The Impact of Family / School-Based Problem Solving Training on Problem-Solving Styles of Elementary Students

Background and Purpose: Problem solving is one of the structured cognitive programs that provides a range of efficient responses to deal with the problematic situations of life. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of family / school-based problem solving training on problem-solving styles of elementary students. Method: The present study was an experimental research with pretest, post-test, follow up design with a control group. A sample of 120 students were selected using random sampling method and were randomly assigned to experimental (60 subjects) and control (60 subjects) groups. After 10 two-hour sessions of education for the parents and teachers, the experimental group received a family/school oriented problem-solving program for three months. A short version of the social problem solving (D’Zurilla, Nezu & Maydeu-Olivares, 2004) was used to collect data in three forms of students, parents, and teachers. Results: According to the reports by the students (participants), parents, and teachers, the results showed that in the experimental group, there was a significant difference between pretest and posttest scores on the subscales of problem solving, but there was no significant difference between the scores of posttest and follow-up on the subscales of problem solving (P ≤ 0.05) Conclusion: Family/school problem-solving training is effective on student's problem solving styles, so using this method is important as a preventive program for parents and teachers to adopt an effective problem-solving style for students.