Development and Efficacy Validation of a Learning Coaching Program for Underachieving High School Students

Objectives The purpose of this study is to develop a coaching program aimed at enhancing self-directed learning abilities and study behavior among underachieving high school students, and to validate its effectiveness. Methods To achieve this goal, following Kim Chang-Dae et al.'s (2011) program development model, four stages including goal setting, composition, preliminary research, implementation, and evaluation were conducted to design a total of 10 sessions for the program. The study participants were recruited from three schools, A, B, and C, with 18, 15, and 15 students respectively, who scored an average of 7 or below in the three worst subjects in the previous mock exam, totaling 48 students. These students were then divided into experimental, control, and comparative groups, each consisting of 16 students, and assigned wirelessly. The experimental group received a learning coaching program based on cognitive neuropsychology, the comparative group received a learning coaching program based on information processing theory, and the control group received no intervention. Pre- and post-tests were conducted for each group using a pre-post test design for the control group. The dependent variables were self-directed learning ability and study behavior. To evaluate the effects of each group, paired sample t-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used, and to compare the effects according to the experimental, comparative, and control groups, independent sample t-tests and Mann-Whitney tests were utilized. Results The analysis of the effectiveness of the coaching program for underachieving high school students revealed that the post-mean scores of self-directed learning abilities in all areas were significantly higher than the pre-mean scores. In the comparison with the comparative program, the present program showed superiority in all aspects of self-directed learning abilities. Study behavior, including weekday and weekend self-study times, also significantly increased compared to pre-measures, and the program showed superiority in both aspects when compared with the comparative program. Conclusions This study holds significance in proposing a structured coaching program that can be practically utilized in schools for underachieving high school students, especially in light of the relative weakening of support under national basic education guarantee policies.