PAGE

ROLE OF COLLEGE LIBRARIES IN CAREER GUIDANCE

A Study of Government and Autonomous Colleges Affiliated to Andhra University

A Thesis Submitted to the Andhra University for

The Award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

In Library and Information Science

By

MOLY T.M, M.A.,M.L.I.Sc, PGDLAN

Lecturer in Library & Information Science

CH.S.D.ST. Theresas Autonomous College for Women, Eluru

Under the Guidance of

Prof. Dr. R.S.R. VARALAKSHMI, Ph.D

Department of Library and Information Science

ANDHRA UNIVERSITY

VISAKHAPATNAM 530 003, INDIA

2007

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the research work entitled Role of College Libraries in Career Guidance: a Study of Government and Autonomous Colleges Affiliated to Andhra University submitted by me for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Library and Information Science of Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, is original and it has not been submitted earlier in part or full to this or any other University, for degree, diploma or prize..

Place: Visakhapatnam

(MOLY T.M)

Date:Lecturer in Library & Information Science

CH.S.D.ST. Theresas College for Women

Eluru

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the thesis entitled Role of College Libraries in Career Guidance: a Study of Government and Autonomous Colleges Affiliated to Andhra University was carried out by Moly T.M. under my guidance and I am satisfied that this thesis is worthy of consideration for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Libray and Information Science. This work is original and to the best of my knowledge this thesis or any part thereof has not been submitted for the award of any degree, diploma, associateship, or other similar titles.

Place: Visakhapatnam

(Dr. R.S.R. Varalakshmi)

Date:

Research Director

Department of Libray and Informaiton Science

Andhra University Visakapatnam

DEDICATED TO

MY DEAR AND NEAR ONES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am deeply indebted to my guide Dr. R.S.R. Varalakshmi, Professor of the Department of Library and Information Science, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. The rich fund of knowledge and experience of Dr. R.S.R. Varalakshmi has been of immense use in this research work. In all phases of the study, she has willingly and patiently guided me and enabled me to complete the study.

I am thankful to Mrs. J. Vijayakumari, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Library and Information Science, Andhra University and Prof. K. Somasekhara Rao, Chairman, P.G. Board of Studies in Library and Information Science, Andhra University and the other faculty members of the Department of Library and Information Science Dr. C. Sasikala, Professor and Honorary Librarian, Dr.V.S.K Library, A.U, Dr. P. Bhaskara Rao, Associate Professor and Dr. N. David Livingstone, Associate Professor for their assistance. A word of thanks to them will certainly not convey my deep sense of appreciation for their goodness.

I am indebted to University Grants Commission (India) for giving me this opportunity to do this work under their Faculty Improvement Programme.

I acknowledge my deep sense of gratitude to all the Principals and Librarians of the Government and autonomous colleges affiliated to Andhra University for their help and cooperation.

I extent my sincere thanks to the Principal, Dr. Sr. Thressia Cherian, Correspondent, Dr. Sr. Marietta Pudota and Vice Principal Sr.Marietta Dmello of St. Theresas Autonomous College For Women, Eluru, for giving me this opportunity.

I take this opportunity to thank all the staff of Dr.V.S.K. Library, A.U for their co-operation and support in completing this research work.

I honestly appreciate the help, encouragement, moral support and personal sacrifice extended by my family members.

Moly T.M

CONTENTS

Page No.

CHAPTER- 1

INTRODUCTION: THE CONCEPT OF CAREER GUIDANCE

1-17

1.0. Introduction

1.1. Career development: an overview

1.2. Related Terminology

1.3. Career guidance in Higher Education Institutions

1.4. Role of libraries

1.5. Need for the study

1.6. Chapterisation

1.8. Conclusion

References: Chapter 1

CHAPTER- 2:

CAREER GUIDANCE TRENDS A BRIEF GLOBAL REVIEW 18-55

2.0. Introduction

2.1. Evolution of the concept and overview of development

2.2. Principles of Career Guidance

2.3. Objectives of Career/Vocational Guidance and Counseling

2.4. Career Guidance Services

2.5. Methods of disseminating occupational/career information

2.6. Conclusion

References: Chapter 2

CHAPTER- 3

CAREER GUIDANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION:

ROLE OF COLLEGE LIBRARIES

56-106

3.0. Introduction

3.1. Career guidance and higher education: an overview

3.2. Career guidance and higher education in India

3.3. Role of college libraries

3.4. Library as a Career Information center

3.5. Nature of career information collection

in higher education institutions

3.6. Organization of career information in libraries

3.7. Career Information services in higher education institutions

3.8. Role of librarian in the knowledge society

3.9. Role of college librarian in Career information

3.10. Conclusion

References: Chapter 3

CHAPTER - 4

LITERATURE REVIEW, STUDY DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 107-130

4.0 Introduction

4.1. Literature review

4.2. Study Design

4.3 The Study area

4.4. Objectives

4.5. Hypotheses

4.6. Scope

4.7. Sample

4.8. Methodology

4.9. Limitations

References: Chapter 4

CHAPTER -5

ROLE OF LIBRARIES IN CAREER GUIDANCE:

ANALYSIS OF DATA

131-305

5.1.0. Need and importance of career information in the knowledge era

5.1.1Nature of college

5.1.2 Medium of instruction

5.1.3 Strength of the College

5.1.4 Academic programs and courses

5.1.5 Year of establishment of the college libraries

5.1.6 Working Hours

5.1.7. Finance

5.1.8. Organizational structure: Library Committee and the role of librarian

5.1.9. Information sources

5.1.10. Technical processing

5.1.11. Information services

5.1.13. Location of the library

5.1.14. Information technology infrastructure

5.1.15. Career Guidance Cell in colleges

5.1.16. Visit to library for career information

5.1.17. Use of Internet for career guidance

5.1.18. Methods adopted to provide career information in colleges where

there is no career guidance cell

5.1.19. Career information sources

5.1.20. Guidance Activities and college libraries

5.1.21. Librarian has role in career guidance activities in colleges

5.1.22. Personal characteristics required for a librarian to offer career guidance

5.1.23. Soft skills

5.1.24. Librarian as career guide

5.1.25. Career guidance programs, problems of implementation

5.1.26. Comparison with existing guidelines for career guidance (CCEAP)

5.1.27. Conclusion

5.2. Role of College Library in Career Guidance: Students Opinion

5.2.1. Samplesize

5.2.2. Response rate to questionnaire

5.2.3. Collection of data

5.2.4. Analysis of data

5.2.5 Career Information Service

5.2.6. Role of library in career guidance

5.2.7. Role of librarian in career guidance

5.2.8 Suggestions

CHAPTER - 6

SUMMARY, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

306-330

6.0. Summary of Research Findings

6.1 Findings of the study on role of college libraries in career guidance

6.2. Testing of hypotheses

6.3 Suggestions

6.4. Career guidance cell for a college library: proposed model

6.5. Conclusions

BIBLIOGRAPHY

331-339

ANNEXURE

i-xix

PREFACE

In our contemporary society career guidance is gaining importance as education is expanding its frontiers making it difficult for an individual student to make a choice of courses and careers without expert guidance. Occupational scene too is changing so rapidly that due to the development in computer and communication technologies. Knew vistas of knowledge are opening due to fission and fusion of various subjects. Quite a number of students are at the threshold of the college or university is not skilled in managing their own affairs. They lack self-awareness which may enable them to form realistic life-goals and plans. Career guidance programme needs to be well organized in higher educational institutions to meet the varied needs of the students. It is the felt need of the hour and college libraries can play a pivotal role in this field as it contains the vast ocean of knowledge which is organized and made available to the students at their convenience. The present study is an attempt to find out the resources and infrastructure available in college libraries to provide career information to students and also to see the role of libraries in other career guidance activities of the colleges. 40 college libraries under Government and private aided autonomous colleges affiliated to Andhra University, Visakhapatnam have been selected to assess the role of libraries in career guidance.

