Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-22T21:55:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAO EDNAILDA.pdf: 692943 bytes, checksum: 1692cf10de8fce735559167d049e75d1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-04-27 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas / The current dissertation is the result of a research that took place in the Federal University of the state of Amazonas (UFAM) in Brazil , as a requirement to get the title of Master in Education as established by the Program of Post-Graduation in Education held by the same university, which was financed by the CNPq, aiming to investigate the academical and professional histories of the black citizens who are inserted in this university as professors. To do so, the biographical approach through a life history orally-told method was the basis for the methodology taken. Thus, five professor testimonies were A/V recorded from a semi-structured sketch as the answers for the following questions: How did the whole academical trajectory of these subjects happen? Which factors determined their academical life as students? How could their professional experience at UFAM be described? What challenges did they face for being black professors? All along the time they played their roles as common academic students and professors, did they realize any change concerning the acceptance of the black identity void of prejudice? In the case in which they had to face inward prejudice issues against negroes at UFAM, what strategies did they make use of? This way, the main goals of this research had been established and accomplished with their objectives, which were to identify and make an analysis of the process of the construction and reconstruction of these subjects identities, the forms of prejudice that were observed inside of their workplaces, as well as the needs or its negative for the establishment of affirmative political programs in research field. As to conclude, our analysis pointed towards the need of the implementation of a program to deal against institutional racism and a wide curriculum reform in the perspective of a reeducation for ethnical-racial relations at the Federal University of the state of Amazonas. / A presente dissertação é o resultado de uma pesquisa realizada na Universidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM), pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação da Faculdade de Educação, financiada pelo CNPq, para titulação de Mestrado, que investigou as trajetórias acadêmica e profissional de docentes negra(o)s que se destacaram nesta Universidade. Para tanto, a abordagem biográfica história oral de vida - foi a metodologia aplicada. Filmei o depoimento de cinco docentes a partir de um roteiro semi-estruturado para responder às questões norteadoras: Como ocorreu a trajetória acadêmica da(o)s docentes negra(o)s? Quais fatores determinaram esta trajetória acadêmica? Como se desenrolou a trajetória profissional na UFAM? Que desafios enfrentaram ao longo destas trajetórias? Ao longo de suas trajetórias acadêmica e profissional, perceberam mudanças em relação à assunção da identidade negra? Que tipo de estratégias desenvolveu diante do racismo institucional? Assim, os objetivos estabelecidos, analisar o processo de construção e reconstrução das identidades destes docentes, identificar as formas assumidas pelo racismo institucional e a necessidade ou não de políticas afirmativas, foram alcançados. Concluo apontando a necessidade de implementação de um programa de combate ao racismo institucional e uma ampla reforma curricular numa perspectiva de reeducação das relações étnico-raciais na UFAM.

O presente estudo é uma tentativa de reconstruir a trajetória escolar e profissional dos docentes afrodescendentes das universidades públicas do Estado de São Paulo. Para tanto, procurou responder as seguintes indagações: quais foram as oportunidades de educação disponibilizadas ao negro? De que forma as perspectivas políticas e sociais dos negros se estabeleceram? Como os afrodescendentes chegaram ao espaço docente? Situar o grupo étnico historicamente, nos aspectos sociais e políticos, parecia condição para caminhar no sentido de responder essas questões. Dentro das organizações modernas a progressão social está determinada pela apropriação do saber formal, constituindo assim um campo de batalha invisível onde o sujeito negro está sempre em desvantagem. Explicitar