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Academic and Personal Development Through Group Work: An Exploratory Study Sam Steen

Downloaded By: [Steen, Sam] At: 15:13 9 May 2011

The George Washington University This exploratory study linked academic and personal development within a group counseling intervention. A pre-test post-test research design compared social skills, learning behaviors, and achievement with a convenience sample and control group of students from three elementary schools. For the treatment group, grade point average in Language Arts was significantly higher than for the control group. However, none of the other variables was statistically significant. Implications for school counselors and future research are explored. Keywords:

achievement; group counseling; school counselors

Group work with adolescents continues to be a challenging and important area for counseling researchers. As a result, scholars need to work diligently to develop further understanding of group treatment for children and adolescents (Truneckov & Viney, 2007), particularly within a school setting. An emerging body of research shows group counseling as a valuable method for delivering counseling services to children and adolescents in school settings (e.g., Bailey & Bradbury-Bailey, 2007; Brannigan, 2007; Gerrity & DeLucia-Waack, 2007; May & Housley, 1996; Phillips & Phillips, 1992; Prout & Prout, 1998; Zinck & Littrell, 2000). Accordingly, group counseling interventions help large numbers of students identified by their teachers and parents as having personal issues, as well as academic difficulties (Gladding, 2003; Zinck & Littrell, 2000).

Manuscript submitted November 26, 2009; final revision accepted December 27, 2010. Sam Steen, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in School Counseling with the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at The George Washington University. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sam Steen, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, The George Washington University, Room 320, 2134 G St. NW, Washington, DC 20052. E-mail: [email protected] THE JOURNAL FOR SPECIALISTS IN GROUP WORK, Vol. 36 No. 2, June 2011, 129–143 DOI: 10.1080/01933922.2011.562747 # 2011 ASGW

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THE JOURNAL FOR SPECIALISTS IN GROUP WORK / June 2011

In a recent study, a group counseling intervention with Black females who were at risk of academic failure was conducted (Bemak, Chung, & Siroskey-Sabdo, 2005). The purpose of this group intervention was to address personal issues that were interfering with school success while using an unstructured and process oriented group. Although the researchers received positive reports from both group participants and their teachers alike, outcome data were inaccessible at the conclusion of their work. Therefore, the potential link between the students’ success in dealing with their personal issues and making academic strides went unsubstantiated. It is argued that efforts need to be made to provide evidence of the impact of an intervention (Butler & Bunch, 2005). Other group research in a school setting linking personal development and academic development was conducted by Brigman and Campbell (2003) and replicated by Webb and Brigman (2005). Using multiple schools that involved students in grades three, five, and nine, the researchers created and evaluated a highly structured Student Success Skills (SSS) group counseling intervention. The SSS program was effective in increasing student performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) and improving students’ school success behaviors. School success behaviors have been found to have a positive correlation with both student achievement and social skill development (Caldarella & Merrell, 1997). Aimed at constructing a common taxonomy of child and adolescent social skills, Caldarella and Merrell (1997) used a meta-analysis design to review and analyze empirical based studies to identify the common behavioral dimensions and common social skills associated with them. In this case these behaviors were defined within the context of the following three sets of skills: (1) cognitive and metacognitive skills (e.g., goal setting, progress monitoring, and memory skills); (2) social skills (e.g., interpersonal skills, social problems solving, listening, and teamwork skills); and (3) self-management skills (Brigman & Campbell, 2003). Findings supported that students exposed to the group counseling intervention scored significantly higher in Math than did the comparison students. In sum, the SSS skills group counseling intervention boosted students’ achievement and other factors related to school success. However, these researchers requested more evidenced based group counseling programs. Therefore making a connection between academic and personal considerations is an area that needs additional attention within the school counseling literature. Group counseling interventions provide one delivery method in doing so (Sink & Stroh, 2003) and further exploration is warranted. The purpose of the current study was to gather support by examining the impact that a group counseling intervention could have in

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helping students with personal development and as a result be successful academically. The present study was designed to: (1) develop and implement a group counseling intervention addressing both academic and personal considerations in three schools, and (2) collect data to evaluate the impact of the group counseling interventions. The research questions were:


RQ1: Would the elementary students who were exposed to the group counseling intervention attending to both personal and academic issues positively impact their academic achievement, learning behaviors, and social skills? RQ2: Will the gains made by the treatment group be significantly higher than the control group from whom the treatment was withheld?

