Investigating the Needs of Students Guidance and Counseling at University Level

Abstract: The present study was planned to investigate the need for student guidance and counselling at the university level. The study was delimited to the University of Loralai only. The main objectives of the study were to investigate the relationship guidance needs of the students at the university level, to explore the health guidance needs of the students at the university level, and to identify the moral guidance needs of the students at the university level. The study population was all students at the University of Loralai. One hundred students from the university were taken as samples. The questionnaire was constructed and included different areas of relationship guidance, health guidance, and moral guidance needed for the student's guidance and counselling. This study identifies that students face problems in peer relationships with other students. Students are fully aware of their local culture and values and know how to deal with the opposite gender. It is difficult for students to control their emotions, and they need guidance regarding this. Students can solve their personal problems through guidance and counselling. The study recommends peer relationship improvement programs, health education programs, counselling services, stress reduction workshops and emotional management support. The university could establish counselling services or workshops that focus on emotional intelligence and stress management. The university continues offering guidance and counselling services for students to help them solve personal problems and cope with psychological complications. Ensure that these services are easily accessible.

Key Words: Students Guidance, Counseling, University, Education, Loralai, Balochistan, Education Programs

Introduction

In order to prevent educational, personal, social, mental, emotional, and other related issues in school pupils, guidance and counselling are essential. The principals of schools and the Department of Education are aware of how heavily guidance and counselling services are used. Nwachukwu (2007) describes these services as informational, placement, assessment, counselling, occupational advice, assessment, follow-up, evaluation, placement, assessment, assessment, and research services. The current university system's lack of use of these services, which are essential to education at all levels and types, has resulted in a number of problems, including a distinct increase in crime, student violence, severe value destruction, poor career choices, and a mishmash of subjects. According to Mutie and Ndambuki (2004), the counselling service is the central nervous system of the guiding program. Counselling then embodies a portion of the entire guidance process, which assists people in gaining the self-awareness and self-direction necessary to maximize their adjustment in a particular setting.

Education centred around life skills fosters children's understanding of the world, themselves, and their friends. A thorough comprehension and reception of students' experiences is a prerequisite for providing effective counselling services (Mutie &Ndambuki, 2004). Thus, in order for pupils to improve their academic, social, and personal skills, counselling services would be necessary. Good counselling can help them deal with any psychological issues they may have and help them make rational judgments about how to address and overcome social, intellectual, and personal obstacles. It aids in the development of abilities and dispositions that enable a person to live a well-adjusted life.

Guidance and counselling services are critical for the overall well-being and academic success of students at higher education institutions (Carey Dimmitt 2012). Universities have a responsibility to provide broad support to address the different needs of their student population. The University of Loralai, located in the Balochistan province of Pakistan, is known for its commitment to academic excellence and the promotion of future leaders. However, limited research has been conducted to explore the specific needs of guidance and counselling at the higher level within this organization. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the needs for guidance and counselling at the University of Loralai, with a particular focus on understanding the relationship guidance, health guidance, and moral guidance needs of the students.

 

Statement of the Problem

Despite the University of Loralai's reputation as a leading institution, it is important to identify that students face a variety of challenges that may affect their academic performance and personal development. These challenges could be interrelated to establishing healthy relationships, maintaining their physical and mental health, and traversing ethical dilemmas. However, the current state of guidance and counselling services at the university may not effectively address these needs (Parikh & Gurvinder, 2016). Therefore, this research aims to explore and understand the specific guidance and counselling needs of the students at the University of Loralai in order to classify potential gaps and develop targeted involvements to address these challenges.

 

Objectives of the Study

The primary objectives of this research are as follows:

1. To investigate the relationship guidance needs of students at the University of Loralai.
2. To explore the health guidance needs of students at the University of Loralai.
3. To identify the moral guidance needs of students at the University of Loralai.

 

Research Questions

To achieve the stated objectives, this study will address the following research questions:

1. What are the relationship guidance needs of students at the University of Loralai?
2. What are the health guidance needs of students at the University of Loralai?
3. What are the moral guidance needs of students at the University of Loralai?

 

Significance of the Study

This research is of significant importance to the University of Loralai and the bigger field of guidance and counselling in higher education institutions. By examining the specific guidance and counselling needs of students in terms of relationship guidance, health guidance, and moral guidance, this study will offer valuable insights for the development and improvement of support services (Turner & Lapan, 2018). The findings will support university administrators, educators, and counsellors in tailoring their programs to meet the unique requirements of the University of Loralai students, finally fostering their personal growth, academic success, and well-being.