também as bases em que estava suplantada a história educacional do negro era necessário para desvelar a trajetória dos professores/as negros/as num tempo mais recente e, num sentido mais amplo, avaliar o desempenho da educação sobre os negros desde a Abolição, ainda que de forma panorâmica e voltada para a realidade de São Paulo. A discriminação está quotidianamente presente nas relações humanas, embora seja disfarçada por mecanismos sutis de evitação, mas que interferem no acesso do negro às oportunidades de forma igualitária a outras etnias. Pela natureza da investigação só seria possível trabalhar com técnica qualitativa. Para tanto, utilizaram-se a memória como recurso metodológico e a técnica de história de vida, acrescidos a estas, os princípios da pesquisa documental. Foram colhidos dezessete depoimentos, sendo cinco professoras e doze professores entrevistados, com utilização do gravador. Das falas extraíram-se três categorias e dez sub-categorias para análises. Pela memória é possível afirmar que os/as professores/as enfrentaram muitas dificuldades para estudar, não pela ausência de boas escolas, pelo menos não no caso dos meus interlocutores, mas pela escassez de recurso na família. Muitos tiveram que priorizar o trabalho e só depois a escola. Ainda assim, foi possível uma trajetória escolar de êxito, o que se confirma nas suas ações profissionais como docentes. Professores/as que ingressaram na docência nos anos 70, com exceção de um, todos já chegaram ao topo da carreira, tendo ocupado cargo de relevância dentro da Universidade. Dando seqüência a esta pesquisa, seria relevante estudar o ingresso do negro na docência e sua ocorrência desde o início do século XX ao final do mesmo, para retratar sua progressão ou estagnação no acesso à docência. / This study is an attempt to reconstruct the schooling and professional path of Afrobrazilian professors who teach at São Paulo State Universities. The following questions were examined: which were the educational chances of black people? In what way the political and social perspectives of blacks were established? How did the Afrobrazilian population entered the teaching field? It seemed possible to answer these questions when situating the ethnic group in history and analyzing the social and political aspects involved. Inside modern organizations the social progression is determined by the appropriation of formal knowledge, thus constituting an invisible battlefield where the black individual is always at a disadvantage. It was necessary to give explicit information about the basis where the black educational history was superseded in order to reveal the path of black professors in a more recent time. Further, we had to evaluate, in a broader sense, the performance of education on Afrobrazilian people in the state of São Paulo since the Abolition, even though this was done in a more general manner and was reflecting only the reality in the state of São Paulo. Discrimination is an everyday occurrence in human relationships, although it is disguised by subtle mechanisms of avoidance, which intervene between the equality of opportunities of blacks with other ethnic groups. Taking into account the nature of this investigation, it was possible to work exclusively with a qualitative approach. Methodological features used were memory, the life history approach, as well as the principles of documentary research. Seventeen depositions of university professors, five schoolmistress and twelve schoolmasters were collected through recorded interviews. Starting with this recorded material it was possible to extract three categories and ten sub categories to be analyzed. Data collected show that black professors faced many difficulties to study, not due to lack of good schools, at least in the case of my interlocutors, but mainly due to poor financial resources of their families. Most of them had to prioritize work and had put school in the background. However, they all have had a successful educational career as university professors. Black professors who had entered schooling in the 70’s, except for one, have reached the top of their career and have engaged in relevant positions at the University. In order to extend this research, it would be relevant to study the entrance of black people into teaching field and its occurrences throughout the whole XX century, to demonstrate their progression or stagnation in the teaching area.

