TOJET The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology.docx

TOJET: The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology
– January 2011, volume 10 Issue 1
Technology 183
THE EFFECTS OF THE COMPUTER-BASED INSTRUCTION
ON THE
ACHIEVEMENT AND PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS OF THE
SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS
Oğuz SERİN
Cyprus International University, Faculty of Education,
Nicosia-North Cyprus
[email protected]
ABSTRACT
This study aims to investigate the effects of the computer-based
instruction on the achievements and problem
solving skills of the science and technology students. This is a
study based on the pre-test/post-test control group
design. The participants of the study consist of 52 students; 26
in the experimental group, 26 in the control
group. The achievements test on “the world, the sun and the
moon” and the Problem Solving Inventory for
children were used to collect data. The experimental group

received the computer-based science and technology
instruction three hours a week during three weeks. In the
analyses of data, the independent groups t-test was used
at the outset of the study to find out the whether the levels of
the two groups were equivalent in terms of their
achievements and problem solving skills and the Kolmogorov-
Smirnov single sample test to find out whether the
data follow a normal distribution and finally, the covariance
analysis (ANCOVA) to evaluate the efficacy of the
experimental process. The result of the study reveals that there
is a statistically significant increase in the
achievements and problem solving skills of the students in the
experimental group that received the computer-
based science and technology instruction.
Keywords: Computer-based instruction (CBI), the Science and
Technology Course, learning packet,
achievement, problem solving skills, primary education
INTRODUCTION
Great emphasis is placed on the computer-based science and
technology laboratories as well as ordinary science
laboratories in the educational curricula of the developed
countries. One of the aims of the science and
technology course is to train individuals capable of keeping up
the fast developing and changing science world
and capable of utilizing the recent technological discoveries in
every field. Researchers have been interested in
revealing the effects of the computer-based instruction, which
began to be used with the invention of the
computer, which is one of the most important technological
devices of the time.
As a result of the rapid development of the information and
communication technology, the use of computers in
education has become inevitable. The use of technology in
education provides the students with a more suitable

environment to learn, serves to create interest and a learning
centred-atmosphere, and helps increase the
students’ motivation. The use of technology in this way plays an
important role in the teaching and learning
process (İşman, Baytekin, Balkan, Horzum, & Kıyıcı, 2002). In
parallel with the technological advances;
technological devices, particularly computers began to be used
in educational environments to develop audio-
visual materials such as animation and simulation, which
resulted in the development of the computer-based
instruction techniques.
The best example of the integration of science and technology is
the Computer-Based Instruction technique. The
use of computers in the teaching and learning activities is
defined as Computer-Based Instruction (CBI). CBI is
the use of computers in the teaching and learning activities
(Brophy, 1999). CBI enables the students to learn by
self-evaluating and reflecting on their learning process. CBI
motivates children to learn better by providing them
with the immediate feedback and reinforcement and by creating
an exciting and interesting game-like
atmosphere. The studies in the field reveal that the students’
achievements increase when the CBI technique is
provided as a supplement to the classroom education. CBI is
more effective on less successful children. The
reason for this is that the computer-based instruction enables
the children to progress at their own pace and
provides them with appropriate alternative ways of learning by
individualizing the learning process (Senemoğlu,
2003). The most familiar function of the science education is to
teach the children the science concepts in a
meaningful way and enable them to lean how they can make use
of these concepts in their daily lives (Çepni,
Taş, & Köse, 2006).

The computer based teaching has had an impact on the
development of the educational technology to a great
extent in the 21. Century and this has resulted in the production
of the software for the computer-based
instruction. The primary purpose of the educational software is
to solve the learning problems in the science
courses encountered by the primary school students, to increase
their motivation and achievements and to protect
them against the negative effects of the rote-memory based
educational system.
Technology 184
There are software-supported educational products designed to
be used in the computer-based and computer-
supported teaching practices. These are the products that the
teachers use as complementary materials for taking
notes about their students and observations; making tables;
developing materials; doing calculations, and
preparing simple educational software. The educational
software is used as a teaching material in the teaching of
a part of a subject or the whole subject (Alkan, Deryakulu, &
Şimşek, 1995; İşman, 2005).
According to Alessi & Trollip (2005), it is possible to divide
educational software into five different types such
as tutorial, drill and practice, simulation, educational games and

hypermedia type. For effective and productive
teaching, these techniques should be used with some classroom
activities. These are: presentation,
demonstration, practice and evaluation of learning (Özmen,
2004). The use of computer technology enables
learners be active in the learning process, to construct
knowledge, to develop problem solving skills and to
discover alternative solutions (Özmen, 2008).
The presentation of teaching materials by means of the
computer technology helps students to process and
develop information, to find alternative solutions, to take an
active part in the learning process and to develop
their problem solving skills. Most of the scientific and
technological advances are realized by the people whose
problem solving skills have been developed. In addition, these
advances give rise to positive changes in the lives
of people owing to the ways and techniques developed by means
of the power of the problem solving skills. The
use the problem solving skills is inevitable at every stage of our
daily lives. As a result of the advances in today’s
technology and computer devices, it’s getting indispensable to
use this new technology in the solution of
educational problems. The education and technology play an
important role in the education of humans.
Although the education and technology are different concepts,
the use of both resulted in the emergence of a new
discipline, the educational technology. Owing to the educational
technology, the teaching and learning activities
become enjoyable. Students learn willingly, by playing and
enjoying during these activities (İşman, 2005).
Among the primary and secondary school students, girls use
computer 5 hours a week for the play purpose
whereas boys spend 13 hours a week for the same purpose
(Christakis, Ebel, Rivara, & Zimmerman, 2004). The

use of computer in teaching and learning environments is very
important as the children like it very much and
can continue playing with it without ever getting bored. In our
time, it is evident that visual materials such as TV
and computer are utilized in every field. And it is also evident
that computer attract students very much. The use
of the audio-visual devices and animations with instructional
materials results in the enjoyable and productive
learning process. In this way, the learning process can become
enjoyable and interesting for students as a result
of abolishing traditional classroom learning activities.
Technological developments give rise to new teaching and
learning facilities. In our time, human beings keep on
searching to find out how to use computer in educational
activities in a more productive way rather than
searching to reveal whether the use of computer in teaching and
learning activities is effective (Kara & Yakar
2008). Educational technologies, especially computers play an
important role in concretizing abstract concepts,
which are difficult for children to learn, by means of animations
(Akpınar, 2005).
The computer-based Instruction makes teaching techniques far
more effective than those of the traditional
teaching methods as it is used for presenting information,
testing and evaluation and providing feedback. It
makes a contribution to the individualization of education. It
motivates students and gets them to take an active
part in the learning process. It helps to develop creativity and
problem solving skills, identity and self-reliance in
learners. CBI provides drawings, graphics, animation, music
and plenty materials for the students to proceed at
their own pace and in line with their individual differences. It
serves to control lots of variables having an impact
on learning, which cannot be controlled by means of traditional

educational techniques (Kaşlı, 2000; Chang,
2002).
Liao (2007) found out that CBI had a positive effect on
individuals by comparing 52 research studies carried out
in Taiwan in his meta-analysis study. Senteni (2004) also found
out that CBI enabled the students to increase
their motivation and achievements and to develop positive
attitudes. According to research studies in literature,
the use of computer-based education increases students’
attitudes and achievements significantly (Berger, Lu,
Belzer, & Voss, 1994; Geban, 1995). There is a lot of research
on CBI both in Turkey and in the world. Different
results have been arrived at in these studies. Some of these
studies reveal that CBI serves to establish more
effective learning situations than traditional teaching methods
which involve teacher presentation, question and
answer techniques, and discussions etc (Boblck, 1972; Hughes,
1974; Cavin & Lagouski, 1978; Choi &
Gennaro, 1987; Niewiec & Walberg, 1987; Huonsell & Hill,
1989; Jedege, Okebukola, & Ajevole, 1991; Geban,
Ertepınar, Yılmaz, Altın, & Şahbaz, 1994; Crook, 1994; Child,
1995; Brophy, 1999; Gance, 2002; Çekbaş,
Technology 185
Yakar, Yıldırım, & Savran 2003; Yenice, 2003; Carter, 2004;
Moodly, 2004; Preciado, 2004; Li & Edmonds,

