The American school system currently faces gaps in achievement between its low-income, minority students and their higher-income, white peers. These gaps exist both in academic and socioemotional skills, are present by kindergarten entry, and persist throughout students' school careers. One proposed strategy through which these gaps may be reduced is through the promotion of student motivation and engagement. In the primary and secondary school settings, these constructs are promoted through teachers' motivational support of students' psychological needs for relatedness, autonomy, and competence. However, the development of these factors prior to kindergarten entry has not been as well studied. Data from 333 students and their 98 preschool classrooms were used to examine whether highly motivationally supportive preschool experiences can buffer the negative effects of risk in order to support the development of a high sense of motivation and engagement that is sustained across the transition to kindergarten. In terms of normative changes, results indicated that both engagement and disaffection declined across the kindergarten transition. High maternal education was a consistent predictor of increases in engagement and motivation and declines in disaffection across the kindergarten transition. While need support did not consistently buffer the loss of engagement or enhance declines in disaffection, it did seem particularly beneficial for boys, whose motivation and disaffection outcomes tended to improve after preschool experiences characterized by high warmth. Additionally, children's declines in frustration across the kindergarten transition were enhanced by well-structured preschool experiences. Details of analyses, results, strengths, limitations, and implications for future research are discussed.

Children in upper primary school who have not made progress along the Swimming and Water Safety Continuum may be at a greater risk in an aquatic environment because they have not developed the swimming competency, endurance and skills needed for survival in threatening aquatic situations. Three groups representing different socio-economic and geographical areas were selected to explore the relationships between psycho-social factors and the development of swimming ability among year seven students. Two groups from lower socio-economic areas were chosen. The first group was directly on the coast with easy access to the beach, while the second group was inland in the foothills of Perth. As higher socio-economic areas in Perth are generally not far from the coast only one group from a higher socio-economic coastal area was chosen. The participants were 540 year seven students, 282 of whom were males and 258 of whom were females. The primary variable of interest was the current swimming stage of year seven participants, and the differences between genders and/or locality groups. The primary research questions investigated differences between locality groups and/or genders for; a) perceived athletic competence and global self-worth, b) perceived swimming competency, confidence in deep water and importance placed on learning to swim well. c) perceived social support for sport and swimming activities and d) attendance at Interm, Vacswim and other swimming programs and aquatic venue experience. Relationships between swimming stage and the above variables were analysed. The secondary research questions investigated the most frequent reasons given by the students for not attending or discontinuing participation inVacswim, and whether there were differences between locality groups or genders. Findings indicated that the lower socio-economic groups had a significantly lower swimming stage and lower perceived self-worth than the higher socioeconomic group. Students from the lower socio-economic inland area had the lowest mean swimming stage as well as lower perceived social support for sport and swimming than either of the other two groups in the study. The two lower socioeconomic groups also attended less swimming instruction and placed less emphasis on the importance of learning to swim well than the higher socio-economic group. Despite these findings, the lower socio-economic groups did not view themselves as any less able in terms of athletic and swimming competence. However, as the two lower socio-economic groups have not progressed along the Swimming and Water Safety Continuum to the 'desirable standards' of the RLSSA (1999), these groups could be viewed as at-risk in an aquatic environment. At the same time, there was evidence that attendance at Interm along with attendance at another swimming program enabled participants to reach the 'desirable standards' of the RLSSA (1999). Girls generally had a higher swimming stage than boys in the lower socio-economic areas, attended year seven Interm and Vacswim more than boys, reported more social support for sport and swimming, and placed more emphasis on the importance of learning to swim well than boys. While many of these relationships between swimming stage and psycho-social factors have been intuitively accepted within the swimming teaching industry, we now have a better understanding of the strength and direction of these relationships.

This research topic presents a discussion on psychosocial deprivation and how it impacts on learners academic performance. It is a case study guided by the following questions: To what extent does psychosocial deprivation influence scholastic performance of grade seven learners? How can the school counteract the effects of psychosocial deprivation? What forms of assistance do parents and teachers need in order to work together to benefit the learners? This is a quantitative study underpinned by the ecosystemic perspective as well as the social constructivist theory. The sample size consisted of seventy learners taken from a primary school which was later reduced to twenty eight learners. The findings of the study were lack of motivation, absenteeism, learning disabilities, difficulties learning English as a second language, stressful family life, poverty and the like were some of the factors that affect learners and eventually results in their poor academic performance. The learners’ environment or neighbourhood is seen as one of the many social contexts that shape children’s cognitive, social and emotional development. However the neighborhood context does not simply “imprint” itself on children, but can be mediated or moderated by other social contexts, in particular the family. Learners who struggle with schoolwork without receiving effective intervention often drop out of school and, as a consequence, have increasingly dire employment prospects. Many learners are invisible strugglers, falling through the cracks and being written off as not needing the extra effort and intervention that educators can provide. Schools, educators and education policy makers must strive to level the playing field by counteracting or minimizing the impact of socio-economic factors on learner’s academic performance by doing the following: Supplying educational materials timeously. Preparing syllabi suited to the age, level and language of learners. Provide ongoing learner support with the help of guidance counselors and social workers. Provide nutritious programmes to supplement those with inadequate diets. Parents and teachers should work together to promote teaching and learning. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2011.

