Group Counselling and School Adjustment of Under-Achieving primary pupils.

Group Counseling and School Adjustment of Underachieving Primary Pupils

Theoretical Framework of Literature Review

Challman , Gates , Jersild and Connell (1942 ,

. 631 ) claim that adjustment problems arise whenever an individual 's need is not met , or whenever his goal is blocked . Blocking of goals is due to several factors including (1 ) physical factors in the environment (2 ) social and societal factors (3 ) economic factors (4 ) personal defects or limitations and (5 ) incompatible goals . In the context of learning , some special problems of pupil adjustment were explained by Young (1940 ,

br 438

) could result to the following responses (1 ) resistance and rebelliousness (2 ) indifference and lack of support (3 ) complete conformity and passive docility and (4 ) removal by means of fantasy These adjustment problems often result to school underachievement

McCall , Evahn , and Kratzer (1992 ) completed the largest study of underachievers done to date , beginning when they were still in school but following them into adulthood . As students , these underachievers displayed such characteristics as low self-concept , low perception of abilities , unrealistic goal setting , lack of persistence , responding impulsively rather than thoughtfully to assignments , social immaturity and poor peer relationships , oppositional and aggressive response to authority , and a tendency to make excuses for continued underachievement rather than accept responsibility and make a serious commitment to change . HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 6 (Brophy , 2004 ,

. 140 To cope with underachievement , the adoption of these strategies were suggested by Brophy (2004 ,

.142 : peer and cross-age tutoring contracts that feature collaboration with the student in setting goals and with the parents in withholding or providing performance contingent rewards , and counseling sessions that will allow the underachievers to ventilate their concerns and pressure them to accept responsibility and commit themselves to realize their goals

General psychological theories facilitate understanding of the various areas of education such as learning , motivation , school adjustment etc these theories span a wide range of perspectives such as psychodynamic , behavioral , humanistic , psychobiological and cognitive among many others . In the context of the effects of group counseling to school adjustment of underachieving primary pupils , some theories are perceived to hold a stronger ground than the others . These theories include the humanistic theories , extrinsic motivation theory Thorndike 's Connectionism Approach and other learning theories

A . Humanistic Theories

Developed in the 1950s and 1960s by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers is an influential school of psychology - the humanistic theory which asserts that people make rational , conscious decisions regarding their lives , and optimistically suggests that individuals tend to reach toward their greatest potential ( Psychology , 2004

Long (2000 ,

.4 ) claims that the humanistic perspective was developed by Maslow and highlights the capacity for development of individuals . It runs counter to the psychodynamic and behavioral psychology , while supporting child-centered methods in education

According to Maslow , we are unable to proceed to higher levels before our lower level needs are secure . Children who are mainly concerned about their physical needs or security are

unlikely to be concerned with meeting their higher , cognitive needs at school . This seems quite plausible , and a survey by Kleinman et at (1998 ) found that children who were regularly hungry in school were about seven times more likely to have social and emotional difficulties and twice as likely to have special educational needs . Although the specificity of such findings is probably confounded by a number of effects , setting up breakfast clubs has been shown to be associated with significant improvements in some children 's attainments . HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 9 (Long , 2000 ,

. 110 Klausmeier and Ripple (1971 ,

. 314 ) claims that Maslow formulated a comprehensive theory of motivation that proves to be useful in understanding human behavior and the individuals ' motivational states by bringing together ideas that reflect the importance of human needs in energizing and directing behavior . Maslow listed these needs into 5 sets , which are as follows : 1 . physiological , 2 . safety , 3 . love and belonging , 4 . esteem , self-actualization and 5 . the need to know and understand There are at least five sets of goals which we may call basic needs These are briefly physiological , safety , love , esteem , and self-actualization . In addition , we are motivated by the desire to achieve or maintain the various conditions upon which these basic satisfactions rest and by certain intellectual desires . These basic goals are related to each other , being arranged in a hierarchy of prepotency . This means that the most prepotent goal will monopolize consciousness and will lend itself to organize the recruitment of the various capacities of the organism . The less prepotent needs are minimized , even forgotten or denied . But when a need is fairly well satisfied , the next prepotent ( higher ) need emerges , in turn to dominate the conscious life and to serve as

the center of organization of behavior , since gratified needs are not active motivators . Thus , man is a perpetually wanting animal . Ordinarily the satisfaction of these wants is not altogether mutually exclusive but is only a tendency . The average member of our society is most often partially satisfied and partially unsatisfied in all of his wants HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 9 (Maslow , 2000 br