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No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Eliane Ribeiro Dias Batista - 2016.pdf: 4159670 bytes, checksum: 90a5eb1419f4583353668f56b4897134 (MD5) license_rdf: 19874 bytes, checksum: 38cb62ef53e6f513db2fb7e337df6485 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-07 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Goiás - FAPEG / This research is linked to the History and Educational Cultures from the Post Graduated in Education from Federal University of Goiás/ Regional Catalão and it has by objective understanding the trajectories of formation of five black teachers from the interior of the state of Minas Gerais, Ituiutaba, at Normal Course, in the period of 1965/1971. The deponents’ elections obey the following discretion: birth on 40’s and 50’s, working at Elementary School’s first years and those who belong to the black population. Their life stories were collected in the reason of understanding how mastership become a space of social arise for those black women, deriving from subaltern social division. The oral story was used as a strategy for an expression of the black teachers, consequently, color to the Minas Gerais’ education’s history scene. The undertaken study was made by a collection of methodological procedures, as: bibliographical search, studies of written documental sources of personal and official character, and oral production sources, based on the interviewed speeches, according theoretical as: Portelli (1997), Alberti (1989), and others. Many inquiries and concerns guided my studies, been those: if they realize distinction during the path of the formation at Normal Course, related gender relations and whom belong to the black population? How did they get to the Normal Course in private institutions? How was the participation in school festivities? How was the insertion on teaching/job market? For the development of the history of those black women in its student and teacher trajectory, it was from fundamental significance discussion of the concepts of race, racism, ethnicity and gender, extracted from Nascimento (1979), Fernandes (1979), Munanga (1994), Hasenbalg (1979), Scott (1995), Hirata (2014), Gomes (1995), and others. Moored on these authors discussed how was established, in Brazilian society, the racial preconception and of gender, placing the interviewed in their formation context and teaching practice, in a way that analyses the challenges and struggles they had in the process of schooling and professionalization. / Esta pesquisa se vincula à linha História e Culturas Educacionais do Programa de Pósgraduação em Educação da Universidade Federal de Goiás/ Regional Catalão e teve por objetivo compreender as trajetórias de formação de cinco professoras negras do interior de Minas Gerais, Ituiutaba, no Curso Normal, no período de 1965/1971. A seleção das depoentes obedeceu aos seguintes critérios: nascimento na década de quarenta e cinquenta, atuação nos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental e pertença à população negra. Suas histórias de vida foram coletadas no sentido de entender como o magistério se transformou num espaço de ascensão social para essas mulheres negras, oriundas de camadas sociais subalternas. A história oral foi utilizada como estratégia para as professoras negras se expressarem, por conseguinte, trazer cor ao cenário da história da educação mineira. O estudo empreendido se constituiu por meio de um conjunto de procedimentos metodológicos, como: pesquisa bibliográfica, análise de fontes documentais escritas, de caráter oficial e pessoal, e produção de fontes orais, com base nas narrativas das entrevistadas, conforme teóricos como: Portelli (1997), Alberti (1989), e outros. Várias indagações e inquietações nortearam meu olhar, quais sejam: se elas percebiam distinção, ao longo da formação no Curso Normal, em função das relações de gênero e pertença à população negra? Como chegaram ao Curso Normal em instituições particulares? Como era a participação nas festividades da escola? Como se deu o ingresso no magistério/mercado de trabalho? Para a construção da história dessas mulheres negras em sua trajetória discente e docente, foi de fundamental importância discussões dos conceitos de raça, racismo, etnia e gênero, extraídos de Nascimento (1979), Fernandes (1979), Munanga (1994), Hasenbalg (1979), Scott (1995), Hirata (2014), Gomes (1995), entre outros. Ancorando nesses autores discutiu-se como se estabeleceu, na sociedade brasileira, o preconceito racial e de gênero, situando as entrevistadas em seu contexto de formação e atuação docente, de modo a analisar os desafios e enfrentamentos que viveram no processo de escolarização e profissionalização.

