The effects of group counseling upon the self concept of disadvantaged elementary school students
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Abstract
This study has been conducted to measure the effect of group counseling upon the self concept of culturally different students participating in an Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title I, program. The study has identified the self concept of the sample, has described the strategies and topics employed, and has shov/n the effect of group couiiseling upon the self concept of the experimental group. Students participating in the investigation responded to The Brown IDS Self Concept Referent Test, an instrument based upon the theoretical model of G. H. Mead whose definition of the self involves two aspects: the self as subject component consisting of those feelings of intrinsic self-worth held by an individual about himself, and the self as object component consisting of the perceptions which one has of the ways he is seen by significant others in his life. Students identified as the experimental group were engaged in eighteen specified .group counseling activities for a period of fifty minutes weekly. A comparison of the mean scores for each referent on the pre and post self concept scale was made for both groups by racial descent, sex, and subgroups. These data for the sample were utilized to determine the self concept of the participants and to specify the effect of group counseling upon those students in the experirnental group. Topics of interest and concern were listed, 'and subject matter was selected and presented in the same sequential order by the respective counselors cooperating in the project. Strategies employed included filmstrips, pictures, problemcompletion stories, recordings, and role-playing. The counselors were instructed to present the topic or subject matter and permit the students of the experimental group to react by questions or discussion. Group leaders were asked to prompt and structure discussions as little as possible. The difference between pre and post mean scores of the experimental and. control groups was analyzed by t-test to determine whether a significant change had occurred in any of the referents for the students participating in the group counseling sessions. Results of the analysis indicate, subject to the limitations stated, that the mean score on the self concept scale of the sample in this investigation was 43.51 (pre test) and 45.53 (post test) from a possible 56.00 points as measured, by The Brown IDS Self Concept Referent Test. Group counseling altered favorably the self concept of the participants in the investigation on referents 'Mother,' 'Peer,' 'Self as Subject,' and 'Self as Object,' and 'Total Referent' score. Mean scores on referent 'Teacher' were the most resistent to change. Specifically, the first null hypothesis must be rejected in that there were significant differences at the .05 level of confidence between the experimental and control groups in regard to referents, race, sex, and subgroups on pre test mean scores. The second null hypothesis was rejected in that there were significant differences at the .05 level of confidence between the experimental and control groups in regard to referents, race, sex, and subgroups on post test mean scores. The third null hypothesis was rejected in that there were significant differences at the .05 level of confidence between pre and post test mean scores results for the experimental group in regard to referents, race, sex, and subgroups. The fourth null hypothesis was rejected in that there was a significant difference at the .05 level of confidence between pre and post test mean scores for the control group in regard to race. The fifth null hypothesis was rejected in that there were significant differences at the .05 level, of confidence in the mean differences of pre-post test scores of the experimental and control groups in regard to referents, race, and sex. The sixth null hypothesis was rejected in that there was a significant difference at the .05 level of confidence in the mean differences of pre-post test scores of the sample in regard to sex. These data failed to reject the seventh null hypothesis. There were no significant differences at the .05 level of confidence in the mean differences of the test scores by subgroups. [...]