2005; Brooks, 2005; Bryan, 2006; Çepni, Taş, & Köse, 2006;
Wilder, 2006; Başer, 2006; Chang, Sung & Lin,
2006; Liao, 2007; Ragasa, 2008; Hançer & Yalçın, 2009; Lin,
2009). It has been found out that CBI serves to
develop meta-cognitive skills in students and helps them to
learn in a meaningful way instead of rote-memory
learning as well as it enables them to increase their
achievements (Renshaw & Taylor, 2000). According to some
studies there is no significant difference between the CBI and
traditional teaching methods (Bayraktar, 2001;
Alacapınar, 2003; Çetin, 2007).
This study, which aims to test the effects of the use of the CBI
technology, is thought to be important as it will
contribute to the wide use of educational software which
triggers active participation and enables students to
make their own meaning. The research, which was carried out to
this end, is considered to make the science and
technology education more enjoyable, productive and
functional. This study is important as its results serve to
complete the other studies done on CBI in Turkey and to
provide a basis for further studies.
Theoretical Background of the Study
With the use computers in education, a lot of terms have come
into and gone out of use in education (Owusu,
Monney, Appiah, & Wilmot, 2010). The overlapping terms
related to the uses of computer and associated
technologies in science education are categorized into three by
Bybee, Poewll, & Trowbridge (2008) as follows:
learning about computers, learning with computers and learning
through computers.
1. Learning about computers involves the knowledge of
computers at various levels such as knowing the

uses of the computer and the names of the various parts,
knowing how to use the keyboard and
computer packages and so on (Owusu et al., 2010). According
to Tabassum (2004), the knowledge of
computers may be thought of as a continuum which ranges from
skills in and awareness of computers at
lower level to programming at higher level.
2. Learning with computers, students use computers as a tool in
data acquisition, analysis, communication
with other people, information retrieval and myriad other ways
(Owusu et al., 2010). Learners use
computers to get information and do their homework.
3. The term ‘learning through computers’ involves the use of
computer as an aid for the teacher to do
his/her presentations, and / or to get the learners to practise and
drill. Computers are used to enhance
interactive activities, to provide immediate feedback, to
facilitate the retention and to enable the
learners at diverse levels to work at own their pace.
This study involves mainly learning through computer as well
as learning about computer. The theoretical basis
of the study derives from the operant conditioning by Skinner as
described by Owusu et al. (2010) in their study.
Operant conditioning is a type conditioning in which a learner
achieves some outcome by producing an action,
which is called the operant. If the operant is followed by
something pleasant, the outcome is positively
reinforced but if it is followed by the removal something

unpleasant, the outcome is negatively reinforced. The
theory that was influential during the heyday of the Audio-
Lingual method which lost favour 1960s was revived
after the introduction of the use computers into education.
Skinner’s reinforcement theory is central to
computerized learning; especially drill and practice and tutorial
learning (Tabassum, 2004). In these computer
facilitated learning, students’ behaviours are reinforced by
being permitted to proceed to the next frame when
they get the right answer (Bigge & Shermis, 2004). Tabassum
(2004) indicates that Skinner illustrated how to
develop programmed learning sequence which is being used
directly to design tutorial modules. According to
Owusu et al. (2010), “the use of computer-assisted instruction
especially in tutorials mode is supported mostly
by the behaviourist view of learning. This is due to the principle
of practice and reinforcement. Therefore, the
developers of tutorials mostly incorporate this theory of
learning in their programme”.
The study makes use of the operant conditioning deriving from
the practices of Skinner’s behaviourism. The
materials and activities are presented in graded steps. Learners
have the opportunity to be active in the learning
process and receive immediate feedback and work at their own
pace.
Purpose of the Research
The basic aim of this study is to investigate the effects of the
computer-based instruction on the achievements
and problem solving skills of the science and technology
students.

Technology 186
The Research Question of the Research:
The main research question of the study is stated as follows:
“Does the computer-based science and technology
instruction have any effects on the achievements and their
problem solving skills of the students?”
Sub-questions of the research:
The study aims to answer the following sub
research questions.
1. Is there a significant difference between the means of the
post-test achievements scores corrected
according to the pre-test achievements scores of the control
group taught according to the
traditional method and the experimental group taught according
to the computer-based science and
technology program?
2. Is there a significant difference between the means of the
problem solving post-test scores
corrected with respect to the pre-test scores of the control group
taught according to the traditional
method and the experimental group taught according to the
computer-based science and technology
program?

Limitations
The study is restricted to the topics, “Earth, Sun and Moon” in
the study field of “Earth and Universe” of the
science and technology course and to the 52 fifth graders
studying in a primary school at Buca-İzmir in the
2008-2009 school year. Only “the learning package” was used
in the process of teaching the experimental group.
METHOD
Research Design
The pre-test/post-test control group design (PPGD) was used in
this study. The pre-test/post-test control group
design is a mixed design, which is widely used. A mixed design
is a factorial design widely used in social
sciences, especially in education and psychology. The pre test-
post test control group design as one of the mixed
designs is one of the most widely used experimental designs. In
PPGD, in order to determine the effectiveness of
the experimental process, whether the variation between two
groups is significantly different is tested by means
of the “t” or “F” test Büyüköztürk, 2010).
Table 1 The pre test-post test control group model
Groups Pre Test Process Post Test
E1 01 X 02
E2 03 - 04
(Balcı, 2007)
As can be seen in Table 1, notations are: E1=Experimental
group, E2=Control Group, O1, O2_= Pre-test and Post-
test (Experimental group ) scores, O2, O4_= Pre-test and Post-
test (Control group ) scores, X=Process that stands

for the experimental variable of the computer based science and
technology program.
Participants
The participants of the study were 53 fourth year pupils in a
primary school in Buca/İzmir in the 2008-2009
school year. Those 53 pupils were put into two groups by lot
and later 26 were placed in the experimental group
and 27 in the control group by lot again. As one of the
participants did not attend the classes regularly and did
not take the pre-test, they were excluded from the research in
the data analysis process. In order to avoid the
effects of the gender variable, male and female pupils were
assigned to the groups equally.
Data Collection Instruments
The Problem Solving Inventory for children with the
Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient of .85 was used as
a data collection instrument prepared by Serin, Bulut Serin and
Saygılı (2010). This Problem Solving Inventory
serves to test the self-perception levels and behaviour of the
primary school students about the problem solving
skills. The scale is a five grade likert type scale rating from 1 to
5 and consisting of 25 items that can be
administered to primary school pupils between the ages of 7-12.
The points range from 24 to 120. High scores
represent the pupils’ positive perception of their problem
solving skills, whereas low scores represent the
negative perception of their problem solving skills.
In order to determine the primary school pupils’ comprehension
levels of the topics “Earth, Sun and Moon in the
science and technology course, an achievements test of 25 items
was designed. Before designing the
achievements test, the behavioural objectives were determined
by means of the content analysis. With the help of

experts in the field, it was determined that that there were 25
types of critical behaviour to be tested. 75 questions
were prepared to test these behaviours. The tentative form was
administered to a group of 200 fifth year pupils of
Copyrigh
Technology 187
another primary school. The results of the administration were
analysed with the TAP program (The Transition
Assistance Program). 25 questions that test critical behaviours
were included in the final test. On the basis of the
item analysis, the achievements test was prepared with the item
difficulty ranging from .25 to .90. The test was
finalized with the KR-20 reliability as .72.
Contents of the Program Applied
The research was conducted in the “Earth, Sun and Moon” unit
which aims to enable students to become familiar
with the relative shapes and dimensions of Earth, Sun and
Moon, to establish a connection between the
movements of Earth and Moon and to acquire information about
the results of this relationship and about their
effects on daily life. The difficulty of finding quality software
and supporting teaching programs is an important
factor that impairs the success of computer based instruction.
For these reasons, the computer based software
pertaining to “Earth, Sun and Moon” was prepared by
consulting science and technology teachers and experts.

This program was used in order to deal with the issue of quality
software. The “Adobe Photoshop” program was
used in preparing the graphics. The “learning package” applied
to the experiment group was prepared by using
the Macromedia Flash 8 program. The reason for the preference
of this program is that it offers a better visual
medium, as the shapes produced remain clear, the files created
are very small in dimension and the files can be
disseminated on the internet. The contents of each subject were
presented systematically in accordance with
predetermined, specific aims in the software. The visual aids
used in the software were suitable for the age and
educational level of the children. The software contained
documentaries and activities related to the subjects.
Furthermore, the student could direct his learning process and
evaluate his learning; the software had a dynamic
structure that enabled the student to see if the answers s/he gave
to the questions were correct or not. Apart from
this, using this software the student could play various
educational games related to the subject when s/he went
on the internet through the software. The internet based
“teaching package” which was applied to the experiment
group made it possible to have interactive lessons using media
like the internet, video, slides, CD’s, sound,
animation and the like. In the program, first topics were
presented. They were enriched with visual material and
made attractive with animation. The colors used in the software
were interesting for the student but not
distractive or tiring for the eye. The design of the interface was
simple and easy to understand, which made it
easy to direct the student. When the student entered the
program, s/he encountered an introductory screen which
showed all the subjects to be studied throughout the unit. In
order to enhance interaction, there were return
buttons throughout the program with which the student could go
to the main menu or to a previous page. Again,

throughout the program, the subjects were presented with rich
visual animations. The written material on the
screen was minimal but sufficient to summarize the subject. The
students studied the subjects with their teacher
but also reviewed the subject as much as they wanted. After
they studied the subject with their teacher on their
own computers, they did the interactive exercises on the screen
at the end of each lesson.
Figure 1 Introduction page of the software
Technology 188
When the student entered the program, s/he heard the following
(Figure 1): “Hello! Welcome to our program. In
this program you can reinforce what you have learned in the
exercise section which we prepared for you if you
want to learn about Earth, Sun and Moon. Should you be bored,
don’t worry. You can always come back to the
main page from where you are after you have had fun as much
as you want in the games section which we
prepared for you. What is more, don’t forget to get support from
the help button in places you have difficulty.
Now, the program is waiting for you. Cruise and have fun to

your heart’s content”.
Figure 2: Let us get to know our world
On the page in Figure 2 was the following audio explanation: “I
am Earth. Welcome to my page. If you click on
the how am I button, you can reach the place which contains
information about me. You can see how I revolve
around the sun together with the moon when you click the come
along with me button. If you click the where am
I button, you can learn how much the distance is between me
and the sun and the moon. Finally, if you click the
watch video button, you can watch a very beautiful video about
me”.
Figure 3: Let us get to know Earth (Where am I?)
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Figure 4: Let us get to know the Sun

