The main purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of
a human relations programme for high school students in Years 7, 8
and 9. The programme, based on the course devised by Varenhorst (1976;
Appendix B), was run as a non-assessable option for one semester in an
A.C.T. high school by the author, who was the counsellor at the school,
and a volunteer teacher. Humanistic, behavioural and cognitive methods
of implementation were used.
As well as trying to achieve more effective interpersonal relations
between students, so that they could more successfully relate and resolve
differences, a secondary aim was to try to make the counsellor's role
a more preventative rather than a largely remedial and crisis-laden one.
Twenty-eight students enrolled for the course. Fourteen were
assigned to the experimental group and experienced the human relations
programme; the fourteen in the control group undertook a variety of
other options they had chosen. Both groups completed pre- and postquestionnaires
from which quantitative data was gathered. As a check
on these quantitative results, post-study qualitative data were also
gathered from the experimental group.
The course taught verbal and non-verbal communication skills,
decision-making and problem-solving skills, particularly in relation to
such areas as the peer group, the family and the school. The ethics
of helping others experiencing problems in any of these areas was an
integral part of the course.
iv
The study showed that human relations skills can be taught,
although the findings were interpreted cautiously because of design
and methodological difficulties. The lack of randomisation and
reported, rather than behavioural, change per se are two areas which
restrict the generalisability of the results.
It is suggested that, to achieve more widespread gains, such a
course could be incorporated into the existing pastoral care programme
of the school in which all teachers and students took part. It is
further suggested that, for optimal effectiveness, parents and teachers,
as well as students, would need to be aware of, and know how to put into
practice, the skills taught in this programme and relate them to interaction
generally.
A first step was made by the experimenter towards widening the role
of the school counsellor away from crisis cases towards prevention of
problems. Ideally, the programme could be expanded to include teachers
and parents who could, in turn, become human relations educators, thus
serving the whole student population.
The teaching, learning and practising of skill became the main focus
of the programme. Although some peer counselling was involved in assignments,
time precluded an experimental study of effectiveness in this
applied area. All students but one wanted to proceed with this practical
work.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219331 |
| Date | January 1982 |
| Creators | Simic, Ann, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Ann Simic |
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