Hope-based Group Counseling with Low Achieving Ninth Grade Students to Increase Academic Motivation: A Mixed Methods Approach

The purpose of this convergent parallel mixed methods study was to investigate how students with a history of poor academic performance would respond to a group curriculum teaching them components of Hope Theory and how to set and pursue goals. In the first quantitative portion of the study, data were collected via administration of self-report questionnaires (i.e., Hope, Self-Determination, Academic Self-Regulation, and Academic Self-Efficacy) to eleven freshman high school students identified by the school counselor as performing poor academically. Preliminary analyses revealed that students In the second, qualitative phase four participants, two from each group, were interviewed. examined whether participants would report changes in hope, academic self-efficacy, self-determination, and academic self-regulation after completion of the group. The qualitative portion investigated what themes emerged from the participants’ experience of taking part in the group curriculum. The participants’ responses regarding their group experience were congregated into nine themes: Social Experience, Agency, Goals, Applications, Pathways, Expression, Motivation, Strengths, and Self-Efficacy. Based on the findings from both phases of the study, implications and suggestions for future practice and research are also discussed