EDUCATIONAL GUIDANCE AND COMMUNITY SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT.

 

Prof. Dr. Julio González Bello (2020)

University of Carabobo-Venezuela

 

Abstract

 

What is presented here is a brief article in the modality of reflection article (Colciencias, 2010) to try to answer the question, what is the main role that educational guidance can play in community social development? It is noteworthy that in Educational Guidance, the emphasis had been placed on improving, in the students, their study habits, their adaptation to the environment, the solution of personal relationship problems and on how to make better vocational-professional decisions; and ultimately, as in Education, in how a person could be helped in her social ascent from a social fringe of poor or lower middle class to an upper middle class. That is, basically aimed at individual development. Now, in this change of era, it is intended that educational guidance also facilitate the improvements that must be made in the community where you live. Hence, in these times, through Educational Guidance, individual development is complemented with sustainable and inclusive social community development, and that in my opinion, neither of the two should be above the other, in the understanding that in Human Development, both individual development and community social development should be considered. As a conclusion, it can be affirmed that the guidance professional must exercise his role as an agent of change, facilitating and coordinating the processes of social transformation from the community and even promoting community mobilization, when could be necessary.

 

Introduction

 

First of all, it must be clarified that Educational Guidance is a process of pedagogical and bio-psycho-social accompaniment (OrientAcción Magazine, 2018) that is carried out from a school institution, including the period from primary or basic school to University education. In this sense, we share what was expressed by Gutiérrez Gómez (2018) when he states that "educational Guidance seeks to integrate the different forms of Guidance in school, for example, vocational, school, professional, family, etc." (p. 1).

On the other hand, from a fairly general sense, community social development can be understood as the material and immaterial improvements that can be achieved in a given community. The idea of ​​improvements is related to the intention of raising the levels of well-being and the provision of services that can occur in a specific community, but also to improving immaterial levels such as social justice, communitarianism, human rights and universal values.

In the present work it is intended to develop the idea of ​​how the change in the current era also supposes changes within the initial conception of Educational Guidance. In these times it is no longer enough to maintain the same focus that has lasted in it for so long, where the emphasis was placed on an Guidance process with an individualistic vision, and where it was basically an Guidance to solve problems in the students. These problems ranged from improving their study habits, their adaptation to the environment, solving personal relationship problems and how to make better vocational-professional decisions; And ultimately, as in Education, in how a person could be helped in their social ascent from a social fringe of poor or lower middle class to an upper middle class, basically due to their inclusion in the economic productive apparatus of the country .

In this sense, the idea expressed by Brunal, Vázquez, Mora, Borja and Osorio (2018) is shared when they affirm that it is necessary to overcome the instrumental technical approach that prevails, in educational Guidance, to date. Although it is fair to recognize that at one time there was also an approach to the community, but basically with the student himself as the main focus. In this case, attempts were made to reach out to teachers, parents and guardians and other influential figures in student life, but at this time a totally different approach is required.

 

Guidance and Community Social Development

What is the main role that educational guidance can play in community social development?

To date, in the field of Guidance, there had been talk of a development based on the individual, where it was only sought that a person could climb positions within the social pyramid and be able to ascend within the different social classes and basically from the from the poor or lower middle class rising to the middle or upper class. All these considerations are about to change since in the field of Guidance the idea of ​​community social development is gaining strength. This idea could be understood as the advancement of material and immaterial improvements in a certain community, and can be considered truly novel since it implies the consideration of the group where one lives at the same level as that of the people.

For the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) (2015), (inclusive) social development supposes, in the first place, the overcoming of poverty, basically providing possibilities for decent work and improvements in living conditions, in aspects such as food and drinking water distribution, to which can also be added the reduction of inequalities (gender, ethnic and racial), the strengthening of human rights and the capacities of institutions in the community and guaranteeing social participation .

            Educational Guidance to date had meant that thanks to the professionalization process a person changed their social status, and it meant that if they previously lived in a neighborhood (poverty area or lower middle class), as a product of that professionalization, the first What he was doing was moving to an urbanization where people with better income generally lived and thus enjoyed a better quality of life. Now the idea that Educational Guidance should also attend to community social development means that it should also deal with other issues that were not previously thought by Guidance professionals, that is, the role of educational Guidance has been expanded.