The page on Figure 4 said, “Hello! I am the sun. Welcome to
my page. If you click the how am I button, you can
reach the part which covers information related to me. You will
love the video about me if you click the “would
you like to watch a video” button. When you click the “where
am I” button, you can see how far away I am from
Earth and the moon”.
Figure 5 Let us get to know the Moon
On the page in Figure 5, the student could hear the following:
“Hello! I am the moon. Welcome to my page. If
you click the “how am I” button, you can reach the part which
covers information related to me. You will love
the video about me if you click the “would you like to watch a
video” button. When you click the “where am I”
button, you can see how far away I am from the sun and Earth”.
If you click the “phases of the moon” button,
you can learn about my phases”.
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Figure 6 Assessment Section.

This section said, “Welcome to the assessment section. Here
you can begin answering the true/false, fill in the
blanks and the test questions we have prepared for you by
clicking the forward button below”.
Figure 7 Shall we exercise? (a)
As can be seen in Figure 7, if the student answered correctly,
the voice said, “Congratulations! You can pass on
to the next question” together with a smiling face. The student
had to give a correct answer in order to be able to
answer the next question.
Technology 191
Figure 8 Shall we exercise? (b)
In the “Shall we exercise” section in Figure 8 where the
matching questions were, the student could pass on to
the other questions when s/he matched the pairs correctly.

Figure 9 Clues to be taken if wrong answers are given.
If the student could not find the correct answer, up came the
page where Figure 9 is and if the student so wished,
s/he could take the clue to find the correct answer.
Technology 192
Figure 10 Shall we play?
As can be seen in Figure 10, the “Shall We Play?” section
comprised “follow the mouse”, “find Earth”, “shall
we watch an animation?” and “photograph album” activities.
Figure 11 Shall we play? (Let Us Find Earth)
As can be seen in Figure 11, when the student clicked the red
button to reach the information on how to play the
“Find Earth” game, s/he saw the following text: “There are
some planets and the sun in our game. What you

have to do is to find Earth among these planets. When you find
Earth, it stops. If you have stopped it, a little
surprise will be awaiting you in the blue button on the game
page. Don’t be a spoiling sport or click the button
before you find Earth. Don’t forget that none of the planets will
stop if you click the wrong one. OK! Have fun!
Find Earth and the surprise is yours”.
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Figure 12 Ready to have fun?
The section “Ready to Have fun?” on the page in Figure 12
comprised “our comic strips”, “shall we watch a
video?” and “shall we listen to a poem?” activities.
Figure 13 Exit page of the software.
The Experimental Process and Collecting Data
The “computer-based science and technology teaching program”
was applied to the experimental group and not
to the control group. The t-test results of the pre-test points

related to the achievements and problem solving
skills of the experimental and control groups are given in Table
2. As can be seen in Table 2 there was not a
statistically significant difference between the pre-test means of
the experimental and control groups.
Accordingly, it can be said that there is no significant
difference between the “Earth, Sun and Moon
Achievements Test” and “Problem Solving Inventory for
Children” pre-test means of the experimental and
control groups. In this case, it can be assumed that the levels of
the achievements and problem solving skills of
the control and experimental groups were equivalent before the
experiment began.
Tablo 2 The t-test results of the “achievements and problem
solving skills” pre-test scores of the experimental
and control groups
Measurements Groups N s.d. df t p
Experimental 26 24.000 7.244 Achievements Pre-
test Control 26 23.846 8.117
50 .076 .940
Experimental 26 72.230 13.360 Problem Solving
Skill Pre-test Control 26 72.538 15.687
50 .072 .943

Technology 194
For the experimental group the white board was not used while
studying the “Earth, Sun and Moon” unit in the
science and technology class. Instead, the interactive computer-
based “learning package” consisting of
educational games that could be played when connected to the
internet, which was prepared with the
Macromedia Flash 8 program.
The control and experimental groups were balanced gender
wise. Furthermore, care was taken that the
individuals in control and experimental groups did not interact
with each other. Six sessions of teaching-time
was allocated equally to both groups (12 hours). At the end of
the three-week computer based science and
technology program, the experimental and control groups were
again administered the “Earth, Sun and Moon
Achievements Test” and the “Problem Solving Inventory for
Children” on the same date.
Analysis of Data
In the analysis of data, the Kolmogorov-Simirnov single sample
test was used to see if the data were suitable for
normal distribution and the “independent groups t-test” was
used to test the equivalence of the achievements and
problem solving skills of the experimental and control groups at
the beginning of the study. At the end of the
experimental process, in order to test the effectiveness of the
experimental process the co-variance analysis
technique (ANCOVA) was used to see whether there was a
significant difference between the post-test score
averages which were corrected according to the pre-test results

of the experimental and control groups (Bonate,
2000; Büyüköztürk, 2006). The significance level was taken as
.05 in the study.
Findings
Kolmogorov-Simirnov Z was used to find out whether the
scores of the dependent variables followed a normal
distribution within each subgroup and whether the variances
were equal in order to measure whether there was a
significant difference between the means of the pre test and post
test results of the control and experimental
groups’ achievements and problem solving skills by means of
ANCOVA.
As is seen in Table 3 and Table 4, the measurements related to
the experimental and control groups follow a
normal distribution and the variances are equal. In addition,
when studied the correlations between the
measurements related to the groups, it can be seen that there is a
correlation at .49 (the lowest) between the pre
test and post test scores of the experimental group’s problem
solving skills and there is a correlation at .52 (the
highest) between the pre test and post test scores of the
experimental group’s problem solving skill. All of the
correlations are significant at the .05 level. The results can
provide evidence for the fact that there is a linear
correlation between the pre and post test scores. With respect to
these results, the covariance analysis was used
to determine whether there was a significant difference between
the means of the corrected post test scores
according to the control and experimental groups’ achievements
and problem solving skills.
Table 3 Descriptive statistics of experimental and control
groups and normality test results with

Kolmogorov-Simirnov Z
Groups Measurements N s.d. KS-Z p
Achievements Pre-test 26 24.000 7.244 .981 .291
Achievements Post-test 26 66.461 10.187 .858 .454
Problem Solving Skills Pre-test 26 72.692 13.768 1.074 .199
Experimenta
l
Problem Solving Skills Post-test 26 83.576 15.150 .986 .285
Achievements Pre-test 26 23.846 8.117 .823 .507
Achievements Post-test 26 58.307 8.629 .780 .577
Problem Solving Skills Pre-test 26 72.538 15.687 1.222 .101
Control
Problem Solving Skills Post-test 26 71.730 14.387 .964 .311
Table 4 Test results of homogeneity related to the variance
measurements of experimental and control groups
Levene Statistics Sd 1 Sd 2 p
Achievements Pre-test .686 1 50 .412
Achievements Post-test 1.369 1 50 .248
Problem Solving Skills Pre-test 1.615 1 50 .210
Problem Solving Skills Post-test .747 1 50 .392
The following is the first sub research question:
“Is there a significant difference between the means of the post
test achievements scores corrected with respect
to the pre-test achievements scores of the control group taught
according to the traditional method and the
experimental group taught according to the computer-based

science and technology program?” As is seen in
Copyrig
Technology 195
Table 4, there is a statistically significant difference between
the means of the post test achievements scores of
the pupils in the control and the experimental groups corrected
according to the pre test (F(1,49)=10.312; p<.05). It
can be seen that there is a significant difference between the
means of the achievements post test scores
( Experimental =66.433; Control=58.336) corrected according
to the pre test in favour of the experimental group. It
has been found out that the program (computer-based science
and technology teaching package) used with the
experimental group had an effect on the success in the science
and technology course according to the research
findings. When the eta-square values of the dependent variable
are examined, it will be seen that the amount of
effect is high and the 17.4 % of the variations in the
achievements post tests can be accounted for due to being in
different process groups.
The following is the second sub research question:
“Is there a significant difference between the means of the
problem solving post test scores corrected with
respect to the pre test scores of the control group taught
according to the traditional method and the experimental
group taught according to the computer-based science and

