Significant advantages of group guidance in college and universities are listed below:
Group guidance should have an important place in a college or university’s total guidance programme because of its significant advantages.
Advantages
1. It is both economical and efficient:
Through meetings with a group of students, the Counselling Liaison officer can convey information in much less time than if he gives the same information to each student individually.
The time thus saved can be utilised for the more difficult and complex problems of the students. Also, it is economical to collect general background information about the students and their problems in a group, more specific information about the student can be collected individually.
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2. It aids the normal student:
As colleges and universities are organised today, counselling will continue to be largely remedial and deal with problems after they have arisen.
No matter how well planned the counselling programme is, there is need for group guidance for the normal student to give him information and the direction that he needs and wants. With such assistance, he can go on from there to manage his own affairs better.
3. It helps in having more contacts with students:
The Counselling Liaison officer can have many more contacts with a large number of students through group guidance.
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During these contacts, he observes each student’s behaviour in the group situation and thus increases his knowledge of that student.
4. It offers students the opportunity to discuss common problems:
Under expert leadership, students within a group can determine what their common problems are.
They can then work toward general agreement as to the best ways to solve them.
5. It helps improve student’s attitudes and behaviour:
Group discussion provides opportunities for free exchange of opinions and realistic analysis of attitudes.
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All these can help the participants, of the group to achieve better and balanced judgments and more desirable behaviour.
6. It focuses collective judgement on problems that are common to the group:
Students are often willing to discuss in group problems that they are unwilling to discuss in individual interviews.
It gives them an opportunity to express their anxieties and relieve their pent up feelings. Group suggestions may help them resolve their problems.
7. It provides an admirable opportunity to the guidance workers to observe each student as he reacts in a group situation and to know some elements of his personality not revealed in any other way. This helps in the thorough understanding of the student.
8. It helps in the development of wholesome and helpful awareness of unrecognised needs and problems of the students. This lays the foundation, develops the need and prepares the way for individual counselling.