. 3 . When a person 's basic needs are not met and his desires are thwarted by situations beyond his /her control then adjustment problems are manifested . Maslow said that needs have to be met for the individual to be satisfied in school if a child is not able to fulfill his /her need for belongingness he /she may have adjustment problems like being withdrawn , extremely shy and quiet which in turn contributes to his /her being not accepted by the class

According to Demorest (2005 ,

.2 , Carl Rogers saw humanness ' as defined by one 's subjective experience of the world which ascertains an individual 's path in life . In this perspective , humans are not seen as helplessly buffeted about by forces beyond their control , whether these forces are from their unconscious minds or from their environments . An essential fact of humanness in the view of theorists from the phenomenological approach is that individual persons have free will to determine their own course in life , and that this course will be based on their own subjective experiences . Each individual views the world from a unique frame of reference , and it is this frame of reference that must be understood in to understand the person . Rogers himself did not deny that outside forces can have a powerful influence on the person , nor that a person might erect defenses against unwanted self-knowledge . But he argued that these influences only move us away from our true selves , and that there is within each of us an inner directive to bring that true self to fruition , just as there is within an acorn the directive to become an oak tree HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 4 (Demorest , 2005 ,

. 3 These humanistic theories were viewed by William James as subscribing to child-centered approach in education where he urged educators to familiarize themselves with the needs and interests of their students so that teaching practices can be geared at making the associations and connections necessary to ensure effective learning HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 8 (Pajares , 2003 ,

. 55

As it would be for Dewey , the school was for James especially suited to build a student 's character and impart democratic values - only by sharing our individual experiences and pooling our knowledge [is] it possible to gain a better grasp of things , devise betters ways of living together , and move toward a more democratic , tolerant , and humane world ' HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 8 (Pajares , 2003 ,

. 55 . Based on the humanistic theory of James individuals may develop adjustment problems when they do not take charge of their own subjective experiences . In school , students are required to complete work that have been prescribed by the states education requirements and in mainstream schools , children are asked to do all the tasks in a similar manner in the same amount of time . When low performing students begin to notice that that they have difficulty in completing the assigned tasks compared to their classmates , they may exhibit behavior like malingering , aggressive behavior or even become withdrawn because they do not understand why they are different from the rest

B . Extrinsic Motivation Theory

The Gestalt perspective on motivation closely ties it to molar behavior , that is , behavior that is purposive , directed towards a goal (Leonard , 2002 ,

. 131 , and links it with the application of external rewards such as recognition , encouragements and praises , where learning is reinforced . Behavioral principles are used to ensure substantial and intangible rewards to influence learning behaviors

The learning paradigm of cognitivism maintains that goals are a central ingredient to the system that results to the use of cognitive processes models such as the GOMS , which was developed by Newell , Card and Moran (Leonard , 2002 ,

. 79 . GOMS , which stands for Goals , Operators Methods and Selection , is a method that addresses the need for learning and performance activities to be goal-oriented and to directly influence learner motivation to achieve the goal . Due to the overwhelming debate over the claim that rewards realize only short-term movement in motivation or performance , but weaken students ' intrinsic interest in the activity , several studies were made . It became clear that attempts to address questions about the appropriate use of rewards require attention to the nature of the rewards , the ways in which they are introduced and delivered , and the student outcomes under consideration (Brophy , 2004 ,

. 158

Hence , according to Brophy (2004 ,

. 162 , extrinsic rewards do not undermine intrinsic motivation but supports its development . This can be achieved through different methods such as the provision of unannounced rewards following task completion , the use of rewards as informative feedback rather than control mechanisms , and putting emphasis on social rewards over material rewards , and delivery of rewards in ways that encourage students to value the accomplishment being rewarded . The achievement advantages of student team learning methods reside in their group reward and individual accountability features , not in their competitive features

Like other forms of cooperative learning , student team learning methods have produced positive effects on outcomes other than achievement . These methods promote friendships and prosocial interaction among group mates as well as positive outcomes on individual affective variables such as self-esteem , academic self-confidence , and liking for the class and for classmates . HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 2 (Brophy , 2004 ,

. 175 Alderman (1999 ,

.229 ) maintains that for extrinsic rewards to optimally facilitate the learning process , it must include : the recognition of a variety of competencies the avoidance of the scarcity of rewards , where only a few students get all the recognition focusing the rewards on improvement rather than on ability and the use of extrinsic rewards only to get individuals started on an activity , then gradually diminishing usage , shifting the focus to a more intrinsic one where possible

