The guidance needs of standard 10 pupils in secondary schools in the Potchefstroom area

Abstract

The purpose of this study was, amongst others, to determine the guidance needs of the standard ten pupils in the Potchefstroom area and to determine whether the interim core syllabus introduced in schools in 1995, provided in the guidance needs of the secondary school pupils. These aims were achieved by firstly conducting a literature study on the historical development of school guidance in the United States of America, Japan, Britain and in South Africa. The practice and status of guidance in South Africa were also discussed. Secondly, a questionnaire based on the interim core syllabus was devised and given to a sample of Standard ten pupils from the Potchefstroom area for completion. The literature study indicated that school guidance programmes introduced to the various education departments were not the same and did not adequately deal with the diversity of issues they needed to address nor had they kept abreast of current changes and developments relevant to the South African context. The empirical investigation indicated that the guidance needs of different population groups differed. The study also revealed that black pupils faced unique problems that could be ascribed to the education system's failure to provide enough guidance support for schools. White pupils were satisfied with the syllabus, while the Black, Coloured and Indian pupils did not agree with certain aspects of the interim core syllabus. The conclusions derived from both the theoretical and practical parts, that is, the literature study and the empirical investigations, provided the guidelines for educators to design a well-structured guidance programme that would be relevant to the needs and experience of all learners. This study recommends that further research should be undertaken in other provinces especially where there are reasonable numbers of Indians and Coloured pupils. Additionally, the study recommends an effective guidance programme that should have clear, well-articulated goals that are achievable, measurable and be tailored to suit the pupils' needs.