It was hypothesized that: H1: The group counseling intervention with elementary students attending to both personal and academic issues would have a positive impact on the participants’ academic achievement, learning behaviors, and social skills. H2: The gains made by the treatment group would be significantly higher than the control group.

METHOD Participants and Setting School sites. Three elementary schools were selected from a total pool of 45 elementary schools in a suburban school district located in Northern Virginia. The schools that were selected were chosen based on criteria set by the Supervisor of Guidance. The factors used to select the schools included low overall ranking that was due to low Standards of Learning (SOL) scores, as well as a high proportion of students being classified as receiving free or reduced lunch. Furthermore, this study was approved by the central office administration and the author’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). Group leaders. Two White female school counselors and one White male school counselor were selected as group leaders because they worked at these schools. Their years of experience ranged from 2 to 12 years. All of the group leaders had some experience conducting groups at the elementary school level. Typically, this experience consisted of curricula that addressed issues like changing

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families, anger management, and friendship skills with highly structured group protocol. Students. A convenience sample of 10 fifth graders was selected to participate in the study from the schools where the school counselors worked. The 30 students were divided into two groups where one group was exposed to the group counseling intervention (n ¼ 15) and the other group was used as the control group and waitlisted to receive the group intervention at a later date. Fifty-three percent of the students were male, and 47% were female. The other demographics of the students were as follows, 40% (n ¼ 12) White, 33% (n ¼ 10) Latino, 7% (n ¼ 2) Asian, 7% (n ¼ 2) Black, and 13% (n ¼ 4) other. Socioeconomic status was not reported, however 60% (n ¼ 18) of the students received free=reduced lunch. Additionally both the treatment and control groups were matched at the same grade level and had been recommended by their teachers as being able to benefit from the group counseling intervention. The referrals from teachers helped to confirm that the students selected to participate in the intervention were appropriate. The criteria used to select the students were prior GPA (2.0 and below), failed prior SOL tests in Language Arts and=or Math, and referrals from teachers. Once students were selected they were interviewed by the school counselors to provide information for the students, to get their assent, and to provide the permission slip to gain their parents’ consent. Instruments Achievement. Student GPAs were calculated separately for Language Arts and for Math according to the traditional letter scale of the grades received in their various subjects. For example, grades for each student for the marking periods 1st and 4th were coded as 4 ¼ A, 3 ¼ B, 2 ¼ C, 1 ¼ D, and 0 ¼ F. The mean of the group GPAs were compared pre- (1st quarter) and post-(4th quarter) intervention. Next, Standards of Learning (SOLs) practice tests taken by the students’ pre- and post-intervention in Language Arts and Math, were entered as variables. The Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools were formed by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to meet the mandate of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Learning Behaviors Scale. The original Learning Behaviors Scale (LBS) is a 29-item rating scale designed to measure the learning behavior tendencies of children and adolescents ages 5 to 17 (McDermott, Green, Francis, & Stott, 1999). The items on the LBS consisted of a three point Likert scale to indicate how often a child has engaged in


