Social Learning and Rational-Emotive Education: An Exploratory Investigation of Students’ Perspective

Abstract

There is no doubt about the relevance of social learning from the perspective of many groups of adults, such as teachers and researchers. However, do students share this evaluation, especially if students are socially disadvantaged? The current study explored whether rational-emotive education (REE) was a suitable concept for social learning with disadvantaged students and what to consider when students’ perspective was involved. Mixed methods were used. Social problem solving was explored with a pre-post design in three groups (Social learning Treatment, Control, and Follow-Up: Social learning Treatment after one year) of 239 seventh and eighth graders. The attitudes of the students in the Treatment Group toward the usefulness of social learning played a crucial role in social problem solving. The reasons for the variance in students’ attitudes were subjected to a content analysis. A key finding was that students expected more entertainment and less formal education so that more effort was needed to motivate students at the beginning of a curriculum. In addition, most students appreciated the opportunity to learn a self-technology such as rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT) as core element of REE.