The extrinsic motivation theory posits that learning can be reinforced with external rewards , and that students can be motivated to accomplish their tasks by giving rewards commensurate to the quality of their work Within this framework , it is likely that students who are not rewarded for their efforts in learning required materials then they may develop apathy towards learning . When students try as much as they can to learn and comply with the tasks in school but still fail to get good grades they become frustrated and end up not trying to learn anymore . This is a form of adjustment problem , wherein students cannot cope with the demands of the school

C . Thorndike 's Theories of Laws of Effect , Readiness and Exercise

Edward Lee Thorndike proposed a behaviorist learning theory which regards thought and learning as based upon a highly complex parallel logical system , having similarities with the structure and possible working of the human brain . This approach , called connectionism accounts for a range of complex functions and departs from classical cognitive s in terms of a clear sequence of logical processes (Long , 2000 ,

. 41 . According to this theory , learning proceeds through the close associations between stimuli and responses without any regard to the unobservable internal mental states . Thus , the connection between the stimulus - response association guides all behavior , including learning . Connectionism follows three basic laws the law of effect , the law of readiness , and the law of exercise . The Law of Effect states that responses to stimuli become habits when the effect of the response is rewarding to the organism (Leonard , 2002 ,

br 36 . Thus , the likelihood of students repeating a response is greater when followed by a positive reinforcement than if the response is followed by a negative reinforcement . In effect , educators perceive reinforcing good behavior as effective and punishing bad behavior as ineffective

Any act which in a given situation produces satisfaction becomes associated with that situation , so that when the situation recurs the act is more likely than before to recur also . Conversely , any act which in a given situation produces discomfort becomes dissociated from that situation , so that when the situation recurs the act is less likely than before to recur . HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 5262081 (Woodworth , 1948 ,

. 52

The law of effect also states that the degree of the pleasantness of the event is not as much a factor to the effectiveness of the learned behavior as simply offering the reward itself . This law is closely related to Hull 's postulate regarding habit strength . This law and the other two laws of connectionism bring Thorndike to conclude that intelligence can be measured by how many connections have been learned by the organism . HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 3 (Leonard , 2002 ,

. 110 ) The Law of readiness maintains the existence of a chain of responses from the organism as it pursues an external reward / goal . If at any point the chain of responses is blocked , frustration and annoyance on the part of the organism takes place . The Dictionary of Theories , Laws and Concepts of Psychology (1998 ,

. 398 ) defines it as when a stimulus - response unit is ready to conduct , it yields a satisfying effect as long as nothing interferes with its conducting action . Hence according to this law , when neurons are compelled to conduct impulses they are either ready or unready . If they are ready to conduct , it is pleasant . If they are unready to conduct , it is unpleasant (Perkins Wheeler and Crowell , 1932 ,

. 362

The Law of exercise states that the more connections become stimulated over time , the stronger (and more habitual ) they become , and vice versa (Leonard , 2002 ,

. 36 . In essence , the law of exercise states that other things being equal , the repeated occurrence of any act makes that behavior easier to perform and is less vulnerable or subject to error That is , Practice makes perfect (Roeckelein , 1998 ,

. 174 . Thus , the more often an organism repeats a response to a particular set of stimuli , the more likely the organism will become intelligent ' and able to repeat the task again successfully , more quickly , and with fewer errors . Thus , learning does not really stick ' or become strengthened through one trial , but through several repeated trials over time HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 3 (Leonard 2002 ,

. 40

Thorndike 's laws of learning that of effect , readiness and exercise all point to the assumption that an individual can learn the material if the material is rewarding , it is in an appropriate level for the individual and the individual has the opportunity to practice the material . Thus , when all of these conditions are not present or one of it is absent , problem behaviors may occur that signify adjustment issues . Like when a low performing child is given a challenging tasks which may be rewarding but it is beyond the level of readiness of the child , no matter how many time the child practice with the tasks , the child will be frustrated and have problems learning the material D . Other Learning Theories

Enactivism (constructivism ) is primarily a social phenomenon associated with collaborative learning , whose main principle is co-emergence - the product of the interaction and communication occurring within a collaborative and discovery learning environment of learners , where stronger and weaker partners help each other in the learning process (Leonard , 2002 ,

. 64

In collaborative learning , learners share knowledge , pool resources and interact within the group to produce more complete and robust results than an individual working alone and obtain positive changes and better learning through the continuous interaction among learners . It is founded on the social development theory of Lev Vygotsky which postulates that social development and interaction play a fundamental role in the development of the individual learner 's cognitive abilities including learning and communicating (Leonard , 2002 ,

. 31

Collaborative learning has reaped a good following and is used to justify heterogeneous grouping in schools . Based on social development theory individuals learn through interactions with other people , and this is evident in the school setting . But what is often overlooked is that when low performing children is placed in a regular group of students and assume that they will learn from each other may be too much . Low performing children needs individualized instruction and without which may result to attention seeking behavior , restlessness passivity and even failure to do the tasks which are indicative of adjustment problems References