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the presented behavior (Schaefer & McDermott, 1999). The original scale was modified so that the language would be more understandable for an elementary aged population and included only ten items that both students (LBS-S) and teachers (LBS-T) answered. For example, a item on the LBS-S was written as ‘‘I easily give up on class work.’’ whereas the same item on the LBS-T was written as ‘‘student easily gives up on tasks.’’ Pre-test scores were compared with the post-test scores to determine whether there were any significant differences between the treatment and control groups following the group counseling intervention. For the current study,the Cronbach’s alpha and .69 for the LBS-S and .62 for the LBS-T. Social Skills Scale. The Social Skills Rating System Student form (SSRS-S) is designed to assess the presence of classroom social skill behaviors of children over the previous month or two (Gresham & Elliott, 1990). The response options for the items were a 3-point Likert scale (Never, Sometimes, Very Often) and indicated how often a student engaged in the described behavior. The total scale raw score was converted to a standard score (M ¼ 100, SD ¼ 15). The Social Skills total scale scores were reported to have a Chronbach’s alpha of .83 for the Student Scale (Gresham & Elliott, 1990). The Crohnbach’s alpha for the SSRS-S scale for the current study was .91. Group Counseling Intervention The group counseling intervention entitled Achieving Success Everyday (ASE) Group Counseling Model was facilitated by the school counselors and created by the author (2007). A detailed description of this model is beyond the scope of this article but the author can be contacted to receive further information. The following is an overview of the model. It is important to note that this model is not a curriculum and it is flexible enough for school counselors to tailor the group activities, discussions, and processing questions to the needs of their group members. This ASE group model is also more process oriented than content oriented. Each session’s structure is comprised of an introduction, a personal component, an academic component, and a closing. The purpose of the ASE group model is to enhance students’ personal development while helping them to improve academic-related behaviors that contribute to success in the classroom (e.g., attending to tasks, completing assignments, asking questions). The ASE group model is based on the assumption that school counselors can teach students strategies to address their academic difficulties while exploring their personal concerns. School counselors can also help students


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identify and build on their internal assets (e.g., achievement motivation and school performance) while drawing on external assets (e.g., caring supportive adults and high expectations) available within the school and surrounding community. The ASE group model is not made up of a session by session framework but rather consists of six phases as follows. The six group phases are assessment, review, acquaintance, challenge, empowerment, and support. These phases develop across the lifespan of the group with phases occurring before and throughout the ending stages of the group’s lifespan (see Table 1). To summarize, the assessment phase occurs prior to the beginning of the life of the group whereas the review and acquaintance phases occur in the first few sessions of the group. The challenge and empowerment phases occur during the middle of the life of the group. The group concludes with the support phase. The group’s phases are presented here sequentially for ease of understanding, however, the phases, with the exception of the assessment phase; do not necessarily occur in a certain order. The

Table 1

ASE Phases, Leader’s Goals=Tasks, and Group Stages

Phases Assessment

Review

Acquaintance Challenge

Empowerment

Support

Leader’s Goals=Tasks Gather pre- and post-data from teachers, parents, and students; identify students’ strengths and areas for improvement. Identify and review the group’s purpose, ground rules, individual goals; co-create ground rules. Develop cohesion. Model appropriate behaviors. Facilitate constructive confrontation of unwanted behaviors, negative thoughts, and inconsistencies. Teach information and skills to overcome difficulties and build on strengths; acknowledge the role of environmental factors and systemic oppression in students’ difficulties. Help members support each others’ goal accomplishment; identify internal and external resources for support; complete postsurveys, and facilitate termination.

Group Stages Pre-screening and as needed. Typically occurs before the group begins. Early stage. Typically occurs during the first few sessions. Early and middle stages. Middle and later stages.

Middle and later stages.

Middle and later stages. Typically occurs during the last few sessions.



