This study was an investigation of the relationship between feelings of insecurity of institutionalized delinquent boys and the following personality variables: Ascendancy, Responsibility, Emotional Stability, Sociability, Cautiousness, Original Thinking, Personal Relations, and Vigor.

The purpose of this study was to make an investigation of the use of audio-visual aids in the conduct of interscholastic athletics for boys in AA High Schools in Texas.

The purpose of this study lies in its attempt to contribute to the understanding of leadership in small groups of boys in a conceptual framework that considers leadership as a dynamic interacting process rather than the summation of individual traits.

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / The World Health Organisation (2011) states that overweight and obesity is one of the most serious health problems of the 21st century. This is true of Africa as well. It is estimated that the number of overweight children in Africa has doubled since 1990 and growth rates of overweight and obesity are among the highest in Africa. South Africa’s overweight and obesity rates are among the highest in Africa. The South African National Health and Nutrition Survey (2013) found that the combined overweight and obesity prevalence in South Africa is 13,5% for children between the ages of six and 14 years; this is higher than the global prevalence of 10%. Therefore, overweight and obesity is threatening to become a major health concern in South Africa. When considering adolescents who are overweight and obese, it becomes apparent that it has a great impact on their mental health. Overweight and obesity during adolescence not only has a negative impact on their physical health but also their mental health, thus overweight and obesity should not only be addressed to improve the physical health but also the mental health of adolescents. The researcher aimed to explore the lived experiences of adolescent boys who are overweight and obese, to suggest guidelines to facilitate mental health in these boys. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual study design was followed. Research took place in two phases. The first phase was concerned with the description of the lived experiences of adolescent boys who are overweight and obese. In the second phase, guidelines were described to facilitate mental health in these boys. Ethical principles were adhered to from the onset of the study to ensure participants’ human rights were respected, that participants were treated with dignity and that no harm would come to them. Further, principles of fairness and justice were considered. The data were collected through in-depth phenomenological interviews. Interviews were conducted with 10 participants who met the sampling criteria and who were purposively selected. However, one participant’s interview was too short to be included. Consent was obtained from the participants.

This thesis examines peer influences on the development of masculinities for a group of boys attending a secondary school. A small male peer group in a selected school setting was studied over a three - year period, with an emphasis on extensive observation and interview. The study suggests that students actively engage in resistance as a way to claim power and prove masculinities, and thus identities, in the school setting, often resulting in poor educational outcomes for individual boys. The thesis proposes that discourses of masculinities are central to the creation of identities for young adolescent males, and shape the way they present as learners in the school environment. These discourses are informed and governed by peers and the need for individuals to find belonging within the peer milieu. Central to such discourses is the theme of power. Focused on gender as being socially constructed, and humans perceived to be self determining and moulded through interactions with others, this study is strongly influenced by the ideas of John Dewey (1910, 1966), Charles Taylor (1989, 1994) and Michael Foucault (1971,1977,1978,1981). It uses a framework based on three central themes - identity, power, and peer relationships, to shape and provide focus to the inquiry. In so doing, it seeks to find a "third space", a place where meanings become "fused" and "new horizons" emerge. The presentation is divided into four sections. The first section outlines the nature, research design and setting of the study. The second uses dialogue of the varying voices I brought to the research to explore the central themes of the framework. The third section draws the three themes together to examine the subjects' understanding of masculinities and how this influences their identities as learners, as well as how they perceive possible futures. / The final section summarises the major findings and examines emerging possibilities that focus on hope for change, suggesting that by allowing students agency and voice there are opportunities for rich, open and authentic dialogue between educators and students. Through ongoing critical inquiry and analysis of gender and gender relations there is the possibility of new ways of being (Davies, 1997) resulting in improved learning outcomes for both boys and girls.

This thesis examines the perceptions of interpersonal adequacy held by preadolescent behaviour disordered boys through comparisons with perceptions held of them by putative significant others and normative comparison with their peers. The sample, selected according to behavioural status, comprised 70 boys drawn from 22 regular primary schools in south west Sydney, Australia. Thirty five boys, identified as behaviour disordered, were matched with boys whose behaviour was perceived to be appropriate in the school setting. An overview of the results would suggest that the influence of selected putative significant others on the multidimensional self concepts of preadolescent boys is not universal and varies according to behavioural classification / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis uses a poststructuralist methodology and leads to a Foucauldian analysis of power, subjectivity and discursive practices for a group of twelve boys in a Year 3 and 4 classroom. The thesis is written in a poststructuralist way, and as such, it is experimental. It experiments with a writing style that encourages the critical engagement of the reader in deconstructing the text. The personal subjectivity of the author is placed in the foreground risking a vulnerability that is not apparent in theses generally. The thesis describes the structure and practicalities of research in a primary school classroom using a video camera to collect data. Transcripts were made from videotapes of a school day and interviews with the boys. These were analysed for the frequency of use of Foucault's "disciplinary techniques" using qualitative research software. Furthermore computer analysis assisted the extraction of "mini-narratives" from the transcripts. These "mini-narratives" are used to lead a description of the subjectivity of the boys and their positioning in the discourses of schooling and hegemonic masculinity. A picture emerges of a young male subjectivity caught up in the dilemmas of concurrent positioning in both schooling practices and hegemonic masculinity practices. It is proposed that boys often see their available positionings as limited by schooling discourse to "positive-female" or "negative-male". Hegemonic masculinity discourse limits available positioning to "positive male" or "negative-female". Positioning by the boys in these discourses is depicted as rapidly changing to the extent that inconsistencies and confusions arise for boys. The "mini-narratives" use the transcribed voices of the boys to tell of the challenges and practicalities of being a boy in a primary school. Recommendations are made that include moving beyond dualistic ways of subject positioning. The recommendations include ideas for teachers to involve themselves and their students in developing new ways of speaking about gender difference.

