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A Problem-Oriented Group Approach to Reduce Children's Fears and Concerns About the Secondary School Transition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2018

Stephanos P. Vassilopoulos ,
Kleopatra Diakogiorgi ,
Andreas Brouzos ,
Nicholas J. Moberly  and
Maria Chasioti
Stephanos P. Vassilopoulos*
Affiliation:
Department of Primary Education, University of Patras, Greece
Kleopatra Diakogiorgi
Affiliation:
Department of Primary Education, University of Patras, Greece
Andreas Brouzos
Affiliation:
Department of Primary Education, University of Ioannina, Greece
Nicholas J. Moberly
Affiliation:
Mood Disorders Centre, Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, UK
Maria Chasioti
Affiliation:
Department of Primary Education, University of Patras, Greece
*
address for correspondence: Stephanos P. Vassilopoulos, Department of Primary Education, University of Patras, Patras, 26 110, Greece. Email: stephanosv@upatras.gr
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Abstract

To facilitate students’ transition into secondary school, a short, problem-oriented group program was designed that included interpretation retraining, problem solving, and social-skills training. Pre- and post-test data from two groups conducted over the course of 5 weeks were combined for a total of 35 6th-grade students waiting to undergo school transition. There was also a no-intervention control group (n = 19). Results indicate that completion of the program by the intervention group led to a significant decrease on negative interpretations, with greater reductions in feelings of loneliness and increases in children's positive attitudes toward school compared to the control group. In addition, 3 months before moving to secondary school, children in the intervention group reported significantly fewer concerns about school transition compared with the controls. We conclude that the inclusion of problem-based strategies may be beneficial when designing transition groups, which may also lead to a significant reduction in worries and concerns about the transition to secondary school.

Keywords

cognitive-behaviouralgroup counsellingtransitionchildren
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , June 2018 , pp. 84 - 101
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2018 

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