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phases of the group evolve over time based on the unique make up of the group members, leader(s), topics discussed, and other factors that inevitably will surface. To illustrate, during the assessment phase, the counselor uses any relevant student data collected prior to the group’s commencement to select and screen group members and to set a tentative agenda (e.g., focus, duration, location) for the group. During the review phase, the counselor reviews materials such as the ground rules, expectations, and individual and group goals and this usually takes place in the first few sessions depending on how long the group will run. In the acquaintance phase, the counselor helps students get acclimated to each other and the group process. This too typically occurs during the first few sessions of the group. During the challenge phase, the counselor challenges students’ inconsistencies between what they share in the group (e.g., their goals) and their current behavior. In the empowerment phase, the counselor teaches information and skills to overcome their difficulties. Finally, during the support phase, the counselor helps students identify internal and external resources that can help them succeed once the group ends. The support phase typically occurs during the last few sessions of the group. Training The researcher provided four training sessions for the school counselors to prepare them to implement the intervention. The training sessions were held after school at a local coffee shop and typically lasted one and a half hours. The information disseminated to the school counselors was categorized into two primary areas, (1) semi-structured group format and (2) group counseling knowledge and skills. The school counselors received information outlined by the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW, 1999) training standards. Additionally, a counselor educator at a local university attended one of the training sessions to facilitate a discussion on group counseling and processing strategies that could be employed as well as the implications of the intervention. The school counselors also received and reviewed the ASE group counseling model described above. Further, the researcher showed video clips illustrating the model facilitated during the pilot study. This video footage was shown as part of the training for the school counselors with the intention of increasing treatment fidelity. Also a self documentation method was used to determine the phases incorporated during each of the group sessions. Although this did not provide a source to check for treatment fidelity, it did provide a resource to see if there was consistency reported across the different group interventions at each of the schools (see Appendix A).

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Procedures The students and their teachers completed the pre-test instruments prior to the first session of the group. Following the collection of pretest data the school counselors implemented the group counseling intervention using the ASE group counseling model. The groups met for six counseling sessions which minimally adheres to recommendations within the group counseling literature (Gladding, 2003). The sessions took place once a week during the students’ lunch and recess time. This afforded the students 45 minutes to participate without missing any instructional time. The students were allowed to eat their lunch during the sessions and no formal breaks were provided during this time. The school counselors had the students and teachers complete the post-test instruments immediately following the conclusion of the last session of the group counseling intervention.

RESULTS Following are findings for GPA, SOLs, social skills, and learning behaviors. It was hypothesized that a group counseling intervention with elementary students attending to both personal and academic issues would have a positive impact on the participants’ academic achievement, learning behaviors, and social skills and the gains made by the treatment group would be significantly higher than the control group. GPA Means and standard deviations were computed for the students in the treatment and control groups for both pre- and post-intervention for GPA in Math and Language Arts. For GPA in Math and Language Arts differences in pre-test scores between treatment and control groups were analyzed using the Mann Whitney U test and none were found. A nonparametric test was used because overall the sample size was very small and the GPA data were analyzed and discovered to not be normally distributed. The alpha level was set at .05 (see Table 2). However, following the group counseling intervention, students in the treatment group had significantly higher GPAs in Language Arts (Md ¼ 18.8, U ¼ 63, p ¼ .04, r ¼ .57) than the students in the control group (Md ¼ 12.2). The effect size was calculated by dividing the z score by the square root of the sample size. The effect size .57 was large and indicated that the magnitude of the difference between the variables was large. No differences were found for Math.

Steen/GROUP COUNSELING AND ACHIEVEMENT Table 2

Mann Whitney U Test – Post Intervention for Treatment and Control Groups

Variable

Md

U

p

R

GPA Lang. Arts Treatment Control

18.8 12.2

63

.04

.57

137

p < .05.


SOLs, Learning Behaviors, and Social Skills Means and standard deviations were computed for treatment and control groups pre- and post-intervention on SOLs, Student Learning Behaviors Scale (LBS-S), Teacher Learning Behaviors Scale (LBS-T), and Social Skills Rating Scales for students. No significant differences were found pre-test. In order to determine whether students’ learning behavior scores made more significant gains for the treatment group than for the control group following the intervention, independent samples t-tests were conducted, because the data were normally distributed. However, there were no significant differences between the treatment and control groups for any of these variables.

