A mixed study on increasing the positive psychological capital of high school students

This study investigates the effectiveness of the Psychological Capital Development Action Plan (PSGEP), which consists of group psychological counselling sessions, in increasing the levels of positive psychological capital among secondary school students. A mixed-methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods was adopted for the research, and a nested design was used within this framework. The quantitative method forms the main framework of the research. In terms of quantitative analysis, a pre-test-post-test control group design was preferred from among experimental designs. The study group consisted of 45 students enrolled at Zeynep Hatun Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in Siirt province. Accordingly, high school students who volunteered to participate in the study were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=23) and the control group (n=22). The Psychological Capital Perceptions Scale developed by Atila and Dönmez (2022) was used to examine the effectiveness of the PSGEP. An eight-session Psychological Capital Development Action Plan was implemented for the experimental group, while no intervention was made for the control group. To examine the effectiveness of the action plan, pre- and post-tests were administered to both groups, and the Independent Samples T-test, Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test, and Mann-Whitney U test were applied to examine the differences in scores. In the qualitative dimension of the research, activity evaluation forms consisting of open-ended questions were administered to the students in the experimental group after each session to support the effectiveness of the applied PSGEP. The data obtained from these forms were used to support the quantitative findings. The data were examined using descriptive analysis. Thus, the research was conducted using a mixed design, with the quantitative method being dominant and the qualitative method embedded within it. The quantitative findings showed a significant increase in the total psychological capital scores and subcomponent scores of the students in the experimental group after the PSGEP. Qualitative findings revealed that students emphasised themes of self-confidence, hope, positive thinking, and resilience in the face of difficulties. In conclusion, the PSGEP led to a significant difference in adolescents' perceptions of psychological capital, demonstrating that psychological capital-focused group work can be an effective intervention tool in supporting adolescents' psychological well-being. There was no change in the psychological capital perceptions of the control group students, who did not participate in any intervention. Recommendations were made to researchers and practitioners based on the findings.