technology program?” As is seen in Table 4, there is a
statistically significant difference between the means of the
problem solving post test scores corrected with
respect to the pre test scores of the control group taught
according to the traditional method and the experimental
group taught according to the computer-based science and
technology program (F(1,49)=22.891; p<.05). ). It can
be seen that there is a significant difference in favour of the
experimental group between the means of the
problem solving post test scores ( Experimental=86.361;
Control =74.524) corrected according to the pre test. It has
been found out that the program (computer-based science and
technology teaching package) used with the
experimental group had an effect on the problem solving skills
in the science and technology course according to
the research findings. When the eta-square values of the
dependent variable are examined, it will be seen that the
amount of effect is high and the 31.8 % of the variances in the
achievements post tests can be attributed to being
in different process groups.
It can be stated that the F values and significance levels related
to the models are significant both from the
perspective of the achievements post test scores and from the
perspective of the problem solving post test scores
and the 23.9 % of the variances in the achievements post tests
can be attributed to being in different process
groups whereas the 58.7 % of the variances in the achievements
post tests can be attributed to being in different
process groups.
Table 5 The Achievements and problem solving skills of the
pupils in the experimental and control groups, pre
test, post test, corrected means, values of standard deviations

PRETEST POSTTEST CORRECTED MEAN Dependent
Variable Groups N
s.d. s.d. s.d.
Experimental 26 24.000 7.244 66.461 10.187 66.433 1.783
Achievements
Control 26 23.846 8.117 58.307 8.629 58.336 1.783
Experimental 26 72.230 13.360 86.269 13.183 86.361 1.749
Problem Solving
Skills Control 26 72.538 15.687 74.615 11.548 74.524 1.749
Table 4 The Analysis results of ANCOVA about the differences
between the means of the post-test scores of the
achievements and the problem solving skills corrected
according to pre-test scores
Dependent
Variable Source
Sum of
Squares df
Mean
Square F-Value p-value
Eta
Squared
Model 1271.120 2 635.560 7.691** .001 .239
Pre-test (reg.) 406.813 1 406.813 4.923** .031 .091
Grup 852.169 1 852.169 10.312** .002 .174
Error 4049.187 49 82.636
Achievements

Total 5320.308 51
Model 5545.964 2 2772.982 34.850** .000 .587
Pre-test (reg.) 3780.406 1 3780.406 47.511** .000 .492
Grup 1821.422 1 1821.422 22.891** .000 .318
Error 3898.863 49 79.569
Problem
Solving Skills
Total 9444.827 51
**p<.05
Technology 196
DISCUSSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
The fundamental aim of this study was to investigate the effects
of the computer-based Instruction on the
achievements and problem solving skills on the science and
technology students. To this end, the scores obtained
from the “Earth, Sun and Moon” Achievements Test and “the
Problem Solving Inventory for Children”
administered to the experimental and control groups were
compared. It was revealed that the findings obtained
from the results of the pre and post tests administered at the end

of the computer-based science and technology
instruction program revealed that there was a significant
difference between the achievements and problem
solving post test scores corrected according to the pre test
scores of the experimental and control groups. It was
found out the use of the computer and the teaching package with
the materials such as videos, slides, CD’s,
sounds and animations in the science and technology course
makes it possible to have an interactive lesson.
Moreover, the presentations of topics by means of rich visual
materials increase the achievements of the
students. It can also be stated that the use of CBI has positive
effects on the learners’ problem solving skills. The
high eta-square values obtained from the study indicate that the
group and pre test variables can provide an
explanation for the variances in the scores of the post test. The
results of the research indicate that the use of the
interactive learning package assists the learners in increasing
their achievements and developing their problem
solving skills in the fifth year science and technology course.
The significant increase in learners’ achievements in this study
can also be seen in Olgun’s study entitled “The
effect of the computer assisted instruction given to 6th grade
primary school students on the students’ attitude
toward science and their metacognitive skills and their
achievement” showed that computer-assisted science
instruction positively affected the attitude of the students
toward science and their metacognitive skills; in
Demirer’s study entitled “The effect of the computer assisted
teaching method and the traditional teaching
method on students’ academic achievement and their attitude
toward science and the permanence of the acquired
behaviors”, determined that the CAT method significantly
affected the attitude of the students; in Tekmen’s
study entitled “The effect of computer assisted instruction given

in the physics lesson in the 9th grade on the
achievement of the students, their attitude toward the lesson and
its retention”, Tekmen (2006) determined that
the effect of the CAT method on the attitude of the students was
significantly higher in comparison to the
traditional methods; Pektaş (2008), in his study entitled “The
effect of the constructivist approach and computer-
assisted instruction on students’ achievement and attitude in
biology” determined that the attitude of the
experimental and control groups toward biology and the
computer differed significantly in the positive direction;
Tavukcu (2008), in her study entitled “The effect of a computer-
assisted instruction environment in science
instruction on the students’ academic achievement, scientific
process skills, and the use of the computer”
determined that computer-assisted instruction positively
affected the attitude toward the computer; Pilli (2008)
found that there was a significant difference in the attitude of
the students toward computer-assisted learning in
favor of the experimental group in his study entitled “The
effects of computer-assisted instruction on the
achievement, attitudes and retention of 4th grade mathematics
course”; Yıldız (2009), in her study entitled “The
effect of computer-assisted instruction on the attitude and
achievement of 8th grade primary school children in
the subjects of geometric objects’ surface areas and their
volume”, reached the conclusion that computer-assisted
instruction positively affected the attitudes of the students, and
in the experimental study entitled “The effect
web-based science instruction on students’ achievement and
attitude” Şengel & Özden (2009) determined that
web-based 7th grade science instruction had a statistically
significant effect on the students’ attitude toward
science. In this study it was also determined that the attitude of
primary school 6th grade students toward science
and the computer differed significantly in favor of the

experimental group.
The findings are in agreement with the results obtained by
Geban, Aşkar, & Özkan (1992), Geban et al. (1994),
Dinçer (1995), Demircioğlu & Geban (1996), Meyveci (1997),
İbiş (1999), Sezgin (2002), Feyzioğlu (2002),
Sezgin & Köymen (2002), Akçay (2002), Bayraktar (2002),
Bozkuş (2002), Yiğit (2003), Yiğit & Akdeniz
(2003), Akçay, Tüysüz, & Feyzioğlu (2003), Çekbaş et al.
(2003), Carter (2004), Bussell (2004), Kert (2004),
Kıyıcı & Yumuşak (2005), Akgün (2005), Yakar (2005),
Başaran (2005), Atam (2006), Olgun (2006), Karataş
(2006), Aydoğdu (2006), Demirer (2006), Gönen, Kocakaya &
İnan (2006), Bodur (2006), Tekmen (2006), Saka
& Akdeniz (2006), Keleş (2007), Akpınar & Ergin (2007), Liao
(2007), Sarıçayır (2007), Kara & Kahraman
(2008), Akıllı (2008), Kara, Kahraman, & Baştürk (2008),
Yakışan (2008), Özel (2008), Pektaş (2008), Pilli
(2008), Tavukcu (2008), Birgin, Kutluca, & Gürbüz (2008),
Imhanlahimi & Imhanlahimi (2008), Özmen (2008),
Teyfur (2009), Yıldız (2009), Karaçöp, Doymuş, Doğan, & Koç
(2009), Doğan (2010), Güneş & Çelikler
(2010), Emrahoğlu & Sağlıker (2010). On the other hand, the
findings of this research partially or completely
contradict the results of the studies carried out by Bayraktar
(2001), Güler & Sağlam (2002), Alacapınar (2003),
Çetin (2007), and Owusu et al. (2010).
Finally, the suggestions deriving from the findings of this
research can be presented as follows: This study is
limited to the study of “Earth, Sun, Moon” in the science and
technology course. Similar research can be carried

Technology 197
out on different topics in different classes. Quantitative and
qualitative studies can be carried out on the
achievements and problem solving skills of high achievers and
low achievers in the other school subjects. The
duration of this research was limited to three weeks. In another
study, more time should be spared to find out the
effectiveness of the experiment. Qualitative studies can be
carried with the students who have weak problem
solving skills and with those who have strong problem solving
skills. Considering the effectiveness of the
teaching package used with the experimental group, teachers
can be asked to take part in-service training and can
be taught how to use the programs such as Macromedia Flash,
Macromedia Authorware, Adobe Photoshop.
They can be encouraged to develop the computer-based science
and technology software. Similar research can
be conducted in different primary and secondary classes.
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RESEARCH
Impact of Group Sandtray Therapy on the
Self-Esteem of Young Adolescent Girls
Yu-Pei Shen
Tzu Chi University
Stephen A. Armstrong
Texas A&M University-Commerce

