Typical parent education programs expect that parents of teenagers can (1) be empathetic listeners, (2) identify and express their own inner feelings, thoughts, and opinions, etc., (3) tolerate diversity of ideas, (4) set limits for their teenagers, and (5) take a perspective on their parenting processes. In other words, such programs assume that all parents of teenagers have the same abilities and are at the same developmental level. This study challenged this assumption and addressed the issue of readiness for parenting. Robert Kegan's subject-object theory was used as a context for the study. Twenty parents of teenagers were interviewed using Kegan and colleagues' subject-object interview. The interviews were used to determine how parents were thinking about their parenting experiences, or, in other words, how these parents were structuring meaning around their parenting experiences. The analyses of these interviews, which were done by a certified subject-object assessor and myself, determined what was "subject" and what was "object" in the parents' meaning-making structure. We found subject-object data that represented six different meaning-making structures, or in other words, six different developmental levels. The subject-object data demonstrated abilities and kinds of enmeshment specific to the developmental level. My research suggests that identification of abilities and specific kinds of enmeshment can be useful to helping professionals. This kind of identification which is defined from subject-object developmental levels can; (1) locate the source of authority in the parenting, (2) utilize a language that matches the enmeshment, (3) anticipate the kind of projections that will be generated by the parents, and (4) estimate the level of skill mastery in these four areas: empathetic response and active listening; communication of inner process and leveling; conflict resolution and problem solving; and, limit setting.

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate whether perceived autonomy and intimacy in family of origin experiences contributed to the retention of an individual's ethnic identity. The hypothesis under investigation focused on the predictive relationship of these variables with a sample of 195 Roman Catholic parishioners representing the following ethnic groups: Irish, Italian, Puerto Rican, Polish and French. The sample included 43 Irish Americans, 35 Italian Americans, 36 Puerto Rican Americans, 41 Polish Americans and 40 French Americans. The subjects completed a mailed questionnaire packet concerning family of origin and ethnic identity characteristics and experiences. The findings indicated that autonomy and intimacy were significant in predicting the retention of an individual's ethnic identity in varying degrees and within specific populations. Positive intimacy and negative autonomy were found to be significant in predicting the retention of ethnic identity for the entire sample group. Autonomy and intimacy were found to be significant in predicting the retention of ethnic identity for the Polish sample group. Positive intimacy and positive autonomy were found to be significant in predicting the retention of ethnic identity for the men in the sample. In conclusion, the findings suggest that perceived autonomy and intimacy in family of origin experiences contribute to the retention of an individual's ethnic identity in varying degrees and in different populations. Implications for future research are also discussed.

No description available.

Many of the more than one million people infected with the HIV virus in the United States continue to work after a positive test for the antibody to the virus that causes AIDS. As the numbers of HIV infected people grow in this country, more and more employers, co-workers, counselors, friends or family, will have to deal with the compound issues of HIV infection and work. Therefore, knowing and understanding the issues of concern to HIV infected individuals while they continue to work will become increasingly important. To gather this information, a series of Focus Groups were conducted. From the tapes and transcriptions of the groups, discussion items were identified and clustered for each group. They were then analyzed for: convergence across groups; areas of common concern; and inferences into attitudes held by those who are HIV infected. Because the disease is relatively new and because very little data exists about the impact it is having on those who are working and infected, this research project was an exploratory one. It attempted to gain insight into how people are coping with these two issues while learning more about them. Because of the lack of current information on this topic, the groups were facilitated with low structure to generate as many ideas as possible from the participants. The purpose of the research was to supplement existing information about the impact of HIV/AIDS in the workplace. This study changed the prevailing focus of existing research/writing and brought it to those individuals who are both dealing with the disease as a personal reality and continuing to work. In gathering this data, another goal was to provide information that will help make the work-life, and thus the overall quality of life, better for those who are HIV infected.

Black alumnae are a major resource for informed opinion about the experiences of Black students on predominantly white college campuses. Their wisdom, energy, knowledge and support have remained largely untapped. The literature regarding this resource is scanty and seldom deals with the perspective of Black alumnae, especially those who have been successful in negotiating the system. Knowledge of the past informs the direction of the future. Knowledge of and understanding about the past is available in the minds and from the experiences of Black graduates. They need to be recruited to share, in retrospect, their wisdom and insight about their college experiences and the effect it had on them as Black students. In addition, they needed to inspire, encourage and be a source of support to Black students of the present and in the future. Following a decade or more in which predominantly white colleges and universities actively recruited Black students as well as Black faculty and staff, the situation has been reversed dramatically. Black students who attend these colleges and universities in the eighties and nineties find themselves facing diminished numbers of both student and faculty; more stringent entrance requirements in the form of increased reliance on standardized test scores; financial aid more often in the form of loans than grants; and a distinct change in attitude about the support they can expect to find throughout the campus. Undergirding this change in attitude on the part of institutions of higher education is the increasingly conservative, sometimes even hostile, political and social situation in the country at large. The steady erosion of the idea that education is an entitlement and the insurance for all citizens against an uneducated citizenry who will, at the turn of the century, become our leaders, is the message of the eighties. The dissertation will seek to demonstrate the benefits to the college to be derived from the participation of Black alumnae of a predominantly white college or university. Historically these colleges have faced a major dilemma in their attempts to involve Black alumnae in the ongoing affairs of the college through the alumnae association. The methods used to encourage participation of the general body of the alumnae have failed to get significant participation or positive results from Black alumnae. An Entitlement Symposium held on the weekend of April 7, 8 and 9 at Simmons College can serve as a model of a way to involve these alumnae. The dissertation will present a journalistic report of the planning and the events. It will include the results of the discourse in the form of plans for future direction, activities and recommendations.