The research called Opening the book of its lives: formation trajectories of four black teachers were developed and presented to the Program of Post-Graduation in Education, Master of the Center of Education of the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), in the line Formation, to know and Professional Development, having as objective to investigate the personal and professional trajectory of four pertaining black teachers of different generations, as well as its imaginary and possible significances of being a black teacher at distinct moments of the History of Brazil. To this, had been invited four teachers who had studied at different moments and that also had marked my personal and professional history, even so two of them have almost the same age possess a trajectory of very different life. This thematic one was being constructed from my performance as professor of the basic education, my studies on blackness, sort and education, of my participation in a group of research and, over all, from my proper history of life. I found in the autobiographical narrative a promising way to develop this work, since what one searched was an approach of its imaginary ones and its possible fights against the instituted whiteness. The register was carried through by the writing of the half-structuralized interviews and its posterior transcription. Used as benchmarks Bosi (2004), Perrot (1997), Gomes (2009) and Castoriadis (1982). I perceived, in its narratives, many approaches: the fight with the socioeconomic question, the choice for the Teaching, the strong presence of the figure maternal in its lives. Also some divergences had been found, in function even though of the secular line that separates them. Reconstruct the history of black women means looking at the history of gender/ethnicity of those who always stayed on the sidelines of historical processes. I point out that the work, beyond having produced a formation in the collaborators, as told for them, also me auto formation resulted in formation. For all of us its research produced another look on the Teaching, on the questions of blackness, sort and the teachers who we were at the beginning are not the same ones that were formed themselves/self formed. Important to note that their individual stories are also part of the collective history, each respondent brought brands that are part of their individual careers and, concomitantly are similar to the larger issues. The struggle for survival, the question of religion, the imagery of daily life were some categories that appeared on all the voices and the other showing that the singular mark of the generation they belong to, the year they were born, the era in which they lived also Social enrolling in the individual, the memory of the railroad to the oldest contributor, and the issue of racial quotas for the youngest contributor. / A pesquisa denominada Abrindo o livro das suas vidas: trajetórias de formação de quatro professoras negras foi desenvolvida e apresentada ao Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação, Mestrado do Centro de Educação da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), na linha Formação, Saberes e Desenvolvimento Profissional, tendo como objetivo investigar a trajetória pessoal e profissional de quatro professoras negras pertencentes a diferentes gerações, bem como os seus imaginários e as possíveis significações de ser uma professora negra em momentos distintos da História do Brasil. Para tanto, foram convidadas quatro professoras que estudaram em diferentes momentos e que também marcaram minha história pessoal e profissional, embora duas delas tenham quase a mesma idade possuem uma trajetória de vida muito diferente. Esta temática foi sendo construída a partir de minha atuação como docente da educação básica, de meus estudos sobre negritude, gênero e educação, de minha participação em um grupo de pesquisa e, sobretudo, a partir de minha própria história de vida. Encontrei na narrativa autobiográfica um caminho promissor para desenvolver este trabalho, visto que aquilo que se buscava era uma aproximação de seus imaginários e suas possíveis lutas contra a branquitude instituída. O registro foi realizado por meio de gravação das entrevistas semi-estruturadas e sua posterior transcrição. Utilizei como referenciais Bosi (2004), Perrot (1997), Gomes (2009) e Castoriadis (1982). Percebi, em suas narrativas, muitas aproximações: a luta com a questão socioeconômica, a escolha pelo Magistério, a forte presença da figura materna em suas vidas. Também algumas divergências foram encontradas, em função até mesmo da linha temporal que as separa. Reconstituir a história de mulheres negras significa olhar para a história de gênero/etnia de quem sempre ficou à margem dos processos históricos. Saliento que o trabalho, além de ter produzido uma formação nas colaboradoras, conforme narrado por elas, também a mim resultou em formação/autoformação. Para todas nós a pesquisa produziu outro olhar sobre o Magistério, sobre as questões de negritude, de gênero e as professoras que éramos no início já não são as mesmas que se formaram/autoformaram. Importante ressaltar que suas histórias individuais também fazem parte da História coletiva, cada colaboradora trouxe marcas que fazem parte de suas trajetórias individuais e que, concomitantemente vêm ao encontro de questões mais abrangentes. A luta pela sobrevivência, a questão da religiosidade, o imaginário cotidiano foram algumas das categorias que apareceram em todas as vozes e outras as singularizaram mostrando que a marca da geração a que pertencem, ao ano em que nasceram, a época em que viveram também o Social inscrevendo no individual; a memória da ferrovia para a colaboradora mais antiga, bem como a questão das cotas raciais para a colaboradora mais jovem.