Background and aim: One of the methods that help students in learning critical thinking and decision-making skills is storytelling. Story helps the students to place themselves in the same situation as the main protagonist and try different ways and finally select and implement the best possible method. The goal of this study is to investigate the effect of storytelling on hopefulness of students, age 8-11 in Isfahan's 2nd educational district.
Methods: This is an applied, quasi-experimental study. The study population comprised of 34 randomly selected students attending one of the schools in Isfahan's 2nd educational district. The data gathering tool was the standard Kazdin hopefulness scale (α = 0.72) and data were gathered before and after 8 storytelling sessions for the intervention group. The gathered data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical (paired and independent t-test) with the help of SPSS Version 18 software.
Results: The study's findings showed a significant difference in the average hopefulness score of students in study group in pre- and posttest (P = 0.04). Furthermore, independent t-test results showed a significant difference in hopefulness score of intervention and control (P = 0.001). The average hopefulness score of the control group after storytelling sessions was higher than that of the intervention and control.
Conclusion: The results show the effectiveness of storytelling as a method for improving hopefulness in students.
Keywords: Hopefulness; Isfahan; storytelling; students.