The aim of this study is to investigate an inter-action and a roleplay activity that takes place every Friday at a preschool in a suburb of Stockholm. The aim is to investigate learning in this activity and how it is corresponding to the curriculum for preschools. What is the teachers aim and how do the children think, talk and act before, during and after the game. It is a qualitative study and data was collected through qualitative interviews, field notes from observations and recordings with my I-phone. The results showed that the play is useful as a pedagogical documentation and as a tool for reflection. According to the educators it is possible to involve the entire curriculum for preschool in this roleplay, such as fundamental value, conflict resolution, children´s participation, traditional topics as mathematics and languages. The activity has developed in a cooperation with children and teachers together.

College students, on average, do not consume enough fruits and vegetables. Contributing to poor eating habits is an overall decline in young adults’ cooking skills as compared to previous decades, with today’s college students often relying on ubiquitous convenience food options. The detriments associated with these food choices are linked to a number of chronic diseases, including obesity. Though programming for college students which incorporates both nutrition education and hands-on cooking opportunities is rare, programs which have been implemented have had positive outcomes associated with increased self-efficacy with cooking and eating healthfully, and improved eating behaviors. This research utilized a mixed methods approach driven by the social cognitive theory to develop, implement, and assess the impact of a culinary nutrition education program, The College CHEF. The first phase of the research included conducting a PRECEDE-PROCEED model-driven primary and secondary needs assessment to develop programming. The second phase consisted of program implementation and evaluation. The program was evaluated through a Qualtrics survey to determine participants’ changes pre- to –post- with cooking and eating attitudes, behaviors, self-efficacy and knowledge. Pre- and –post- measures consisted primarily of Likert-type scales, in addition to demographic questions. Research participants were students living on University of Kentucky’s campus who were part of particular Living Learning Programs (LLPs), through which they lived, socialized, and often took classes together. Participants from two intervention groups (N = 15) attended four weekly 2-hour sessions, completing the measures online before and after the program. An inclusion criteria to be included in the study was that participants must have attended at least three of the four sessions. Control group participants (N = 17) did not partake in programming, but completed both pre- and -post- surveys at the same time as the intervention groups. The study's results indicated that campus-based, hands-on culinary nutrition education programming was impactful in improving college students': 1) self-efficacy for using fruits, vegetables, and seasonings (p = .015); 2) fruit and vegetable consumption (p = 0.03); and 3) knowledge of cooking terms and techniques (p = .000). Given the limited research studying the impact of culinary nutrition education programming on college students, especially as it applies to those living in the same environment and reciprocally influencing one another, this study provides a unique perspective to the field of health promotion. Its findings can support campus-based, culinary nutrition programming for the college population in an effort to improve eating and cooking attitudes, behaviors, self-efficacy, and knowledge, and subsequently, overall health.

The efficacy of using simulated patients (SPs) to train clinical interviewing skills in pre-practicum- and practicum-level mental health clinicians was evaluated compared to the use of traditional role-play with peers. Participants, regardless of group, engaged in a 15-minute videotaped simulated clinical session with an SP as a pre- and post-test measurement and completed five laboratory sessions, either utilizing role-play with peers or with an SP. Participants' counseling self-efficacy (CSE), measured by the Counseling Self-Estimate Inventory (COSE); state anxiety, measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Version Y-1 (STAI Y-1); and self-reflective anxiety, measured by the Fear of Negative Evaluation scale (FNE), were assessed pre- and post-intervention. An inventory to evaluate participants' clinical competency acquisition, the Skills in Psychological Interviewing: Clinical Evaluation Scale (SPICES), was developed for the study. All participants, regardless of group, improved significantly on all measurements except fear of negative evaluation. No differences were observed between groups on outcome variables. However, all participants' pre- and post-test interaction with the SP may account for these improvements. CSE, state anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation were found to account for a small amount of variance in clinical competency acquisition in this study. The piloted SPICES scale exhibited good validity and strong inter-rater reliability estimates. Results support the efficacy of these training methods in decreasing student clinicians' anxiety levels and in increasing students' CSE and skill acquisition; furthermore, a clinical competency measure is introduced.

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the relationship between self-efficacy and reading achievement and to examine the predictive validity of a variety of reading self-efficacy measures in a sample of 364 students in Grades 4 to 6. Mean differences in self-efficacy were also examined by gender, ethnicity, and school type. Results suggested that the four measures of reading self-efficacy were psychometrically sound. Mean differences were not present for students based on gender or ethnicity. Elementary school students reported higher levels of reading test self-efficacy than did middle school students. Reading self-efficacy predicted reading performance as measured by four different outcomes (i.e., language arts grades, scores on a standardized reading test, teacher ratings of students’ reading competence, and daily minutes read). For these analyses, the type of reading self-efficacy that most closely corresponded with the performance outcome was the best predictor. These findings suggest that reading self-efficacy is best measured in a context-specific manner.

