Correlates of the School-Based Guidance Program to Freshman Students in Guangdong Province, China: Basis for Enhanced Guidance Program

Abstract

Guidance programs have significant roles in preparing students for the future. The study recognizes that guidance and counseling programs are a transformative process of helping students strengthen their career planning, education, and preparation for employment. The guidance programs of first-year college students from Guangdong Peizheng College (GPC) in Guangdong Province, China was investigated, with 357 freshman students currently enrolled in the participating school involved in this study. Moreover, 12 guidance counselors were interviewed through focused-group discussions, including the school director, for the qualitative component of the study. Utilizing the convergent parallel design mixed method, the study was able to elucidate the quantitative and qualitative relevance of the data gathered from the selected participants. The emerging results found that Chinese freshman students were satisfied with all of the parameters of the guidance programs of the school. The school counselors are able to provide students with a rich reservoir of academic cand guidance support, career mentoring, and career guidance. There were contributing factors that need to be addressed if improvement and innovation of the guidance program is the primary goal. Support and resources should be prioritized in order to enrich the development not only of the students but also of the guidance counselors. The study serves as empirical evidence for proposing an improved school-based guidance program as practical outputs of the study further to innovate the effectiveness of the implementation of guidance services.