No description available.

Thesis (B.Ed.(Hons)) - University of Queensland, 2004. / Includes bibliography.

Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Text in Afrikaans / Die doel van hierdie studie was soos volg: Om te bepaal of daar 'n verband bestaan tussen selfkonsepontwikkeling en suksesbelewing by die kinderhuiskind; (ii) Om te bepaal of daar 'n verskil is tussen die selfkonsep van die kinderhuiskind en die selfkonsep van die kind wat by sy ouers woon. Die ontwikkelingsvlak van die adolessent is in terme van die ontwikkelingskrisisse volgens Erikson bespreek. Die liggaamlike, fisiologiese en sosiale ontwikkeling het aandag geniet. Die morele ontwikkeling van die adolessent volgens Kohlberg asook die kognitiewe ontwikkeling volgens Piaget, is bespreek. Enkele begrippe, faktore wat die selfkonsep beinvloed en die ontwikkeling van die selfkonsep van die kinderhuiskind, is bespreek. Veertien leerders van Abraham Kriel Kinderhuis in Langlaagte, Johannesburg en veertien leerders van Hoerskool Vorentoe in Johannesburg het ingewillig om deel van die proefgroep te vorm. Hieruit is een kinderhuiskind geselekteer, op wie 'n diepte-ondersoek uitgevoer is. Ten slotte is daar tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat daar wei 'n verband bestaan tussen selfkonsepontwikkeling en die belewing van sukses. Daar is ook bevind dat die kinderhuisgroep 'n laer algemene selfkonsep as die ouerhuisgroep het. / The objectives of the study were as follows: (i) To establish whether there is a relationship between self concept development and experiencing of success of a foster home child; (ii) To establish whether there are differences between the self concept of a foster home child and a child residing in his parents' home. The level of development of the adolescent was addressed in terms of the developmental crises a~cording to Erikson. The physical, physiological as well as social development were also addressed. The moral development of the adolescent was addressed in terms of Kohlberg, while cognitive development were also addressed in terms of the Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Certain ideas and factors that influence the self concept, as well as the development of the self concept, were addressed. Fourteen learners from the Abraham Kriel Foster Home in Langlaagte, Johannesburg and fourteen learners from Vorentoe High School in Johannesburg declared themselves willing to partake as members of the test group. One learner from the foster home group was selected for a in-depth study. In conclusion it was found that there is a relationship between self concept development and the experience of success. It was furthermore found that the foster home group had a lower general self concept compared to the own parents group. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of South Africa, 2000

