Enhancing Self-esteem of At-risk High School Students

Dropping out of high school is a major concern for the nation. Dropping out of school, although it occurs at a specific moment, is the culmination of a number of factors, including problems from both home and school, and may begin before the at-risk student starts school. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of peer tutoring by university undergraduate students on at-risk 9th-grade students. Ninth graders (N=87) from four eastern Kentucky high schools were selected by their school counselors as being at risk of becoming dropouts. Undergraduate tutors received 10 hours of preservice training and thereafter attended weekly training sessions to maintain cohesiveness. Tutors had 5 weeks to develop case studies on each student before starting tutoring sessions. After the case studies were developed, 14 tutoring sessions were conducted in 7 weeks. Each tutor served four high school students. The results suggested that students\u27 self-perceptions regarding their interpersonal relationships with their peers increased significantly in the program, as compared to the control group. That is, students in the program rated their concept of their interpersonal relationships higher than those who were not in the program. Thus it appears that this program was successful in enhancing some of the social and emotional needs of the students, specifically self-concept