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Many Americans espouse “post-racial” conceptions of race and its role in children’s access to equitable learning opportunities; however, recent studies have illuminated the need to examine the ways in which “new” forms of institutionalized and interpersonal racism continue to hinder the schooling experiences of students in urban schools. Despite that students in urban schools are predominantly African American (27%) and Latinx (41%), the teaching force remains predominantly white (71%). Within these schools, white teachers’ lack of cultural competence and racial literacy marginalize students’ opportunities for social, emotional, and academic development and, thereby, foster racially hostile learning environments. However, cases of teachers in urban schools who create and sustain learning environments in which their students thrive socially, emotionally, and academically exist and need to be studied. This case study investigated the pedagogical beliefs and practices enacted by two highly regarded African American educators who created racially safe learning environments in two racially hostile urban elementary students. Ethnographic data was collected over a five-month period. Using constant comparative analysis within and across both cases, several significant findings emerged. Findings revealed how “new racism” manifested in the discourses, policies, and practices at both schools and, thus, illuminated the ways in which race marginalized not only the schooling experiences of African American and Latinx students, but their African American educators as well. Findings examined how each teachers’ pedagogical enactments aligned with the ideologies, beliefs, and practices associated with African American pedagogy and revealed how they fostered cultures of community, love, and achievement within their classrooms. Findings suggest that their culturally specific pedagogical beliefs and practices have the potential to create racially safe learning environments within, otherwise, racially hostile schools. Although African American pedagogical excellence is often relegated to discussions of practices needed to reach African American students, this study expands the knowledge base needed to center AAPE in discussions of best practices for teachers in urban schools. This study adds critical insights to discussions of race and its role in the schooling experiences and opportunities to learn in racially hostile urban schools.

No description available.

Teachers in California, like in many other states, are leaving the profession at an alarming rate, thus creating a severe teacher shortage. Specifically, Black teachers are leaving and this problem warrants thorough exploration in an effort to increase Black teacher retention. The objective of this dissertation was to unpack the different factors that contribute to job dissatisfaction among Black teachers in secondary public schools in Los Angeles County. In particular, the study investigated the role school leaders played in their dissatisfaction through a phenomenological study that interviewed 10 Black teachers. Using critical race theory (CRT), this study found that there were six key themes that contributed to the dissatisfaction of Black teachers: persistent awareness of race, the racialization of the teacher-student experience, hurdles to professional advancement, lack of confidence in school leadership, inconsistent and inadequate support, and the psychological and emotional impact of these experiences.

The teaching profession is widely regarded as being very stressful (Klassen, Usher & Bong, 2010; Otero, Castro, Santiago & Villardefrancosl, 2010). South African teachers, especially Black teachers working in previously disadvantaged areas, have to cope with serious stressors such as overcrowded classrooms and limited resources on a daily basis (Ngidi & Sibaya, 2002; Moloi, 2010). Occupational stress of this nature is known to have significant negative implications for well-being, and chronic stress has been linked to mood and anxiety disorders, and other forms of psychopathology (Bellingrath, Weigl & Kudielka, 2009; Brock & Buckley, 2012; Mundai, 2010). However, psychological buffers could enable individuals to sustain normal development and even experience well-being, despite the presence of long-term stress (Friborg, Hjemdal, Rosenvinge & Martinussen, 2003; Ryff & Singer, 2003). Noted among these so-called protective factors, the process of self-regulation has been found to be predictive of positive outcomes with regard to physiological and psychological well-being (Hofer, Busch & Kärtner, 2011; Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Self-regulation has, however, been found to represent a resource susceptible to depletion with repeated use, and there have been contradictory reports regarding the long-term sustainability of self-regulation capacity (Converse & DeShon, 2009; Ryan & Deci, 2008). No longitudinal studies could be found that explore the natural progression of self-regulation in a highly stressful context, and how changes in self-regulation are associated with changes in stress and well-being levels. This thesis consists of three sub-studies that are reported in three manuscripts. In the first of these sub-studies the levels of occupational stress and mental well-being in a cohort of Black South African teachers were investigated, including how these two variables are related to each other. The second sub-study aimed firstly to investigate the association between self-regulation and Black South