Thesis (MEd)--University of Stellenbosch, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Many students that embark on higher education do not have study and thinking skills that are sufficiently well developed in order for them to become autonomous, selfdirected learners. This is partly due to the fact that the historically authoritarian and rigid approaches to teaching in some schools have discouraged independent thought. Other contributory factors such as negative beliefs, attitudes and dispositions, and distorted concepts of the self and of learning, also prevent effective learning from taking place. The focus of this research is a study and thinking skills programme. This programme is part of a four week bridging course for freshmen at the University of Stellenbosch. It is based on a comprehensive rationale derived from cognitive education theory, comprising a number of well known theorists such as Piaget, Vygotsky, Feuerstein and Lozanov. This is further supplemented by instruments from authors in the field of thinking skills (de Bono, Buzan). The purpose of this research was to identify elements of the programme which might be responsible for aspects of transformative learning, as defined by Mezirow in his Transformative Learning Theory. These aspects initially became apparent from students' responses in post-programme evaluations. The responses represented an unexpected outcome, as Mezirow's theory was not represented in the programme's rationale. Eight criteria were developed from Mezirow's theory, operationalised as questions, and then utilized to assess transformative learning in the context of the programme. In a conceptual analysis, four categories of the programme (the rationale, the objectives, the course material and implementation procedures) were compared and contrasted with criteria from Transformative Learning Theory. From this analysis it was apparent that several criteria of Transformative Learning Theory were present in the programme: it facilitated learning in both instrumental and communicative domains; it provided opportunities to explore meaning structures and to investigate distorted meaning perspectives; and it instigated disorientating or conflicting experiences with regard to these. Some criteria were absent from the programme in that it failed to promote rational discourse according Mezirow's definition, it did not adequately promote reflection on premises, and it did not intentionally address the transformation of meaning perspectives. These three omissions may be traced to the lack of an "adult learning" focus in the programme's theoretical structure. Despite this, a number of parallels were identified which may explain the representation of Mezirow's criteria in the programme, and hence the students' responses. Conclusions are drawn regarding a theoretically justified view of transformative learning in the context of the Study and Thinking Skills (S&TS) programme, and practical implications for educators are explained. Finally, recommendations are made for enhancing trans formative learning within the Study and Thinking Skills (S&TS) programme, and for the design of similar programmes. Recommendations are also proposed for further research in this area which, in the contemporary South African educational context, clearly deserves more attention in adult education and related settings. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Talle studente wat tot hoer onderwys toetree se studie en denkvaardighede is me voldoende ontwikkeld om as outonome, selfgerigte leerders sukses te kan behaal nie. Dit is deels toe te skryf aan die outoritere en rigiede benaderings tot onderwys in sommige skole, wat selfstandige denke ontmoedig. Daar is egter ook ander belemmerende faktore soos studente se negatiewe houdings en verkeerde opvattings van leer en van hulself wat verhinder dat effektiewe leer plaasvind. Die fokus van hierdie navorsing is 'n Studie- en Denkvaardigheidprogram (S&TS). Hierdie program vorm deel van 'n vier week lange oorbruggingsprogram vir eerstejaarstudente aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch. Die program is gebaseer op 'n omvattende rasionaal vanuit die kognitiewe opvoedkunde perspektief wat die werk van 'n aantal bekende teoretici (Piaget, Vygotsky, Feuerstein en Lozanov) insluit en word aangevul met oefeninge deur outeurs in die veld van denkvaardighede (De Bono en Buzan). Die doel van die navorsmg was om elemente van die program te identifiseer wat verantwoordelik kon wees vir aanduidings van transformatiewe leer, soos gedefinieer deur Mezirow in sy Transformatiewe Leerteorie. Hierdie aanduidings spruit uit studente se response tydens evalueringsessies na afloop van die program. Transformatiewe leeruitkomste was onverwags, omdat Mezirow se teorie nie verteenwoordig was in die rasionaal waarvolgens die program ontwerp is nie. Agt kriteria wat uit Mezirow se teorie ontwikkel kon word, is geoperasionaliseer en in vraagvorm gebruik om die inhoud van die program te analiseer. Die kriteria is as verteenwoordigend van transformatiewe leer in die konteks van 'n studie en denkvaardigheidsprogram beskou. In die analise van die inhoud is vier kategoriee van die program (die rasionaal, die doelstellings, die kursusmateriaal en die implementerings-prosedures) vergelyk en gekontrasteer met die kriteria vanuit die Transformatiewe Leerteorie. Uit hierdie analise het geblyk dat die program aan sekere kriteria voldoen, naamlik dat dit leer in be ide die kommunikatiewe en intrumentele domeine fasiliteer; geleenthede skep om betekenisstrukture te verken en versteurde betekenisperspektiewe te ondersoek; en dat dit disorienterende of konflikterende ervarings veroorsaak met betrekking tot bestaande betekenisstrukture en -perspektiewe. Sommige kriteria was glad nie verteenwoordig in die program nie. Die program het nie daarin geslaag om rasionele diskoers, volgens Mezirow se definisie daarvan, te ontlok nie.; dit het nie voldoende reflektering met betrekking tot onderliggende aannames aangemoedig nie en dit het nie doelbewus die transformasie van betekenisprespektiewe bevorder nie. Hierdie drie weglatings uit die program mag verband hou met die feit dat die teoretiese onderbou van die program nie op volwassene leer fokus nie. Ten spyte hiervan is daar egter steeds 'n aantal ooreenkomste tussen die kognitiewe ontwikkelingsteoriee en Mezirow se transformatiewe leerteorie geidentifiseer wat die verteenwoordiging van Mezirow se teorie in die program en dus die studente se response moontlik kan verklaar. Gevolgtrekkings met betrekking tot 'n teoreties geregverdigde beskouing van transformatiewe leer in die konteks van die Studie- en Denkvaardigheidprogram en die praktiese implikasies hiervan vir opvoeders, word beskryf. Ten slotte word aanbevelings gemaak om transformatiewe leer in die program te bevorder en vir die ontwerp van soortgelyke progamme.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

