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Teacher attrition is a widespread problem in the United States and is most severe in urban and rural schools. High rates of teacher attrition and discontent contribute to budget problems and decreased educational school quality. The purpose of this study is to examine how a variety of environmental factors and teacher background characteristics contribute to teacher attrition and discontent. The school system along with the relationship between teacher background and school organization will be considered. The core research questions guiding this study are: To what degree do school environmental factors and teacher background characteristics explain teachers' discontent and ultimate attrition? What is the relationship between teacher discontent and departure? Logistic regression was used to analyze data from the School and Staffing Survey and the Teacher Follow-up Survey collected by the National Center for Education Statistics to answer the research questions. Significant predictors that increased the odds of teacher discontent include: middle school setting, urban locale, rural locale, teacher perceptions of student problems, and teacher perception of community problems. Significant predictors that decreased the odds of teacher discontent include: school salary, highly qualified status, union membership, classroom control, and principal/colleague support. Predictors that increased the odds of teacher attrition include: certification type, school size, rural locale, teacher perceptions of student problems, and classroom control. Predictors that decreased the odds of teacher attrition include: teacher race and ethnicity, highly qualified status, and minority student enrollment. / Urban Education

"The Gordita's Guide to Body Positivity" is an autobiographical documentary reflecting on society's expectations of the female body image and how it affects Latinx women. Through personal recollections, media content, and archival material, the film explores beauty expectations, body discrimination, and body positivity. The document analyzes the documentary styles such as autoethnography and narration incorporated into the film and provides historical and theoretical context to body image in the Latinx culture and how the media has affected body image, beauty ideals, and eating disorders. In addition, the pre-production, production, and post-production process is detailed.

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.

Research suggests that the associations between femininity, body image and eating disorders are intricate. How these constructs are linked to each other still needs to be determined. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of these links, examining the mediational relationship among these constructs. Also, the prediction that bulimia and binge eating disorder symptoms have a similar origin was tested and compared. Some researchers have suggested that the pathways leading to these disorders are equivalent and the main difference between the two is the dietary restriction, while others see them as distinct disorders with different etiology. A total of 355 female college students (ages 18 to 26) completed a set of questionnaires that assessed femininity, feminine gender role stress, body dissatisfaction, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. Results showed that body dissatisfaction mediates the relationship between femininity or feminine gender role stress with bulimia symptoms, as well as the relationship between feminine gender role stress and binge eating disorder symptoms. Results indicate that body dissatisfaction related to femininity or to feminine gender role stress may contribute to higher levels of bulimia symptoms. The findings also suggest that body dissatisfaction related to feminine gender role stress may contribute to higher levels of binge eating disorder symptoms. Results did not support the mediational role of body dissatisfaction between femininity and binge eating disorder. However, the mediational role of feminine gender role stress between femininity and body dissatisfaction was partially supported, suggesting that feminine gender role stress might only be one pathway by which femininity may have an impact on body dissatisfaction. / Master of Science

No / Purpose:¿ A follow up study to investigate whether UK optometrists partially prescribe significant changes in refractive correction to assist patient adaption and whether various aspects of practitioner profiles are linked to the nature of these prescribing decisions. Method:¿ A case scenario type questionnaire was distributed by post and via the internet to UK optometrists. Five case scenarios were described that included information on patient age, symptoms, habitual refractive correction (if any), subjective refraction and any other relevant clinical information. In each case respondents were asked to indicate and justify what refractive correction they would prescribe. Results:¿ A total of 592 questionnaires were completed. Between 41% and 84% prescribed the subjective refraction result depending on the scenario. The likelihood of partial prescribing increased by 34% for every 10 years following qualification and thus after a typical 40 year career, respondents were now over three times more likely to partially prescribe. There were no other links with the propensity to partially prescribe. Conclusion:¿ The subjective refraction result exerted a strong hold on the reported prescribing outcome, particularly for newly qualified optometrists. Partial prescribing was increasingly proposed the greater the number of years the respondent had been qualified. This suggests that with increasing exposure to patients who return dissatisfied with their spectacles, a greater appreciation of partial prescribing is gained. This link seems to be an important finding that provides significant support for the prescribing rules suggested by textbooks, which are not yet supported by research evidence.

The purpose of this study was to examine any differences that may exist among demographic variables such as gender, age, and race in regard to internalization of society and media messages leading to body dissatisfaction that may lead to disordered eating behaviors such as preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint. A total of 324 participants completed the demographic questionnaire, the Multidimensional Body Self Relations Questionnaire, the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire for women, the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-Revised-Male-Version for men, and Rotter’s Internal-External (I-E) Locus of Control Scale. The results of this study found, as predicted, that Caucasians reported higher internalization, higher body dissatisfaction, and higher preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint than African Americans. This study showed no differences regarding men’s and women’s internalization or body dissatisfaction but did reveal that women reported higher preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint than men. Regarding age, this study found that age did not predict internalization, body dissatisfaction, or preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint.

