EFFECTIVENESS OF A GROUP GUIDANCE PROGRAM ON REALISTIC STUDY FIELD CHOICE AMONG FIRST YEAR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

In this research, the effectiveness of a group guidance program in terms of assisting first year high school students to choose realistically their study field was examined. The research was carried out with 40 children who were randomly selected among the first year students at zel Ferda Lisesi in Ankara during the academic year 2001-2002. The subjects were separated into two groups: the experimental group which attended the group guidance program and the control group which did not. Both groups were tested before and after the guidance program was implemented. The program developed by the researcher was mainly based on the cognitive-behavioral approach with a substantial emphasis on informational and interactional techniques. The independent variable of the research was the group guidance program that was applied to the experimental group. The dependent variable of the study was the students’ interest points. The program consisted of 12 sessions and they were administered every five days. Each session lasted for about 90 minutes. After the last session of the program, a student evaluation scale, which was developed by Kuzgun, was given to both the experimental and the control group members. In order to test this hypothesis, the dependent-samples t-test was used. The results indicated that the experimental group members’ score both in the aptitude and interests test was closer to their teachers’ rating after the group guidance program, while the control group members score did not change from the first to the second application of the test.