This research explores participant experience of the Service Learning Program in the context of an Australian Catholic Boys’ Secondary School. The research aims to explore what is happening as adolescent participants engage in working and relating with homeless people over an extended period of time. What are they learning? What sense or meaning are they making of their experiences, and are they deepening their value and belief system towards existential change? Service Learning is a curriculum initiative that Australian Secondary Schools are implementing to assist in the development of both the ethos of schools and in attempts to meet the needs of Twenty-first Century youth for a relevant education. While the benefits for participants in Service Learning are well documented, the effects upon recipients of the services provided, and whether the benefits for participants are the result of prior learning, family factors, or predispositions to this type of experiential learning, remain unclear. While Service Learning Programs are proving to be increasingly popular for school administrators, there appears to be a lack of clear models for Service Learning, its links to academic curriculum, or clearly articulated goals to assess success and achievement. A real danger of an adhoc approach to Service Learning in schools exists. The discussion of benefits to participants has not clearly identified links between program elements and hoped for benefits, nor has it examined the process or journey that participants have engaged in. Critical reflection on these issues has informed the purpose of this research and helped to shape the following research questions that focus the conduct of the study: Research Question One What features of the Service Learning Program at Holy Family College impact on participant experience? Research Question Two What changes are there in the meanings participants give to their experiences in the Service Learning Program over time? Research Question Three How do participants perceive their Service Learning experience in terms of their personal world view and the world view promoted by the school? The theoretical framework for this study was that of Constructionism as the criteria for judging that neither ‘reality’ nor ‘validity’ are absolute; rather they are derived from community consensus of what is ‘real’, what is useful, and what has meaning. In exploring participants’ experience as they served and related with homeless people ‘reality’, ‘usefulness’ and ‘meaning’ were derived from the student’s reflection upon their experience and their communal dialogue. Hence this study used Symbolic Interactionism as the perspective to explore experience. An interpretive approach was utilised, as humans interpret their environment, evaluate beliefs in terms of their usefulness in situations, select what they notice in every situation and focus on human action and interaction. A case study approach was used as it acknowledged the unique setting of a ‘van site’ for homeless people. Using personal journaling and focus groups data was collected from fifty-three Year 11 students who had volunteered to participate on the van for a period of six months. All fifty-three participants in the Service Learning Program experienced particular phases regardless of prior service experience, variables linked to family or personality type. These phases were: Expectations, Exposure, Reframing, Disillusionment, Awareness and Agency. This study concluded that within these phases, participant experience was influenced by the length of time of the program, the presence of active mentors facilitating the experience, ongoing reflection upon experience and situating the experience in a clear ideological framework. While each participant experienced the phases mentioned above no two students derived the same meaning or level of meaning from their experiences. The research concluded that each participant will exit a Service Learning Program with varying levels of internalisation of the core values of the program. Some will exit with a surface appreciation of what the program was about; others deeper, others tacit; some will arrive at a point of existential change. While acknowledging the influence of family and personality factors in this journey, this research shows that the presence of active mentors, reflection upon experience, a clear ideological framework and a significant length of time to allow for the maturation of both reflection and experience will move participants further along towards existential change than would otherwise have occurred. A model; the Spiral Model of Service Learning is proposed to support these findings.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Boys and Girls Club kept me out of prison. It kept me focused in school and on life; and has made me a productive citizen in the society. (Boys & Girls Club alum) This qualitative study evaluated and compared the influence of the Boys & Girls Club and Keystone Club programs on alumni in regards to their career and life experiences. Data were collected through personal interviews of each alumnus in the study. Each interview focused on the alumni’s experiences and benefits gained in either the six core areas of the Keystone Club program or the five core areas in which Boys & Girls Club members participate. The researcher asked staff from the Bryan and College Station Clubs to identify alumni for whom they still had contact information and would be likely to participate. The researcher then used the naturalistic inquiry approach to gather information regarding the experiences and benefits of alumni’s participation in the Keystone Club and Boys & Girls Club programs. The sample of convenience included 14 individuals who had participated in either program in the cities of Bryan or College Station, Texas. The major findings of the study were as follows: 1) All Boys & Girls Club alumni and Keystone Club alumni learned leadership skills through their participation in the programs; 2) All Boys & Girls Club alumni and Keystone Club alumni learned to interact with various cultures as a result of their exposure to the programs; 3) A greater number of alumni from the Keystone Club described “goal setting” as a key lesson than did alumni from the Boys & Girls Club; 4) Alumni from the Keystone Club are more likely than the alumni from the Boys & Girls Club to give back to their community. Recommendations for the clubs include the implementation of community service projects in the Boys & Girls Club program as well as helping youth identify and set goals. For the Keystone Club program, a Job Shadow Day and a College Student Shadow Day were both recommended to help students identify future careers and explore higher education.