REALISTIC GOAL SETTING AND CAREER PLANNING

‘Realistic Goal Setting’ occupies an important place in the choice of a vocation.

Realistic goals are those which are within a person’s reach. With reasonable effort a person can attain them. Thus, realistic goals must be based on the persons abilities.

Goal setting and career planning are linked with the kind of education one acquires. The different influences of the home, school, and college play an important role in one’s adult life and future.

Education

High school

a.    Lack of personal touch in schools – Today adolescents spend more time in school. Therefore, the school plays in important role in influencing and shaping adolescent concepts

b.    Influence of high school on lives of adolescents – Students in school are teachable and malleable and, in a condition, to be inspires, restored or repaired.

c.    Education aspirations of adolescents – The socio-economic group of the individual plays an important role in shaping the educational aspirations of adolescents. Middle class children and adolescents have higher expectations and aspirations than members of the lower social class. This is because – the middle-class students identify with parents who have probably achieved a higher socio-economic status through their achievements. Middle class have college-oriented friends which may affect academic performance and college plans.

Parents of higher socio-economic status have high aspiration for their children. The encouragement received from such parents is also more.

Family size has been found to be associated with educational plans. The higher the socio-economic level and the smaller the family, the more likely it is that the individual will have high educational expectations.

Peer groups also influence the academic aspirations of students

 

College education

Aims of college education

-          To provide intellectual nurturing and discipline

-          To encourage a disposition to take a thoughtful and sometimes critical view of things

-          To inquire into the logic and facts underlying an issue, instead of resorting to emotional bias or intellectual preconceptions.

-          To cultivate an appreciation of art, humanities, sciences and all branches of learning.

Students generally use this period in college to acquire information and skills that they can apply when they leave college. Students and the society place a high value on college education not only for intellectual reasons but also for vocational opportunities and friendships.

 

Change in the outlook of students

The college has an influence on the student’s personal philosophy and outlook on life. College students are not consciously seeking to examine their personal values and formulate a mature philosophy. At this stage of development, they select peers who are similar to them in terms of their beliefs and values and who are aspiring for greater heights. This often changes their outlook and aspirators.

Some changes in college students:

-          As they move to senior years, they become more tolerant, more concerned about civil liberties and are better able to apply critical thinking which results in an increased tendency to reach judgments by reason.

-          There is a tendency towards intellectual uniformity, moderation, and levelling

-          Senior students on an average become more self-critical, they show a greater breadth of consciousness and more self-insight. They acquire a capacity for discrimination and are more aware of their inner impulses. This self-scrutiny is a sign of increased maturity.

-          Authoritarianism and prejudice seem to decrease. Sensitivity to aesthetic experiences and liberal attitude towards public issues appear to increase. Students are better able to think at an abstract level.

-          On the personal front, there is an increased independence and self-confidence. They tend to be aware of their emotions and are now able (freer) to express themselves in words and behavior.

The impact of the college depends upon the nature of the college as well as the students characteristics.

 

EDUCATION AS A SOURCE OF PERSONAL MEANING

Education should be designed to help students to use their minds effectively, cultivate intellectual competence and academic knowledge. Education should be concerned with personal problems and adjustment. It should aim at mental excellence and mental health.

The problem of personal meaning has two major aspects:

Learning as a living process: Learning for them is living process rather than a mechanical exercise of memorizing. Through their learning, they are forging ahead into a wide world of knowledge and experience. They are on their way to finding themselves, realizing their potential, exercising their curiosity, and getting a sense of achievement.

Education embraces personal issues and emotional problems: Education helps to gain insight, attain self-fulfillment and accept the joys of living and learning and the ability to cope with life’s adversities.

True education aims:

-          To develop humane qualities.

-          To acquire a mature outlook in life.

-          To develop a sense of self-respect and self-understanding.

-          To develop right attitudes and respect towards self, others, society, religion and race.

-          To create social awareness

-          To be emotionally stable.

-          To be objective in one’s dealings

-          To rise above prejudice, sex, caste, religion and language

-          To be principled and morally sound

-          To be a fully functional person

-          To be progressive and responsible citizen

-          To contribute generously to happiness of self and others.