Cory Hersh

EDUC 425
2/7/17
Applied Reading #1:

The article I chose to read was a study by Anderson et al. entitled, The

effects of divorce groups on childrens classroom behavior and attitudes towards

divorce. This study was extremely intriguing to me because it beautifully sets up a

background behind the groups that are currently organized at Kelly Elementary

where I am interning (more on that later). Anderson et al. realized that it was

important to study divorce because home living situations and family dynamics can

have significant impact on the children in those homes. That impact can include

performance in school as well as the ability to form relationships. They

hypothesized that the introduction of small group counseling sessions led by

elementary counselors and with other students on the subject of divorce would help

children deal with the issues they may experience at home while their families are

going through significant change.

The study was done at eight different elementary schools in North Carolina

and the children in families that experienced, or were experiencing, divorce were

divided into small counseling groups. There was also a control group that was not

organized into groups for the sake of measuring impact, but those students were

later put into divorce groups once the study was over. Before the groups began, all

of the students were given a pre-test that measured how positive or negative their

thoughts and behaviors were regarding divorce. The groups of 6-8 students met for

8 sessions, in which they discussed what they were going through during their

tough family break-up. The sessions allowed the kids to open up and share their

own stories as well as listen to the others in the group. This sharing and listening

allowed the kids to realize that they were not alone in their struggles. The group
leaders also taught about how there are positive aspects to divorce as well and how

the kids can take a different perspective on what is actually just a change. After the

8 sessions concluded, all the participants took a post-test to see how their thoughts

and feelings had changed on the topic of divorce. Additionally, the whole time that

the groups were going on, teachers were given scales to monitor pre- and post-

group behavior and academic performance. The study found that groups

significantly altered childrens views on divorce in a positive way and also had a

positive impact on their behavior in school. The groups did not have any effect on

academic performance.

The reason I picked this article is because Mrs. Foust, the Kelly Elementary

guidance counselor and my site supervisor, runs 5 different lunch groups for

different reasons. There is a friendship group to help kids develop skills for stepping

outside of their comfort zone and finding common interests with peers. There is an

anger management group, a school success group, a self-esteem group, and also a

changing families group which is absolutely geared towards kids who have

experienced, or are experiencing, a divorce. Although the article only focused on

the effectiveness of divorce groups in helping the participants develop more

positive attitudes and exhibit more positive behavior, it also provides groundwork

for the effectiveness of groups as a whole in the elementary setting. The groups

that I get to witness, take part in, and sometimes lead, are absolutely beneficial to

the kids that are referred to them by parents and teachers because they teach so

many valuable life skills and perspectives. I was already convinced of their

effectiveness after having seen the first couple sessions of a few groups while

interning, but after reading this study which affirmed their significance, it is my firm

belief that small groups for counseling should be available at all elementary schools.
Those groups should also have a range of topics because they can offer much

different things to the variety of children with diverse issues to discuss.