User satisfaction is an obvious measure to evaluate the performance of the libraries. Therefore, the present work seeks to study the provision of library services and the utility of the same by the under graduates. Literature search revealed that career guidance activities in western countries are much ahead of developing countries. In India the development is slow even though authorities are issuing guidelines to educational institutions in this regard it is not taken up effectively. Keeping in view the state-of-the- art, suggestions have been made to improve the situation in the present day college environment.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS USED

AACR

: Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules

APA

: American Psychological Association

A.P

: Andhra Pradesh

APSCHE

: Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education

AUCET

: Andhra University Common Entrance Test

B.A

: Bachelor of Arts

B.Com

: Bachelor of Commerce

B.Ed

: Bachelor of Education

B.L.I.Sc

: Bachelor of Library and Information Science

B.Sc

: Bachelor of Science

CAS

: Current Awareness Services

CAT

: Computerized Adaptive Testing

CC

: Colon Classification

CCC

: Classified Catalogue Code

CCE

: Commissioner of Collegiate Education

CCIS

: Curricular/Career Information Services

CD-ROM

: Compact Disc Read Only Memory

CIDS

: Career Information Delivery System

CIG

: Career Information and Guidance

DDC

: Dewey Decimal Classification

DSC

: District Selection Commission

DVD

: Digital Versatile Disc

EDCET

: Education Common Entrance Test

E-print

: Electronic print

ETS

: Educational Testing services

GET

: Graduate Employability Test

GMAT

: Graduate Management Admission Test

GRE

: Graduate Record Examination

HE

: Higher Education

IAS

: Indian Administrative Services

ICT

: Information Communication Technology

ICET

: Integrated Common Entrance Test

IFS

: Indian Foreign Services

IME

: Indian Marine Engineering

INE

: Indian Navy Entrance Exam.

IPS

: Indian Police Services

IT

: Information Technology

ITES

: Information Technology Enabled Services

LCD

: Liquid Crystal Display

LSAT

: Scholastic Assessment Test

M.A

: Master of Arts

MBA

: Master of Business Administration

MCA

: Master of Computer Application

M.Com

: Master of Commerce

M.L.I.Sc

: Master of Library and Information Science

M.Sc

: Master of Science

NAAC

: National Assessment and Accreditation Council

NCERT

: National Council of Education Research and Training

NDA

: National Defence Academy

NET

: National Eligibility Test

OPAC

: Online Public Access Catalogue

PO

: Probationary Officer

RBI

: Reserve Bank of India

RRB

: Railway Recruitment Board

SLET

: State Level Eligibility Test

OECD

: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

SAT

: Scholastic Assessment Test

SDI

: Selective Dissemination of Information

SME

: Small Medium Enterprises

TOEFL

: Test of English as a Foreign Language

UGC

: University Grants Commission

UK

: United Kingdom

UNESCO

: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UPSC

: Union Public Service Commission

USA

: United States of America

LIST OF TABLES

Table No.

Title

Page No.

5.1.1

Response rate to the questionnaire

135

5.1.2

Nature of College

136

5.1.3

Medium of instruction

137

5.1.4

Faculty strength of the colleges

138

5.1.5

Total number of students

139

5.1.6

Year of establishment of the library

141

5.1.7

Working hours of the college

142

5.1.8

No. of working hours in college libraries

143

5.1.9

Circulation hours of the Library

144

5.1.10

Lunch break and library hour

145

5.1.11

The Sources of Grant in College Libraries

146

5.1.12

Percentage of library budget allocated out of the total college

budget during the period 2003-2004 to 2004-2005

148

5.1.13

Budgetary details of college libraries

from 2003 2004 & 2004 2005

149

5.1.14

Staff Pattern in college libraries

151

5.1.15

Qualifications of Library Staff in colleges

152

5.1.16

Details of Experience of Library staff in Colleges

153

5.1.17

Strength of Reference Book in College Libraries

156

5.1.18

No. of Current Periodical Subscription in College Libraries

158

5.1.19

No. of News Papers available in the libraries

159

5.1.20

Availability of Audio-visual material in college libraries

160

5.1.21

Classification system in college libraries

162

5.1.22

Cataloguing work in college libraries

163

5.1.23

Provision of information services in College libraries

167

5.1.24

Location of college libraries

168

5.1.25

Reading Accommodation in College Libraries

169

5.1.26

IT infrastructure in the college libraries

171

5.1.27

Career Guidance cell in colleges

173

5.1.28

Career Guidance cell and college libraries

174

5.1.29

Librarian as a collaborator in college career guidance activities175

5.1.30

Librarian as a member in the college career guidance cell

176

5.1.31

Other members of career guidance cell in the college

177

5.1.32

No. of Students visit the library for career guidance in a week178

5.1.33

No. of Students who use internet for career guidance in a week179

5.1.34

Career services provided by the librarians

own interest where there is no career guidance cell

181

5.1.35

Sources available for career guidance in the college libraries182

5.1.36 Topics in which literature available for career guidance

in college libraries

184

5.1.37

Resources available for career guidance in college libraries

186

5.1.38

Periodicals subscribed by the college libraries for

career guidance

188

5.1.39

Availability of resources to prepare for Entrance tests

190

5.1.40

Competitive tests for which guidance is given by the

college librarians

191

5.1.41

Guidance activities in the college library

193

5.1.42

Assistance in organizing workshops/seminars on

soft skills in college libraries

195

5.1.43

Opinion of librarians regarding their role in Career guidance196

5.1.44

Type of librarians role in career guidance

197

5.1.45

Level of collaboration of librarian in Career guidance in colleges198

5.1.46

Personal characteristics required of a librarian

to offer career guidance

199

5.1.47

Soft skills required for the librarian

205

5.1.48

Librarians opinions in support of librarian as career guide

211

5.1.49

Problems of library in providing career guidance

217

5.2.1

Sample size

227

5.2.2

Distribution of Responses received from the degree

college students

228

5.2.3

Visit to the college library

233

5.2.4

Visit to libraries other than the college library

234

5.2.5

Purpose of visiting the library

238

5.2.6

Time spend in each visit

241

5.2.7a

Rank Distribution of information sources used by students

243

5.2.7b

Chi-square values for Table 5.2.7a

243

5.2.8

Rank Distribution of information services used by students

246

5.2.9

Level of satisfaction in the use of library facilities

250

5.2.10

Use of Internet by the student community

255

5.2.10.1Use of internet at college

256

5.2.10.2Use of Internet facility in the college library

257

5.2.10.3Use Internet at home

259

5.2.10.4Use Internet at browsing centre

260

5.2.10.5Browsing of websites for career information

261

5.2.11

Students interest in Career Development

263

5.2.12

Career goal

265

5.2.13

Awareness of different courses

266

5.2.14

Preparation for Competitive Examinations

268

5.2.15

Availability of resources in the library to prepare

for competitive examination

270

5.2.16

Visit to libraries other than the college library

for career information

271

5.2.17

Awareness of different job opportunities in the market

273

5.2.18

Knowledge about resume preparation

274

5.2.19

Preparation for facing an interview

275

5.2.20

Helpfulness of Internet to get career information

276

5.2.21

Need assistance to browse internet for career information

278

5.2.22

College Career guidance cell

281

5.2.22.1Organization of seminars on career counseling,

interview technique, personality development, resume writing etc. 282

5.2.22.2Attended the sessions

283

5.2.22.3Usefulness of the session

284

5.2.22.4Content of the session

285

5.2.22.5Presentation of the session

286

5.2.22.6Competence of the Staff

287

5.2.23

Availability of career information in the college library

288

5.2.24

Availability of career collection in the college library

291

5.2.25

Assistance of library staff to find career information

292

5.2.26

Expectations from college library for career information

293

5.2.27

Role of Librarian in career guidance

295

LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. No.

Title

Page No.