M.A. (Counselling Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The current study assessed whether the accuracy of children’s self-reports of events experienced differs as a function of age and how the question is asked. Additional factors like metamemory and distractibility were assessed. Primary-school students (M= 7.7 years) and middle-school students (M = 9.7 years) completed two different versions of an event frequency measure, two times, at one week intervals. In one of the measures of event frequency, no memory prompts were provided (uncued questionnaire condition), while in the other measure, recall categories for aiding recollections were provided (cued questionnaire condition). Participants’ self-reported event frequencies for the cued and uncued questionnaires were compared with trained observers’ event frequencies for the cued and uncued conditions. Older children reported event frequency more accurately than younger participants. Participants also reported events with greater accuracy with the aid of memory prompts than without, an effect that was especially strong among the younger children. Neither metamemory nor distractibility was accountable for the differences within age groups. The findings suggest that age-related improvements in accuracy of event frequency across the transition into adolescence may, in part, be due to improvements in the ability to recall and recount those events in the absence of memory cues. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

A sequential design characterized by a mixture of a cross-sectional and a nine-month follow-up longitudinal design was used to allow both between and within groups comparisons. Two schools using the "through-train mode" for school promotion were invited to participate in order to ensure that follow-up measures could be made. A total of 405 schoolchildren (213 boys, 192 girls) completed the study, with 144 in the G5-6 group (i.e., grade promotion from Grade 5 to Grade 6), 142 in the G6-7 group (i.e., school transition from Grade 6 to Grade 7), and 119 in the G7-8 group (i.e., grade promotion from Grade 7 to Grade 8). The creative thinking, stress levels, and conventionality in thinking of the participants were measured using three parallel forms of the Test for Creative Thinking-Drawing Production (TCT-DP), Stress Appraisal Measures (SAM), and the Conventionality Test at 3 time-points (i.e., before, during, and after promotion to a new school or higher grade). / In the fast-changing modern world, creativity has become increasingly important for dealing with complex problems and opportunities. Improving creativity is therefore important for both individuals and societies. Studying creativity development can help us to infer the contributing factors that may hinder or enhance creativity. Studies on creativity development during childhood and adolescence have suggested that a creativity slump is a special, but common, phenomenon. Yet it remains unclear why a creativity slump occurs at a specific age or at a specific time of development. The present dissertation provides a direct empirical comparison of two competing hypotheses on the creativity slump. The school transition stress hypothesis, drawn from the continuity or experience perspective of human development, suggests that a creativity slump is related to the stress associated with school transition, whereas the cognitive-developmental hypothesis, which takes the stage perspective of human development, suggests that the conventional thinking stage inhibits the expression of creativity and is hence conducive to a slump. The explanatory power of these two theoretical perspectives in relation to a creativity slump was tested by addressing the research question as to whether a creativity slump would still occur if school transition occurred at the cognitive stage that is beyond the conventional thinking stage (i.e., the postconventional thinking stage). The study explicitly compared the relative contribution of stress appraisal and conventionality in thinking to creativity development. / In the present study, it was found that a creativity slump still occurred when school transition took place during the postconventional thinking stage, lending support to the school transition stress hypothesis, but not to the cognitive-developmental hypothesis, regarding a creativity slump at school transition. We further clarified the specific roles of cognitive appraisals of stress in relation to creativity. Negative stress appraisals (i.e., appraising school life as threatening) were negatively predictive of creativity, whereas positive stress appraisals (i.e., appraising school life as challenging and controllable) were positively predictive of creativity. Regarding the role of level of conventionality in thinking in creativity, the results suggest that although postconventional thinking has a positive effect on creative thinking, its effect on creative thinking is significantly mediated by stress appraisals. The results also showed individual differences in experiencing a creativity slump. The statistic that only 44.4% of the students in the school transition group experienced a slump lends support to the idea that a creativity slump is neither overwhelming nor unavoidable. In accounting for these individual differences, stress appraisal variables were found to be the significant predictors when both the stress appraisal and conventionality in thinking variables were included in the logistic regression equation to predict the occurrence of a slump. / The present dissertation contributes to the current literature by offering empirical evidence to address the explanatory power of the cognitive-relational theory of stress and the cognitive-developmental perspective in relation to the existence of a creativity slump. The findings suggest that the major factors that are detrimental to creative thinking at school transition are negative appraisals and lack of positive appraisals on school life (i.e., viewing school life as more threatening, less challenging, and less controllable). These findings are helpful for understanding the critical factors that either facilitate or hinder the development of creativity in schoolchildren, which, in turn, could shed further light on effective creativity education. / He Wu, Jing. / Adviser: Wan Chi Wong. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-03, Section: B, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-138). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese; form A-C, appendix III in Chinese.

Not available / text

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Central Florida, 2008. / Adviser: Rebecca A. Hines. Includes bibliographical references (p. 94-109).