A country’s education system is a vital component of the country’s success. Without an excellent education system, our social, economic and financial positioning becomes threatened. At the heart of our education system lie our educators. Good educators are the key to an excellent education system. The loss of educators to the education system is significantly more than the current influx of qualified educators into schools. A great concern is why the South African education system is losing such large quantities of qualified and experienced educators. The literature review of this study focused on the factors contributing to job (dis)satisfaction and how it impacts on educators. Various sources were used to complete the literature study. The empirical study was done by means of quantitative research by distributing questionnaires to participating schools in the Vaal Triangle District. The educators at each of these schools were asked to complete a questionnaire that focussed on the issues that may contribute to job (dis)satisfaction and were divided into different sub-sections. The results were analysed and interpreted and certain recommendations were made in terms of the direct results and conclusions raised by the empirical study. The primary objective of this study was to determine the level of job satisfaction among some educators in the Vaal Triangle schools. The researcher looked at various trends in the education system and collected data relating to the determinants of job (dis)satisfaction in the school environment. The study showed that educators within the study population were not satisfied with their working conditions and should these issues be addressed by Department of Education, it could lead to fewer educators leaving the education system to seek work elsewhere. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

A country’s education system is a vital component of the country’s success. Without an excellent education system, our social, economic and financial positioning becomes threatened. At the heart of our education system lie our educators. Good educators are the key to an excellent education system. The loss of educators to the education system is significantly more than the current influx of qualified educators into schools. A great concern is why the South African education system is losing such large quantities of qualified and experienced educators. The literature review of this study focused on the factors contributing to job (dis)satisfaction and how it impacts on educators. Various sources were used to complete the literature study. The empirical study was done by means of quantitative research by distributing questionnaires to participating schools in the Vaal Triangle District. The educators at each of these schools were asked to complete a questionnaire that focussed on the issues that may contribute to job (dis)satisfaction and were divided into different sub-sections. The results were analysed and interpreted and certain recommendations were made in terms of the direct results and conclusions raised by the empirical study. The primary objective of this study was to determine the level of job satisfaction among some educators in the Vaal Triangle schools. The researcher looked at various trends in the education system and collected data relating to the determinants of job (dis)satisfaction in the school environment. The study showed that educators within the study population were not satisfied with their working conditions and should these issues be addressed by Department of Education, it could lead to fewer educators leaving the education system to seek work elsewhere. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The first aim of this study was to develop a research based, integrated, secondary prevention programme, called the Weight Over-concern and Well-being (WOW) programme, for the reduction of Subclinical Eating Disorder (SED) symptoms, associated traits and negative mood states, and the promotion of psychological well-being (PWB) in female students. Consequently the second aim was to determine the effectiveness of the WOW-programme on its own, in comparison with a combined Tomatis Method of sound stimulation (Tomatis, 1990) and WOW-programme, regarding the reduction of SED-symptoms, associated traits and negative mood states; the promotion of PWB; and outcome maintenance. The last aim was to obtain a deeper understanding and "insiders' perspective" of the lived experience of SED, through an interpretative phenomenological inquiry (Smith & Osborn, 2003). The motivation for the current study is a need for research based, integrated, risk-protective, secondary prevention programmes from a social-developmental perspective for female university students (Garner, 2004; Phelps, Sapia, Nathanson & Nelson, 2000; Polivy & Herman, 2002), given their risk status (Edwards & Moldan, 2004; Senekal, Steyn, Mashego & Nel, 2001; Wassenaar, Le Grange, Winship & Lachenicht, 2000). Concurrently in-depth descriptions from an "insiders' perspective" on the lived experience of SED are non-existent and require interpretative phenomenological study (Brocki & Wearden, 2006). Consequently this thesis consists of three articles, namely: (i) Development of a secondary prevention programme for female university students with Subclinical Eating Disorder, (ii) A secondary prevention programme for female students with Subclinical Eating Disorder: a comparative evaluation; and (iii) Lived experiences of Subclinical Eating Disorder: female students' perceptions. The research context comprised Subclinical Eating Disorder, secondary prevention and Positive Psychology. The first article, Development of a secondary prevention programme for female university students with Subclinical Eating Disorder (Kirsten, Du Plessis & Du Toit, 2007a), is qualitative in nature, and narrates a process of participatory action research followed to develop the WOW-programme. This social process of knowledge construction, embedded in Social Constructivist theory (Koch, Selim & Kralik, 2002), gradually