DISCUSSION This study explored the impact of a group counseling intervention facilitated by school counselors on students’ academic and personal development. A review of the literature suggested that school counselors could make contributions to student achievement and that group counseling interventions were an appropriate means of addressing academic and personal issues facing children and adolescents within schools (Bostick & Anderson, 2009; Brigman & Campbell, 2003; Bruce, Getch, & Ziomek-Daigle, 2009; Webb & Brigman, 2005). GPA The results were mixed in supporting the hypothesis of the group counseling intervention and its impact on student achievement and personal development. Regrettably, this intervention did not significantly improve students’ learning behaviors, social skills, or most of the factors of student achievement. However, for Language Arts GPA there was a significant increase between the treatment and control groups following the intervention and this finding is consistent with the finding in a pilot study (Steen & Kaffenberger, 2007).

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Unfortunately, the lack of consistency in grade reporting within the school district where the study took place limits the confidence in which to support the true impact the intervention may have made. In other words, it could be that the intervention was useful in targeting GPA in Language Arts or it could be simply that the teachers knew the students were receiving services in a group and therefore graded them more favorably.


SOLs In the current study one indicator of achievement was the students’ ability to improve standardized test scores pre- and post-test on the Virginia SOL tests. The rationale for the effectiveness of the group counseling intervention was based on the assumption that once students were engaged in the peer support group and actively addressed their emotions and anxieties about their schooling issues, the students would be more comfortable and possibly successful when taking the tests. Unfortunately, this intervention did not produce a significant difference between the treatment and control groups. Moreover, the assessment was an SOL practice test and this posed potential problems such as familiarity with the test, access to answers, and lack of standardized administration that may have affected the outcomes. Another explanation may be that improving standardized test scores is beyond the scope of this group counseling intervention due to the discrepancy in proximal and distal outcomes. In other words, a group intervention is more likely to improve personal development, but not necessarily able to improve test scores (D. Brown & Trusty, 2005). Essentially, this inquiry is the impetus behind the present study and more exploration is needed. Challenges There are a number of challenges that existed that need to be raised in light of the limited significant findings. For example, it is possible that to expect significant gains in group interventions that take place in 6 weeks is unrealistic. It also could be that more significant results would have occurred if given more time for the treatment. It is important to note that school counselors’ non-counseling responsibilities might have interfered with the consistent implementation of the group sessions. Second, perhaps the current measures (e.g., GPA, standardized tests, social skills, and learning behavior scales) are not the most appropriate measures to determine the changes that could be possible. In other words, measures that could assess any subtle nuances occurring within the groups might prove to be more appropriate to achieve


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the outcomes desired. Or at best, perhaps conducting qualitative studies would be more appropriate at this stage to explore the most appropriate types of measures. Nevertheless, this study does add to the research base in the area of group work within schools and provides valuable information to build upon in order to strengthen future studies.


Implications The first implication is the importance of conducting research on school-based interventions in the current era of accountability. Contemporary school counselors, just as teachers and administrators, are now responsible for illustrating how they are contributing to and then measuring student academic accomplishments (Whiston & Sexton, 1998). The available evidence based school counseling inquiry continues to grow at a pace slower than experts would like (Gannon, Carey, & Dimmitt, 2005; Whiston & Sexton) and the studies that do exist often contain a number of limitations hindering the power and potency of the research’s potential. In essence, collecting data and using outcome measures to inform the development, delivery, and evaluation of school counseling interventions play an important role in the profession. It is vital for school counselors to get involved in evaluating the effectiveness of their programs as often as possible. The group intervention detailed in the present study is useful because it is structured in a way to conduct more robust research in the future. Another implication is the importance of connecting the work that school counselors do with how students are different following their interventions. This current intervention is described in such a way that educators (e.g., teachers, administrators) can easily identify with the targeted outcomes. Many teachers and school administrators may not necessarily be supportive or well versed in group work (Steen, Bauman, & Smith, 2007), but identifying and addressing academic achievement coupled with other factors related to student success, potentially gains support from members of a school community. That being said, more group interventions with school counselors focusing on academic achievement are crucial because of the limited statistically significant data in the present study. Further, a third implication is the importance of training and preparing school counselors to successfully and competently facilitate group counseling interventions. In the absence of overwhelmingly significant results, it is with caution that this implication is made. However, the attempt to produce a group counseling model and to prepare others to successfully implement this intervention is a step in the right

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direction as school counselors aim to make contributions to student achievement. Furthermore, school counselors typically have only had one course within their graduate training programs (Akos, Goodnough, & Milsom, 2004; Steen et al., 2007). Therefore providing school counselors with group counseling models for school settings may help them become more skilled and effective group leaders within the schools where the issues facing students are unique and where most students receive group counseling services (Gerrity & Delucia-Waack, 2007).


