The Development and the Effects of Group Counseling Program Based on Reality Therapy for the Decrease of Elementary School Students' Academic stress

초등학생의 학업스트레스 감소를 위한 현실요법 집단상담 프로그램의 개발 및 그 효과

The purpose of this study is to find the effect of group counseling program based on reality therapy that is developed by researcher and to investigate whether the program can decrease the academic stress of elementary school students. For this study, firstly a framework for academic stress decrease programs is established and a program is developed in accordance with the framework. Secondly, in order to verify the effect of the program, both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied to 6th grade students through a academic stress test. Experimental group and control group is composed of 18 students, each. During a two month-experimental period, group counseling program based on reality therapy was implemented to the experimental group for 10 sessions but not to the control group. The program included nicknaming, recreation activities to promote friendliness among participants and other various activities to decrease the academic stress. The results of the quantitative and statistical research are as follows: First, group counseling program based on reality therapy is effective to decrease of elementary school students' academic stress. Second, sub factor(such as perceptions of academic stress cause, symptoms of academic stress)of academic stress is significantly decreased in experimental group. But no significant difference is found in control group. Third, for some sub factor(career, friend-relationship, house-environment, behavior-symptom), an independent-sample test and a paired-sample test showed different results: the paired-sample test showed no significant differences in experimental group while the independent-sample test showed significant decrease of academic stress. The results of the qualitative research based on student commentaries on the program is as follows: First, experimental group students report that the program based on reality therapy was effective to decrease of academic stress. Second, experimental group students' commentaries shows that students could remember the WDEP, 'act' factor and acquire the solution of academic stress. Third, for a group counseling, students reported the interest about positive feedback, searching on themselves, growth of human-relationship. This means that the program developed on this study is suitable for group counseling program. In conclusion, this study proves that group counseling program based on reality therapy is effective to decrease of elementary school students' academic stress by increasing individual internal-control. Therefore, it is necessary that we should develop and apply similar program to elementary school students in other to decrease students' academic stress. school students in other to decrease students' academic stress.