African teachers’ self-reported levels of mental well-being. Secondly, it aimed to determine the role of the sub-constructs of the self-regulation process in the teachers’ selfreported levels of mental well-being. The aim of the third article was also two-fold. It first aimed to determine the natural progression of self-regulation within a highly stressful work context over a period of three years. It then aimed to determine how long-term changes in the selfregulation of individuals finding themselves in high-stress working conditions are associated with changes in their self-reported levels of stress and mental well-being. Black South African teachers (N=200, 101 men, 99 women) of ages ranging from 25 to 65 years from the North-West province of South Africa participated in the baseline phase of the SABPA project in 2008. Of the original 200 participants, a total of 173 teachers (88 men, 85 women) took part in data collection for the follow-up study in 2011. Data were collected by making use of quantitative measures (Teacher Stress Inventory (Boyle, Borg, Falzon & Baglion, 1995); General Health Questionnaire-28 (Goldberg & Hillier, 1979); Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (Keyes, 2006); Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire (Carey, Neal & Collins, 2004)) that have been validated for use in the South African context. The findings indicate that this group of teachers experienced high levels of stress, and symptoms indicative of mental illness to an extent that warrants psychiatric intervention. However, participants also reported higher than expected levels of mental health. The findings further indicated that self-regulation contributed positively to the participants’ mental health levels. The longitudinal findings also indicated improvements in this group of teachers’ selfregulation levels over time, and that these long-term changes in self-regulation were positively associated with changes in participants’ mental health. Recommendations for future investigations on the role of self-regulation in well-being that flowed from this research include extending research to other cultural groups and general populations; use of multiple or mixedmethod approaches to provide more insight into the participants’ short- and long-term experience of their working environment, their levels of stress and well-being and their self-regulation levels; investigating the psychological perspective on stress and exploring the concept of optimal self-regulation and the maintenance thereof. The study provided a holistic insight into the importance of self-regulation as protective factor in a highly stressed context, especially with regards to the promotion of mental well-being on a short term and long term basis. / PhD (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and mental health within a cohort of black African teachers. A review of literature revealed that teachers frequently experience mental- and general health problems (e.g. Ngidi & Sibaya, 2002; Olivier & Venter, 2003; Johnson, Cooper, Cartwright, Donald, Taylor & Millet, 2005; Parker, Martin, Colmar, & Liem, 2012). However, very little could be found on personality traits and how this relates to the health and well-being of teachers, especially in the challenging South African context. This study forms part of the SABPA (Sympathetic Activity and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Africans) project conducted within AUTHeR (Africa Unit for Transdisciplinary Health Research). The overarching purpose of this multidisciplinary project was to investigate the markers of bio-psycho-social health in urbanized teachers. This longitudinal project ran from January 2008 to November 2012 and involved a total of 409 Black and White secondary school teachers. The research was conducted in the North West province of South-Africa. This study focused on the 200 urbanized Black teachers who were recruited by means of convenience sampling from the Dr. Kenneth Kaunda educational district in the Potchefstroom area in the North West province during 2008. The sample included 101 men and 99 women, ranging between the ages of 25 and 60 years. Ethical permission for the SABPA and FORT3 projects was obtained from the ethics committee of the North-West University (ethical clearance numbers NWU-00036-07-S6 and NWU-00002-07-A2 respectively). Participants filled out informed consent forms prior to data collection, and after the objectives of the study and the research procedures were explained to them, all their questions were answered. Data collection for the baseline phase of the project lasted for 50 days during February to May 2008. Four participants arrived at the North-West University (NWU) Metabolic Unit on the Potchefstroom campus after work each day. After being welcomed and oriented, a battery of psychometric tests was administered in English. A secondary analysis was performed on data obtained by means of the Basic Traits Inventory-Short, Mental Health Continuum-Short Form and the General Health Questionnaire-28 in order to determine the relationship between personality functioning and mental health of the participants. Results showed that this cohort of teachers from the North West province experience distress in the workplace, but that they also experience surprisingly high levels of mental health. The findings suggest that there are few differences between the male and female subgroups in this regard. The study also found that there is indeed a relationship between personality traits and the general- and mental health of participants. Neuroticism showed a significant positive correlation with psychological distress, while Conscientiousness showed a