The purpose of this study was to investigate, through semi-structured interviews and focus groups, how self-identified creative, high school adolescents perceived their experiences with creativity and its influence on their lives in order to (1) increase the available information on adolescent creativity with the contribution of the adolescent viewpoint and (2) begin to assess what relationships might exist between the creative functioning of adolescents and their social-personal processes, especially the developmental task of identity formation. All of the data, results, and conclusions of this study were based on the adolescents perspective: What did they think and/or feel about the nature of their own creativity? Was creativity important to them? What influenced their creativity? How did significant others respond to their creativity? Did their experiences with creativity relate to their developing sense of self, and if so, how did they characterize that connection? Qualitative research techniques were used to investigate 195 self-reports and the responses of nine interviewed adolescents (4 females/5 males, ethnically diverse, selected from the self-reports) who answered questions about their creativity. Information came from three perspectives: (1) 195 written reflections on personal creativity, (2) nine adolescent viewpoints revealed to an adult in two semi-structured interviews, including information from a biographical questionnaire and creativity measurements, (3) and the same adolescent viewpoint revealed to peers in two focus group discussions. One substantial finding was that the theme of the self and creativity recurred across all data sources--self-reports, interviews, focus groups--and response categories. Another was the 100% response rate describing creativity as increasing the interviewed adolescents' enjoyment and connection to life, nature and themselves. Specifically, they cited motivation, self-esteem, increased productivity, handling difficult emotions (anger, frustration, loneliness, etc.), an alternative to drug use, as processes which were positively affected by their creativity. Such personal testimony holds clues for educational and intervention strategies that could influence at-risk adolescents suffering from hopelessness, drugs, and early pregnancies. If creativity is valuable to adolescents by virtue of its life enhancing effects, then what preventatives might programs design to support and encourage the creative self in at-risk individuals?

Although school adjustment counseling has existed in the schools of Massachusetts since 1952, there has been no resource guide or handbook which has guided the work. Because of the increased demands put upon schools to meet the complex emotional needs of our students, the job has grown, but without a clear sense of direction or approach to the work. The writer believed that there was a need for a handbook for persons studying to become school adjustment counselors, persons recently hired as school adjustment counselors, and perhaps even persons already in the field. A handbook was developed dealing with school adjustment counseling from a systemic perspective enhanced with some aspects of Carl Rogers' philosophy. The handbook is not a comprehensive cookbook of all aspects of school adjustment counseling, but rather it is a discussion of an approach. Activities for dealing with individuals, groups, classrooms, staff, parents, and the general community are included from the writer's personal experiences with these activities. Twenty-five people read the handbook, including new school adjustment counselors, experienced school adjustment counselors, people in training to become school adjustment counselors, school personnel in related fields and administrators. After reading the handbook, they completed a matrix and a questionnaire. Their responses were overwhelmingly positive. Based on the responses, the writer plans to revise and expand the handbook with hopes of it being a factor in enhancing the training for the field and preserving the uniqueness of the position.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the guided daydream technique as a method for selection of a vocation and major area of study by college students seeking vocational counseling. Choices made by each student were rated by three judges relative to their degree of correspondence with the results of a specific battery of vocational tests which that student had taken. The ratings of these students' choices were compared with similar ratings made by the same judges on a control group of students who had also made choices of vocation and college major but had not participated in the guided daydream session.

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to build a theory about the process and function teachers construct around the effect Vipassana meditation has on stress, teaching, and decision-making. This study addressed the problem of how teachers respond to daily tasks and demands that can negatively impact their longevity in the profession. The starting point was the conceptual framework, including resolving cognitive dissonance, choice theory, mindfulness, and the perspective of Vipassana meditation. The research questions addressed how Vipassana meditation influences a teacher's daily routine, decision-making, classroom management, general procedures, and stressful situations. The data collection was done in 2 stages and included triangulation through 2 interviews, journals, and a questionnaire for all 9 participants. The analysis used pre, open, axial, and selective coding with both inductive and deductive processes which connected the conceptual framework to emerging concepts including equanimity, awareness, observation, context, detachment, nonjudgment, flexibility, being present in the moment, and engagement. Using these concepts, a possible theory involving the anicca perspective (one of non-permanence) on the decision-making process and as a stress management tool was generated. Implications for positive social change include a demonstrable positive effect on relationships in the classroom, pedagogy, and classroom management. This process can be considered in teacher training and professional development programs to decrease stress in order to help prolong teachers' careers.

