D.Ed. / The existential philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre (Jordaan and Jordaan, 1998:544) maintains in the drama ‘Huis Clos’: “Hell is the presence of other people”. For Jean Paul Sartre (1998:30) people are at the mercy of their freedom and doomed to choices but this is absurd because it is unavoidable for people to come up against the tragedy of suffering. Victor Frankl (Meyer, Moore and Viljoen, 2000:556) is an existential psychologist with a particularly positive focus and he believes that the indestructible meaning of life and self is to be found in suffering. Researchers have found that the victims of bullying find themselves in this particular piece of the puzzle of life. For many victims it may feel as if they have been trapped in a labyrinth. The researcher has long been a reflector on the reason and purpose of human existence and under the influence of Victor Frankl (Meyer et al, 2000:562) came to the conviction that values play an important role in the lives of people. In addition, the will to find meaning is the real motivation that underlies human behaviour. The researcher admires Frankl (Meyer et al, 2000:556) who maintains that even in suffering (such as being bullied) meaning can be found to enrich the victim’s lives if they are taught to handle bullies. Human beings are people whose humanity includes the freedom of responsibility, a quality unique to the human race. Freedom of responsibility implies that when people are continually faced with choices they have the freedom to choose and they are free to act as well. People can do nothing about the things that happen to them, such as being bullied. But they can choose how they feel about it and how they react to it (Frankl 1959:178). People’s (victim’s) primary need is the need to make sense of life (Frankl 1959:178). The moment suffering gains meaning, it looses it unbearableness and becomes a life task, one that offers the highest challenge and reward (Frankl 1978:43). In this study the researcher uses a psycho-educational programme with the victims to guide them in the managing of the behaviour of bullies. The researcher used the following two lines of investigation: “tell me how you have been bullied” and “tell me what your experience of bullying is”. The purpose of this viii study is the description, implementation and evaluation of a psycho-educational programme to promote the management of bullies. The afore-mentioned proposal was realised from a methodological point of view by using a qualitative investigation. In this regard the research was both exploratory and descriptive. Research was done by means of the writing of scenarios by the participants, partially structured interviews, notes by the participants, focus group interviews, as well as observations of the participants and the taking of field notes by the researcher. The results obtained from this research were analysed and categorised. The findings of this data are presented by means of a literature rubric. The researcher abided strictly by ethical procedures and confidentiality. The following main themes were identified: direct bullying acts and indirect bullying acts. Under direct bullying acts the following categories were identified: physical acts and verbal acts. Different subcategories were identified. Under indirect bullying acts these categories were identified: psychological acts under which different subcategories were identified. The results of the data analysis revealed that the experience of bullies evokes feelings of heartache, emotional pain, anger and fear in the participants. In addition the participants described their experience of bullies in terms of incidents that relate to physical, emotional and verbal abuse. It was also found that learners are still reliant on teachers to solve bullying behaviour constructively at school. The research also made it clear that this psycho-educational programme would make a valuable contribution towards the guidance of the participants in managing the behaviour of bullies. The research also highlighted the need for the participants to go through a process of self analysis to discover who they are and that this would guide them towards self-assertive actions, realistic observations of bullying acts, humour, self- transcendence (which shows that the participants are not only tuned into themselves, but also look outwardly), as well as respect for the uniqueness of others. These aspects should make a contribution towards the meaningful management of bullying behaviour. In the research it also came to the fore that in many instances the participants, had inadequate behavioural skills. It was necessary for the participants to be educated in ix behavioural skills and in self-determining actions, self assertive behaviour, the recognition of inappropriate behaviour through realistic observation, the learning of friendship skills, together with humour and self-transcendence, respect and value for the uniqueness of others by making use of the three Ws (as discussed in the programme). In this regard in the research it became clear that the facilitator plays an important role in the guidance of the participants. The facilitator must guide the participants in managing the behaviour of bullies. Consequently a psycho-educational programme was developed whereby the behaviour of bullies can be managed. This programme was developed from the themes and categories of the research. The purpose of this programme is to empower the participants to manage the behaviour of bullies. The implementation of the programme is discussed next. The programme was presented over a time period of ten weeks. It was presented during the Life Orientation lessons. It was presented to the Grade 9 group and also worked into the year plan. The entire group participated voluntarily in this dynamic programme. Finally the participants’ experiences of the programme were presented in focus group interviews. The data was collected and analysed and the conclusions were made that the psycho-educational programme leads to the enlightenment of the participants regarding what bullies are, the kinds of bullies, the extent and effectiveness of bullies, as well as the negative effects of bullies on their victims. In addition the participants discovered the uniqueness of their self image and that this knowledge empowered them to discover paradigms and habits of self upliftment. The self upliftment of the participants enabled them to develop self-assertive behaviour as well as the sharpening of particularly effective behavioural skills such as the realistic observation of certain behaviour and the value of friendship skills. The necessary skills in regards to goal setting, choices, problem-solving and conflict management were developed by the participants as skills for managing the behaviour of bullies. This thesis therefore offers a psycho-educational programme for guidance of victims in the management of the behaviour of bullies. It could make a positive contribution to their effective functioning in their social worlds.

