This study aimed at helping primary school students who had problem adapting to school life to resolve the problem through boosting their self-esteem with the help of an art counseling program.
In order to achieve such aim, the following research ...
This study aimed at helping primary school students who had problem adapting to school life to resolve the problem through boosting their self-esteem with the help of an art counseling program.
In order to achieve such aim, the following research questions were addressed.
<Question 1> Does an art counseling have any effect on students' self-esteem?
<Question 2> Does an art counseling cause any emotional or sentimental changes among students?
The subjects for this study consisted of two first-graders at J primary school in G City, South Chungcheong Province who had received the lowest scores in the test the researcher had conducted to measure the school adaptability of first graders in her class.
The art counseling program employed in the study is the one the researcher produced by reorganizing the programs used in previous studies in a way that would confirm to the aim of the research. A total of 12 sessions (50 minutes per each session) were held twice a week from September 3, 2010 through October 29. The researcher herself conducted the sessions after school at the classroom for the first class of the first grade at J elementary school.
The following analyses were performed to generate results.
First, in order to assess the students' level of inadaptability to school, "the test measuring the school adaptability of first graders" was conducted involving the students before and after the sessions. The results were analyzed through comparison.
Second, in order to grasp changes in the students' self-esteem, "the test measuring self-esteem" was performed before and after the program. The results were analyzed through comparison.
Third, in order to grasp changes in the students' emotions, "the House-Tree-Person (HTP) test" was conducted before and after the art counseling program. The results were analyzed through comparison.
Fourth, during each session qualitative analyses were made to describe the behavioral features of each of the two students. The behavioral differences of the students before and after the art counseling program were analyzed through comparison.
The results of the study were as follows:
First, the art counseling program reduced the inadaptable behaviors of the students having problem adapting to school life.
Second, the art counseling program helped the students develop self-esteem.
Third, the art program induced the students to undergo emotional changes.
Based on the results above, the conclusion has been gained that an art counseling program helps students having problem adapting to school life to resolve the problem by boosting their self-esteem and making them feel more stabilized and positive.
It is to be hoped that an objective test tool that enables to select lower grade students having trouble adapting to school will be developed and teaching linked to supposition will be conducted to generate more effect.