The effectiveness of group sandtray therapy was examined using
a pretest-posttest
control group design with young adolescent girls (n ¼ 37)
identified as having low
self-esteem. A split-plot analysis of variance (SPANOVA)
revealed statistically
significant differences between participants in the treatment and
control groups
in self-esteem on five of the six subscales of the Self-Perception
Profile for Children.
The implications of the findings are discussed.
Keywords: adolescent; group therapy; sandtray therapy; self-
esteem
Researchers have identified adolescence as a chaotic and
difficult period
of time characterized by increased vulnerability, tremendous
changes
(Brendgen, Vitaro, & Doyle, 2002; Dies, 2000; LeCroy, 2004b),
and
normative stressors (Hampel & Petermann, 2005). Adolescent
girls
are particularly at high risk for developing mental health
problems
(Hampel & Petermann; LeCroy). They seem to be more
vulnerable than
boys to negative body image, body dissatisfaction, the
likelihood of
developing an eating disorder (Burrows & Cooper, 2002), and
interna-
lizing problems such as low self-esteem and depression
(Bolognini,
Plancherel, & Bettschart, 1996; Martin & Gentry, 1997;
Ohannessian,
Lerner, & Lerner, 1999). More adolescent girls than boys

experience
low self-esteem (Birndorf, Ryan, & Auinger, 2005; Carlson,
Uppal, &
Prosser, 2000; Israel & Ivanova, 2002).
Connor, Doerfler, and Toscano (2004) advocated gender-
specific
prevention=intervention programs for a variety of issues that
ado-
lescent girls may encounter. LeCroy (2004a, 2004b)
recommended that
gender specific programs should be implemented in early
adolescence
Yu-Pei Shen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of
Child Development and
Family Studies at Tzu Chi University in Taiwan. Stephen A.
Armstrong is an Assistant
Professor in the Department of Counseling at Texas A&M
University-Commerce.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Stephen A. Armstrong,
Department of Counseling, Education North 202, P.O. Box
3011, Commerce,
TX-75429-3011. E-mail: [email protected]
THE JOURNAL FOR SPECIALISTS IN GROUP WORK, Vol.
33 No. 2, June 2008, 118–137
DOI: 10.1080/01933920801977397
# 2008 ASGW
118

prior to the onset of some of the serious problems that many
adolescent
girls develop such as sexually transmitted diseases and illegal
drug
use. In addition, the need for prevention programs that
strengthen
self-esteem (Polce-Lynch, Myers, & Kilmartin, 1998), improve
signifi-
cant relationships (Moran & DuBois, 2002) and assist the
transitional
development of adolescent girls has been identified (Rice &
Meyer,
1994). A warm, non-confrontational, flexible, creative and
activity-
based approach can promote the establishment of a therapeutic
relationship with adolescents and positively impact their
behaviors
(Leadbeater, Kuperminc, & Blatt, 1999; Pollock & Kymissis,
2001;
Russell & Phillips-Miller, 2002). Some researchers have
recommended
school-based programs designed to address self-esteem issues in
adolescent girls (Block & Robins, 1993; Merwin & Ellis, 2004).
Even though many authors and researchers have recommended
pro-
grams for the enhancement of self-esteem in early adolescent
girls, iden-
tifying girls with low self-esteem may be challenging because
many girls
this age conceal their problems and have difficulty trusting
someone to
help them (LeCroy, 2004a, 2004b). Therefore, many girls who
need help
may not seek it. Counselors who work in middle schools and are
familiar

with the issues and needs of the young adolescent girls whom
they serve
are in an advantageous position to identify girls with low self-
esteem. If a
trusting relationship with these girls can be developed, they
may be will-
ing to participate in programs that enhance self-esteem.
Self-esteem refers to ‘‘the extent to which one prizes, values,
approves, or likes oneself’’ (Blascovich & Tomaka, 1991, p.
115). High
self-esteem is considered to be a protective factor for mental
health
problems (Birndorf et al., 2005; DuBois, Burk-Braxton, &
Swenson,
2002) and for decreasing overall adjustment difficulties
(DuBois
et al.). Research findings show that self-esteem typically
declines in
girls from early to late adolescence (Block & Robins, 1993;
Harter,
1999; LeCroy, 2004a, 2004b; Rosenberg, 1985). In addition to
the typi-
cal declines of self-esteem in girls this age, early adolescent
girls
from diverse populations may be more at risk for declining self-
esteem.
Holcomb-McCoy and Moore-Thomas (2001) noted that societal
images
and stereotypes have negatively affected the self-esteem of
young
adolescent African American girls. Therefore, it appears that
imple-
menting preventive and treatment programs for enhancing self-
esteem during the middle school years would be strategic.

Activity Group Therapy
Many girls from the age of 11–14 are still in the concrete oper-
ational stage of development (Meece, 1997). Children in this
stage
often have difficulty expressing their feelings adequately
through
Shen, Armstrong / GROUP SANDTRAY THERAPY 119
language. Draper, Ritter, and Willingham (2003) noted that
children
in this age group could ‘‘benefit from a modality that is not
completely
dependent on verbalization, that is, some experiences may be
better
accessed through activity such as play, art, or some other form
of
metaphoric communication’’ (p. 245). Slavson (1943)
introduced an
activity group approach to therapy that used toys and games.
Accord-
ing to Slavson, therapists need to convey acceptance and allow
parti-
cipants to engage in self-directed activities. Activity group
therapy
emphasizes the expression of feelings and fantasies through
activities
and play rather than through verbal means (Lomonaco,
Scheidlinger,
& Aronson, 2000). In addition to the therapist providing a sense
of
freedom and acceptance, the interactions of children with each
other

help them to improve communication and learn the rules of peer
inter-
action, such as taking turns.
Bratton and Ferebee (1999) noted that expressive art activities
could be used therapeutically in activity group therapy.
Expressive
art activities are experiential by nature and provide a unique
means
of self-expression that works well with children and young
adoles-
cents. Bratton and Ferebee also stated that structured expressive
art activities provide young adolescents with ‘‘opportunities to
change
perceptions about self, others, and the world as they try out new
roles
and solutions in the safety of the group’’ (p. 193). One
expressive art
activity that Bratton and Ferebee used effectively in group work
with
young adolescents was sandtray therapy.
Group Sandtray Therapy
Group sandtray therapy is an activity-based approach that has
been
used successfully with children and young adolescents (Draper
et al.,
2003; Flahive & Ray, 2007; Homeyer & Sweeney, 1998). Group
sand-
tray therapy is an intervention in which ‘‘group members build
small
worlds with miniature figures in individual trays of sand and
share
about their worlds as they are willing’’ (Draper et al., p. 244).
The

therapeutic effects of sandtray therapy are experienced through
the
creation of sandtray scenes and the facilitation of a trained
therapist
to unfold and process the intrapsychic and interpersonal issues
of
group members (Homeyer & Sweeney).
Because young adolescent girls are developmentally interested
in
peers, a group therapy approach to sandtray is preferable to
individual
sandtray (Dies, 2000; Draper et al., 2003; Flahive & Ray, 2007).
Group
sandtray therapy is physically active and provides children an
indirect
means to self-disclose material that is painful or uncomfortable.
With
sandtray, young adolescents can feel a sense of safety and
empower-
ment (Homeyer, & Sweeney, 1998). Group sandtray therapy
offers
120 THE JOURNAL FOR SPECIALISTS IN GROUP WORK /
June 2008
young adolescent girls an opportunity to build significant
relation-
ships with peers, which is an important developmental task for
this
age (Moran & DuBois, 2002).
Even though a group approach that uses sandtray is
developmen-

tally appropriate and has been recommended in the literature,
there
is little quantitative research to support the effectiveness of this
approach, particularly with young adolescent girls. Draper et al.
(2003) noted that there was a need for research on group
sandtray
therapy to determine its effectiveness. Others have stressed the
need to provide empirical research results in sandtray therapy
and
the need to examine the effectiveness of sandtray therapy for
different
populations and presenting issues (Flahive & Ray, 2007; Kestly,
2001).
There are no studies in the literature that examine the effective-
ness of sandtray therapy with diverse populations. However,
Cochran (1996) noted that person-centered therapies are
beneficial
for treating culturally diverse populations of students.
Constantine
(2001) stated that Hispanics tend to prefer interpersonal
relation-
ships that are nurturing and loving rather than goal-oriented.
Simi-
larly, Bailey and Bradbury-Bailey (2007) recommended that
group
counselors who are not African American should respond to
African
American adolescents in an accepting and non-judgmental
manner.
Thus, a therapeutic approach that is warm, supportive and
accepting
appears to be advantageous when conducting group work with
diverse populations.
In the current study, the group therapists used a humanistic

theor-
etical approach to counseling. A humanistic approach with
children is
grounded in child-centered theory, which is based on a belief
that chil-
dren are capable of self-direction given an accepting and
supportive
environment (Landreth, 2002). In addition, child-centered
theory is
based on the premise that it is essential for child clients to
experience
the core conditions in the therapy relationship in order for
growth and
change to occur. Humanistic therapists believe that participants
will
experience healing in a safe and contained environment that is
full
of understanding, acceptance, freedom, and a sense of control
(Kalff,
1980). Therefore, a dynamic interpersonal relationship between
thera-
pist and clients is essential with a humanistic approach.
Humanistic
therapists also believe that all people possess an inherent
actualizing
tendency toward growth. In the current study, counselors were
instructed to accept all feelings in the group sessions while
limiting
only those behaviors that were potentially destructive in nature
(Landreth, 2002). This approach allowed for cultural differences
in
communication including ‘‘the emotive and affective quality of
inter-
personal interactions’’ that are valued by many African
Americans
(Sue & Sue, 2004, p. 15).