M.Ed. / The focus of this study was to portray aggression in the working environment by way of a qualitative study. There exists preconceptions about aggression in the workplace and this causes a process whereby aggression is not understood. It is also not addressed because of the fact that management does not understand aggression. For the purpose of this study Afrikaans speaking management of secondary schools was chosen. There is a need for research into aggression at the workplace. The study made use of phenomenological interviews with seventeen participants of two Afrikaans speaking schools in the East-Rand, Gauteng Province. Data analysis was done by using the open-coding method of Tesch. The study also made use of field notes and a pilot study. Literature was used to verify and compare results. Guba's model of trustworthiness ensured the trustworthiness of the research. After the data analysis was conducted, it was evident that management viewed that frustration and stress together with conflict play a part in their experience of aggression in the workplace. Guidelines were given for management to cope with aggression. The researcher ensured that a high extent of ethics was followed throughout the study.

D.Ed. / The frequency and intensity of aggression that has become an everyday reality to an increasing number of adolescents who perpetrate it, witness it or become its victims necessitates research of the phenomenon in context so that measures may be put in place to curb it or prevent it from occurring in the first place. Despite current legislation to protect the rights and safety of pupils, reports in literature on aggression in South African schools illustrate the ways in which aggression continues to have a detrimental impact on adolescents in secondary schools. Hence, the first research aim of this study, conducted within a psychoeducational framework, was to explore how adolescents experience aggression in an urban public secondary school in the Johannesburg South school district in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Based on the findings the second aim of the research study was to develop, implement and evaluate a psycho-educational programme for the constructive management of aggression that adolescents experienced in that context in order to facilitate improvements in their mental health. A mixed methods research design with an explorative, descriptive, explanatory and contextual focus was followed. The qualitative phase of the mixed methods design not only provided richer insight and understanding into the complex phenomenon of aggression in secondary schools but also served to provide a foundation for the quantitative stage of the study. The four criteria of truth-value, applicability, consistency and neutrality, identified by Guba to ensure trustworthiness in research, were applied. Ethical measures were strictly adhered to and included maintaining the confidentiality of the data and respecting the privacy, anonymity and the voluntary participation of the participants. Informed consent to conduct the research was obtained from the necessary authorities and from the research participants. The study was conducted in four phases as prescribed by programme development, implementation and evaluation. In phase one, the situation analysis phase, data was collected using phenomenological interviews and field notes which were verified by means of a literature control. The data generated from this phase was analysed using Tesch’s open coding method of analysing descriptive data. Three themes were identified that encapsulate the adolescents’ experience of aggression. The themes identified that adolescents are aware of their diverse experiences of aggression, that they experience aggression as an internal or external point of control in their lives and that they experience aggression as a barrier to healthy interpersonal relationships. The data was used in phase two as a basis to develop a psycho-educational programme aimed at teaching adolescent pupils the skills to manage the aggression they experience in secondary school in a constructive manner. Phase three saw the implementation of the psycho-educational programme. In phase four the researcher used an experimental research design to evaluate the efficacy of the programme. The results were analysed using rigorous statistical techniques. The narrative comments made by the participants to evaluate each workshop session were used to provide a qualitative evaluation of the programme process. The positive results obtained from both the qualitative and the quantitative evaluations of the psycho-educational programme suggest that it may be applied successfully to facilitate the constructive management of aggression that adolescents experience in the secondary school environment and in life so that they can attain mental health and actualise their full potential for a positive future.

D.Ed. / The aim of this research was to develop a psycho-educational programme for grade eleven teachers to effectively, without the use of violence, manage aggression demonstrated by grade eleven boys. The aim is for teachers to support and assist the boys to channel their aggression positively. The grade eleven teachers are faced with the huge challenge to manage aggression exhibited by the boys in their classes. Therefore this study is mainly focused on the impact of aggression on the teachers' effectiveness.