There is a need to look at the determinants of exercise behavior in adolescents, as there is a large deficit of research concerning this population. The purpose of this study was to examine Social Physique Anxiety (SPA) and the body shape of adolescents participating in a semester of physical education class. A secondary purpose was to create general profiles by combining the SPA information and the Transtheoretical Model (TM) of behavior change. Middle school students (N= 374) participated by completing a regularly scheduled physical education class and completing the Exercise Behavior Change Survey (which assessed Body Shape, SPA and TM) pre and post semester. The study revealed participation in class had no effect on SPA levels or Body Shape scores, nor did the study reveal any gender differences with these two concepts. Concerning the TM, SPA may not be a factor for progressing through the stages of change, although it may effect which processes were utilized and how one identifies the pros and cons of exercising. The Social Physique Anxiety Scale only reached an alpha of .50, possibly contributing to the lack of relationship between SPA and TM. / School of Physical Education

Summaries in Afrikaans and English / A primary school child finds him or herself in the middle childhood years and it is considered to be a rich phase of life, since children have already reached important milestones. These children have the ability not only to act with empathy but also to maintain independent behaviour. As a result of the development in the cognitive and moral stage of development, these children can also distinguish between right and wrong and they show insight that social rules can be changed. As a result of this development, it is believed that this child will accept learners with different skills more confidently when the required awareness is provided. One group of learners with special skills, which I focused on during this research, are those who have been deformed by burn wounds. Statistics show that a growing number of children in South Africa are deformed by burn wounds. As a result of the changing policy on inclusive education, these children cannot be denied into the mainstream education system because of deformity or disability anymore. It is therefore believed that an increasing number of deformed or disabled children will be entering the mainstream education system. Information is gathered through various methods by using triangulation. The literature study, semi-structured interviews with children as well as teachers for experimental subjects, who completed an incomplete sentence test and open questions, added valuable information. Research indicated that children in this phase of life are indeed equipped with certain life skills, which place them in a privileged position to handle interaction with the deformed child, if they receive the required awareness. The information also indicated that the gestalt approach could be used as theoretical perspective for the compilation of the guideline. This approach recognises that play is the child's natural communication medium but also recognises that awareness is created through means of experimentation. To my knowledge, there is no program or guideline from the gestalt approach that enables education staff to address children's awareness in respect of their inherent skills in the middle childhood years. The researcher made a breakthrough in the integration of the gestalt approach with the education environment by constructing a practical guideline from the gestalt approach for education staff. Education staff should, however, receive training with regards to the gestalt approach in order to use this guideline effectively. / Laerskoolkind bevind hom- of haarself in die middelkinderjare en dit word as ryk lewensfase beskou, aangesien kinders reeds belangrike mylpale bereik het. Hierdie kinders beskik oor die vermoe om nie slegs empaties op te tree nie, maar om ook selfstandige gedrag te handhaaf. As gevolg van die ontwikkeling in die kognitiewe en morele ontwikkelingsterrein, kan hulle ook tussen reg en verkeerd onderskei en toon hulle insig dat sosiale reels verander kan word. As gevolg van hierdie ontwikkeling word daar verwag dat hierdie kind met die nodige bewusmaking, leerders wat oor verskillende bekwaamhede beskik, met meer selfvertroue sal kan aanvaar. Een groep leerders, waarop daar tydens hierdie navorsing gefokus sal word, wat oor spesiale bekwaamheid beskik, is diegene wat deur brandwonde geskend is. Statistieke toon dat toenemende aantal kinders jaarliks in Suid-Afrika, weens brandwonde geskend word. As gevolg van die veranderende beleid op insluitende onderwys, kan kinders weens geskend- of gestremdheid nie meer tot die hoofstroomonderwysstelsel geweier word nie. Die verwagting is dus dat toenemende aantal geskende of gestremde kinders die hoofstroomonderwysstelsel sal betree. Inligting is deur verskeie metodes ingesamel deur die benutting van triangulering. Die literatuurstudie, semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude met kinders asook onderwysers as proefpersone wat 'n onvoltooide sinnetoets en oop vrae voltooi het, het bruikbare inligting tot gevolg gehad. Daar is gevind dat kinders in hierdie lewensfase wei oor bepaalde lewensvaardighede beskik, wat hulle in 'n bevoorregte posisie plaas om, indien hulle die nodige bewusmaking ontvang, interaksie met die geskende kind sal kan behartig. Die inligting het verder ook daarop gedui dat die gestaltspelbenadering as teoretiese perspektief vir die samestelling van die riglyn benut kan word. Hierdie benadering erken dat spel die kind se natuurlike kommunikasiemedium is, maar ook dat bewuswording geskied deur middel van eksperimentasie. Sover bekend is daar geen program of riglyn vanuit die gestaltbenadering, wat opvoedkundige personeel in staat stel om kinders in die middelkinderjare se bewustheid ten opsigte van hulle inherente vaardighede aan te spreek nie. Die navorser het 'n deurbraak in die integrering van die gestaltbenadering met die opvoedkundige omgewing gemaak deurdat 'n praktiese riglyn vanuit die gestaltspelbenadering vir opvoedkundige personeel saamgestel is. Opvoedkundige personeel behoort egter opleiding met betrekking tot die gestaltspelbenadering te ontvang ten einde hierdie riglyn effektief te kan benut. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