Sue and Sue (2004) noted that culturally competent counselors
are
in the process of becoming aware of their values, biases and
precon-
ceived notions and how they may affect minority clients.
Culturally
competent counselors attempt to understand the worldview of
cultu-
rally different clients and practice culturally sensitive
intervention
strategies (Sue & Sue). All of the group therapists in the current
study had multicultural coursework and previous clinical
experience
with culturally diverse clients. Through their studies and
clinical
experience, the therapists developed at least a basic level of
cultural
competence, including an understanding of how cultural group
membership influences the formations of worldviews (Sue,
2001).
In supervision, the therapists were challenged to become aware
of
how their biases might affect their relationships with culturally
diverse clients. The therapists also were challenged in
supervision
to be congruent in their interactions with all clients.
Congruence
and authenticity is valued highly by African American clients
(Sue & Sue).
The researchers limited the group to one grade because Zinck

and
Littrell (2000) indicated that adolescent girls feel more
comfortable
expressing themselves with girls of their age. Lomonaco et al.
(2000)
noted that groups comprised of participants and therapists of the
same
gender are developmentally beneficial particularly in
interpersonal
learning. Draper et al. (2003) also recommended same-sex
groups
with girls in this age group because the flirting that occurs
‘‘when
adolescent boys and girls are together can be a distraction to the
group
work and may inhibit the openness and honest disclosure’’ that
group
leaders strive to achieve (p. 251).
The purpose of the current study was to examine the
effectiveness
of group sandtray therapy with seventh grade girls with low
self-
esteem. Flahive and Ray (2007) recently conducted a group
sandtray
therapy study with preadolescents with behavioral problems.
The cur-
rent study extended and modified Flahive and Ray’s approach
and
examined the effectiveness of this modality with young
adolescent
girls. Thus, this research resembled Flahive and Ray’s study
with a
different population, presenting issue, and instrumentation.
Flahive
and Ray’s study focused on group sandtray therapy with

preadoles-
cents experiencing behavioral problems. They suggested that
their
research could be replicated, and that similar research could be
conducted on different populations either with group or
individual
sandtray therapy. Flahive and Ray also recommended limiting
group
size with children who participate in group sandtray therapy.
In the current study, the effectiveness of group sandtray therapy
in
enhancing self-esteem in seventh grade adolescent girls was
evaluated
by comparing scores of the treatment and control groups
obtained on
June 2008
the Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC, Harter, 1985).
The
following question was addressed: Does group sandtray therapy
improve the self-esteem of a sample of seventh grade adolescent
girls
as evidenced by scores on the SPPC? This research question was
tested across all six of the subscales in the SPPC. We
hypothesized
that the posttest scores on the six subscales of the SPPC of the
treatment group would be statistically significantly higher than
the
posttest scores of the control group.
METHOD

Research Design
This study utilized a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design
with a treatment group and a control group to determine the
effects
of sandtray therapy on the self-esteem of young adolescent
girls. The
treatment group received group sandtray therapy following the
pretest, whereas the control group did not receive therapy until
participants in the treatment group completed their posttest.
Both
groups took the pretest and the posttest. The duration of group
sandtray therapy was 50 minutes per session, twice a week for
nine
sessions. Researchers in previous studies recommended that
group
sandtray therapy sessions last an hour (Flahive & Ray, 2007;
Hedges-Goettl & Tannenbaum, 2001); however, in the current
study
therapists shortened the session time to accommodate the school
schedule. The frequency of group meetings (twice a week) has
promoted the development of trust in relationships among group
members (Tyndall-Lind & Landreth, 2000).
Participants
Participants were 40 seventh-grade adolescent female students
from three middle schools in three different cities in the
southwest-
ern United States. Though 40 participants completed the pretest,
three participants were not included in the posttest results due
to
attrition and unavailability for the posttest. Two of the original
part-
icipants were not allowed to continue in the project because of

ser-
ious discipline referrals to the principal. A third original
participant was screened out of the project because of a court
case
involving sexual abuse. The researchers assigned the
participants
to either the treatment or control group according to the
equality
of the group means of the total scores on the pretest (M ¼
97.75,
SD ¼ 17.51 for the control group; M ¼ 98.65, SD ¼ 17.13 for
the
treatment group). In other words, the researchers assigned parti-
cipants to the two groups (based on pretest scores) so that the
group
means would be equal. The 37 remaining female participants
included 20 African-Americans (54%), 12 Whites (32%), and 5
His-
panic Americans (14%). The treatment group included 9 African
Americans, 6 Whites, and 3 Hispanic Americans whereas the
control
group included 11 African Americans, 6 Whites and 2 Hispanic
Americans. Ages ranged from 11 to 13 years, with a median age
of
12 years. Of the 37 participants, 26 (70%) were identified as
aca-
demically at-risk students (students who failed the state
mandated
criterion referenced test). Twenty-nine participants (78%)
qualified
for reduced or free lunch, which is an indicator of lower

socioeco-
nomic status.
School counselors identified seventh grade adolescent girls who
pre-
sented with low self-esteem and referred them to the therapist
assigned to each school. Parents gave written permission for
their chil-
dren to participate in the study. The therapist in each school
screened
the referred students individually for approximately 15 minutes.
After
screening, therapists included all girls who had been referred
and
obtained written assent from all of them. Participants were
informed
that the group would meet twice weekly for four and one half
weeks
for a total of nine sessions.
Therapists
Three female therapists conducted group sandtray therapy in
this
study. All of the therapists had training in the areas of sandtray
ther-
apy, group therapy and play therapy. The therapists received
additional training in group sandtray therapy from the second
author.
Two of the therapists were doctoral candidates in counseling
and one
of these two was a licensed professional counselor. The third
therapist
was a post-masters licensed professional counselor.
All of the therapists in the current study used a humanistic

approach to group sandtray therapy. In addition, all of the
therapists
had previous experience counseling culturally diverse clients.
Instrumentation
Harter’s Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC; Harter,
1985),
a self-administered instrument, has been widely used in research
to
measure feelings of competence in specific domains and overall
self-
worth (Schumann et al., 1999). The instrument has five
subscales that
assess perceived domain-specific competence (Scholastic
Competence,
Social Acceptance, Athletic Competence, Physical Appearance,
and
June 2008
Behavioral Conduct) and a separate scale that assesses overall
self-worth (Global Self-worth). Each subscale on the SPPC
consists of:
six items, half of which are reversed with respect to whether the
first
part of the statement reflects high or low competency. To avoid
socially
desirable responses, Harter devised a structured alternative
format that
first asked children to decide which part of a two-part statement
describes them best and then asks them to decide if this is really

true
or only sort of true (Schumann et al., 1999).
Reliability for the SPPC was established with an initial sample
of
1543 children in grades 3 through 8, including 754 boys and 789
girls
(Harter, 1985). The sample was diverse socioeconomically, but
did not
include representative proportions of children from different
ethnic
groups. The SPPC had acceptable reliability with Cronbach’s
alpha
ranging from .76 to .86 on the six subscales. Schumann et al.
(1999)
studied the psychometric properties of the SPPC with a
socioeconomi-
cally diverse sample of 2,267 Black and 2,167 White girls.
Cronbach’s
alphas were higher for the White girls (.81 to .85) than the
Black girls
(.71 to .76) on the six subscales.
Procedures
The procedures used in this research were modifications of
those
used by Flahive and Ray (2007). Participants in the current
study
were divided into small groups of four. All of the small groups
were
heterogeneous by race. Given the school setting for the
intervention
and recommendations in the empirical literature about the
number
of sessions needed for group therapy to be effective, the

researchers
decided that nine group sessions were sufficient (Muller, 2000;
Young,
1994; Zinck & Littrell, 2000).
The treatment intervention was provided to five groups of four
part-
icipants. Participants were provided with the opportunity to
visually
and physically see and touch the sand, miniatures, and sandtray
(Draper et al., 2003). After the pretest was administered and
parti-
cipants were assigned to condition, girls in the treatment group
parti-
cipated in nine sessions of group sandtray therapy. Participants
in the
control group received no treatment during this time period.
After the
collection of posttest data was completed, participants in the
control
group received the same group sandtray therapy as the treatment
group.
Session structure. Structure in group sessions can help reduce
anxiety in group members. Structuring group sessions also has
been
acknowledged as developmentally appropriate for adolescents,
because adolescents do not handle ambiguity well (Nichols-
Goldstein,
2001). Therefore, a selected topic was structured into each
session.