Note:

M. Ed. / Aggression in schools has become the order of the day as incidents of learners stabbing, bullying and killing each other are reported. Parents, educators, learners, the Department of Education, the Department of Correctional Services and the Department of Social Science are concerned about the escalation of aggression in secondary schools. Current research on learners‟ experience of other learners‟ aggression in a secondary school has identified it as a major concern as it interferes with normal schooling. Aggression begets aggression. One of the goals of this research study was to provide guidelines for learners to manage aggression in a constructive manner. The participants in this research study were learners between the age of sixteen years and eighteen years in a secondary school in the Ekurhuleni area. The researcher‟s objectives were as follows: to explore and describe learners‟ experience of other learner‟s aggression in a secondary school; and to describe guidelines for the learners which will assist learners in dealing with learner aggression. The qualitative research approach helps the researcher to understand and interpret the learners‟ aggression. Phenomenological interviews were conducted and naïve sketches were written. The data was analysed by means of open coding. The major themes are set out below. 1. Learners experience other learners‟ aggression as being out of control. 2. Learners experience that cultural differences contribute to other learners‟ aggression. 3. Learners experience inadequate supervision and support of educators. 4. Learners experience other aggressive learners to be challenged in their lives. 5. From the interviews conducted; guidelines were made in line with the findings, to assist learners in dealing with learners‟ aggression.

Much research has recently been directed at social aggression, which includes subtle and covert behaviors intended to harm the target. Evidence indicates that social aggression is associated with social maladjustment such as peer rejection and internalizing and externalizing problems. Despite increasing interest by researchers on the consequences of this form of aggression, relatively few studies have examined the etiology of social aggression. Previous research has demonstrated that depression and social anxiety may predict social aggression, however little research has examined the role of the family system in contributing to the development of this maladaptive behavior. Using path-analytic techniques, this study examined how family factors (parent-adolescent conflict, positive family relations, and maternal psychological control) affect subsequent social aggression one-year later after controlling for baseline levels of social aggression. Individual symptoms of depression and social evaluative anxiety were also incorporated in the model to determine if the effects of the family variables on later social aggression were mediated by the individual emotional adjustment of a child. Using competing models, this study compared model fit across boys and girls. The stability of social aggression over a 1 year period was also examined using confirmatory factor analysis techniques. Participants included in this study were 497 10- to 14-year-old middle school students. Results suggest that social aggression is a stable and chronic difficulty for boys and girls over a one year period. Positive family relations significantly negatively effected social aggression over the course of a year, above and beyond baseline subsequent levels of social aggression, for girls. Additionally, parent-adolescent conflict, positive family relations, and maternal psychological control were significantly related to baseline levels of social aggression. This study corroborated previous research on the deleterious effects of parent-adolescent conflict, less positive family relations, and maternal psychological control on depressive symptoms for both boys and girls. Additionally, positive family relations were also shown to reduce social evaluative anxiety for both boys and girls. Findings from this study emphasize the need for prevention and intervention efforts directed at the family system for improved adjustment of early adolescents. / text

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Adolescent boys can either possess an internal or an external locus of control. An internal locus of control refers to a perception of being in control of one’s own life through own decisions and abilities. An external locus of control refers to the opposite, meaning a belief in luck and fate and also that one is being controlled by powers outside oneself. With these different perceptions, especially with the last perception, the high expectations of society of adolescent boys, can lead to frustrations. This can lead to aggression, consisting of physical, verbal and/or indirect aggression, which might be one of the possible causes of aggression in schools. Consequently a questionnaire consisting of 56 items was compiled by a combination of Julian Rotter’s (www.ballarat.edu.au/ard/bssh/psych/rot.htm) “Locus of control” questionnaire (1966) - and Björkqvist, Lagerspetz and Österman’s (www.vasa.abo.fi/svf/up/dias.htm) DIAS (“Direct and Indirect Aggression Scale) questionnaire (1992). Biographical items, namely language of instruction, age and grade of learners, were included as independent variables in the questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed by 184 boys from School A and 256 boys from School B in Grade 9-11. From the factor analysis, three factors were distinguished consisting of physical, verbal and indirect aggression. All the factors consisted of a high Cronbach Alpha (physical aggression=0.847, verbal aggression=0.820 and indirect aggression=0.845) which reflected a high validity and reliability of the research instrument. According to the relational analysis there was a relationship between external locus of control and especially verbal and indirect aggression, although very slightly. From the differential analysis, it has been judged according to the low averages, that the tendency of the different ways of aggression in language, age and grade are not prominent enough. Yet the following findings were made: • from language of instruction a meaningful difference was found, although with an average of only 0.2, it is not substantial; • age wise it was found that the 15 year old adolescent boys’ indirect aggression was statistically meaningful lower than the 17 year old boys; and lastly • grade in general reflects that the grade 9 learners of specifically School A, were more aggressive (physically, verbally and indirectly) than the grade 10 and 11 learners. From the literature study and empirical search, a definite relationship was found between adolescent boys with an external locus of control and aggression. With the increase of aggressive and violent behaviour in schools, this research topic has relevant and important educational implications for all parties that form part of the educational process.