English abstract
The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a guidance program based on Bransford and Stien's model of improving problems solving skill among eleventh grade students who are willing to start their companies in Al Dakhilyia Governorate in the Sultanate of Oman. The sample of the study was conducted for 40 male and female students and they were divided into two groups. The first group, experimental group consisted of 20 students and the second group which is the control group had the same number of the student. The experimental group was exposed to a guidance program while the control group was not exposed to any program. The study adopted the quasi-experimental design. The researcher developed a test (with good psychometric properties) on solving the problems related to students' companies. The test included two problems to be solved according to the sample used, which consists of five steps: identifying the problem, explaining it, exploring possible solutions, selecting the best methodology to solve the problem and finally assessing the solution. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient score of the test ranged between 0.95 and 0.85. The results of the t-test showed a significant statistical difference between the average responses of the members of the experimental and control groups in favor of the experimental group. The paired sample t-test also showed a statistical difference between the average marks of the members of the experimental group before and after the implementation of the program in favor of the posttest. The results of the two-way ANOVA analysis showed no significant statistical difference on the gender variable on problem solving skill test. The same results showed that difference in performance with regard to the interaction effect between gender and group had no statistically significance differences. Recommendations and suggestions were given based on the findings of this study.