Topics were chosen based on the concerns and issues that most
ado-
lescent girls experience in their development including physical
appearance (Keery, Boutelle, & van den Berg, 2005),
relationships,
and social acceptance and competence (Hedges-Goettl &
Tannenbaum,
2001; LeCroy, 2004b; Polce-Lynch et al., 1998). For example,
in the
friends’ sandtray session, group members were instructed to
build a
scene of themselves and their friends.
Sandtray room. Therapists set up a sandtray room in each
middle
school. In each sandtray room, there were four 21-inch round
plastic
sandtrays that were painted with ocean blue on the inside.
Shelves
or tables were used to display miniatures. Each group had
miniatures
in eight categories as recommended by Homeyer and Sweeney
(1998)
including people, animals, buildings, vehicles, fences and signs,
natu-
ral items, fantasy, and spiritual-mystical. Duplicates of the
miniatures
were provided at each school in order to provide participants
greater
choice in the selection of items.
Sandtray therapy. In the sandtray sessions, participants were
instructed on how to create or build their sandtray scenes
(Homeyer
& Sweeney, 1998). Questions were encouraged if participants
were

not clear about the instructions. As recommended by Flahive
and
Ray (2007), therapists used a standard statement for participants
to
help them build their scenes:
As you can see there are many and various miniatures on the
shelves.
I would like you to take a look at them. I would like you to
build a scene
of (the selected topic as described earlier) in your own sandtray
by
using the sand and miniatures there. You may build your
sandtray scene
in any way you like and use as many miniatures as you would
like. When
you are working on building your scene, I will sit here quietly.
Let me
know when you are finished.
Therapists allowed approximately 15 minutes for each group
mem-
ber to create her scene in the tray, leaving about 35 minutes
available
for processing the scenes. However, as the group sessions
progressed,
participants took longer to build their scenes. During the
building
phase, the therapist observed how each of the participants
approached
the miniatures and built her sandtray scene.
After participants had created their scenes in the sandtrays,
group lea-
ders invited group members to share their sandtray scenes.
There were

no restrictions regarding the way they shared, nor were they
forced to
share (Draper et al., 2003). The leader began the processing part
of the
June 2008
session with a statement such as, ‘‘What would you like to
share about
your sandtray scene with us? There may be something there that
you
do not want to share, and that is fine. You may share it in any
way
you like.’’ Such statements encouraged participants to share at
their
own pace. The leaders facilitated the processing of sandtray
scenes by
asking questions such as the following. ‘‘What will you name
your sand-
tray scene’’? ‘‘Can you tell me more about this (miniature’’?
‘‘What is this
(miniature) doing’’? Facilitators used reflective responses as
individuals
talked about their scenes. The therapists also used group skills
such as
linking to normalize responses and feelings and to promote
universality
(Yalom & Leszcz, 2005). More facilitative and elaborative
questions such
as the questions above may be referenced in Homeyer and
Sweeney
(1998). The role of the therapist in sandtray therapy is to be a
facilitator.

The therapist intervened or set limits if negative or harmful
comments
were delivered in a session (Draper et al., 2003).
Data Analysis
Split-Plot Analysis of Variance (SPANOVA) was utilized in
data
analyses to determine the effectiveness of group sandtray
therapy
on self-esteem, and SPSS1 13 computer software was used to
run
the analysis. SPANOVA is used to analyze data from mixed
designs,
designs with at least one between-subjects factor and at least
one
within-subjects factor (Shavelson, 1996).
With SPANOVA, all of the relevant factors in the analysis are
ana-
lyzed together rather than separately, which comes closer to
reflecting
the relationship of the factors being analyzed. SPANOVA also
reduces
the risk of experiment-wise type I error and increases power by
partitioning error.
RESULTS
Pre- and post-test scores were obtained on all six of the
subscales
in the SPPC: Scholastic Competence, Social Acceptance,
Athletic
Competence, Physical Appearance, Behavioral Conduct and
Global
Self-worth. The means and standard deviations (SD) for the

scores
on the six subscales are presented in Table 1.
A SPANOVA was conducted on each subscale; the between-
subjects
variable was treatment (waiting-list control group and sandtray
therapy group), and the within-subjects variable was time
(pretest
and posttest). Model assumptions of split-plot analysis of
variance
(SPANOVA), which include independence, normality,
homogeneity
of variances, and homogeneity of covariances (Shavelson,
1996), were
tested and verified. Because numerous statistical tests were
conducted
in this study, a conservative alpha level of .01 was used in order
to
reduce the risk of experiment-wise type I error (Armstrong &
Henson,
2005). Depending upon the existence of a significant
interaction, a fol-
low-up analysis of either main effects or simple effects was
conducted
to further analyze the results. Then effect sizes were calculated
to
determine the practical significance of the results. Cohen’s d
was the
effect size used in this study.
SPANOVA results showed that there was a statistically

significant
interaction in the scores of the Scholastic Competence subscale
across treatment and time, F(1, 35) ¼ 13.758, p ¼ .001. The
statisti-
cally significant interaction is shown in Figure 1. After a
statistically
significant interaction is found, simple effects rather than main
effects are examined. A significant interaction indicates that the
results of main effects cannot be generalized. In the current
study,
main effects would include differences between the treatment
and
control groups, whereas simple effects would include
differences
between pretest and posttest scores across the same independent
variable. In the treatment group, a statistically significant
simple
effect was found between pretest and posttest on Scholastic
Com-
petence, F(1, 17) ¼ 15.132, p ¼ .001, with a medium effect
size,
Cohen’s d ¼ .68. There was no statistically significant simple
effect
of the control group (waiting-list group) between pretest and
posttest,
F(1, 18) ¼ 2.042, p ¼ .17.
Table 1 Means and Standard Deviations for All Six Subscales in
the SPPC
Pretest Posttest
Factor Mean SD Mean SD
Control group (n ¼ 19)
Scholastic Competence 15.26 4.21 14.11 3.74

Social Acceptance 16.63 5.33 14.42 4.66
Athletic Competence 16.89 4.40 17.05 3.92
Physical Appearance 14.53 5.33 14.00 4.80
Behavioral Conduct 17.95 4.42 15.32 3.74
Global Self-worth 16.68 4.78 16.11 3.63
Treatment group (n ¼ 18)
Scholastic Competence 14.56 4.87 17.56 3.93
Social Acceptance 19.28 3.59 20.72 2.67
Athletic Competence 16.00 3.69 18.00 3.14
Physical Appearance 15.89 5.37 18.33 3.82
Behavioral Conduct 16.94 3.65 18.28 2.76
Global Self-worth 17.00 4.35 20.06 2.86
Note. Higher scores reflect greater self-esteem.
June 2008
Results showed that there was a statistically significant
interaction
in the scores of the Social Acceptance subscale across treatment
and
time, F(1, 35) ¼ 13.607, p ¼ .001. The statistically significant
interac-
tion is visually depicted in Figure 2. The results of the simple
effects of
neither the treatment group nor the control group between
pretest and
posttest were statistically significant.
There was no statistically significant interaction in the scores
of the Athletic Competence subscale across treatment and time,

Figure 1 Interaction of scholastic competence across treatment
and time.
Figure 2 Interaction of social acceptance across treatment and
time.
F(1, 35) ¼ 2.769, p ¼ .105. The main effect between the
treatment and
control groups also was not statistically significant.
There was a statistically significant interaction in the scores
of the Physical Appearance subscale across treatment and time,
F(1,
35) ¼ 7.53, p ¼ .01. A statistically significant simple effect of
the
treatment group between pretest and posttest was identified,
F(1,
17) ¼ 12.658, p ¼ .002, with a medium effect size, Cohen’s d ¼
.52,
but not in the control group across time, F(1, 18) ¼ .404, p ¼
.533, with
a negligible effect size, Cohen’s d ¼ .1.
A statistically significant interaction in the scores of the
Behavioral
Conduct subscale across treatment and time was detected, F(1,
35) ¼
10.413, p ¼ .003. The results of the simple effect showed that
there
was not a statistically significant difference in the treatment
group
between pretest and posttest, F(1, 17) ¼ 2.693, p ¼ .119. There

was
a statistically significant simple effect of the control group
between
pretest and posttest, F(1, 18) ¼ 8.269, p ¼ .01, with a medium
effect
size, Cohen’s d ¼ .64.
Finally, a statistically significant interaction was found in the
scores of the Global Self-worth across treatment and time, F(1,
35) ¼
8.039, p ¼ .008. The results of the simple effect showed that
there
was a statistically significant difference in the treatment group
between pretest and posttest, F(1, 17) ¼ 14.807, p ¼ .001, with
a large
effect size, Cohen’s d ¼ .83. No statistically significant
difference was
found in the control group across time.
In summary, there were statistically significant interactions on
five
of the six subscales of the SPPC. In addition, the effect sizes of
the sim-
ple effects were notable, indicating practically significant
differences
in the treatment group over time with no corresponding changes
in
the control group.
DISCUSSION
Results of the current study indicated that group sandtray
therapy
was effective in improving the self-esteem of young adolescent
girls.
There were statistically significant interactions between