A qualitative phenomenological design was used to explore the lived experiences of college women who reported sexual assault to law enforcement officials. Utilizing a feminist conceptual framework, the purpose of the present study was to identify the essence of the reporting experience for college women who experienced a sexual assault. Six college women agreed to participate in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with open-ended questions to better understand the experience of the phenomenon under investigation. The Modification of the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen Method of Analysis of Phenomenological Data (Moustakas, 1994) was utilized for analysis of the data collected in order to identify meaning units and themes. Four common themes emerged from the narratives of the six participants: Making the Decision to Report, Internal Experience of the Reporting Process, Following the Report, and Making the Report. The identified themes contributed to the participant descriptions, which highlighted the essence of the participants’ lived experiences of reporting sexual assault to law enforcement. The identified themes provided insight into how counselors can better serve college women who have reported or are considering reporting sexual assault to law enforcement officials. Implications for counselor educators, college counselors, and campus police and off-campus police officers were also addressed.

<p> The purpose of this study was to engage in ethnographic research involving Jack E. Singley High School (JESA), which was part of the Irving Independent School District in Irving, Texas and recognized throughout the state as one of its most successful high schools. Singley High School had a population of 1600, with 88% minority students, who continued to exhibit academic achievement. The researcher evidenced specific interest in the performance of African-American male students at Singley, since this academic performance consistently received national recognition. This sub-population had been described as experiencing an &lsquo;achievement gap&rsquo;. However at Singley, African-American males were succeeding. The researcher explored how this high school was effective in preparing its African American male students for academic success through interviews of individual students who demonstrated the ability to succeed in the academic arena under challenging personal and cultural circumstances. </p><p> The results of the study highlighted the importance of collaborative learning in self-efficacy and illustrated the power of student &lsquo;buy in&rsquo;, when the students could directly relate their academic work to tangible career goals. Increasing, the relevancy of academics and preparing students for life beyond high school afforded clear-cut goals and added value to education, increasing student motivation and student academic success. One of the most surprising insights from this research, for the researcher, had nothing to do with academics, though its positive connection to success was clear. The insight was the gratitude that students vocalized for being accepted as a part of a professional institution and learning the tenets of professionalism, which allowed them to view themselves in a more positive way.</p>

<p> This qualitative study explored the perceptions of 14 African American male undergraduate students about their high school preparation for post-secondary education. This study synthesized past and present research on the experiences of African American males within the public education system and examined how school discipline and the lack of positive student-teacher relationship negatively impacts the trajectory of African American males entering into institutions of higher education. Through semi-structured interviews three salient themes emerge: (1) inconsistent support from certificated school personnel in meeting the needs of African American male high school students; (2) lack of academic preparedness for post-secondary education in high school programming; and (3) the importance of family support and role models for Black male high school students. The results from these interviews highlighted the continuous disparities African American males&rsquo; face within the K-12 system. Such barriers impede on college access and success.</p><p>

The purpose of this study was to find out more about the college choice process of minority high school seniors. The research questions were (1) Do minority high school seniors consider important the same college attributes that the literature of college choice suggests? (2) Do minority students consider important other aspects of colleges, such as those attributes suggested in the college climate and retention literature as influential in the college success of minority students? The population of the study included 1155 Southeastern Massachusetts high school seniors segmented into five sub-groups: Asian, black, Cape Verdean, Hispanic, and white. Data were obtained from two questionnaires administered in January and May, 1993 in all high school English classes. The results were compared with the college choice literature. In addition, the results were analyzed in relation to the college climate attributes of social opportunities, curriculum, campus diversity, and academic support. The conclusions included the following: (1) Not all sub-groups are the same. There were significant differences between black and Cape Verdean sub-groups and among all sub-groups. (2) Geographical proximity is a factor. (3) Financial aid and academic support supersede academic reputation. (4) Models of college choice need to be modified to include student location and deferred application. (5) Mother is a primary influence on college as identified by all sub-groups. Recommendations for institutional responses are based on these conclusions.

This study focuses on understanding the impact of the Cultural Identity Group (CIG) program on the racial/ethnic identity development of students who were involved in a sixteen-week program in an ethnically diverse middle school in New England. The program began in October 1996 and ended in May 1997. The cultural identity groups met once a week except during school holidays and vacation. This study was part of a larger project funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The Cultural Identity Group model on which this study is based was jointly developed and piloted in a Western Massachusetts Elementary School by Phyllis C. Brown, MMHS, Ernest Washington, Ed.D., Allen Ivey, Ed. D. and Mary Bradford-Ivey, Ed.D. Qualitative and quantitative measures were used to gather information about the impact of the Cultural Identity Group on the racial/ethnic identity development of the students as well as on their attitudes toward people from different racial/ethnic backgrounds. The Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure developed by Jean Phinney (1989) was used to assess students' ethnic awareness. Interviews conducted with a racially/ethnically diverse sample from the Cultural Identity Group provided evidence of the impact of CIG on the racial/ethnic identity of participants. The findings in this study demonstrated that students who participated in CIG gained a heightened sense of their racial/ethnic self as well as an increase in interethnic awareness. There was an emerging awareness of the pervasiveness of racism among participants in this study. Participants also gained skills to help them deal with and interrupt injustice. These skills included recognizing ethnic jokes and developing constructive, practical solutions for confronting racist behavior directed toward adolescents. The implications of this study concern students, and educators, as well as theories of adolescent development and racial identity development. Providing students structured environments in which to talk and learn about their own ethnic background, race and racism may have a positive impact on their racial/ethnic development which may promote better interethnic relationships in school. Any study of adolescent development must consider differences as well as similarities in adolescent development based on racial/ethnic factors. Future and current educators need to learn about theories of racial/ethnic identity and understand how it plays out in adolescents' lives and in school, in order to create school culture that affirms all students.