5.1.1

Response rate

135

5.1.2

Academic programmes and courses offered

140

5.1.3

Book strength in college libraries

155

5.1.4

Problems of library in providing career information

218

5.2.1

Students response rate to questionnaires

229

5.2.2

Response rate- gender wise, course wise and year wise 230

5.2.3

Students opinion on level of satisfaction of library facilities 248

5.2.4

Use of Internet rural and urban students

255

5.2.5

Availability of Internet in the library

258

5.2.6

Interested in career development

264

5.2.7

Aware of different courses

267

5.2.8

Preparing for competitive examinations

269

5.2.9

Need assistance to browse Internet for career information 279

5.2.10

Students opinion on role of librarian in career guidance 303

Chart 1

Colleges under Study

133

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION: THE CONCEPT OF CAREER GUIDANCE

1.0. Introduction:

The choice of career is possibly one of the most critical decisions of a persons life as it shapes ones future and determines ones lifestyle. Career is not a chance, it is a choice but most often it is made on the basis of chance and not by choice. Career is defined as the way of making a livelihood. It denotes the profession or vocation adopted by a person. A good career improves the standard of living of the person and also the members of dependent family. Once a person enters into adulthood he has to make a choice about his career. Sometimes the decision is made for him much earlier by somebody else by his parents or other relatives. Yet times the career decision is influenced by existing conditions in the society. In a communist society the state makes the decision. In an underdeveloped country the choice of career is mostly by chance. In a rural economy too people are not aware of different careers and how to prepare themselves to reach certain positions. Earlier career guidance was provided only in schools but now the need for it in higher education too realized.

Globalization and liberalization made the world a global village. Technological development especially in the field of information and communication helped to reach out to the people in the remote area of the world. These developments influenced the area of career guidance too. A nations greatest renewable resources are its human resource. India is poor in economic terms, but rich in intellect, skills and the spirit of enterprise. Since beginning of planning in India, the youth have been recognized as the most vital section of the community. Currently the Indian youth contributes in IT economy either through outsourcing or migration. Projections show that by 2020 all developed countries will be short of working age people. Even China, which had forced a decline in its birth rates, will experience shortfall in the proportion of working age people by 2020. However, India will have a huge surplus of 47 million people. Some other countries with (much smaller) surpluses will be Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Egypt. While this huge surplus in India should be a source of great concern, for jobs must be found for all these people, it is also Indias opportunity to provide knowledge-based services to the developed world. (Maira, 2002). This projection have been supported further by various statistics. India is set to overtake China as the world's most populous nation by 2050. Indias population is expected to grow from 1.08bn to 1.63bn people, overtaking China, which is forecast to reach 1.44bn from 1.3bn currently. India, will also have the highest working population in the World 700 million people out of 1.1 billion people are young; the young population will continue till 2050. (http://aligarh.nic.in/About-India.pps).

The statement of Chandrasekhar et al. (2006) explains the issue further

India is and for some time will remain one of the youngest countries in the world. A third of Indias population was below 15 years of age in 2000 and close to 20 per cent were young people in the 15-24 age groups. The population in the 15-24 age groups grew from around 175 million in 1995 to 190 million in 2000 and 210 million in 2005, increasing by an average of 3.1 million a year between 1995 and 2000 and 5 million between 2000 and 2005. In 2020, the average Indian will be only 29 years old, compared with the average age of 37 years in China and the US, 45 in west Europe and 48 in Japan. The demographic process, this implies, would create a large and growing labour force, which is expected to deliver spin-offs in terms of growth and prosperity through a number of routes. The most obvious positive effect is that a higher growth trajectory is not likely to run into bottlenecks set by labour inadequacy. Of course, this assumes that the growing workforce of youth can be trained to acquire the skills needed by the newer and technologically more dynamic industries.

To direct this large number of younger generation career guidance in higher education is important. However the focus on career development in the country is lopsided. There is variation between urban and rural and within the urban centers. There are, occasions where in students join for a course either without sufficient awareness or by compulsion, may be by parents. Such students neither have interest in the subjects nor an aptitude towards it. In future, these students neither want to go for further studies, nor they are eligible to take up a good job, due to lack of interest in the subject matter. Thus the human resources are wasted, which can be checked by giving them proper guidance, by initially recommending various courses for students with varied interests.

The youngster who seeks to make the most rational choice of career is faced nowadays with many obstacles and uncertainties, since the world of employment has become increasingly large, complex and specialized. Faced with the task of assessing his own abilities for a wide range of career possibilities, the youngster usually lacks adequate data on different careers, expert neutral guidance in career selection, and information about training in terms of quality, time and personal expertise. Although career planning by individuals and manpower planning by employers may be a never-ending process, career information is most useful and effective if it is available in the right form at the right time.

The secret of happy and successful life depend on ones career. It is our path and pace setter in life. With the boom in information technology, accessing knowledge and information on career have become easy, but at the same time it is difficult for an individual to take decisions about his job or further studies simply because of the overloaded information. In the age of Internet there has been dramatic increase in the availability and accessibility of information. However, the mere availability of information may not be of much use. Comprehension, use and application usually determine its impact. Under these circumstances they require guidance. Today the options and opportunities are unlimited. In such an environment the success and failure of ones life depends on how early and how well the person plan for his/her career. Hence the requirement for career guidance is felt in colleges and universities and necessary steps have been initiated to guide the youth in deciding their careers.

1.1. Career development: an overview

Career development helps people to focus on their ambitions, interests, qualifications and abilities. It helps them to understand the labour market and education systems, and to relate this to what they know about themselves. Comprehensive career development tries to teach people to plan and make decisions about work and learning. Career development is important in institutions of higher education because it helps the students to have a clear idea of career objectives, persist in their academic goals, gain career-related work experience, and find employment in their chosen fields and also to inculcate interest in life-long learning. A good quality guidance and better information can help most students to make correct career decisions when they complete their graduation. The massive structural changes that are taking place in the world of work at global level mean that high quality career guidance is important than ever before.

St. John-Brooks (1996) opined that Career guidance involves a large number of different activities, including giving information, advice and counselling; assessing individuals interests, attitudes, skills and aptitudes; advice on the choice of career; job-placement; and advocacy. Grubb (2002) stated that the knowledge revolution has changed the nature of work, shifting away from occupations rooted in industrial production to occupations associated with knowledge and information. This shift has both increased the skills required for new occupations and updated the three Rs (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic), shifting the skills required toward higher-order or core skills or key skills including communications skills, problem-solving, and reasoning the skills of the 21st century. Careers for all (Watts, 1998) is one of the keys to economic prosperity and social cohesion in the new millennium. Effective career information and guidance is the key to making lifelong learning a reality for all. They can help to make best use of human resources in the labour market as well as in education by allowing better matches between peoples skills and interests and available opportunities for work and learning.

Sinz, (2003) has made a detailed study on college graduates and concluded that the career development is a lifelong process that can be fostered through education programs at all levels, but specifically during the beginning of ones college years. It is very common for college freshmen to ponder about their choice of major and to pick a specific career during semester one of college. Therefore it is extremely important for colleges to offer career guidance aimed to help students make more informed and consequently better educational and career choices.

Therefore this study deals with career guidance at college level.

1.2. Related Terminology

There are many different terms used across the world in the field of career guidance. For the purpose of this study each of the terms is defined below.

1.2.1. Career:

Chambers dictionary (2000) define career as progress through life, ones profession or occupation; progress or advancement in ones profession or occupation

Concise Oxford English Dictionary (2004) define career an occupation for a significant period of a persons life, usually with opportunities for progress

According to Websters New World College Dictionary (2000) career is ones progress through life or in ones work.

According to Handbook of Career counseling by UNESCO (2002) career is the interaction of work roles and other life roles over a persons lifespan including both paid and unpaid work in an individuals life. People create career patterns as they make decisions about education, work, family and other life roles.

Rogets Thesaurus (1995) gives the meaning for career an activity pursued as a livelihood.

1.2.2. Career awareness service:

According to Jalaja and Dineshan Koovakkai (1997) Career Awareness Service is a sort of reference service. It provides information regarding a particular job on request. In this sense Career Awareness Service is a Current Awareness Service. It alerts the potential candidates, to the current employment opportunities in various sectors.

1.2.3. Career counseling:

Career counseling helps individuals to achieve greater self-awareness, develop a life/work direction, increase their understanding of learning and work opportunities and become more self-directed in managing learning, work and transitions. Career counseling facilitates the acquisition of skills, interests, beliefs, values, work habits and personal qualities enabling each participant to create a satisfying life in constantly changing cultural, social and work environments. UNESCO (2002)

According to Canadian Career Development Foundation (2002) Career Counseling refers to an individual or group process that emphasizes self-awareness and understanding, and facilitates persons to develop a satisfying and meaningful life/work direction as a basis to guide learning, work and transition decisions, as well as to manage responses to changing work and learning environments over the lifespan.