participants
in the treatment group and the control group across time on five
of
the six subscales of the SPPC: Scholastic Competence, Social
Accept-
ance, Physical Appearance, Behavioral Conduct and Global
Self-
worth. As Table 1 indicates, this contrast was the pattern for
five
of the six subscales: the mean of the treatment group scores
increased and the mean of the control group scores decreased.
In
addition, given that 25 of the 37 participants were not White, it
June 2008
appears that group sandtray therapy is effective in improving
the self-esteem of young adolescent girls from different cultural
backgrounds.
Two of the areas of self-esteem that appear to mean the most to
young adolescent girls are perceptions of their social acceptance
among peers and their physical appearance. In the control
group,
the mean of the scores on the Social Acceptance subscale
declined
by over two points (13%) in five weeks. It appears girls in the
con-
trol group were experiencing struggles in Social Acceptance
while
girls in the treatment group were improving. An analysis of the
sim-
ple effect sizes confirms this trend. The Cohen’s d effect size of

the
control group declining (.44) is almost identical to the effect
size of
the improvement in the treatment group (.46). Researchers have
identified the link between social support and self-esteem
(Merwin
& Ellis, 2004; Moran & DuBois, 2002). It appears group
sandtray
therapy may have prevented or protected girls in the treatment
group from experiencing the drop in this aspect of self-esteem
that
is typical for girls in this age group (Block & Robins, 1993;
LeCroy,
2004a).
Block and Robins (1993) noted that positive interpersonal
relation-
ships are more strongly related to high self-esteem in adolescent
girls than boys. The group format in the current study provided
girls
with an accepting group of peers and opportunities to interact
with
girls and the female therapist in a safe and supportive
environment.
In group sandtray therapy, messages that the participants were
cared for, respected, unique, and significant were delivered
through
the nature of sandtray therapy, the dynamics and cohesion of the
group, and the therapeutic relationship between the girls and the
therapists.
Many young adolescent girls struggle with feelings of
inadequacy
related to physical appearance. Holcomb-McCoy and Moore-
Thomas
(2001) noted that African American adolescent females are

especially
vulnerable to negative feelings related to physical appearance.
Burrows and Cooper (2002) noted that many girls are concerned
about
their weight or shape. In the current study, girls in the treatment
group made statistically significant gains in their self-esteem in
this
area. One of the advantages of same-gender groups with same-
gender
therapists is the safety that can be experienced by girls when an
issue
such as physical appearance is the topic of focus.
In the group session that focused on physical appearance, many
girls reported that they had negative feelings about their bodies,
but many of the participants created scenes that were beautiful.
These participants chose miniatures that symbolized beauty,
such
as princess-like figures, butterflies, flowers, and shining and
colorful
miniatures. They stated that these beautiful miniatures
symbolized
their personalities as well as their physical appearance. When
the
participants chose to focus on the beauty of their personalities
rather
than their physical attributes, it was different from what the
thera-
pists expected, but the therapists accepted and reflected the
subjec-
tive inner worlds of the participants. It appears that girls in the

treatment group were able to accept themselves better by
combining
their views of their physical appearance with their views of
their
inner beauty. In addition, group members conveyed acceptance
of
each other’s appearance and personalities. This acceptance
appeared
to help the girls place less emphasis on negative feelings they
had
about their appearance and more emphasis on aspects of their
personalities they valued.
For example, one girl chose a mirror as a symbol in her sandtray
to
represent how she felt about her physical appearance. As the
therapist
focused on her feelings about her body image, other group
members
encouraged her to focus on her attributes as a person. This
feedback
appeared to help her accept herself more because the group
accepted
her physical appearance and valued her strengths as a person.
The
group’s acceptance appeared to help her improve her self-
perception
and self-acceptance.
Tuckman and Jensen (1977) proposed five stages of group
develop-
ment that include forming, storming, norming, performing and
adjourning. In the current study, the girls moved quickly
through
the forming stage into the norming stage. As Tuckman and
Jensen

noted, the norming phase begins early in the process and
overlaps
with several other stages. ‘‘Norming includes all of the
processes that
influence the establishment of rules and boundaries for the
group’’
(Armstrong & Berg, 2005). By contrast, none of the groups had
an
observable storming stage. This dynamic may have been
influenced
by the style of the therapists and the developmental stage of the
group
members. Although the physical appearance example above
occurred
in only one group, the three therapists reported that all of the
sand-
tray groups had a highly supportive and accepting climate.
Given
the stages of group development, it was timely to cover the
physical
appearance topic after the group had moved into the performing
stage.
Without the deeper level of trust and acceptance that had been
estab-
lished, group members would have probably been unwilling and
unable to self-disclose their feelings about their appearance. As
the
group moved into the adjourning phase of the group, which was
a
result of time limitations rather than a professional assessment
of
readiness for closure, the therapists provided a structured
positive
feedback exercise in the final session that facilitated an
awareness
of each girl’s strengths.

June 2008
Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research
In the research design, there was a control group but no
comparison
group. Therefore, it is not clear whether group sandtray therapy
was
more effective in improving the self-esteem of young adolescent
girls
than other types of treatment would have been. In addition, the
sam-
ple used in this study was relatively small. The study would
have had
greater power if a larger sample had been used. Low power
increases
the risk of type II error. Statistical significance is heavily
influenced
by sample size (Armstrong & Henson, 2004). In the absence of
fol-
low-up data, we are unable to determine whether the observed
gains
were maintained over time. In addition, the SPPC is a self-
report
instrument, and the validity of the results depends on whether
the
participants are honestly answering questions. Even though the
therapists in the current study had a basic level of cultural
compe-
tency, more extensive coursework, training and supervision in
work-
ing with diverse populations may have resulted in larger gains

in
self-esteem. Given these limitations, future research is needed
to
further examine the effectiveness of group sandtray therapy
with
diverse children and adolescents who have self-esteem issues.
Although self-esteem can be difficult to measure, it might be
helpful
for parents and teachers’ perceptions of change in self-esteem to
be
measured. Also, larger samples would provide more confidence
in
the generalizability of the results.
Implications for Group Work
LeCroy (2004a) noted that little attention has been given to
finding
effective preventive approaches with adolescents. The current
study
provides a short-term, group intervention that enhanced the self-
esteem of young adolescent girls. Given that self-esteem is a
protective
factor for mental health problems (Birndorf et al., 2005; DuBois
et al.,
2002) and that low self-esteem is associated with adolescent
girls who
have histories of suicidal ideation (Hull-Blanks, Kerr, &
Robinson
Kurpius, 2004), it is critical to implement group programs that
enhance self-esteem in early adolescence in order to prevent
poten-
tially serious mental health issues.
Group sandtray therapy is an economical, developmentally
appro-

priate modality for young adolescents (Draper et al., 2003). The
current study used this modality to address self-esteem in young
ado-
lescent girls at a time when their self-esteem is vulnerable to
intra-
psychic and interpersonal factors that tend to diminish it
(LeCroy,
2004a, 2004b). Developmentally appropriate and culturally
responsive
prevention programs and group interventions in schools are
needed to
address important issues such as self-esteem.
Traditional talk approaches may be effective with certain issues
young adolescent girls face, but when dealing with issues such
as body
image, physical appearance, and peer acceptance, indirect
approaches
such as sandtray therapy that allow girls to express their
perceptions
through metaphorical scenes may be less threatening. By
increasing
the therapeutic distance for young adolescent girls, they may be
able
to work through sensitive issues that are difficult to discuss
openly.
Unfortunately, most university programs only provide training
in group work with adults rather than young adolescents (Steen,
Bauman, & Smith, 2007), and most university programs do not
offer

training with expressive art approaches such as sandtray. In
fact,
many university practica do not include any supervision for
working
with young adolescents even if the trainee is specializing in
counseling
this population. University programs need to provide training in
developmentally appropriate group counseling modalities that
have been shown to be effective with young adolescents.
Training in
sandtray and other expressive art modalities would give
adolescent
counselors additional developmentally appropriate tools that
would
allow them to use indirect and nonverbal interventions with
young
adolescent clients.
CONCLUSION
The findings of the current study support the effectiveness of
group
sandtray therapy in improving self-esteem with young
adolescent
girls. The findings indicate that girls can improve how they feel
about
their physical appearance, peer relationships and academic
achieve-
ment as a result of participating in this group intervention.
Group
sandtray therapy appears to be an effective approach for
addressing
self-esteem with young adolescent girls, which is a critical issue
for
girls this age.

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