ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNSELORS‟ PERCEPTIONS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF REALITY PLAY THERAPY IN STUDENT RELATIONSHIP BUILDING AND PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS By ERIC DAVIS A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2010 1 © 2010 Eric Davis 2 To everyone who believes in the power of children 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am blessed and honored to have support and love from so many people in my life. Thank you to my mother, Joyce and brother, Chris who have been there for me my entire life. I would also like to remember my father, Johnny and step-father, Dave who have been with me in spirit throughout this process. Finally, I would like to thank my fiancée, Amanda who has been by my side during this entire journey with her constant support, understanding, and encouragement. I would also like to thank my entire committee for their advice, patience, and support. In particular, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Andrea Dixon and Dr. Mary Ann Clark for their meticulous reading and revision of this work. They have offered their time and encouragement without fail from the beginning of this process over four years ago. In addition, Dr. Sondra Smith has helped me to re- envision my career and counseling perspective. Finally, Dr. Mirka Koro-Ljungberg has given me great insight through a wonderful methodology. Thank you all for sharing your lives and time with me on this journey. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 9 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ 10 DEFINITION OF TERMS .............................................................................................. 11 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 15 Overview ................................................................................................................. 15 The School Counselor ...................................................................................... 16 School Counselor Responsibilities ................................................................... 17 Reality Therapy and Play Counseling .............................................................. 18 Theoretical Frameworks ......................................................................................... 19 Choice Theory and Reality Therapy ................................................................. 19 Play Counseling ............................................................................................... 23 Piaget‟s Cognitive Development Theory........................................................... 24 Constructivism .................................................................................................. 26 Statement of Problem ............................................................................................. 26 Need for the Study .................................................................................................. 28 Purpose of the Study .............................................................................................. 31 Rationale for the Methodology ................................................................................ 32 Summary ................................................................................................................ 33 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ............................................................................ 34 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 34 Choice Theory ........................................................................................................ 34 History of Choice Theory .................................................................................. 34 Basic Tenets ..................................................................................................... 35 Five Basic Needs ............................................................................................. 37 Quality World Pictures ...................................................................................... 38 Total Behavior .................................................................................................. 39 External Control Psychology ............................................................................ 40 Quality Schools ................................................................................................ 41 Reality Therapy ....................................................................................................... 43 Counseling Environment .................................................................................. 43 Reality Therapy Techniques ............................................................................. 44 Reality Therapy in Schools ............................................................................... 46 5 Play Counseling ...................................................................................................... 49 History of Play Counseling ............................................................................... 49 Play in Schools ................................................................................................. 51 Toy Selection in Play Counseling ..................................................................... 53 Piaget‟s Cognitive Development Theory ................................................................. 58 Overview .......................................................................................................... 58 Stages of Cognitive Development .................................................................... 59 Rationale for Reality Play Therapy ......................................................................... 60 Relationships .......................................................................................................... 61 School Counseling Relationships ..................................................................... 62 School Relationships ........................................................................................ 67 Multicultural Considerations .................................................................................... 73 Summary ................................................................................................................ 76 3 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................... 78 Overview ................................................................................................................. 78 Constructivist Theoretical Perspective .................................................................... 78 Grounded Theory .................................................................................................... 80 Purpose and Research Questions .......................................................................... 81 Participants and Sampling ...................................................................................... 82 Training and Implementation Procedures ............................................................... 84 Data Collection ....................................................................................................... 88 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................... 91 Stages of Coding .............................................................................................. 91 Theoretical Memos ........................................................................................... 93 Theoretical Sampling ........................................................................................ 93 Theory Development ........................................................................................ 93 Data Analysis in This Study .............................................................................. 94 Trustworthiness ...................................................................................................... 97 Subjectivity Statement ............................................................................................ 98 Summary .............................................................................................................. 100 4 FINDINGS ............................................................................................................. 102 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 102 Thematic Analysis Results .................................................................................... 103 Themes Related to Counseling Theories .............................................................. 103 Framework for Counseling/Review of Theory ................................................. 104 Theoretical Terminology Issues .....................................................................