Treatment Programmes
The treatment programmes for the study
included pre-treatment, treatment and post
treatment sessions. There were two groups
of subjects, the treatment and control
groups. The treatment programme for the
treatment group was designed to enhance
the self-concept ofthe subjects. The treatment
programme for the control group
consisted of lessons in English language on
the topic- spoken English, which was
taught by the English teachers in the three
schools.
The pre-treatment for all the subjects,
involved, first, a pre-test ofthe instmment,
and secondly, random assignment of subjects
into the treatment groups. For the
treatment group, besides the pre-test and
random assignment of subjects into the
group, peer counsellors were randomly
selected and trained; research assistants
were also trained. Eleven sessions were
used for the training of the ten peer counsellor
(on a one-to-one basis) and research
assistants in each ofthe schools. The treatment
programme involved 10. One (1) hour
sessions in which the subjects in a peer
group counselling encounter focussed on
the topics: Leadership skills, self esteem,
good study habits, skills for effective study
habits, preparing for examinations, self
awareness, self worth, body image, self
acceptance and being yourself For the control
group, the treatment programme
involved English lessons on spoken English,
which focussed on consonant sounds.
This also lasted for 10 sessions.