Limitations The limitations within the current study consist of the small sample size, duration and treatment dosage, and the potential for limited treatment fidelity due to the implementation of the group counseling intervention at multiple locations with different school counselors. Moreover, the management of the data limits the impact of this study. In light of the small sample size it is assumed that this would impact the results of the study. In fact, these results are inadequately representative of the studies found in the group counseling literature, therefore it is difficult to say if the significant differences did not occur due to the limited sample size or due to the intervention itself. As a result, similar studies should be conducted with a larger sample size and more successful management of the data collection procedures. Another limitation in the study is the duration and dosage of the group intervention. It is recommended within the literature that 6 to 12 weeks is sufficient for groups to take place and to be successful (Gladding, 2003). However upon reflection, the students selected to participate in the program may have experienced difficulties within school for quite some time prior to the intervention taking place. Therefore, meeting once a week for 6 weeks may not be long enough to dramatically alter learning behaviors, social skills, or achievement. Another limitation includes the treatment fidelity as well as the minimal treatment structure that may have diffused the treatment effect of the protocol. Ultimately, this hampers the achievement of treatment goals. Although the researcher was also responsible for the preparation of the school counselors who implemented this program, it was impossible to ensure that the integrity of the intervention was maintained and that the strategies employed were done as they were intended at each of the different schools. The complexity implementing school based interventions as they are intended and with integrity is noted in the literature (S. Brown & Rahn-Blakeslee, 2009). However, great efforts should be made to ensure the efficacy of school counseling programs and that interventions are conducted


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in such a way to ensure that the core components of the intervention occur (Shechtman, 2002). A final limitation was related to managing the data. In other words, the school counselors may have needed support to accomplish the goals of this program. Support could have been accomplished by incorporating a consultant that could ensure contact was maintained with the school counselors conducting the intervention. This consultant could provide information that would become more relevant and applicable throughout the duration of the intervention. Another way to improve the management of the data would be to simply increase the training on the group intervention protocol. This would help by reviewing the expectations regularly so that if and when issues arose to compromise the intervention, they were addressed. Conclusions School counselors have unique opportunities to address the academic and personal issues that may keep students from being successful in schools. The current focus on the transformation of the school counselors’ position and roles within the school is providing school counselors with the opportunity to impact student academic achievement (Bemak, 2000). The objective of this study was to explore the impact of a group intervention bylinking strategies that address personal goals and academic achievement. The findings were limited but the need to show that school counselors are implementing programs relevant to a school’s mission while incorporating mental health remains an opportunity to strengthen this line of research as well as the entire profession. Brigman and Campbell (2003) suggested that the overall evidence for the value of counseling children and adolescents is strong but that the link between services provided by the school counselor and a student’s academic and behavioral performance need to be demonstrated. The current study confirms that the connection between personal development and academic development within group counseling needs further exploration. REFERENCES Akos, P., Goodnough, G. E., & Milsom, A. (2004). Preparing school counselors for group work. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 29, 127–137. doi: 10.1080= 01933920490275637 Association for Specialists in Group Work. (1999). Training standards for group workers. Retrieved from http://asgw.org Bailey, D. F., & Bradbury-Bailey, M. E. (2007). Promoting achievement for African American males through group work. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 32, 83–96. doi: 10.1080=01933920600978588


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APPENDIX A: GROUP RECORD KEEPER

A GROUP GROUP GROUP GROUP GROUP GROUP

1 2 3 4 5 6

R

A

C

E

S