Thesis (M.A.)--Liberty University, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 143-150) Also available in print.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 2005. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 166-170).

The effect of separated home background on students' perception of the school environment as measured by the School Environment Assessment Scales (SEAS) is explored. Three hypotheses are advanced. The first proposes that students from separated homes will have a different perception of the school environment when compared with students of intact homes. The second suggests that there will be a difference in perception depending on the age of the student when parental separation took place. The third hypothesis indicates that there will be a difference in perception between male and female students of separated homes. In the first part of the study, 120 students from separated homes are compared with 120 students from intact homes. Results from this comparison demonstrate that there is a statistically significant difference at the .01 probability level between these two groups of students on Authoritarian Press, one of the eight SEAS scales. Contrary to expectations; students from separated homes perceived the school environment as less authoritarian. On the seven remaining SEAS scales, there is no statistically significant difference between these two groups. However, there is some indication that students from separated homes perceived a few more aspects of the school environment in a more favorable way. This more positive perception, even though conjectural in nature, cannot be neglected; implications of this trend are explored. In the second part of the study, intra-group comparisons on 117 students from separated homes on two variables, age at onset of parental separation and sex, are examined. There is no statistically significant difference on any of the SEAS scales between students whose parents separated when they were age 0-6, and students who were over age 6. On the variable sex, the female group scored significantly higher on two scales. On the Heterosexual Social Expression Scale, the level of significance reached the .01 level. On the Creative Self-Expression Scale, the level of significance reached the .05 level. Females perceived themselves as being more encouraged to interact with members of the opposite sex, and as being more encouraged to express themselves creatively. On the other six SEAS scales, there is no statistically significant difference between male and female groups. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree: PhD (COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY) IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY FACULTY OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND, 2010. / Empowerment is an act of enriching someone within a certain context to gain inner self-control. The best way of understanding empowerment is to focus on its process rather than outcome. It is also important to determine the structure upon which empowerment is likely to exist. As a result, this study was about the exploration of the interaction between empowerment as a process and the self-help group which forms a structural basis of empowerment. Therefore, the main focus of the research study was to investigate specific processes through which one goes to achieve empowerment when participating in a self–help group for divorced women.The qualitative research method, which incorporated participant observation, semi-structured interviews and focus group,formed the basis for the process of data collection and analysis. The sample consisted of 10 divorced women who participated in a self-help group for a contracted period of eight weeks. The findings of the research study suggested that, the process of empowerment within a self-help group structure is interactive rather than linear. The process of empowerment through the self-help group encounters included discovering the reality of the divorced status, the role of frustration in the process of empowerment, critical reflection as the powerful force behind the process of empowerment and taking charge of one’s life as a motivational factor that facilitated the self-help group activities and the process of empowerment. The only interpersonal factor that was significant in the study was the role of social support by group members in the process of empowerment. The conceptualization of the process of empowerment in the context of the self-help group, that emerged from the study, was remarkably distinct from the conceptualization of empowerment that has been depicted in the literature. Therefore, a significant finding in this study was how the self–help group can facilitate the process of empowerment for divorced women, which contrasted with other studies in which a sense of community was critical to personal empowerment. The interactions which were both positive and negative with others were the foundations for the process of empowerment in the form of critical reflections.

No description available.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 175-178).

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2007 / Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Social Work. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-58).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 2006. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-115).