The effect of the psycho-education program for increasing the math course success among tenth grade students

The general purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the Psycho-Education Program based on Cognitive Behaviorist approach and supported with effective study behaviours follow-up given to high school students who were unsuccessful in Math course and who had negative attitudes towards the course and the teacher of the course on their success in Math class and perceptions about the course and the teacher of the course. This study, which is experimental in nature, was conducted in an official academic high school located in Adana city center and connected to the Ministry of National Education. Experimental and Control group participants were composed of students from 10th grade, totally 30 students including 16 females and 14 males. The participants were assigned to the groups by matching them according to the first and second Math exams average scores in the first semester of the 2018/2019 education year. The psycho-education program was administered to the experimental group students through eight sessions with one session lasting for approximately 45-50 minutes weekly. In addition to the program, effective study behaviours were instructed in groups of three or four as follow-up once a week in 30-40 minute sessions. The control group students were not administered anything in this period. Data were collected through the Attitudes towards the Math Course Scale developed by Çermik, Güner and Yaşar (2014); the Attitudes towards Teachers Scale developed by Arıcı (2007); and the tests developed by the teacher in order to measure Math course achievement scores. Data were analysed using SPSS 22.0 package program. For the identification of the effect of the experimental practice on the variables, math success and attitudes scales towards the course measurements were analysed through 2x2 Variance analysis for mixed design, and the analysis of attitudes towards the teacher was performed using Covariance analysis technique involving pre-test scores to the analyses. The results showed that compared to the control group, there was an increase in the Math course scores as a result of the Psycho-Education Program supported with effective study behaviours follow-up given to the experimental group students who had negative attitudes towards the Math course and teacher and were given training through effective study behaviours. In addition, the results showed that the attitudes towards the Math course and teacher were affected positively in the experimental group students. In conclusion, the results of the study were interpreted and discussed in line with the studies in literature, and the practitioners and researchers were provided with a number of recommendations based on the findings. Keywords: Attitude towards the math course, attitudes toward the teacher, math course success, cognitive behavioral approach.