The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of assertiveness training on speech ability and self-esteem of the fifth graders in an elementary school. The research questions posed are as follows:
First, Does the assertiveness training have po...
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of assertiveness training on speech ability and self-esteem of the fifth graders in an elementary school. The research questions posed are as follows:
First, Does the assertiveness training have positive effects on the elementary school children`s improvement of the speech ability?
Second, Does the program have positive effects on the improvement of the self-esteem?
The subjects in this study were 39 children who were selected from among fifth graders from G Elementary School in the city of G, after the speech anxiety test and a self-esteem test were implemented. The children attained higher grades in two areas and wanted to participate in this study. They were randomly assigned into an experimental group and a control group each. The one pretest and two posttest control group design was implemented.
The assertiveness training program was prepared by this researcher on the basics of Jeon Ji-hyeon's(1995) and Lee Dul-ja's(2000) program to suit the higher graders in elementary school. It was designed to be implemented 10 times in four phases: warming-up and self-understanding, self-expressing, enriching and topping off. The experiment was conducted by Kim Non-soi for five weeks, twice a week, 60 minutes each.
The instruments used in this study were the speech anxiety test and a self-esteem test. The former was Kim Ok-suk's(2000) revised version of speech anxiety inventory, and those who received a higher mark were viewed as suffering from severe speech anxiety. The self-esteem inventory by Coopersmith(1967) were used in a revised form to measure their level of self-esteem.
The collected data were analyzed with the SPSS program. The assertiveness training was set as an independent variable, and the marks in speech ability and self-esteem were selected as dependent variable. F-test was used to find out the effects of the assertiveness training on speech ability and self-esteem. The children were asked to write down how they felt about each session and mark a self-evaluation record that was prepared for their response and produce more accurate result
The mayor findings of this study were as follows:
First, the assertiveness training program had an effect on the improvement of the speech ability.
Second, the assertiveness training program had a positive effect on the improvement of the self-esteem.
Implications of these findings were discussed for counselors and educators.