  

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study was to examine the status of guidance and counselling services at the University of Loralai.

 

Delimitation of the Study

The present study was delimited to the University of Loralai. Both male and female students were part of the study.

 

Literature Review

Definition of Guidance and Counselling

The phrases "guidance" and "counselling" have been defined in a number of respectable but slightly different ways by various psychologists and academics. Yes, in fact. Many people disagree with counselling, claiming that it is not focused enough. For example, Harris (1987) contends that counselling's worth cannot be evaluated in the absence of a consensus on what it is. Putting money into the same debate. Knight (1986) highlights another challenge facing counselling: it has become a catchphrase that is overused and abused in many spheres of society despite being a noble approach to providing guidance. In Kenya, the terms counselling and advice are sometimes used synonymously to refer to the same thing. To put this into perspective in the context of a school, a teacher or other adult will pretend to be counselling students when, in reality, they are going to speak to a group of students on a certain subject, like time management.

 

Guidance

The definition of guidance is a developmental process that helps a person recognize, embrace, and make use of their interests, talents, abilities, and behavioural patterns in relation to their goals. Assistance "involves helping students individually or in small groups with making personal, educational or vocational selections" (Hornby. 2003); this taxonomy of the term guidance has also been attempted by Ferguson (1956) and Thompson and Poppen (1979). They draw attention to the distinction that is suggested when referring to guidance as an idea, an educational framework, or an educational service.

The idea of guidance as we know it now, according to Watts and Kidd (2000), is a 20th-century invention that originates from two different but connected civilizations. The creation of career (vocational) guidance services to help children get ready for the workforce, as well as the perception of guidance as an educational tool, are these. The teacher counsellor and program are viewed as educational ideas that will direct and guide the student into particular academic endeavours (subject selections and appropriate behaviour standards) and professional vocations (Ferguson et al., 1956). It is a fallacy that this objective has only been considered in terms of a career. In Kenya, guidance and counselling have long been viewed in this fashion, with the teacher counsellor serving as—and perhaps still serving as—a career instructor. This explains why vocational and occupational guidance—rather than counselling—is overemphasized in schools, as the study's results will make clear. Conversely, guidance is all-inclusive and ought to be more comprehensive in that it should take into account the ability of the individual to adapt to the surroundings (school and society) and create ideal objectives for themselves to enhance their current education (primary and secondary) and future aspirations (university and the workforce).   

 

Counselling

Counselling is commonly understood to comprise consultation, conversation, thought sharing, and/or advice-giving (Makinde, 1993:42). According to the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP, 2006), counselling is the process by which a counsellor meets with a client in a private and confidential setting to identify any difficulties, suffering, or potential dissatisfaction with life, as well as any loss of direction or purpose. Since nobody can be sent for counselling in an appropriate manner, it is always at the client's request. Through patient and attentive listening, the counsellor can start to see the problems from the client's perspective and assist them in seeing things more clearly, perhaps from a different angle. This concept places a strong emphasis on the therapeutic alliance, counselling secrecy, and counselling professionalism. It is quite evident that counselling is not the same as delivering advice; rather, it is a light investigation of the problem. Counselling is a therapeutic process that helps people use a greater portion of their own resources to address life's issues. It does this by creating a unique form of relationship that fosters compassion.    

 

Guidance and Counselling

Counselling and guidance are two widely used terms that are often utilized when making decisions about careers and schooling. According to Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2007: 555, 284), counselling is defined as "professional guidance of the individual by developing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and skills." In contrast, guidance is defined as "advice on occupational or educational problems given to students." However, the deeper meanings of the two names have a slight difference: the former refers to guidance, while the latter is a session.

Guidance and counselling focused mostly on guidance activities. These days, programs and services for guiding and counselling are being trained. Counselling and guidance services are resolving issues at the higher education level (Dogar et al., 2011). Counselling and guidance services assist individuals in overcoming obstacles, concerns, and issues (Dogan, 2000). Individuals can receive assistance from the community through collaboration and partnerships, as well as through official and informal channels (Bernes et al., 2007). The primary goal of guidance and counselling is to assist individuals in resolving their issues and challenges. Students require guidance and counselling services in two phases. The first is when students have to apply to universities or colleges in order to continue their education, and the second is when they need to make decisions about their career choices.

 

Table 1

Guidance versus counselling

Guidance	Counselling
It is the body of psychotherapy. It is a build-up process.	It is the heart of psychotherapy. It is a healing process.
It is knowledge-based (factual)	It is effective (emotional)
It deals with information, facts and principles.	It is value-oriented and deals with perception, motivation, needs and feelings.
It is less personal and less intimate.	It is more personal and more intimate.
It is more structured.	It is less structured.

