Person-Centered Approach in Schools, Article Critique Example

Summary

The authors examine the use of person centered techniques in the school setting to teach social alleviate disruptive behaviors in the classroom. According to the author, person centered approach is a very effective way of addressing a variety of social skills problems that can be displayed by very differing populations within the school setting.” Children with special needs experience difficulty in a wide variety of areas, all of which can influence their ability to learn and to use social skills. Some of these problems can include; hyperactivity, distractibility, impulsivity, anxiety, low self-esteem, aggressive behaviors, difficulty recognizing the emotions of others, and other socially unacceptable behaviors. Emotional difficulties and interpersonal difficulties affect others perceptions of them, as well as the child’s own self –perception” (Gatongi, 2007). Often, the difficulties they have, and the expectations of themselves and others, act as a spiral and increase the likelihood that a child will experience social failures.The author explored how methods of person centered approaches could be effective in teaching social skills to children in a school setting. He also discussed cautions and considerations to take when using person centered methods with children. The benefits of using person centered approaches are numerous. According to the article, person centered approaches do not focus on the environment or consequences, but rather on the person and allows him/her the chance to generate solutions for the problems. Person centered approach is based upon three core principles: Empathy, Congruence, and Unconditional positive regard. Under this theory, empathy is considered to be the most important. This is very important because the person must learn to feel comfortable with themselves and realize that certain behaviors affect others both directly and indirectly. Next, congruence is also referred to as genuine. This quality helps students to see themselves as transparent. Finally, positive regards makes the environment nonjudgmental, which means the student will feel less threatened.

The Classroom

The classroom also provides a safe place for emotional release. In a group setting, children can learn that others face similar problems, and this can help to lessen anxiety or fears that they may have, especially in social situations. The classroom is a great place to practice social building skills in an environment that approximates genuine social settings, and a place where children can develop a social network. Person centered approach has been shown to be an effective method for addressing a wide variety of skills deficits in children and adults.  I believe person centered approach can be implemented effectively in a school setting to help numerous children with similar needs simultaneously. School counselors/teachers should consider the implications of these findings, as well as the cautions that have been presented. Keeping this in mind, school counselors/teachers should consider implementing methods with a wide variety of students’ needs. I really enjoyed this article; I think these techniques could be implemented by counselors/teachers. The article was very easy to read and understand. A good research hypothesis would be to determine if students who had been a part of person centered approaches improved the behavior of disruptive students. I believe this article was very beneficial to me because I work with students every day. Counselors are not always available, so teachers have to wear many hats.  Applying person centered approaches will save me class time by allowing me to work with several students at the same time.  I know that counselors are often times overloaded, so this is a great tool that teachers can utilize.I believe this will be beneficial to my research because the article discusses some techniques that can be used with resource/general education students. It also gives some good classroom management strategies.

References

Gatongi, F. (2007). Person-centered approach in schools: Is it the answer to disruptive behavior in our classrooms? Counseling Psychology Quarterly 20(2), 205-211.