Psychological Counseling Program for Emotional Intelligence and Learning Motivation in Children With Language Learning Difficulties

September 10, 2026 updated by: King Faisal University

Beyond Learning Difficulties: Effectiveness of a Psychological Counseling Program in Developing Emotional Intelligence and Enhancing Learning Motivation Among Children With Language Learning Difficulties

This study examines the effectiveness of a psychological counseling program designed to develop emotional intelligence and enhance learning motivation among children with language learning difficulties. The study includes 360 children from 20 schools in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia. Participants were divided into an experimental group that received the psychological counseling program and a control group that did not receive the program. Emotional intelligence and learning motivation were assessed before and after the intervention. Interviews were also conducted with children in the experimental group and teachers to explore perceived changes following participation in the program.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

360

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Plaintext

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Primary school fourth-grade students aged 9-10 years.
  • Identified with language learning difficulties.
  • Enrolled in the school where the study is conducted.
  • Informed consent provided by parents or legal guardians, along with student assent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Severe sensory, neurological, or intellectual impairments that prevent active group participation.
  • Concurrent participation in other formal emotional or psychological group interventions during the study period.
  • Unwillingness or inability to commit to attending the required group sessions.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental Group: Counseling Program
experimental group that received the psychological counseling program
Behavioral: Psychological Counseling Program
The intervention in this study is distinguished by the following structural, theoretical, and practical features: Theoretical Framework Integration: Grounded in Mayer and Salovey's Ability Model of Emotional Intelligence, the intervention uniquely applies the Beyond Learning Difficulties framework and the Bio-Psycho-Social Model. Rather than focusing solely on linguistic remediation or academic deficit repair, it conceptualizes language learning difficulties as a multidimensional condition interacting with emotional, motivational, and social factors. Integrated Target Outcomes: It explicitly targets the dual enhancement of emotional intelligence (emotional knowledge, emotion regulation, emotion management, empathy, and social communication) and learning motivation (learning interest/engagement, persistence/effort, self-confidence/achievement motivation). Delivery Schedule & Setting: Delivered as a school-based group counseling program consisting of 34 structured group sessions over
Experimental: Control Group: No Counseling Program
Participants in this arm receive standard curriculum without the psychological counseling program
Behavioral: Psychological Counseling Program
The intervention in this study is distinguished by the following structural, theoretical, and practical features: Theoretical Framework Integration: Grounded in Mayer and Salovey's Ability Model of Emotional Intelligence, the intervention uniquely applies the Beyond Learning Difficulties framework and the Bio-Psycho-Social Model. Rather than focusing solely on linguistic remediation or academic deficit repair, it conceptualizes language learning difficulties as a multidimensional condition interacting with emotional, motivational, and social factors. Integrated Target Outcomes: It explicitly targets the dual enhancement of emotional intelligence (emotional knowledge, emotion regulation, emotion management, empathy, and social communication) and learning motivation (learning interest/engagement, persistence/effort, self-confidence/achievement motivation). Delivery Schedule & Setting: Delivered as a school-based group counseling program consisting of 34 structured group sessions over

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Learning Motivation
Time Frame: Baseline and 4 months (post-intervention)
Evaluated using the Learning Motivation Scale to measure learning engagement, effort, and self-confidence.
Baseline and 4 months (post-intervention)
Emotional Intelligence
Time Frame: Baseline and 4 months (post-intervention)
Evaluated using the Emotional Intelligence Scale to measure emotional knowledge, regulation, and social communication.
Baseline and 4 months (post-intervention)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

King Faisal University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Rommel MA AlAli, King Faisal University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

November 6, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 31, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

June 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 10, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 10, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 16, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 16, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 10, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • KFU-REC-2024Dec-EA000805
  • KFU265147 (Other Grant/Funding Number: King Faisal University)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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