1.2.4. Career development:

Career development is a term that enjoys rather wide usage in the professional literature of the day. In most instances, it refers to a specific theory of occupational choice by which individuals make career decisions and the sequences by which careers are built.

According to Handbook on career counseling published by UNESCO, "career development is the total constellation of economic, sociological, psychological, educational, physical and chance factors that combine to shape ones career (Sears,1982).

Career development is the total constellation of psychological, sociological, education, physical, economic, and chance factors that combine to influence the nature and significance of work in the total lifespan of any given individual (Maddy-Berstein, C., 2000).

1.2.5. Career exploration:

Dictionary of education (1973) defines career exploration as investigative activities or inquiries undertaken inside and outside the classroom to search out the necessary information about a future occupational or professional interest or goal.

1.2.6. Career guidance:

Dictionary of education (1973) defines career guidance as career planning based on a students values, needs, interests and abilities and involving various information resources.

According to International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance (1992) Career guidance refers to assistance given to individuals, or groups of individuals, in addressing problems related to occupational and life choices, offering full opportunities for personal development and work satisfaction. Career guidance is a continuous process, the fundamental principles of which is the same irrespective of the age of the individuals involved, and with due regard for the characteristics of those individuals and their opportunities.

1.2.7. Career guidance services:

World Bank (2003) in its report mentions that Information, guidance and counseling services (hereafter referred to as career guidance services) comprise services intended to assist individuals, of any age and at any point throughout their lives, to make educational, training and occupational choices and to manage their careers. These services are an integral part of lifelong learning (World Bank, 2002) and may include services in schools, in universities and colleges, in public employment services, in companies, and in the voluntary and private sectors. The services may be on an individual or group basis, and may be face-to-face or at a distance (including web-based services). They include career information (in print, ICT-based and other forms), assessment and self-assessment tools, counseling interviews, career education programs and work taster programs.

1.2.8. Career information:

Dictionary of Education (1973) defined Career information as any information, occupational, educational or personal-social that has implications for an individuals career decision-making activities at any time in his life.

According to Canadian Career Development Foundation (2002) Career Information is information related to the world of work that can be useful in the process of career development, including educational, occupational and psycho-social information related to working (e.g., job search, availability of training, the nature of work, the status of workers in different occupations).

1.2.9. Career information service:

According to Jalaja and Dineshan Koovakkai (1997) Career Information Service refers to that sort of information service which is aimed at providing the occupational information such as entry qualification and skills, initial training requirements, employment situation, job content etc., to those who are in search of a suitable employment.

1.2.10. Career planning:

Career planning refers to the experiences provided, students, both group and individual, which are designed to help them understand, analyze and select a personal career goal. A definition of this kind suggests the input of the total information, counseling and placement services of a guidance program.

Dictionary of Education (1973) defines Career planning as the development by the student, with the assistance of counselors and teachers, of well considered steps in his progression toward entry into a specific job or profession; a process which unfolds at varying rates for different individuals.

1.2.11. Counseling:

Handbook of Career Counseling defines counseling as actively listening to an individuals story and communicating understanding, respect and empathy; clarifying goals and assisting individuals with the decision-making process. Counseling is a mutual relationship between a counselor (a professionally trained helper) and a client (a consumer of counseling services). (UNESCO, 2002)

1.2.12. Guidance:

According to The new Encyclopaedia Britanica (2002) Guidance is the process of helping an individual to discover and develop his educational vocational and psychological potentialities and thereby to achieve an optional level of personal happiness and social usefulness.

According to Websters New World College Dictionary of the English language Guidance is an act of guiding or direction or something that guides; advice or assistance, as that given to students by vocational or educational counselors.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary (2004) mentions guidance as advice or information aimed at resolving a problem or difficulty

According to Baquer Mehdi (1966) guidance is the process which is concerned with the development of the total personality of the individual and the welfare of the society. He says it is a developmental process or activity aiming at

1. Developing an individuals potentialities in such a way that he is able to understand himself and his environment as well as his relationship with his environment which enables him to successfully face the reality.

2. Helping the individual in such a way that he constantly makes efforts on developing his own self and achieves success.

Bhatnagar (1966) mentioned that guidance services have four functions to perform.

1. Helping the students solve their problems, understand and interpret their environment including its events, people and things correctly and take correct decision and make right choices.

2. Helping every student in such a way that he is able to achieve maximum satisfaction in life and contributes his best to the progress of the society.

3. Helping the students in such a way that they are able to develop their potentialities which contribute to their future adjustment in lifes situations.

4. Helping each and every student in developing his physical, mental, emotional, social and ethical, i.e. every aspect of his life to the fullest.

He considers guidance as an essential aspect of education.

1.3. Career guidance in Higher Education Institutions

Educators are constantly searching for better ways to serve students to achieve academic and technical skills; helping them to understand themselves and their direction in life; to meeting their emotional, social and mental needs. Changing nature of society today requires a constant updating of skills and knowledge through a flexible process of lifelong learning. The need for a coordinated and comprehensive career guidance program has grown as a result of the greater variety of jobs and skills required in modern society and greater awareness of how widely people differ in interests and abilities. For the overall development of personality of individual, one must have self knowledge so that he can understand his own abilities, aptitudes, intelligence and personality in order that he can choose his own path. After the completion of graduation, most of the individuals find themselves at the cross roads. Having right choices in the selection of courses from the beginning will help one to get proper employment and to achieve success in life. Hence career guidance in higher educational institutions is the need of the hour. A systematic career guidance and information services may result in a drastic reduction of the wastage that occurs at many levels of educational and occupational ladder. This also helps to reduce dissatisfaction and frustration in students.

To face the ground realities the University Grant Commission (UGC) (India) has given the green signal to a plethora of value-added, job-oriented diploma programmes in colleges and varsities. Higher education institutions welcomed UGCs project and started many vocational courses to meet the employment requirement in the country. Career Guidance cell is established in colleges to provide career advisory service to students. Guidance cell help students to clarify career goals, to understand the world of work and develop career-management skills;

It also provide personal advice, guidance or counseling to assist with decisions about initial courses of study, courses of vocational training, further education and training, initial job choice etc.

1.4. Role of libraries in career guidance

Libraries can play a much important role in imparting career guidance. In formal education, library is described as heart of education. The library system in higher education is committed to provide independent learning environment to student. From the book houses the libraries have gone to an individual residence to share the shelves of knowledge. Therefore, it can be inferred that the success of career guidance in educational institutions depends upon the efficient library system. Therefore the system of education has to take care of strengthening the library system and thus disseminate career information.

Librarians with their abilities in knowledge organization and dissemination skills can play a profound and enduring role in encouraging and assisting young people to follow their hearts and to pursue their dreams. In developing countries like India college librarians can play a major role in the career development of the youth who comes to the library for guidance and support in their study and to prepare for their future career opportunities.

1.5. Need for the study

In this knowledge society career development became an important concept in life long learning and life long work. Review of literature reveals that a few studies on the subject have been made in India, but not a single systematic study has been made to identify the role of college libraries and librarian in career guidance. This study aimed at exploring and understanding the role of college libraries in career guidance and also to find the hindrances faced by them in higher education institutions in providing career information to students. This study may help to create awareness among the college management the vital role a library can play in career guidance and among librarians to identify what more they can do in serving the user communities and how they can create an imprint in the life of the youth under their care.

1.6. Chapterisation

This study has been organized in 6 chapters.

Chapter 1. (The present chapter) deals with introduction: the concept of career guidance.

Chapter 2. Career guidance trends a brief global review.

Chapter 3. Career guidance in higher education: role of college libraries.

Chapter 4. Literature review and methodology.

Chapter 5. Role of libraries in career guidance: analysis of data.

Chapter 6. Findings, summary and suggestions.