This study employed a longitudinal cross-lagged panel design to evaluate the effect of teachers’ self-efficacy on their motivation to participate in professional development. Data were collected from 43 Hong Kong secondary school teachers at 2 measurement points. The cross-lagged panel analyses revealed teachers’ higher self-efficacy predicted lower motivation to join the professional training programme. However, this negative effect brought by self-efficacy was only significant if the programme was appealing to the teachers at Time 1. Correlation statistics also showed that teachers with higher self-efficacy tended to rate their familiarity of the programmes higher at both measurement points. The meaningfulness of the programmes was also positively correlated with the motivation to join the programmes. / published_or_final_version / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

A sensitive parent-child relationship is essential in ensuring the healthy mental and physical development of an individual. Parental sensitivity can be affected by parent characteristics, such parental competence and resources as well as child characteristics, such as negative reactivity. The combination of how these parent and infant factors predict parental sensitivity has not been examined with both mothers and fathers. The current study involved 30, 4-month old infants and their mothers and fathers. Parents completed questionnaires measuring infant temperament and parental competence. They also participated in a demographic interview to measure family resources, as well as a dyadic parent-infant face-to-face play task to measure parental sensitivity. Results involving mothers indicated a moderating effect of infant temperament (e.g., negative reactivity) on the associations between parental competence (e.g., self-efficacy) and parental sensitivity. Whereas for fathers, results indicated significant main effects of infant temperament (e.g., orienting) and parental competence (e.g., self-efficacy) on parental sensitivity. The current study gives evidence and support that it is a combination of both parent characteristics and infant characteristics that affects parental sensitivity. However, this combination of characteristics is different for mothers and fathers, indicating that different factors play a part in parenting behaviors for mothers and fathers.

<p>Karriärcoaching är en tjänst som ökat kraftigt på den svenska marknaden. Tidigare studier inom området har visat att en stark självkänsla stärker en persons hälsa och underlättar för denne att hantera problem. Syftet med studien var att undersöka om karriärcoaching har någon påverkan på prestationsbaserad självkänsla, känslan av kontroll (Locus of Control) samt självbemästring av tankar och känslor (Self-Efficacy). Genom en enkätundersökning har en grupp som genomfört karriärcoaching jämförts med en kontrollgrupp som ej genomfört karriärcoaching. Ett oberoende t-test gav en signifikant skillnad i Locus of Control (p<.05). I den grupp som genomfört karriärcoaching fann vi ett negativt samband mellan faktorerna Locus of Control och prestationsbaserad självkänsla (p<.01). En två-vägs ANOVA visade en interaktionseffekt mellan karriärcoaching och kön (p<.01), vilket kan indikera att män kan sänka sin prestationsbaserade självkänsla efter genomförd karriärcoaching och att det finns tendenser att karriärcoaching överlag kan öka en persons Locus of Control.</p>

Adolescence among Black high school youth is a challenging period of social, emotional and psychological development; particularly as it relates to factors of ethnic identity, academic skill, self-worth and achievement outcomes. Of interest to researchers are measurable sex differences in achievement among this demographic group. Current literature suggests that psychological traits such as ethnic identity, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction, are reliable predictors of achievement among this demographic. Consequently, the current study evaluated whether these particular psychological factors predicted sex differences in achievement. One hundred and forty high school students from Tucson and Phoenix school districts volunteered for the study. Responses were obtained from a demographic questionnaire, the Multi-Ethnic Identity Measure, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children, Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Perceived Caring Measure. These widely used measures are found to have adequate reliability and validity with Black adolescents. Multiple regression, correlation, MANOVA, and ANOVA analyzed criterion measures of Fall 2010 standardized achievement scores and grade point averages provided by participating school districts. Consistent with current research literature, findings support current data suggesting relationships between trait variables, achievement scores, and GPA. Further, the findings in this study provide support of current literature regarding the variability of psychological traits and sex among the participants in this study as predictors of achievement. Limitations, implications, and future directions for continued study of this topic are also discussed.

Breastfeeding is recommended as the optimal source of nutrition for newborns for the first 6 months of life and beyond with the addition of complementary foods. While breastfeeding initiation rates have been increasing, duration rates remain a concern as many women prematurely discontinue due to difficulties encountered rather than maternal choice. In addition, there is a sizable gap between rates of exclusive breastfeeding and current recommendations. Targeting modifiable variables that may be amenable to intervention is one strategy to improve breastfeeding outcomes. One such modifiable variable is breastfeeding self-efficacy. Although research has clearly shown that breastfeeding self-efficacy is predictive of breastfeeding duration and exclusivity, it is unknown whether it can be enhanced to improve breastfeeding outcomes. The purpose of this pilot randomized controlled trial was to examine the feasibility and compliance of a newly developed trial protocol and the acceptability of an intervention to increase breastfeeding self-efficacy in the immediate postpartum period. Secondary outcomes included determining whether there were any trends between groups related to breastfeeding self-efficacy, duration, and exclusivity. Participants included 150 primiparous mothers who were breastfeeding their healthy, full-term infants. Eligible and consenting mothers were randomized to either a control group (standard postpartum care) or an intervention group (standard postpartum care plus the self-efficacy intervention). Participants allocated to the intervention group received three individualized, self-efficacy enhancing sessions with the researcher; two sessions were conducted in hospital, and one was administered via telephone 1 week following hospital discharge. A research assistant blinded to group allocation collected outcome data at 4 and 8 weeks postpartum. The results suggested that the administration of the intervention was feasible and that there was a high degree of protocol compliance; the majority of participants reported that the intervention was beneficial. Secondary outcomes identified that there was a trend among participants in the intervention group to have improved breastfeeding outcomes, including higher rates of breastfeeding self-efficacy, duration, and exclusivity at 4 and 8 weeks postpartum. Preliminary evidence also suggested that the self-efficacy intervention may have assisted to decrease perceptions of insufficient milk supply among the intervention group participants. Overall, the findings from this pilot trial indicated that a larger trial is warranted.

No description available.