Orientation or adaptive service orientation services

Orientation or Adaptive Service
Orientation services are provided to help students adjust better in any new environment
(Makinde, 1990). At the beginning of each academic year, new students are admitted into
primary, secondary, training colleges and other tertiary institutions. Many of these students
get lost socially and psychologically in their new environment. This is because they no
longer enjoy the psychological support of parents, friends, and formal teachers. Also the
new environment with its rules, regulations and administrative set up, appears completely

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different. Orientation service is, therefore, designed to help students make adjustments
during such critical transition periods.
Programmes are drawn up to familiarize them with the overall school situation. They are
introduced to physical plants, administrative setup, rules and regulations governing student
conducts, the use of school facilities, new course contents teaching staff and how the school
guidance programme can serve their needs. In schools where there are guidance
coordinators, orientation service enable new students to interact with their guidance
coordinators for the first time (Taylor & Buku, 2006).
Appraisal or Data Collection Service
The appraisal service is designed to collect, analyze and use variety of objective and
subjective personal psychological and social data about each student. It is for the purpose of
better understanding of students in order to assist them to understand themselves (Shertzer
& Stone, 1981). Without adequate and reliable information on any individual, it will be
a difficult task to help the individual solve his problem or plan realistically. It is also a
way of helping an individual to acquire and organize useful information about him. This
helps him to know his strengths and weaknesses to enable him make reasonable choices
from all alternatives at his disposal (Makinde, 1990).
System atic analysis of student’s infor mation permits teachers, counsellors, parents and
school authorities to help students. This can only be realized through sound techniques of
collecting, organizing, interpreting and using relevant student information.

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Information or Distributive Service
While the appraisal service collects information about the student, the information
service gives information to the students (Shertzer & stone, 1981). These services aim at
providing students with better knowledge of educational, vocational and social
opportunities. When this is done, it enables students to make informed decisions and
choices. The main objective of the information service is to stimulate individual student to
evaluate themselves and their opportunities. The service also aims at making feasible
choice in the light of students’ unique characteristics and opportunities. This helps the
student to accept responsibilities for the choice and initiate a course of action in consonance
with the choice. Information service may be educational, vocational, social,
recreational, emotional or moral (Olayinka, as cited in Makinde, 1990).