A obesidade infantil representa um crescente problema de saúde pública, sendo geralmente atribuída à predisposição genética. Contudo, consumo alimentar inadequado, estilo de vida, ambiente familiar, características pessoais e emocionais da criança e questões sociais também se relacionam com o excesso de peso. Esse estudo analisou a relação entre os sistemas familiar e social e os atributos pessoais de crianças obesas, no desenvolvimento da obesidade infantil, à luz da Teoria Bioecológica do Desenvolvimento Humano. A tese está composta por três artigos. O primeiro, através de uma revisão da literatura, descreve o método da Teoria Bioecológica do Desenvolvimento Humano, de Urie Bronfenbrenner, na pesquisa de famílias com crianças obesas. O segundo, identifica a influência dos contextos ecológicos de crianças obesas que podem contribuir para seu estado de obesidade. Participaram do estudo oito crianças, de ambos os sexos, na faixa etária entre 8 a 12 anos, e suas responsáveis, cinco mães e duas avós, na faixa etária entre 34 a 64 anos. Todas pertencem à camada social menos favorecida financeiramente e atendidas pelo Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). Foram utilizados como instrumentos fichas de coleta de dados biossociodemográficos a partir dos prontuários clínicos, a entrevista semi-estruturada (um roteiro específico para cada grupo) e o Desenho da Família (apenas com as crianças). Os dados foram analisados com base na técnica de análise de conteúdo temática e o teste projetivo baseado nos aspectos formal, geral e de conteúdo. Os resultados mostraram que as crianças dessa pesquisa estão inseridas em sistemas familiares marcados tanto por vivências sofridas e eventos dolorosos como pela superproteção. Os avós interferem na dinâmica educacional dos pais. O relacionamento entre os irmãos e colegas geralmente é marcado por rejeição e conflitos, o que as leva a experimentar solidão, acarretando prejuízos às relações sociais das crianças. A falta de coerência entre o que preconizam as políticas públicas relacionadas à prevenção da obesidade infantil na esfera social parece não favorecer o incentivo, o apoio e a proteção à saúde recomendados nos cuidados e ações contra a doença. O terceiro, analisa através dos núcleos Pessoa e Tempo do Modelo Bioecológico, as características pessoais e a história de vida de crianças obesas e de suas famílias que se inter-relacionam na gênese e manutenção da doença. O delineamento metodológico foi o estudo de casos múltiplos, que incluiu duas crianças, de ambos os sexos e duas mães. Os instrumentos utilizados na pesquisa foram uma ficha de coleta de dados biossociodemográficos a partir dos prontuários clínicos, a entrevista semiestruturada e o Desenho da Figura Humana (apenas com as crianças). Os resultados mostraram que as crianças apresentam dificuldades relacionadas a sua imagem corporal. Suas histórias revelaram segredos familiares relacionados às figuras parentais, fenômenos transgeracionais e relação mãe/criança caracterizada pela baixa autonomia da criança levando a uma falta de diferenciação da díade, o que dificulta o domínio dos problemas enfrentados. / Childhood obesity is a growing public health problem, usually attributed to genetic predisposition. However, inadequate food intake, lifestyle, family environment personal and emotional characteristics of children and social issues also relate to excess of weight. In this study was analyzed the relationship between family and social systems and the personal attributes of obese children in the development of childhood obesity, enlighten by the Bioecological Theory of Human Development. The thesis is composed of three articles. The first, through a literature review, describes the method of Bioecological Theory of Human Development of Urie Bronfenbrenner, research from families with obese children. The second, identifies the influence of ecological contexts of obese children that can contribute to their state of obesity. Eight children participated, of both sexes, aged between eight and twelve years, and their responsible, five mothers and two grandmothers, aged between 34-64 years. All belong financially to the lowest social layer and are assisted by the Unified Health System (SUS). The instruments used were a form to collect biossocialdemographic data from clinical records, a semi-structured interview (with a specific guidelines for each group) and the Family Drawing (only with the children). Data were analyzed based on thematic content analysis technique and the projective test based on formal, general and content aspects. The results showed that children of this research are embedded in family systems marked by both suffered experiences and painful events as also overprotection. Grandparents interfere with the educational dynamics of parents. The relationship between brothers and colleagues is usually marked by rejection and conflict, which leads them to experience loneliness, causing losses to social relations of these children. The lack of consistency between what public policies profess related to the prevention of childhood obesity in the social sphere does not seem to favor the encouragement, support and protection to health care and the recommended action against the disease. The third, analyzes, through the cores of Person and Time in the Bioecological Modell, the personal characteristics and the history of life of obese children and their families that are interrelated in the genesis and maintenance of the disease. The methodological delineation was a multiple case study, which included two children, of both sexes and two mothers. The instruments used in the research were a form to collect biosocialdemographic data from the medical records, a semistructured interview and the Human Figure Drawing (done with the children). The results showed that children have difficulties related to their body image. Their stories reveal family secrets related to parental figures, transgenerational phenomena and mother / child characterized by low autonomy of the child leading to a lack of differentiation of the dyad hindering the domain of the problems.