 

Major Areas of Guidance (Types of Guidance)

Life as a student is becoming more complicated every day. For the greatest results and a reasonable adjustment in these diverse life circumstances, assistance is required. There is a great deal of guidance available. Some of the key areas of guidance are as follows.

 

Relationship Guidance

Relationship guidance refers to the advice and support provided to individuals or friendships, family connections, or professional partnerships. The aim is to address challenges, foster communication, and improve overall relationship satisfaction. This guidance can be required from various sources, including therapists, counsellors, self-help books, and research studies.

Communication: Effective communication is important to any successful relationship. It includes active listening, expressing feelings and needs, and understanding one another.

 

Moral Guidance

Moral principles play a significant role in our lives. Students can lie and engage in other bad behaviours when they are influenced by various reasons. Moral counselling aids in guiding these pupils toward the right path and promotes their overall growth. The adolescent students' constructed value system will serve as a foundation for their social and cultural development and serve as a lifelong moral code. During this critical stage of intellectual and social development, the students' self-assurance and uniqueness will be preserved by their philosophical and ideological thinking. At this age, the creation of peer groups is obviously based on their ethical development. Hence, they will be provided with socially desirable and culturally appreciated moral support, guidance, and counselling at any cost.

 

Health Guidance

People consider health to be riches. The aim of health advice is total health, which includes both preventive and therapeutic care. Teachers, students, parents, doctors, counsellors, and psychologists may have contributed to the health advice. The conditions of the school canteen and hostel need to be examined in order to promote defensive care. In the same way, formal lessons and knowledge on health education are crucial for school education stages. HIV/AIDS guidance is currently impacted by concerns about health guidance. At this age, it should be mandatory to learn hygiene habits, healthy eating habits, nutrition knowledge, ways to prevent communicable diseases, ways to prevent pollution, how to preserve physical fitness, the value of exercise, and other things.

 

Methodology

This describes and explains the design of the study and the research methodology utilized to investigate the needs of the students. Guidance and counselling among university students. It includes the research design, the pilot study developed and conducted, and the design of the final instrument used to gather the required data. It also includes the procedures for identifying the population and sampling, data collection, and the statistical methods applied.

 

Nature of the Study

This research was quantitative research design in nature. In this type of research design, the objective of the study was achieved through a questionnaire method, which was sought through the questionnaire made by the current researcher.

 

Population of the Study

The students of the Education Department, English Department, Mathematics and Islamiyat Department University of Loralai were the population of this research. The questionnaire was distributed to the students randomly.

 

Sample of the Study

The 100 questionnaires were distributed to the whole university of Loralai. The current researcher took data as a sample of the study: 40 from the Education department, 30 from the English department, 20 from the mathematics department and 10 from the Islamiyat department. This sample was selected through the random sampling technique.

  

Research Tools

The current researcher used the questionnaire as a research tool in this study. The questionnaire was made by the

researcher and was categorized into two major parts. The first part of the questionnaire was established to obtain knowledge about the demographic profile of the participants, including name, gender and qualification, whereas the second part consisted of 17 statements and aimed to discover the needs of the student's guidance and counselling, relationship guidance,  Moral guidance and Health guidance among the students in the University of Loralai. A five-point Likert scale was used to write the items of the questionnaire. For statements 1-17, the scale employed the following:

1: Strongly Agree           2: Agree            3: Neutral         4: Strongly Disagree       5: Disagree

 

Data Collection

The researcher personally visited the sampled university of Loralai for data collection and distributed the questionnaire among the respondents.

 

Finding Conclusion and Recommendation

Findings

The main objective of this study was to identify the guidance and counselling needs of the students. It was assumed that students have guidance and counselling needs in all areas of life.

The results of this study revealed that university students are seeking guidance and counselling in all areas of life.   

 

Relationship Guidance

• 56 % of students are in favour of the statement that “I face problems in a peer relationship with other Students.”
• 69 % of students agree with the statement that “I know proper etiquette and manners while dealing with other students.”
• 93 % of students agree with the statement that “I respect the other students of different cultures and castes.”
• 65 % of students agree with the statement that “I am fully aware of my local culture and values and knowledge of how to deal with the opposite gender.”
• 46 % of students agree with the statement, “I don’t know how to improve the relationship with others.”