significant negative correlation. All five personality traits showed significant correlations with the mental health of educators. Neuroticism correlated negatively with mental health, while Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness and Agreeableness correlated positively with mental health. Furthermore, certain personality traits (i.e. Neuroticism and Extraversion) were shown to be significant predictors of teachers’ levels of general and mental health. The strong association found between this cohort of teachers’ personality functioning and their general and mental health contributes toward an understanding of the processes that underlie the distress and mental health of teachers, and could play an important role in future attempts toward health promotion. / MSc (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The teaching profession is widely regarded as being very stressful (Klassen, Usher & Bong, 2010; Otero, Castro, Santiago & Villardefrancosl, 2010). South African teachers, especially Black teachers working in previously disadvantaged areas, have to cope with serious stressors such as overcrowded classrooms and limited resources on a daily basis (Ngidi & Sibaya, 2002; Moloi, 2010). Occupational stress of this nature is known to have significant negative implications for well-being, and chronic stress has been linked to mood and anxiety disorders, and other forms of psychopathology (Bellingrath, Weigl & Kudielka, 2009; Brock & Buckley, 2012; Mundai, 2010). However, psychological buffers could enable individuals to sustain normal development and even experience well-being, despite the presence of long-term stress (Friborg, Hjemdal, Rosenvinge & Martinussen, 2003; Ryff & Singer, 2003). Noted among these so-called protective factors, the process of self-regulation has been found to be predictive of positive outcomes with regard to physiological and psychological well-being (Hofer, Busch & Kärtner, 2011; Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Self-regulation has, however, been found to represent a resource susceptible to depletion with repeated use, and there have been contradictory reports regarding the long-term sustainability of self-regulation capacity (Converse & DeShon, 2009; Ryan & Deci, 2008). No longitudinal studies could be found that explore the natural progression of self-regulation in a highly stressful context, and how changes in self-regulation are associated with changes in stress and well-being levels. This thesis consists of three sub-studies that are reported in three manuscripts. In the first of these sub-studies the levels of occupational stress and mental well-being in a cohort of Black South African teachers were investigated, including how these two variables are related to each other. The second sub-study aimed firstly to investigate the association between self-regulation and Black South African teachers’ self-reported levels of mental well-being. Secondly, it aimed to determine the role of the sub-constructs of the self-regulation process in the teachers’ selfreported levels of mental well-being. The aim of the third article was also two-fold. It first aimed to determine the natural progression of self-regulation within a highly stressful work context over a period of three years. It then aimed to determine how long-term changes in the selfregulation of individuals finding themselves in high-stress working conditions are associated with changes in their self-reported levels of stress and mental well-being. Black South African teachers (N=200, 101 men, 99 women) of ages ranging from 25 to 65 years from the North-West province of South Africa participated in the baseline phase of the SABPA project in 2008. Of the original 200 participants, a total of 173 teachers (88 men, 85 women) took part in data collection for the follow-up study in 2011. Data were collected by making use of quantitative measures (Teacher Stress Inventory (Boyle, Borg, Falzon & Baglion, 1995); General Health Questionnaire-28 (Goldberg & Hillier, 1979); Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (Keyes, 2006); Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire (Carey, Neal & Collins, 2004)) that have been validated for use in the South African context. The findings indicate that this group of teachers experienced high levels of stress, and symptoms indicative of mental illness to an extent that warrants psychiatric intervention. However, participants also reported higher than expected levels of mental health. The findings further indicated that self-regulation contributed positively to the participants’ mental health levels. The longitudinal findings also indicated improvements in this group of teachers’ selfregulation levels over time, and that these long-term changes in self-regulation were positively associated with changes in participants’ mental health. Recommendations for future investigations on the role of self-regulation in well-being that flowed from this research include extending research to other cultural groups and general populations; use of multiple or mixedmethod approaches to provide more insight into the participants’ short- and long-term experience of their working environment, their levels of stress and well-being and their self-regulation levels; investigating the psychological perspective on stress and exploring the concept of optimal self-regulation and the maintenance thereof. The study provided a holistic insight into the importance of self-regulation as protective factor in a highly stressed context, especially with regards to the promotion of mental well-being on a short term and long term basis. / PhD (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014