            This new change in Guidance now means that Guidance professionals must become promoters of change in the community where their educational center is located, be it a primary or basic school, secondary, or a university education institution. Now the Guidance work must be done from a community conception, not so much with individual work, person by person, but also work with the entire community.

For Camargo Martínez (2009), Community Guidance supposes the commitment of the Guidance professional for “social transformation based on a process of awareness, organization and mobilization of people in the search for collective well-being” (p. 24)

But in addition to all the above, it should also be considered that from educational Guidance, as it has been considered by a group of professionals affiliated with the Latin American network of Guidance professionals (Relapro), community social development should be directed by awakening a group ethical conscience, which includes concepts such as social justice, communitarianism, universal values, respect for human rights and that of a solidarity economy.

It is also to be clarified that from Latin America, due to the existing political conditions, basically due to the existence of the two great poles to explain macrosocial development (capitalism and socialism), we find ourselves in an extremely complex situation, where apparently neither of these two Options, to date, have been able to meet the expectations of the general population, since capitalism only tries to favor large economic corporations and since socialism, in some countries it has meant the formation of military castes, the enrichment of some sectors of society related to the government of the day, and the economic-social-health and educational debacle of the population, and in some cases, going back to the nineteenth century, according to the socio-health conditions in which they live

At this point it is convenient to highlight what was expressed by the Latin American Network of Guidance Professionals (2020), and the idea is shared that:

 

Like the community International points out, this group expresses its dissatisfaction with the two predominant approaches in the world in general (capitalism) and in the hemisphere in particular (Cuba and Venezuela), opting for the communalist perspective, in order to develop Guidance models that contemplate the component of the solidarity economy in their programs. (3rd, parr)

           

Hence, one of the main challenges of Educational Guidance in the 21st century is to consolidate the role of Guidance professionals as agents of change in a community and to be a facilitator of human development, in the understanding that it is made up of individual development and community social development.

conclusion       

                                     In this change of era it is necessary for the Guidance professional to decide on the search and experimentation of other goals and objectives in his professional career, the time for counseling to improve study habits and the application of psychological tests to determine the best career to follow. The time has come to address other issues, such as social justice, community development, solidarity economy, meaning of life, forms of government, democracy, human and peoples' rights, and universal ethics and values. As a conclusion, it can be affirmed that the Guidance professional must exercise his role as an agent of change, facilitating and coordinating the processes of social transformation from the community and even promoting community mobilization, when necessary.

 

 

 

References

 

Brunal, A., Vázquez, S.G., Mora, A., Borja, C., and Osorio, S. (2018). Transitional Guidance for the meaning of life. OrientAcción Magazine. Available at: https://revistaorientaccion.blogspot.com/2018/04/orientacion-para-la-vida-activa-completo.html

 

Camargo Martínez, X. (2009). Community Guidance and communication tools for its approach. A social approach to Guidance. Mexican Magazine of Guidance. Vol. VI. N.16, pp. 24-29.

 

Colciencias (2010). Permanent Indexing Service of Colombian Science, Technology and Innovation Magazines. Colombia: Recovered from: http://www.colciencias.gov.co/sites/default/files/upload/paginas/M304PR02G01 guiaserviciopermanente-indexacion.pdf

 

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) (2015). Inclusive Social Development: a new generation of policies to overcome poverty and reduce inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean. United Nations. Santiago de Chile.

 

Gutiérrez Gómez, R. (2018). Educational guidance, labor market and globalization: employment prospects of the educational programs offered by the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico to young university students. Ibero-American Journal for Educational Research and Development. Vol. 8. N. 16, pp. 1- 24

 

Latin American Network of ^ Guidance Professionals. (2018). Bio-psycho-social Pedagogical Model of Educational Guidance. Vol. 4. N. 4. Available at: http://redOrientadoresprofesionales.blogspot.com

 

Latin American Network of Guidance Professionals. (2020). Human development research online progress report. Available at: https://relapro2020.blogspot.com/2020/06/informe-general-avances-en-la-linea-de.html