Previous research conducted with currently enrolled college students has suggested a relationship between secure attachment style, greater stress coping abilities, and academic success. However, there is an absence of research examining these variables as predictors of college graduation. Attachment theory was used as a theoretical framework to address this gap. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between adult attachment style, stress coping skills, and college graduation. This logistic regression study included 81 individuals who either withdrew or graduated from college within the last 4 years. Participants provided demographic information, completed the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) to measure attachment anxiety and avoidance, and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) to measure level of perceived stress. A significant Wald statistic between attachment anxiety and college graduation indicated that as attachment anxiety increased, participants were less likely to graduate. However, there was not a significant relationship between attachment avoidance and college graduation. A significant Wald statistic between stress coping skills and graduation indicated that as the level of perceived stress increased, participants were less likely to graduate. When the predictor variables of attachment anxiety and stress coping skills were paired together, neither variable added uniquely to the prediction of graduation. Social change implications could include the development of educational, counseling, and stress reduction programs for students who are at risk of withdrawing from college, which may help increase college retention.

The purpose of the present study was to detect the existence of a general pattern in the development of meaning over time, and if such a pattern existed, to compare it with certain points in Jean Piaget's theory of intelligence and in a theory concept formation as suggested by Lev Vygotsky.

This paper summarizes a design project entitled "Choose Your Own Teaching Adventure" completed for the Instructional Psychology and Technology Department at Brigham Young University. The purpose of the design project was to prototype a learning tool that instructs beginning pre-service teachers in the classroom application of the principles of behaviorism. Originally, the project was designed to be a static learning object that would be combined with other similar learning modules for additional topics of an Educational Psychology course. At the conclusion of the first prototyping round, however, the project was generalized to become a testing ground for a simulation builder project that would allow other instructors to create their own learning simulation based on the findings of this prototype. The Rapid Prototyping methodology used in this project allowed for quick revisions, lower stakes testing, and more flexibility in the design. The various stages of the design and evaluation process, including revisions and prototypes, are shown and discussed in this paper.

<p>The notion of momentum has received significant attention from sports psychologists. Recently, however, some researchers have introduced it to educational contexts and developed a psychological momentum perspective toward academic motivations. Different from other motivation theories, the psychological momentum theory mainly builds on Newtonian physics. It stresses the analogy between physical concepts (mass, inertia, and momentum) and psychological processes. While such a background brings several novel and appealing insights into academic motivations, as the theory is still new to the field, more validation work, such as those exploring its convergence and divergence with other established theories, is needed. Using self-determination theory as a complementary theory, the current study explored the convergence between the two theories by examining the association between self-determined motivations and two states of academic inertia (i.e., low-momentum state inertia [LMSI] and high momentum state inertia [HMSI]). The study also examined the two theories’ divergence by investigating how the two states of inertia predict academic engagement over and above self-determined motivations. </p> <p>Two hundred and six undergraduate students from a Midwestern university participated in this study. Regarding convergence, results provided mixed support for the hypothesis. No significant association was obtained between HMSI and all motivations; however, LMSI was negatively associated with intrinsic motivation and the relatively autonomy index but positively associated with amotivation (all to a weak-to-moderate extent). Regarding divergence, results demonstrated that inertia explained a moderate-yet-meaningful amount of variation in academic engagement, even after self-determined motivations are controlled for. Taken together, the results suggested the promise of PMT as a motivation theory. Based on the findings, implications and limitations of the study were further discussed.<b><br> </b></p>

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