The Effects of Semi-Structured Group Sandplay Therapy Program on School Adjustment of Elementary School Students

This study explored the effects of semi-structured group Sandplay therapy program on elementary school students’ school adaptation using a mixed-methods approach, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The subjects of this study were 12 students in the 5th to 6th grades in Gyeonggi-do, 5 in the experimental group and 5 in the control group who participated in group sand play therapy. The experimental group participated in group sand play therapy once a week, 60 minutes per session. As a result of the study, there was no significant difference in school adaptation between the experimental group and the control group. As a result of conducting the pre-post verification of the experimental group, academic performance and school adaptation improved slightly, but there was no statistically significant improvement. As a result of conducting a qualitative analysis, a story of obstacles that make it difficult to adapt to school and a topic of joy with communication among them appeared. In the conclusions and discussions, the significance and limitations of this study and the implications of subsequent studies were described.