M.Ed. / Unfortunately, many teachers seem not to be aware of the role played by emotions, especially the negative ones, in the teaching and learning situation. As a result, many teachers attribute poor scholastic performance indiscriminately to either laziness or stupidity ( Pringle, 1986: 77) and other factors that are exclusive of emotional problems. Because of these negative attitudes, children with emotional problems may find it difficult to learn effectively. If teachers are, therefore, not trained to teach children with emotional problems, children's learning and overall development may continue to suffer. A secure emotional base is a pre-requisite for effective learning (Winkley, 1996: 1-2 ). A learner whose emotional life is taken care of, stands a better chance of making academic progress over those who are emotionally deprived or abused.Teachers, therefore, need to be equipped with knowledge of the children's emotional life, especially the strategies for teaching children with emotional and behavioural problems. This knowledge is of vital importance if their attitudes towards children with emotional and behavioural problems is to be changed to the benefit of these children, because knowledge forms part of beliefs and beliefs are the cornerstone of attitudes ( Hewstone, Stroebe, Codol, & Stephen, 1988: 143 ). Successful learning may be enhanced by identifying the unproductive attitudes held by teachers and by inculcating positive ones by equipping them with knowledge about the emotional states of children with emotional and behavioural problems. Against this background, the problem to be researched in this study can be stated as follows : What knowledge do teachers have with regard to emotional and behavioural problems of learners? What are the perceived causes of emotional and behavioural problems in learners, and what are the attitudes of teachers with regard to these learners? What guidelines can be developed for teachers in order to enhance their teaching of these learners?

D.Litt.et Phil. (Psychology) / According to Cunningham (1978) there is a fair amount of controversy that surrounds the possible causes of auto-immune diseases. According to him there are two conflicting categories of causes of which psycho-social causes is one and abnormalities of the immune system is the other. Although a substantial amount of studies concerning the relationship between psychological factors and immune functioning have been done, the results have been inconclusive. The reason for this seems to be that there is a vast amount of mediating factors. A further aspect that needs to be taken into account is that psychoneuroimmunological research has focused mainly on adults. Schleifer, Scott, Stein and Keller (1986) is of the opinion that extensive research is required to study the effects of the central nervous system and behaviour during the early development of a person. The study attempted to identify possible psycho-social factors that could contribute to pediatric diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. In order to identify factors that are unique to auto-immune diseases four groups were compared i.e, emotional disorders, behavioral disorders, auto-immune diseases and a "normal" group.

Please read the abstract in the section, 00front, of this document / Dissertation (MA (AAC))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / unrestricted

Male batterers -- Paternal custodial challenges -- Support payment arrearage -- Income levels of fathers -- Violent fathers -- Nonviolent fathers -- Initiation of court appearances -- Gender of children.