Group Counseling to Boost Academic Achievement in Middle School

Introduction and Statement of the Problem

The problems and challenges that children in middle school encounter are numerous and must be taken into account by teachers, parents, and school counselors. Adolescents face challenges stemming from physical, intellectual, social, and emotional changes as they reach middle school age, and these issues can and do interfere with the learning process. For many public school professionals, there may be hurdles to overcome before understanding the best approach to help middle school students struggling with these issues — which in many cases can hamper their scholastic performance. This paper offers evidence through empirical studies and other research that bringing middle school children into group counseling can improve their chances of success. It also outlines the steps that group counselors take during their training, and the steps they must take to bring school administration, faculty, parents, and other stakeholders into agreement that group counseling is an important step in ensuring academic success for all students.

On a more philosophical level, the world that students are being brought up in today is dangerous, confusing, and in some cases difficult for adults to explain to children. Consulting psychologist James P. Trotzer — in his book The Counselor and the Group: Integrating Theory, Training, and Practice — wonders what the implications are for adolescents in this rapidly changing world of "expanded communication capabilities." Pre-teens and adolescents are facing choices "much earlier and in a more intense manner than ever before," Trotzer explains (p. 4).

The list of problems and social concerns that many students are bombarded with through media (Internet, mass media, movies, and magazines) and family mobility includes: "Wars, racism, sexism, terrorism, ageism, poverty, inflation, overpopulation, ecology, global warming, corruption, crime and disasters of human and natural causality, locally, nationally, or globally…" (Trotzer, 2006, p. 4). Given those realities, Trotzer asserts that students — more than ever before — need training in school to make good decisions and solve problems. The development of good decision-making skills — including "the processes of introspection, communication, and relationship formation" — are extremely vital for young people in such a rapidly changing world (p. 4). Given all the distractions and concerns in the world brought into students' lives through media, offering students an opportunity to keep their focus on the prize — academic success, which helps ensure a happy and successful future — through group counseling makes eminent sense. Especially for students who struggle, group counseling can serve as a lifeline to scholastic achievement.

Statement of Problem

The need to build a better academic foundation for middle school children as they work their way through 6th, 7th, and 8th grades on their path to high school is apparent, and even critical, in some middle schools in the U.S. Respected studies link the high school dropout rate to poor performance in middle school. In the national report "The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts," sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, it is reported that every year "almost one-third of all high school students — and nearly half of all Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans — fail to graduate from public high school with their class" (Bridgeland, et al., 2006, p. i).

In an elaborate survey that was part of the report, forty-five percent of participants said they started high school poorly prepared. Many of these same students said they "fell behind" in elementary and middle school "and could not make up the necessary ground," the report notes. Those students believed they might have succeeded in high school with tutoring or help after school — hence the vital need to give struggling middle school students the support they need through group counseling. Getting a good start in middle school is clearly part of the reason for later success in high school. Four out of five high school dropouts who participated in the Gates Foundation study said they might have stayed in school if they had been shown the "connection between school and getting a good job" (Bridgeland, p. iv).

Keeping middle school students up to par in their academic work, and showing them how to succeed with caring, competent group counseling leaders, could go a long way toward reducing high school dropout rates. Indeed, 70% of the dropout respondents in the Gates study said they believed that "more tutoring" — along with summer school classes and "extra time with teachers" — would have greatly improved their chances of finishing high school. Those who say they needed more tutoring in high school are quite likely to have also needed that extra support in middle school; this information verifies and justifies the need for high-quality group counseling opportunities in middle schools.

University of Michigan professor of psychology and education Jacquelynne S. Eccles writes that there is a predictable decline in "academic motivation, school engagement, and academic performance" as students move from elementary school into middle school (Eccles, 2008, p. 1). Declines occur in students' "interest and feelings of belonging in school," Eccles explains. There is also a decline in "valuing particular subjects such as math," and confidence in one's intellectual abilities fades for many students in middle school. Along with this lack of confidence comes "test anxiety and general academic worries," Eccles continues.

Are these declines related to puberty or to school engagement? Eccles suggests that school-related experiences are often part of the decline in academic motivation. "Teachers in intermediate schools are more focused on control and discipline" than on academics, according to Eccles. As a result, there is "less trust between students and teachers," and at the very pivotal time in their early adolescent experiences — when they "are confronted with uncertainty about themselves" — middle school students are "often met with distrust from the very people who could provide support for them" (Eccles, p. 2). A quality group counseling program led by a well-trained counselor who relates well to students can go a long way toward creating trust between students and teachers.

Justification for the Research

Because there are extraordinarily high dropout rates in American high schools, and given that the U.S. ranks quite low compared to foreign students in academic success rates, there is powerful justification for programs of positive intervention at the middle school level. Education writer Barbara Pytel claims that "by 6th grade the signs are often there for who is likely to drop out" (Pytel, 2008, p. 1). The signs — grades, behaviors, attendance, and tardiness — are "better predictors" of an adolescent's potential to fail than race, test scores, and socioeconomic status, Pytel asserts. She insists that "nearly half of dropouts can be identified in sixth grade," but "interventions in middle school can turn students around and reduce dropout numbers in high school" (p. 2).

In 2007, the National Center for Educational Statistics (NAEP) indicated that just three out of ten 8th-grade students in the U.S. were "proficient in reading and math," Pytel explains. These statistics "loudly state that students entering high school" are simply not prepared. Moreover, U.S. students do not fare well on the international educational stage. At a time when globalization has brought much closer linkage between cultures, economies, and countries, American schoolchildren are lagging behind.

According to 2003 data from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 15-year-old American students ranked 24th out of 38 countries in science, 12th of 38 in reading, and 26th of 38 in "problem solving." The 2006 assessment was equally grim: of 57 countries worldwide, U.S. students ranked 35th in math and 29th in science. In PISA's 2009 reading results, U.S. students ranked 17th — behind Iceland, Poland, Switzerland, Estonia, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong-China, Finland, Korea, and first-place Shanghai-China.

Given the problems associated with academics and with students dropping out of high school, there is strong justification for conducting research into the positive outcomes associated with group counseling in middle school.

Definition of Terms

Group counseling: Led by a professional counselor, a group of 5 to 7 students meet and learn strategies for success in academics. National Defense Education Act (NDEA): Federal legislation that made money available to schools for many services, including counseling. American School Counselor Association (ASCA): Develops standards for counseling services in public schools. Stakeholders: All those affected by the success or failure of schools. At-risk students: Students in danger of failing due to a number of reasons, including academic struggles. Positive self-talk: When a student has a strong self-concept or self-image. Service learning: Learning how to share information with others; for example, middle school students acquire service-learning skills and then share those skills by tutoring elementary students. Skill-Builders: A curriculum approach fostering self-confidence and new skills in students who lag behind. Self-disclosure: The degree to which a counselor reveals personal information to students — there are limits to how much a leader should disclose. Experiential involvement: Actual hands-on experience within the group process.