Problem:
Your Question:
I am a school counselor at a public high school, and I am conducting an interesting study regarding stress and burnout among my high school students. That study is focusing on develop an intervention program that I call "Balance & Focus." In my study, I want to evaluate the effectiveness of my program on students' stress levels and self-efficacy, while also considering demographic factors like gender. Could you please help me review and reformulate my three potential research questions that could emerge from my research.? I first make an attempt to formulate those questions following the criterias of PICO, which is a framework to formulate research questions, but I am not sure about those questions. Your insights would be invaluable for me to further my research and help improve the mental health of my students at my school. Thank you for your help! (Just for information, I include the meaning of each letter of PICO here:
PICO Framework:
P: Patient (or client) population or problem. Client, problem, or need that I, as the counselor, am addressing through services, and key characteristics that may have an impact on the intervention or assessment tool.
I: Intervention: Specify interventions I (the counselor) am using],
C: Comparison: Involves at least 2 different treatment options between which I, as the counselor, am deciding-question should have real implications for directing what I, as the counselor, do in practice);
O: Outcome (What, I (as the counselor) am hoping to see change as a result of my intervention or assessment efforts)
My research questions are:
Question 1: What demographic factors, such as gender, influence the effectiveness of the "Balance & Focus" intervention compared to the standard study skills seminar in reducing perceived stress and enhancing self-efficacy among junior high school students? Need Assignment Help?
Question 2: How do attendance rates in the "Balance & Focus" program correlate with changes in students' levels of stress and confidence, and what implications does this have for improving service delivery in school counseling programs?
Question 3: What assessment tools or measures can be employed to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of the "Balance & Focus" intervention on student mental health outcomes, specifically regarding stress reduction and self-efficacy, as compared to traditional study skills seminars?
"As a high school counselor, I noticed a significant increase in student reports of stress and burnout, especially among junior students facing college applications. As a lead counselor, I developed a new, short-term intervention program called "Balance & Focus," which teaches mindfulness techniques and effective time management skills. The team of school counseling decided to implement my program but ask me to rigorously evaluate my program's effectiveness across various outcomes.
I divided the junior class into two groups: one receiving my program and a control group receiving another program called "the standard study skills seminar." I realized that gender might influence how students responded to my program, so I made sure to track this demographic. All students completed a pre-test survey measuring their current levels of perceived stress and their sense of self-efficacy (their belief in their ability to succeed in academics). After the six-week program concluded, both groups completed the same surveys as a post-test.
I plan to analyze the data to determine the program's overall impact compared to the standard seminar program. I am specifically interested in how my program affects students' feelings of stress and their confidence. I also want to investigate if one gender benefits more than the other and whether simply showing up to the sessions (attendance) is tied to better outcomes. The ultimate goal is to generate evidence to guide policy on mental health supports in my school."