 

Health Guidance

• 59 % of students agree with the statement, “I need guidance about my health and well-being.”
• 64 % of students agree with the statement, “It is difficult for me to control my emotions. I need guidance regarding this.
• 69 % of students agree with the statement that “My current diet and nutrition habits are good for my health.”
• 38 % of students agree with the statement that “I don’t know how to release tension.”
• 50 % of students agree with the statement, “I get enough quality sleep for 7 to 9 hours daily in order to avoid daytime drowsiness and the inability to concentrate or remember."
• 46 % of students agree with the statement that “I have habits or behaviours that may negatively impact my health such as smoking, excessive use of mobile, internet electronic games, etc.”
• 61 % of students agree with the statement, “I go to bed early and rise early in the morning.”

 

Moral Guidance

• 80 % of students agree with the statement that “students can solve their personal problems through guidance and counselling.”
• 68% of students agree with the statement that “Guidance and counselling can save the students from psychological complications."
• 70 % of students agree with the statement, “I know the responsible use of mobile phones, the internet, and other technology.”
• 85 % of students agree with the statement, “I take care of the university property like buildings, buses, furniture,"
• 62 % of students agree with the statement that “I have a moral courage to stand up for what is right, even in the face of opposition or adversity.

 

Conclusion

On the basis of the above findings, it was conducted that:

 

Relationship Guidance

1. Most of the students face problems in peer relationships with other students.
2. Students know proper etiquette and manners while dealing with other students.
3. Most of the students respect the other students of different cultures and castes.
4. Students are fully aware of their local culture and values and know how to deal with opposite Gender.
5. Some of the students don’t know how to improve their relationships with others.

 

Health Guidance

1. Students need guidance about their health and well-being.
2. It is difficult for students to control their emotions. They need guidance regarding this.
3. Students are satisfied their current diet and nutrition habits are good for their health.
4. The students don’t know how to release tension.
5. Students get enough quality sleep for 7 to 9 hours daily in order to avoid daytime drowsiness and inability to concentrate or remember.
6. Most of the students go to bed early and rise early in the morning.

 

Moral Guidance

1. Most students can solve their personal problems through guidance and counselling.
2. Guidance and counselling can save students from psychological complications.
3. Students know the responsible use of mobile, internet and other technology.
4. Most of the students take care of the university property, such as buildings, buses, furniture, etc.
5. Students had the moral courage to stand up for what is right, even in the face of opposition or adversity.

 

Recommendation

Keeping in view the findings of the study, the following recommendations are:

 

Relationship Guidance

Peer Relationship Improvement Programs

Since a significant portion of students face challenges in peer relationships, it's advisable to implement programs or workshops that focus on improving these relationships. These could include conflict resolution training, team-building activities, and communication skills workshops.

Cultural and Diversity Awareness

Given that most students respect peers from different cultures and castes, institutions should continue to promote cultural diversity awareness programs. This could foster a more inclusive and harmonious campus environment.

 

Gender Sensitivity Workshops

While most students feel they are aware of local culture and values and know how to deal with the opposite gender, it's still important to provide gender sensitivity workshops to ensure a respectful and equitable environment.

 

Social Skills Development

Since some students are unsure about how to improve their relationships with others, institutions could offer social skills development. These programs can help students build self-confidence and effective communication skills.

 

Health Guidance

Health Education Programs

Given that students express a need for guidance on health and well-being, educational institutions should offer health education programs covering topics such as nutrition, exercise, mental health, and stress management.

 

Emotional Management Support

Since students find it difficult to control their emotions, schools could establish counselling services or workshops that focus on emotional intelligence and stress management.

 

Nutrition and Diet Guidance

While most students are satisfied with their current diet and nutrition habits, institutions can still provide guidance on maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle.

 

Stress Reduction Workshops

For students who don't know how to release tension, organizing stress reduction workshops, mindfulness sessions, or yoga classes could be beneficial.

 

Sleep Hygiene Education

To ensure students get enough quality sleep, institutions can educate them about the importance of sleep hygiene and maintaining a regular sleep schedule.

 

Promote Early Riser Habits

Given that most students go to bed early and rise early, schools can encourage and support this habit as it is associated with better productivity and overall well-being.

 

Moral Guidance

Counselling Services

Continue offering guidance and counselling services for students to help them solve personal problems and cope with psychological complications. Ensure that these services are easily accessible and stigma-free.

Ethical Technology Use

While students claim to know the responsible use of technology, educational institutions should continue to promote ethical and safe technology practices, including cybersecurity and online etiquette.

Property Care Initiatives

Encourage and recognize students who take off university property by implementing initiatives like property preservation awards or campus cleanliness drives.

Character Education

Foster moral courage and the ability to stand up for what is right by integrating character education into the curriculum. Encourage open discussions about ethical dilemmas.

 

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