discussed with the principal.
Selection of Venue: The place to visit should be one where most students are likely to work.
It should be planned to keep in consideration the socio-economic status and other variables of the group e.g few places could be hotels telephone companies, banks etc.
Selection of transport mode: How to make arrangements for such tours is another important quest. How do you get companies to let us come? The parent can act as a resource person.
The parent who is involved in a particular type of job can be of potent help or else a direct call to the director of the company can be a help. State to him clearly the purpose of your visit, the size of the group and the purpose of the visit.
Preliminary arrangements: In making the arrangements whether by visit, letter or telephone, the following points should be kept in mind.
Explain clearly the purpose of the tour.
Number size level and interest and interest of the group number of facilitating teachers with the group.
Fix the starting return time
Arrange for a question/discussion period before and after the tour.
Arrange transportation
Secure the parent’s consent if necessary.
Orientation of the students.
Some do’s and don’t one has to keep in mind.
Be appreciative: It costs time and money to entertain you.
Don’t act like a labour inspector.
don’t outsize
don’t ask irrelevant questions
Avoid comparisons
Don’t try to educate or socialize the employer.
Move with
What to observe
Inform students beforehand that they are expected to make a note they should be asked to pay attention to the nature of work rather than to the talk that are exchanged among workers.
Group Discussion
Group discussion is a useful group guidance activity: In such permissive situations comprising of members having common needs, the students learn to talk freely about those things that worry them. It is necessary for such students to help define their working retain ship and to be associated with an accepting group of people of their can age who are confronted with problems similar to their own.
Non-School Settings
Considering the numerous problems facing the nation and the people present, it is necessary that the services of guidance counsellors would be required in different contexts ie. Several institutions, agencies and groups outside the school system. A good number of such institutions are found in industrial and commercial settings. This is because, in such settings, many working conditions could create emotional tension in the employee which could require counselling. Frustration, conflict, job dissatisfaction, resistance to change, long working hours and psychological stress among workers could result in low productivity and how morale if the services of guidance and counselling are not available. Counselling is not only required in industrial and commercial settings outside the school system in Nigeria today, the services of guidance counsellors are also needed in hospitals, religious settings, courts, law enforcement and security agencies as well as corrective institutions such as prisons and remand homes.
It is obvious that not only students need guidance and counselling services –adults, parents, teachers administrators and all members of society need it.
Among adults, social mala adjustment includes marital conflicts, lack of jobs, retrenchment, finical difficulties, emotional upset, fear of death, political instability, and anxiety, when these are present, adults may find it difficult to adjust to situations especially when situations are frustrating and if not well handled could lead to mental illness.
Guidance and counselling services are needed to provide humanitarian activities that would assist a meliorate the living conditions of those who are already maladjusted to prevent them from deteriorating to serious mental disorders.
Counselling the youths against HIV/Aids
Hiv/Aids is a dreaded disease greatly contracted through sexual relationships and at the moment is known to have no cure. The diseases is very deviating and claim lives. New approaches to counselling could be adopted by setting up community rehabilitation and recreational centres to provide counselling services to the youths. Necessary information on productivity, job creation, drug taking and abuse could be made available to the youths. Since youths belong to the productive age that constitutes the bedrock of the economy it becomes imperative for them to be groomed on the strategies for preventing Hiv/Aids.