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d " Alderman , M K (1999 . Motivation for Achievement : Possibilities for Teaching and Learning . Mahwah , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates . Retrieved July 21 2006 , from Questia database http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 0 " Brophy , J (2004 . Motivating Students to Learn . Mahwah , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 1 " Psychology (2004 . In The Columbia Encyclopedia (6th ed . New York : Columbia University Press

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 9 " Demorest , A (2005 . Psychology 's Grand Theorists : How Personal Experiences Shaped Professional Ideas . Mahwah , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 8 " Fall , K . A Holder , J . M Marquis , A (2003 . Theoretical Models of Counseling and Psychotherapy . New York : Brunner-Routledge

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d " Gates , A . I Jersild , A . T , McConnell , T . R Challman , R . C (1942 . Educational Psychology . New York : Macmillan

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 3725630 " Harriman ,

. L (Ed (1946 . Twentieth Century Psychology : Recent Developments in Psychology . New York : Philosophical Library

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d " Jonassen , D H Land , S . M (Eds (2000 . Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments . Mahwah , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d " Klausmeier , H J Ripple , R . E (1971 . Learning and Human Abilities : Educational Psychology . New York : Harper Row

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 0 " Leonard , D C (2002 . Learning Theories , A to Z . Westport , CT : Oryx Press

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d " Lindgren , H C (1962 . Educational Psychology in the Classroom (2nd ed . New York John Wiley Sons

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 4 " Long , M (2000 . The Psychology of Education . London : Routledge Falmer

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 3725630 " Maslow , A . H (1946 . A Theory of Human Motivation . In Twentieth Century Psychology Recent Developments in Psychology , Harriman ,

. L (Ed (pp . 22-47 New York : Philosophical Library

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 6 " Maslow , A . H (2000 . The Maslow Business Reader (D . C . Stephens , Ed . New York Wiley

Mayer , R . E (2003 . 5 E . L . Thorndike 's Enduring Contributions to Educational Psychology . In

Educational Psychology : A Century of Contributions , Zimmerman , B . J Schunk , D . H (Eds (pp . 113-151 . Mahwah , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d " McCombs , B . L (1994 . 4 Strategies for Assessing and Enhancing Motivation : Keys to Promoting Self-Regulated Learning and Performance . In Motivation : Theory and Research , Drillings , M (Ed (pp . 49-65 . Hillsdale , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d " Mowrer , R . R Klein , S . B (Eds (2001 . Handbook of Contemporary Learning Theories . Mahwah , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d " Owen , R . B (1998 . Personality : A al Approach : Theories , Research , Major Controversies , and Emerging Findings . Mahwah , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 9 " Pajares , F (2003 . 2 William James : Our Father Who Begat Us . In Educational Psychology : A Century of Contributions , Zimmerman , B . J Schunk , D H (Eds (pp . 41-62 . Mahwah , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 1 " Roeckelein J . E (1998 . Dictionary of Theories , Laws , and Concepts in Psychology Westport , CT : Greenwood Press

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 4691573 " Schilpp ,

. A (Ed (1939 . The Philosophy of John Dewey (1st ed . Evanston , IL Northwestern University

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 7709143 " Schmuck , R . A Schmuck ,

. A (1974 . A Humanistic Psychology of Education : Making the School Everybody 's House (1st ed . Palo Alto , CA : National Press Books

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d " Thorndike , E L (1912 . Education : A First Book . New York : Macmillan

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 3829296 " Thorndike , E L (1931 . Human Learning (R . M . Elliott , Ed . New York : Century

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d " Weiner , B (1980 . Human Motivation . Hillsdale , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 6569253 " Wheeler , R . H Perkins , F . T (1932 . Principles of Mental Development : A Text-Book in Educational Psychology . New York : Thomas Y . Crowell

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d 5262016 " Woodworth , R S (1948 . Contemporary Schools of Psychology (Revised ed . New York Ronald Press

HYPERLINK "http /www .questia .com /PM .qst ?a o d " Young , K (1940 . Personality and Problems of Adjustment . New York : F . S . Crofts .Zimmerman , B . J Schunk , D . H (Eds (2003 . Educational Psychology A Century of

Contributions . Mahwah , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Conceptual Framework Study Habits Self - Concept Academic Performance (Dependent Variables ) Group Counseling

(Independent Variable )Characteristics of the Group Counseling Program

(Length , Objectives and Approach ...