A Group Counseling Practice for Improving Middle-School Students’ Self-Esteem

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a self-esteem development program on middle-school students in the seventh grade. The study included 21 students with low self-esteem, of which 11 were in the experimental group and 10 in the control group. After identifying the participants, the researcher implemented an eight-session program, each session lasting 90 minutes on average, for the students in the experimental group. Non-parametric Mann Whitney-U test was used to determine whether there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test score averages of the experimental and control groups. Non-parametric Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test was used to determine whether there was a significant within-group difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the experimental and control groups. The results indicate that the self-esteem scores of the students in the experimental group, who participated in group activities, increased. There was no change in the self-esteem scores of the students in the control group. The results of the study were discussed and interpreted in light of the relevant literature.