1.8. Conclusion

Library is the logical location for the storage of most of the information needed to provide career information service. As new occupations are created in areas such as information technology and multimedia and as existing jobs change, previously reliable sources of information need to be re-evaluated. Better and timelier ways need to be found for young people and those who advise them to learn about the realities of work and jobs. In such a labour market career guidance is important in helping young people to understand themselves; in developing the tools that they need to understand available work opportunities; and developing the skills that they need to link themselves to these opportunities. Rapid developments in information technology such as World Wide Web and multi media have created exciting new possibilities for sharing information and providing career guidance. The modern college libraries are well equipped with information and also they have the means to access information, so they are in a better position in assisting and guiding the students at college level and university level.

REFERECES

1. Baquer Mehdi (1966). Some misunderstandings about vocational guidance. Naya Shikshak, The quarterly journal of the Department of Education, 9(1), 39-40 (Tr). Quoted In R.P. Bhatnagar, and Seema Rani. (2003) Guidance and Counseling in Education and Psychology. Meerut: Surya Publication.

2. Bhatnagar, R.P. (1966). Guidance services in education. Naya Shikshak, The quarterly journal of the Department of Education, 9(1), 32-38 (Tr). Quoted In R.P.Bhatnagar & Seema Rani. (2003) Guidance and Counseling in Education and Psychology. Meerut: Surya Publication.

3. Canadian Career Development Foundation. (2002). Career development a primer and a glossary. Canada: Canadian Career Development Foundation. Retrieved August 12, 2005, from World Wide Web http://www.ccdf.ca

4. The Chambers Dictionary (2000). New Delhi: Allied Chambers (India) Limited.

5. Chandrasekhar, C P; Ghosh, Jayati & Roychowdhury, Anamitra (2006). The demographic dividend and young Indias economic future. Economic and Political Weekly December 9, 5055-5064.

6. Concise Oxford English Dictionary (11th ed.). (2004). New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

7. Goetz, P.W. (Ed) (2002) New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th ed. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica.

8. Grubb, Norton W. (2002) Who am I: the inadequacy of career information in the information age A paper prepared for an OECD review of policies for information, guidance and counselling servicesCommissioned jointly by the European Commission and the OECD. Retrieved June 15, 2005, from World Wide Web http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/35/1954678.pdf.

9. India: Truth alone triumphs. Retrieved April 20, 2007, from World Wide Web http://aligarh.nic.in/About-India.pps.

9. International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance (1992). Important documents concerning vocational guidance and counselling. Educational and Vocational Guidance Bulletin, 53, 46-65.

10. Jalaja, V & Dineshan Koovakkai. (1997). Career Awareness Service in Libraries: a proposal. Kelpro Bulletin, 1(1), 16-19.

11. John-Brooks, Caroline St. (1996). Educational and Career Guidance: What Works [Electronic version]. The OECD Observer, 202, 37-40

12. Maddy-Bernstein, C. (2000). Career development issues affecting secondary schools. The Highlight Zone: Research @ Work, 1, 1-8. Retrieved September, 21, 2002, from: http://nccte.org/publications/infosynthesis/highlightzone/highlight0l/index.asp Quoted In Sinz, Amber A. (2003). Factors that influence career uncertainty in college freshmen: Research Paper,p.4 Retrieved July 15, 2005, from World Wide Web http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/thesis/2003/2003sinza.pdf.

13. Maira, Arun (2002). Incredible young India inside. Retrieved March 21, 2007 from World Wide Web http://www.tourismofindia.com/misc/newsnortheast.htm.

14. Philosophical Society. (1961). Oxford English dictionary. London: Philosophical Society.

15. Sears, S. 1982. A Definition of career guidance terms: A national vocational guidance association perspective, Vocational Guidance Quarterly, 31, 137-143. Quoted In United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2002). Handbook on career counseling: A practical manual for developing, implementing and assessing career counselling services in higher education settings, Follow-up to the World Conference on Higher Education (Paris 5-9 October 1998). Paris: UNESCO. Retrieved April 28, 2005, from World Wide Web http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001257/125740e.pdf.

16. Sinz, Amber A. (2003). Factors that influence career uncertainty in college freshmen: Research Paper. Retrieved July 15, 2005, from World Wide Web http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/thesis/2003/2003sinza.pdf.

17. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2002). Handbook on career counseling: A practical manual for developing, implementing and assessing career counselling services in higher education settings, Follow-up to the World Conference on Higher Education (Paris 5-9 October 1998). Paris: UNESCO. Retrieved April 28, 2005, from World Wide Web http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001257/125740e.pdf

18. Watts, A.G. (1998) Reshaping career development for the 21st century. Retrieved March 2, 2006, from World Wide Web http://www.derby.ac.uk/cegs/publications/rescareer.PDF

19. Websters New World College Dictionary (4th ed.). (2000). New Delhi: Wiley-Dreamtech India.

20. World Bank (2002). Lifelong learning in the global knowledge Economy: Challenges for developing Countries. Washington, DC: World Bank. Quoted In World Bank (2003) Public policies for career development: policy strategies for designing career information and guidance systems in middle-income and transition economies. Washington, DC: World Bank, p.2. Retrieved August 3, 2005, from World Wide Web

http://www1.worldbank.org/education/lifelong_learning/pdf/Final%20report%20draft%2012.pdf.

23. World Bank (2003) Public policies for career development: policy strategies for designing career information and guidance systems in middle-income and transition economies. Washington, DC: World Bank. Retrieved August 3, 2005, from World Wide Web

http://www1.worldbank.org/education/lifelong_learning/pdf/Final%20report%20draft%2012.pdf.

Chapter 2

CAREER GUIDANCE TRENDS A BRIEF GLOBAL REVIEW

2.0. Introduction

The contemporary work environment is complex and multifaceted and necessitates career guidance to young adults. In some countries a programme of long-term preparation for career choice is an integral part of the framework of education. For e.g. USA. Most career orientation courses present work as an important part of an individuals life. These courses help students to make a realistic choice both by theoretical study and practical experimentation. Career guidance programmes may be considered as forming a bridge between world of education and world of work.

2.1. Evolution of the concept and overview of development

Industrial revolution brought forth many changes in the society like division of labour and complexities in work. In the first place industrial revolution became the cause for changes in modes of working, living and thinking, which made career guidance an essential factor in educational institutions.

Thus the concept is old but informal. In the ancient times, guidance was given to the young by elders or parents in the family. Even today, in our society parents and elders make decision for the young ones.

It is difficult to trace the beginnings of vocational guidance. Many persons have appreciated vocational guidance through reading Platos Republic and yet have done nothing to work out any plan. In 1670, Pascal stated the importance of a wise choice of occupation.

Guidance, as an organized professional activity, dates back to 1905 and the credit for the same goes to Frank Parsons of Boston, U.S.A. At the end of his career, Parsons actively engaged himself in social work in a Boston settlement house where he worked directly with young people struggling to find work for themselves. He helped to find the Vocation Bureau and wrote his classic Choosing a Vocation. Parsons work made him to be the pioneer in the guidance movement in America. He used this term for aiding young people in choosing their vocations and preparing for them. But, at that time, i.e. in the earlier stages of vocational guidance it was confined only to giving of occupational information. During the third and the fourth decades of 20th century, however, state government in America gave recognition to guidance and implemented its programmes. After the II world war progress of guidance services in America became more rapid and US Office of Education and US Employment Service helped considerably in the rapid expansion of guidance movement.

The word vocational guidance first appeared in print, according to the best evidence available, in a brief report dated May 1, 1908, by Frank Parsons, director of the Vocation Bureau of Boston, Mass (Allen, 1927). The bureau was organized in January, 1908, as an endowed enterprise connected with the Civic Service House of North Boston. The earliest reference to educational guidance found in the Readers Guide dated April, 1912. The reference was to an editorial bearing this title in the Elementary School Teacher. However, this editorial was not correctly named since it dealt wholly with vocational guidance as it was then defined.

