Developing and Implementing Small Group Counseling Programs for the Empowerment of Female Students
Format
Individual Presentation
Location
Sloane
Strand #1
Social & Emotional Skills
Strand #2
Academic Achievement & School Leadership
Relevance
This presentation connects with both the Head and Heart strands of the conference. The focus is enhancing the social and emotional development of young females in a way that empowers them to pursue more rigorous academics and build a greater sense of self-esteem and academic self-efficacy.
Brief Program Description
This presentation explores practical solutions for helping school professionals enrich and empower the rising generations of women. Strategies for implementing comprehensive school counseling programs with a focus on self-esteem, relational aggression, and academic achievement are explored and several existing small group counseling programs are reviewed.
Summary
This presentation will review the issues that affect the academic, social, and emotional development of adolescent females from current literature. The effects of technology and social media on the social and emotional development of young girls is a major focus. Social relationships with female peers, body image, and academic self-efficacy are also explored. By addressing each of these issues comprehensively educational professionals can gain a more holistic perspective on the social, emotional, and academic development of young girls. As such when working to empower young females to pursue more rigorous academics and develop a greater sense of self-esteem, comprehensive programs that address concerns such as relational aggression, body image, and self-esteem, have been shown to be as effective as academic groups. Due to the societal nature of many of the issues young girls face today, the implementation of small groups is a natural and effective intervention. This presentation reviews several group counseling models that seek to improve female academic, social, and emotional outcomes. Conference attendees will learn about the commonalities that programs such as these share. The main goal of this presentation is to allow attendees to cultivate ideas for how they may develop and implement their own girls groups that will met the specific needs of girls in their communities. With this understanding of how social/emotional factors influence the academic outcomes for female students, school professionals will gain new insights that will allow them to enrich and empower the rising generations of women.
Evidence
The implementation of groups for girls that address issues they face comprehensively has been shown to be a highly effective intervention. This presentation reviews existing programs that have shown success; such as Sisters of Nia (Belgrave, Cherry, Butler, & Townsend, 2008); REAL Girls (Mann, Smith, & Kristjansson, 2014); and Salvaging Sisterhood (Taylor, 2005).
References
Belgrave, F. Z., Cherry, V., Butler, D., & Townsend, T. (2008). Sisters of Nia: An empowerment cultural curriculum for African American girls.
Mann, M. J., Smith, M. L., & Kristjansson, A. L. (2014). Improving Academic Self-Efficacy, School Connectedness, and Identity in Struggling Middle School Girls A Preliminary Study of the REAL Girls Program. Health Education & Behavior, 1090198114543005.
Taylor, J. V. (2005). Salvaging sisterhood: A small group counseling and curriculum for relationally aggressive girls (grades 5–12).
Biographical Sketch
Megan Holder holds a BS in psychology and a minor in Education from Clemson University. She is currently an EdS School Counseling student at the University of South Carolina. Her interests include enhancing academic achievement, Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), increasing female student involvement in STEM courses, self-efficacy, resiliency, children with divorced parents, children with incarcerated parents, group counseling, and play therapy.
Keyword Descriptors
Female Empowerment, Feminist, Small Group Counseling, Academic Achievement, Social/Emotional, Relational Aggression, Self-Esteem, Body Image, Self-efficacy
Presentation Year
2016
Start Date
3-8-2016 2:45 PM
End Date
3-8-2016 4:00 PM
Recommended Citation
Holder, Megan S. Mrs., "Developing and Implementing Small Group Counseling Programs for the Empowerment of Female Students" (2016). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 124.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2016/2016/124
Developing and Implementing Small Group Counseling Programs for the Empowerment of Female Students
Sloane
This presentation explores practical solutions for helping school professionals enrich and empower the rising generations of women. Strategies for implementing comprehensive school counseling programs with a focus on self-esteem, relational aggression, and academic achievement are explored and several existing small group counseling programs are reviewed.