revealed best clinical practice, and in retrospect, evolved over four phases. Phase One comprised experiential learning based on personal experiences with SED as undergraduate student and interaction with "participant researchers" as scientist practitioner (Strieker, 2002), resulting in a provisional risk model of intervention. Phase Two, a formal pilot study (Du Plessis, Vermeulen & Kirsten, 2004), afforded an evaluation of ideas generated in Phase One through a three-group pre-post-test design. Outcomes of Phase Two informed Phase Three, an integration of prior learning with Positive Psychology theory and clinical practice, resulting in a risk-protective model of prevention. Theoretical assumptions previously constructed were integrated and operationalised during Phase Four, into the final 9-session WOW-programme. In conclusion the process of knowledge construction was rigorous, despite the small overall sample size (n=28), since data saturation occurred within that sample. Although the multitude of aims involved in each session of the WOW-programme could be seen as unrealistic, in some direct or indirect way, they were addressed by means of relevant interventions due to the integrative approach. Thus future refinement is essential. Finally, despite aforementioned concerns, the WOW-programme proved to be robust on its own in reducing SED-symptoms and associated traits and enhancing PWB, as described in the second article of this thesis. The second article, A secondary prevention programme for female students with Subclinical Eating Disorder: a comparative evaluation (Kirsten, Du Plessis & Du Toit, 2007b), describes the outcomes of the WOW-programme on its own, evaluated comparatively with a combined Tomatis sound stimulation and WOW-programme. In this article the research aims were to determine: (i) whether participation in the combined sound stimulation and WOW-programme (Group 1); and (ii) participation in a WOW-programme only (Group 2), would lead to statistically significant reductions in SED-symptoms, psychological traits associated with eating disorders and negative mood states, and enhancement of PWB; (iii) whether results of Groups 1 and 2 would exceed results of a non-intervention control group (Group 3) practically significantly; and (iv) whether programme outcomes for Groups 1 and 2 would be retained at four-month follow-up evaluation. A mixed method design (Creswell, 2003; Morse, 2003) was used, including a three-group pre-post-test (n=45) and multiple case study (n=30) design. Various questionnaires measuring SED-symptoms, associated traits, negative mood states and PWB were completed. Qualitative data were obtained by means of metaphor drawings, letters to and from the "SED-problem", focus group interviews, the researchers' reflective field notes and individual semi-structured feedback questionnaires (Morse, 2003). Participation in Groups 1 and 2 proved effective, since decreases in SED-symptoms, associated traits, most negative mood states, and increases in PWB differed practically significantly from the results of Group 3. Outcomes for Groups 1 and 2 were maintained at four-month follow-up evaluation. Qualitative findings provided depth, support and trustworthiness to quantitative findings in light of the small sample size, and highlighted the value of using a mixed method design in prevention programming. It was concluded that the WOW-programme on its own, was an effective secondary prevention programme, since it led to reduced SED-symptoms, associated psychological traits and enhanced PWB, with retention of gains at four-months follow-up evaluation. The combined programme involving Tomatis stimulation and WOW-intervention proved to be even more effective, thus the complimentary role of Tomatis stimulation was demonstrated. However, the cost-effectiveness and comparative brevity of the WOW-programme rendered it the programme of choice regarding individuals with SED. Findings showed that conceptually, pathogenic and salutogenic perspectives can be successfully combined into a risk-protective model of secondary prevention. Lastly, the WOW-programme may even prove useful as an enrichment programme for female students in general. The third article, Lived experiences of Subclinical Eating Disorder: female students' perceptions (Kirsten, Du Plessis & Du Toit, 2007c), provides a qualitative, in-depth perspective on the lived experience of SED of 30 white, undergraduate females, purposively sampled. In this interpretative phenomenological, multiple case study (Brocki & Wearden, 2006), Groups 1 and 2 of the aforementioned primary study in the second article were used, since they fitted the criteria of "good informants" and were able to answer the research question (Morse, 2003). Further sampling was deemed unnecessary since data saturation occurred within their written and verbal responses and no negative cases were found. Rich individual qualitative data, further clarified through focus groups, emerged from graphic colour representations of lived SED, explanatory written records and "correspondence" with and from their "SED problem" (Gilligan, 2000; Loock, Myburgh, & Poggenpoel, 2003; White & Epston, 1990). Four main categories, characterised by serious intra-, interpersonal, existential and body image concerns were subdivided into seven subcategories, namely: Personal Brokenness, Personal Shame, Perceived Personal Inadequacy and Enslavement, Existential Vacuum, Perceived Social Pressure, Perceived Social Isolation and Body-image Dysfunction. Results were indicative of underestimation of SED-severity, its comprehensive detrimental impact on participants' PWB and high risk for escalation into full-blown eating disorders. It was concluded that the lived experiences of SED depicted the severity of SED-symptoms; descriptions resonated well with most of their pre-programme mean scores; and their risk status and need for contextually and developmentally relevant secondary prevention programmes were highlighted by the findings. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.