Credit for the earliest serious use and discussion of educational guidance as something different from vocational guidance belong to Truman L. Kelley, (1914) whose Doctoral dissertation entitled Educational Guidance was published in 1914. Kelleys purpose was to develop a more scientific method of classifying high school students. He was interested in making it possible to determine, before courses in high school are taken, what the probable ability of the pupil in question will be in them. In using the term educational guidance he was thinking in terms of aiding the pupil in the selection of high school subjects. He looked upon this as a basis for later vocational guidance. The term moral guidance have found its way into educational literature in 1912 when Jesse B. Davis (1912) presented before the National Education Association a paper entitled Vocational and Moral Guidance through English Composition. In more recent years the terms civic, social, health, recreational religious, and leadership as applied to guidance have come into use. All these terms, having grown out of vocational guidance, can be understood better if there is a clear understanding of the original term.

2.1.1 Career guidance movement in different countries:

The provision of career information and guidance through out a citizens life has become an issue of great importance worldwide, as societies prepare themselves to meet the challenges that the transition to knowledge-based economies represents.

2.1.1.1. USA

Since 1910 a number of professional organizations made significant contributions to the development of guidance movement in America. The National Education Association helped a lot in giving adequate recognition to guidance during annual conventions of this association. The National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education conducted and published vocational surveys and urged legislation to promote vocational education. The efforts of these agencies were rewarded through the passage of an act in 1917 which provided federal aid to certain types of vocational education in public schools. The first national conference on vocational guidance was held at Boston in 1910 when the National Vocational Guidance Association came into being to meet the educational needs of guidance at the higher secondary level.

During the next twenty-five years, a large number of independent guidance associations were formed. The number of these associations was so large that a Council of Guidance and Personnel Association was set up in 1934 to co-ordinate their work. In 1951, it was felt necessary to co-ordinate separate associations specifically and exclusively interested in the guidance movement and to form another association of guidance workers. This was the beginning of the American Personnel and Guidance Association with the Personnel and Guidance Journal as its official magazine.

The World War I indirectly made a significant contribution to the development of guidance movement. It necessitated scientific selection and training of men. Intelligence tests had to be devised for use with many people at a time. A large section of the male population was given intelligence and other tests. Later, a number of studies were conducted which had significant implications for guidance. A number of aptitude tests were devised which further streamlined the guidance movement. Besides these, the measurement movement, introduction of cumulative records, the interesting improvement of personnel in their respective fields and the federal government assistance helped the guidance movement.

The emphasis in the beginning was on the vocational guidance and training and it did not take too long for the leaders to recognize the importance of educational guidance and training in preparation of a career. In 1914, Kelley made an analysis of the values of tests in helping a student to select a high school curriculum. He also stressed the role of educational guidance in vocational choice. Gradually, the concept of guidance expanded to include civic guidance, social guidance, religious guidance, recreational guidance and health guidance.

Today, there is a network of guidance clinics of different types and innumerable centers for the training of guidance personnel in U.S.A. The review and revision of guidance techniques and procedures are clear indications of the increasing popularity of guidance work in America. The guidance movement, in fact, has been the greatest single force in improving the educational practices in America where it has assumed the shape of an educational, social and cultural movement.

Vocational guidance is a simpler concept. The National Vocational Guidance Association has defined this term with great care. Whatever may be the reason, the mere fact that it is a more sharply defined and generally understood concept makes vocational guidance a good point of departure in considering other kinds of guidance.

Federal and state policies and legislation related to the provision of career services tend to be less comprehensive in colleges and universities. Although the Higher Education Act Amendments, for example, support the provision of career development services in colleges and universities, the impact is less apparent than the impact of professional policies and guidelines such as the CAS Standards and Guidelines for Student Services/Development Programs (1986) or the CAS Standards and Guidelines for Career Planning and Placement (1988). The Council for the Advancement of Standards (CAS) is a consortium of 21 professional associations in higher education that collectively devise and publish the standards and guidelines that recommend criteria for evaluating some 16 components of student services in colleges and universities, including components dealing with career planning and placement (Herr et al., 1993).

2.1.1.2 Great Britain:

It was accordingly at the turn of the 20th century that the first vocational guidance services began to appear both in the USA and in Europe (Brewer, 1942; Keller & Viteles, 1937). In the UK, the early services were focused exclusively towards young people, and were strongly placement-oriented: their concern was to help young people to make the transition to work. Following the II World War, these Juvenile Employment Officers were merged into a national Youth Employment Service, embracing young people up to 18, with central government providing the service, if local authorities chose not to do so. The service had responsibility not only for guidance and placement but also for the administration of unemployment benefit to young people (Heginbotham, 1951; Killeen & Kidd, 1996). Meanwhile, limited services began to appear within universities and schools. The origins of university appointment boards can be traced back to 1892; by the mid-1950s all universities had such a service, offering advisory interviews, information about careers, employers and jobs, and placement activities (UGC, 1964).

In schools, careers teachers were mentioned from the late 1920s, and by the 1960s were being widely appointed: their tasks included managing information and providing facilities and support for the work of the youth employment officer (Daws, 1972). In colleges of further education, career guidance services appeared more slowly, mainly because it was assumed that students had already made a vocational commitment prior to entry (Marks, 1975). It was in the 1960s and early 1970s that career guidance services began to develop in a more rapid and extensive way. The growth of educational and vocational options extended the range of choice for many young people, and increased the demand for help in making such choices. The Employment and Training Act 1973 transformed the Youth Employment Service into a Careers Service, and made it a statutory duty for Local Education Authorities to provide such a service. Responsibility for the administration of unemployment benefit was removed. Subsequently, recognition was given to the provision of guidance at appropriate stages during educational life, signaling a move away from a focus on the single point of transition to work. Youth employment officers were retitled as careers officers, and required to complete an approved full-time training course (Killeen & Kidd, 1996). A Europe-wide study of such services in higher education classified them in terms of the relative emphasis they attached to educational, vocational and personal guidance, and also in terms of whether they were part of the formal teaching function, were linked to this function but with some degree of specialization, or were separated from it and offered by specialists (Watts & Van Esbroeck, 1998). In further education, guidance pre-entry, on entry, during and on exit from learning programs has been mandated as part of the funding, audit and inspection mechanisms; in higher education, a quality-assurance framework for guidance and learning support based on the same broad four-stage model was developed by the Higher Education Quality Council (1995).

In Britain, counseling centers, guidance clinics and bureaus have been doing useful work and the guidance services are undergoing a rapid process of improvement, refinement and expansion. The remarkable progress made during the present century by people in the west in the fields of education, science, arts and industry is, to a large extent, the result of proper organization and utilization of their guidance services.

In UK, the Learn direct helpline was launched in February 1998; by the end of 2000 it had responded to over 2.4 million calls in two years (Watts & Dent, 2002). In principle, flexible but integrated use of helplines, websites and email, linked closely with face-to-face facilities, opens up new strategic opportunities for the delivery of career information and guidance. It means that individuals can initially access help in the form which is convenient and comfortable for them, and then where appropriate be moved on to other media to maintain the dialogue. A further dimension is likely to be added by the moves towards ready domestic access to videophones or interactive digital television. All of these could be regarded not as alternative services but as alternative portals into a wide, flexible and well-harmonized network of services. Public policy could proactively support such harmonization. (Watts, 2002)

2.1.1.3. Australia:

Vocational guidance was first advocated in Australia in the 1920s, but it was not accorded official recognition until 1930s. The state of New South Wales, containing the large industrial city of Sydney, made more progress than any other state.

World War II influenced guidance in Australia in several ways. To illustrate, the war directed attention to problems of scientific selection and placement of men and thus stimulated the further growth of psychological methods. The war also led to the development of new procedures by the Vocational Department of Labor and National Service and to the use of these procedures elsewhere. After the close of the war, the extensive testing and counseling of men being separated from the military services resulted an improvement in guidance techniques.

The success of psychological personnel work in the military services, the vocational guidance provided in the rehabilitation of service men and women, and the availability of counselors trained during the war and immediately thereafter-all, it was anticipated, will tend to make a permanent place for vocational guidance in postwar Australian life. Although the techniques used there are mainly those developed in the United States and England, a considerable amount of test construction is being carried on by such agencies as the Australian Counsel for Educational Research. (Humphreys & Traxler, 1954)

2.1.1.4 Canada:

The growth of vocational guidance in Canada has been considerably influenced by the guidance movement in the United States. Because the control of education in Canada is vested in the governments of the nine provinces, the development of vocational guidance in the schools has varied from one province to another. In the main, the provincial departments of education have formally recognized, developed, and directed vocational guidance only within the last ten to twelve years. However, the federal government has, to some extent, provided for the guidance of school children and youth through the dominion-Provincial Youth Training Program.

