| Since the late 1970 s,the rapid development of urbanisation,industrialisation,market economy and privatisation in China led to a large surplus of agricultural labour and an income gap between urban and rural areas.A large number of migrant workers moved to the cities in search of better job opportunities,which resulted in many children in rural areas being left without the direct supervision of their parents for short or long periods of time,and instead left in the care of one parent,grandparents,or relatives,creating a special group in Chinese rural society-the "left-behind children".This has created a special group in Chinese rural society-"left-behind children".The main task of these children is to improve their academic performance.However,problems such as low motivation,boredom and dropout often occur in this group.Academic self-efficacy is an effective predictor of academic performance and is closely related to the level of motivation.This suggests that academic self-efficacy plays a crucial role in the academic achievement of rural left-behind junior high school students,not only in improving academic performance,but also in motivating them to learn and reducing the phenomenon of boredom and dropout.This study will investigate the positive effects of a positive psychology-based group intervention on the academic self-efficacy of rural left-behind junior high school students from the perspective of improving their academic self-efficacy,which has important theoretical and practical implications for the future development of left-behind students in the education field in the rural context of China.The research method used in this study is a combination of questionnaire survey and experimental research.First,a questionnaire survey was used to investigate and analyse the current situation of students’ academic self-efficacy in a central school in a township in Jilin Province.The scale used in this study was the Academic Self-Efficacy Questionnaire jointly developed by Liang Yusong and other scholars.A preliminary understanding of the current situation of students’ academic self-efficacy in the investigated school,the variability of academic self-efficacy levels between rural left-behind and non-left-behind junior high school students,and the academic self-efficacy of rural left-behind junior high school students in different conditions,was conducted.Secondly,an experimental intervention study was conducted on the basis of the current survey study.The experimental group was given an 8-week group counselling programme based on positive psychological orientation,while the control group received a traditional mental health education programme.The experimental group was administered with a scale before and after the experiment,and the data were collated using SPSS.The effects of this group intervention were explored and the following conclusions were drawn:(1)The academic self-confidence level among junior high school students from rural areas who were left behind was inadequate and differed significantly compared with non-left-behind junior high school students,and was lower than that of non-left-behind junior high school students in both learning behavior self-efficacy and learning ability self-efficacy dimensions.There were significant differences in the academic self-efficacy levels of rural left-behind junior high school students in different grades,achievement levels and family economic conditions.(2)The academic self-efficacy scores of the experimental group were significantly improved after group counseling,indicating that group counseling based on positive psychological orientation can effectively enhance the academic self-efficacy of rural left-behind junior high school students and improve their learning interest and motivation.(3)Based on the positive psychology theory,group counseling based on positive psychology,using the methods and techniques of positive psychology,and designing group counseling programs with academic self-efficacy as the theme,the group counseling programs were more targeted to improve the academic self-efficacy of rural left-behind junior high school students,and had a significant effect on academic self-efficacy compared with mental health education classes.Based on the research results and the survey of the current situation of academic self-efficacy of rural left-behind junior high school students,the following suggestions were made: first,schools should clarify the importance and necessity of mental health education;second,enhance the strength of rural mental health education teachers and improve the facilities of the psychological activity room;second,open parent classes to work on family factors,such as poor parent-child communication and other problems;finally,regularly conduct thematic group Finally,group counseling activities are held regularly to address the problems of boredom and low motivation of rural left-behind junior high school students. |
