Effect of Cognitive Restructuring Technique on Academic Self-Concept of Secondary School Students from Broken Homes in Delta State

Abstract

Self-concept plays a vital role in students' psychological wellbeing, significantly influencing their behaviour, motivation, and interactions within both academic and social settings. This study determined the effects of cognitive restructuring technique on academic self-concept among secondary school students from broken homes in Delta State. The study was guided by three research questions and tested three null hypotheses at 0.05 significance level. A quasi-experimental research design of the non-randomized pretest-posttest, control group was employed. A sample of 34 students was drawn from a population of 354 students from broken homes, identified with low academic self-concept. The research instrument “Academic Self-Concept Survey (ASCS)" was adopted and used for data collection. The instrument has a reliability coefficient alpha of 0.81. The instrument was administered directly to the participants before treatment and after treatment, with the help of trained research assistants. Data analysis was carried out using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 23 software. Research questions were answered using the statistical mean while analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses. The findings revealed among others that cognitive restructuring technique was significantly effective on academic self-concept of secondary school students from broken homes. Based on these findings, it is recommended that Guidance counsellors working in secondary schools, especially in Delta State, should implement cognitive restructuring technique as part of the school counselling curriculum.