2.1.1.5. France:

National recognition of vocational guidance was first given by government decree in 1922. Under the decree, vocational guidance offices were established. They co-operated with the national public placement offices in a programme to place adolescents, particularly, in appropriate occupations. According to Humphreys & Traxler (1954) the National Institute of Vocational Guidance was founded in Paris in 1928 and was recognized by decree in 1930. It functions under the Division of Vocational Education and the Ministry of Education.

In France, just as it has in the United States, private philanthropy has influenced the development of guidance. The Chamber of Commerce of Paris, for example, has created a central office of vocational guidance for the benefit of all children leaving school. Vocational guidance in France is carried on under the supervision of the Ministry of Education and in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour.

2.1.1.6. Germany:

Different factors contributed to the origin and development of vocational guidance in Germany. An important factor so far as the guidance of women was concerned was exerted by forward-looking womens organizations; these groups, about 1900, created special information services for women who wished to get started in a vocation. Another important factor toward the provision of guidance was World War I. To meet wartime needs, the government set up a public agency that provided employment services and vocational guidance services, particularly for apprentices. The legal base for this agency was a government edict, issued in 1918.

For a number of years, both governmental and private agencies provided guidance in the field of employment. But in 1927 the government enacted the Unemployment Insurance Law. This law made vocational guidance an obligatory part of public employment services; it also stipulated that no chare was to be made for such services. The 1927 law tended to reduce the importance of the services offered by private agencies.

Prior to 1933, Germany developed a fairly extensive system of vocational guidance. The government established vocational guidance offices in more than 500 cities; many of these offices provided psychological services including aptitude testing. However, Germany failed to develop comprehensive vocational guidance programs in either its elementary or its secondary schools. (Humphreys and Traxler, 1954)

In the West German state, the development of guidance programmes in which objective information about individuals will be utilized has been stimulated by the establishment of centers for test construction and research.

2.1.1.7. Japan:

Vocational guidance in Japan has developed from two main sources. One of these is the Department of Education, its practical work having been conducted in the schools; and the other is the Department of Domestic Affairs, with the employment bureaus as its agency. Activities, therefore, are embraced in two phases: the work of the employment bureaus, which are seeking chiefly to assist in finding jobs and in after-care, and that of the schools, which function generally through educational guidance as well as preparatory vocational education. It must be added here that in Japan, because of the great scarcity of schools in the country, vocational guidance includes also educational guidance. (Keller & Viteles, 1937)

In 1922, the education department established a lecture class in vocational guidance; and in 1927 it formed a National Association of Vocational Guidance. In the 1920s the education and the domestic affairs departments reached an agreement on a program of vocational guidance; since then, they have worked cooperatively to carry out this program on a nation-wide basis.

2.1.1.8. China:

With the industrial and business development many new occupations came into existence and it became necessary for the individual to make a choice. Modern education, which is based on individual training for practical life, also has forced the problem of selection and preparation to the front. The need for guidance was soon felt, but it was not until 1919 that the term vocational guidance was formally introduced to the country by Education and Vocation, a monthly journal published by the National Association of Vocational Education of China.

A committee including some leading educators in the country was organized, and surveys of principal industries and leading educational institutions were started as a basis in actual guidance. In 1924, under the direction of the committee, a Vocational Guidance Week was held in each of the four cities, Shanghai, Nanking, Tsinan, and Wuchang, to arouse the interest of the educational world in guidance work. The program consisted of lectures to school officials as well as to students.

In 1927 the division of the association in charge of vocational guidance was transformed into a bureau and became known as the Shanghai Vocational Guidance Bureau. The work it aims to do embraces all phases of guidance, such as testing, training, counseling, placement, and follow-up. The bureau also gave importance to educational guidance too.

During the summer months, when preparations for transfers and admissions into schools and colleges have to be made, a large number of students seek information and guidance. Directories of schools and colleges are compiled every year, and personal interviews held with the applicants. In addition, lectures on educational guidance were given to students who are planning for a change in their educational program.

The first college to inaugurate guidance was Tsing Hua College (now Tsing Hua University) at Peking (now Peiping). In 1923 a Department of Vocational Guidance was organized to assist the students who, after graduation, were sent to the United States for advanced study in their selection of courses of study and institutions. Information about American institutions of higher learning was gathered and individual counseling given. But when the college was reorganized into a university, the department was abolished and the record of its work became history.

In 1934 the National Service Bureau for intellectual and Technical Employment was established under the Ministry of Education and the National Economic Council for the vocational adjustment of college graduates.

In 1984 W. Zhang introduced the concept of career counseling and addressed the importance of the development of career programs for high schools in China. In 1985, the Chinese Vocational Education Association began a column featuring career guidance and counseling in its journal, Education and Vocation. The journal then published a series of articles on career guidance and counseling models in Western countries. In 1987, workshops and seminars were organized by university professors and Chinese scholars returning from abroad to introduce career counseling and guidance at Beijing Normal University, Central China Normal University, and Shanghai Normal University. In 1987, the first National Conference on Career Guidance and Counseling was held in Shanghai, sponsored by the State Education Commission of China.

Career guidance and counseling were conducted through career guidance and counseling activities, including interest groups, competitions, career talks, career days, career rooms, psychological tests, and career counseling. In October 1990, the Second National Conference on Career Guidance was held in Shanghai, sponsored by the State Education Commission of China, the Chinese Vocational Education Association, and the Shanghai Education Bureau. In 1993, the Guangdong Province College of Education formed a research team on career guidance and counseling with support from the State Education Commission of China (Pope, 2002).

2.1.1.9. India:

As far as India is concerned, the techniques of guidance informal and incidental can be traced far back to ancient times. The Panchtantra and Jataka Tales are well-known for their moral stories, parables and question-answer techniques in learning. Even before the time of Socrates, these were used in India. The teacher taught relationship was that of Guru-Shishya. The word Guru means the one who guides.

While in America the guidance movement started as an attempt to fulfill the practical need of employers and teachers, in India it began as an academic discipline. Calcutta University was the first Indian University which introduced guidance as a section of its Department of Applied Psychology in 1936. Vocational guidance may be considered to have had its beginning with this effort of Calcutta University which attempted an analysis of certain occupations and classification of major occupations into four categories according to the level of intelligence and the type of abilities required to fill these jobs. From Calcutta the movement spread to Bombay. The programme of guidance was initiated in 1941 by Batliboi, a retired accountant; he established the Batliboi vocational guidance to the people. It was, perhaps, the first institution of this kind in the country. In 1945 Patna University set up the Department of Psychological services and research. Besides educational and vocational it helped students with the personal and social problems. Another landmark in this field was Parsi Panchayat Vocational Guidance Bureau established in 1947 in Bombay with the help of Indian Institute of Education and Headmasters Association of Bombay. The Bureau did a great deal of pioneering work in guidance. It was this bureau which organized a career conference for the first time to disseminate occupational information. It was also the first institution to organize a course for career masters. The Bureau also started publishing the Journal of Educational and Vocational Guidance which provided the guidance workers with a professional organ of communication and interchange of ideas and information regarding research and practice in the field.(Kochhar, 1984) In the same year as recommended by Acharya Narendradeo Committee Report on Education, the Government of UP established a Bureau of Psychology at Allahabad. One of its objectives was to provide educational and vocational guidance to the school going students of the state as well as to other young people in need of such help. It had a network of regional and district bureaus which at a later stage were closed down. The West Bengal (1953), Orissa (1955), Bihar, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh (1956) Rajasthan (1958), A.P and Assam (1964) Delhi (1965) also established such guidance bureaus. Earlier in 1954, the central government at Delhi had established a Central Bureau of Educational and Vocational Guidance. The Bureau of Vocational Guidance Bombay was set up in 1950 which placed emphasis on occupational information and vocational guidance unlike Uttar Pradesh Bureau of Psychology which emphasized programmes of educational guidance and development of psychological tests. The Vocational Guidance Bureau Bombay is now known as Institute of Vocational Guidance, Mumbai.

Besides these bureaus the National Employment Service provides guidance to young people seeking jobs. It has taken over the responsibility of collecting occupational information and disseminating it through its various employment units. In 1961-62 it initiated a program of employment service to university students. The Directorate of Employment and Training, a department of the Central Government has set up guidance section in a number of employment exchanges.

Central Bureau of Educational and Vocational Guidance: In 1954, the Ministry of Education, Government of India, set up the Central Bureau of Educational and Vocational Guidance in Delhi. The Bureau offered financial and technical assistance to different states to set up and expand their own bureaus. This Bureau also runs a 9-month course for guidance workers in counseling. At present the Bureau is functioning under National Council of Educational Research and Training.

Specific functions of the bureau include:

(i) Production and distribution of tools and aids serviceable for guidance work in schools.

(ii) Technical assistance in setting up educational and Vocational guidance bureau in the states.

(iii) Training guidance personnel, particularly psychologists and counselors.

(iv) Coordinating guidance activities throughout the country.

(v) Preparation of manuals dealing with educational and vocational guidance careers and occupations.

(vi) Coordinating with the Occupational Information Unit of the Directorate General of Resettlement and Employment in the preparation of occupational information material and its distribution in schools.

State Bureau of Educational and Vocational Guidance: These are established to perform the following functions:

(i) Organization of sample group guidance activities for a few schools.

(ii) Collection of occupational information and production of information material

(iii) Development and adaptation of translation of tests, questionnaires, check lists, etc.

(iv) Training of guidance workers.

(v) Planning, coordination and supervision of guidance service within the State

(vi) Consultative and field services.

University Grants Commission (UGC) (India): The University Grants Commission (UGC) is the apex body for the promotion of higher education in India. UGC was established in 1956 by an Act of Parliament (University Grants Commission Act, 1956) as a statutory body for the determination and maintenance of standards of teaching, examination and research in universities. In addition, it inquires into the financial needs of universities and allocates and disburses grants to universities and colleges. The UGC serves as a vital link between the Union and State Governments and the institutions of higher learning. India has one of the largest system of higher education in the world with 353 universities (which include 20 Central Universities, 217 State Universities, 106 deemed universities and 10 Private Universities) and 17625 colleges (as on 15-3-2007) spread across the country (www.ugc.ac.in). An outlay of Rs.3014 crores has been proposed in the 10th plan for promoting quality and relevance in higher education in the context of current socio-economic conditions. The aim is to initiate skill oriented add-on courses. The career development of students will be done by encouraging courses with professional focus. The UGC has already initiated a major programme of vocationalization at the undergraduate level in 35 subjects. (Planning Commission, 2001)

Although in some institutions certain aspects of the service are delivered through academic departments, traditionally career guidance has not seen as an important element of graduates education and in most cases is not integrated into curriculum.

The Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) came into existence on 20th May, 1988 through an Act (No. 16 of 1988) of the state legislature to advice the government in matters relating to Higher Education in the state and to over see its development with perspective planning and for matters connected therewith. The APSCHE, the first of its kind in the country, set up as per the recommendations of the National Educational Policy 1986, is primarily a coordinating and liaison body between the UGC and the State Government and the universities.

Andhra Pradesh Government has recognized the need for career guidance in colleges and the C.C.E (Commissioner of Collegiate Education), A.P., Hyderabad had issued guidelines in 1994 (Rc.No.3/Acad.cell-3/94) and later in 2000 (Rc.No.63/AC-III/2000 dated 18/5/2000) (Enclosed in Annexure III) to establish counseling wing and career guidance wing in the colleges and also send a letter bearing Rc.No.11/AC-1/2001 (Enclosed in Annexure IV) dated 11/4/2001 requesting the Principals to give a detailed report on structure and functioning of the Student Counseling Centre. The C.C.E in its 1994 guidelines given the following objectives

1. To guide the students through their learning problems.

2. To provide counseling to those who suffer from social and emotional problems.

3. To guide the students in identifying the abilities and aptitudes.

4. To guide the students in their opportunities in higher courses and future career.

5. To motivate the students for taking their studies earnestly.

Under the counseling cell structure it mentioned that librarian will be one of the members. And it specially mentioned that the librarian/lecturer incharge of library will collect all the information on higher courses and career opportunities. Again under functions it clearly given the information pertaining to all higher courses and career opportunities will be collected and displayed and discussed with the students.

C.C.E in its 2000 guidelines mentioned about starting of career guidance wing and here again it specially mentioned that librarian will be a member of the career guidance wing. Under career guidance wing it mentioned that information pertaining to higher educational avenues and employment opportunities shall be regularly collected and made available to the students. And it also mentioned that it is possible that this wing can be developed into a placement wing by interacting with the employment agencies around. Further, it also suggested creating a data bank of alumni to be developed so that it can be useful for development of the college in the long run. Another important suggestion worth mentioning is that it is highly essential to arrange regular guest lecturers/interaction on relevant topics by experts and officials concerned. And also co-curricular activities such as debates, public speaking, essay writing, quiz, mock interviews etc. shall be conducted to correct defects in students and to promote inborn talent in all students.

The Regional Joint Director of Collegiate Education, Rajahmundry in his letter bearing Rc.No.1152/A4/2002 dated 17/4/2002 requested the Principals of Government and aided colleges to open Career Guidance Corners in their colleges. From 2002-2003 career guidance and counseling cells have become effectively functional in many of the colleges.

Another notable development in the area of career development of students is that the Renaissance SoftLabs and APSCHE have come together to impart soft skills for students aspiring for professional careers and to train trainers (Hindu Business Line, Internet edition June 29, 2005). The APSCHE-Renaissance communication skills initiative is aimed at bringing industry, academia and students together on a common platform. This forms part of the effort to bring in convergence among various agencies aimed at consolidating human resources.

To assess students proficiency in communication and problem solving skills both analytical and quantitative the APSCHE is conducting Graduate Employability Test (GET) in information technology and IT enabled services (ITES). GET was developed in collaboration with the Educational Testing Services (ETS), a US organization that has designed GRE, TOFEL, GMAT and other tests in the past. Under GET, the student's skills in verbal reasoning, analytical reasoning, speaking, writing, quantitative analysis and basic computing skills would be tested. The certificates to be jointly issued by APSCHE and ETS to the successful candidates would indicate the individual's proficiency in these specific areas thus highlighting the candidate's areas of strength that would help the industry. (APSCHE, 2007).

2.2. Principles of Career Guidance

Handbook on career counseling Published by UNESCO in 2002 put forward various assumptions underlying the practice of career counseling. These include the following perspectives:

1. People have the ability and opportunity to make career choices for their lives. The amount of freedom in choices is partially dependent upon the social, economic, and cultural context of individuals.

2. Opportunities and choices should be available for all people, regardless of sex, socio-economic class, religion, disability, sexual orientation, age, or cultural background.

3. Individuals are naturally presented with career choices throughout their lives.

4. People are generally involved in a wide range of work roles across their lifespan. These roles include both paid and unpaid work.

5. Career counselors assist people to explore, pursue and attain their career goals.

6. Career counseling basically consists of four elements: (a) helping individuals to gain greater self-awareness in areas such as interests, values, abilities, and personality style, (b) connecting students to resources so that they can become more knowledgeable about jobs and occupations, (c) engaging students in the decision-making process in order that they can choose a career path that is well suited to their own interests, values, abilities and personality style, and (d) assisting individuals to be active managers of their career paths (including managing career transitions and balancing various life roles) as well as becoming lifelong learners in the sense of professional development over the lifespan.

7. The reasons why individuals enter particular occupations vary according to the amount of importance placed on personal preferences, such as interests, or external influences, such as labour market trends or parental expectations.

8. Career decision-making is not something that happens only once in a persons life but, rather, it is an ongoing process that might take place at any age.

9. All forms of work are valuable, and contribute to the success and