Competing within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) involves an inherent risk of injury. For the student-athletes who experience serious injuries, the subsequent difficulties can be hard to navigate. While most research focuses on the athletic identity of recovering student-athletes, little is known about how they are affected within the classroom. This study utilizes qualitative methodology and Wiese-Bjornstal et al.’s integrated model of response to sport injury (1998) to explore this gap in the literature, by looking at how the psychosocial effects of injury are related to student-athletes’ academic responsibilities, as well as the balance between their athletic and academic commitments. / Educational Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology / Fred O. Bradley / This study examines the validity of the College Learning Effectiveness Inventory (CLEI). The CLEI is a new instrument designed to assess issues that college students face that affect their performance, including academic success and persistence. The CLEI serves diagnostic and prescriptive functions. Academic advisors, counselors and others whose work involves supporting student success and retention can use the CLEI to assess an individual student’s strengths and weaknesses and use the results to counsel students and provide appropriate remedial activities. This study compares the following six scales of the College Learning Effectiveness Inventory (CLEI) with instruments that have already been established. The six scales of the CLEI are as follows: (1) Academic Self-Efficacy, (2) Organization and Attention to Study, (3) Stress and Time Pressure, (4) Involvement with College Activity, (5) Emotional Satisfaction, and (6) Class Communication. The validation instruments for this cross-validation study included the Concentration, Self-Testing, Study Aids, and Time Management scales from the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), the Time Organization and Study Environment Management subscale of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), the College Adjustment Questionnaire (CAQ), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Student Propensity to Ask Questions (SPAQ) scale. This study answers the following research questions: 1.) Are the CLEI scales reliable measures of the constructs they purport to assess? 2.) Are the CLEI scales valid measures of the dimensions they purport to assess? 3.) What are the CLEI scales attributes for this sample, and how do they compare with those from an earlier normative sample? 4.) How are the CLEI scales related to one another? 5.) Are the CLEI scales gender neutral? and 6.) Does the CLEI differentiate between students who are successful and those who may be at risk? Finally, this study cross-validates the CLEI. The reason for a cross-validation study of new scales is to demonstrate that these new measures actually measure what they purport to assess. Without cross validation, we would have to rely on a scale’s face validity, which is a comparatively weak method of assessing validity.

<p> The U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics reported that about 660,000 Military Veteran Students (MVSs) were enrolled in undergraduate programs in 2009, making up about 3% of the student population. Despite the significant number of MVSs entering into college, instructional communication scholars have yet to study how military veterans experience classroom instruction. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of teacher accommodative and non-accommodative behaviors on MVSs' (<i> N</i> = 162) perceptions of learning. Grounded in the Communication Accommodation Theory, this study supports an instructional model that predicts learner empowerment and affective learning via accommodative behaviors, as operationalized as teacher immediacy and teacher clarity, and non-accommodative behaviors, as operationalized as teacher aggressiveness. After controlling for military identity and teacher congruency, only teacher clarity and teacher congruency contribute significantly to both learner empowerment and affective learning. MVSs seem to feel more empowered and have higher affect toward the class if the teacher is clear and genuine, regardless of perceptions of teacher immediacy and aggressiveness. This dissertation concludes with practical advice for instructors and advisors who work with MVSs, as well as limitations of the study and directions for future research.</p>

Text in Afrikaans / Wanneer 'n individu affektief en kognitief in 'n krisis inbeweeg, verberg die presipiterende gebeure dikwels die werklike presipiteerder. Die individu bevind horn gewoonlik in 'n situasie waarin hy dit moeilik of onmoontlik vind om selfstandig te reageer. Ingryping in die situasie word dan nodig om die voortbestaan van die individu te verseker. Van die twee groepe, naamlik predisponerende - en presipiterende faktore in opvoeding, is dit gewoonlik een of meer van laasgenoemde wat die presipiteerder vorm. Hieronder resorteer persoonlike - en antler verliese, deur onder andere dood en egskeiding, verlies aan sekuriteit en status, fisiese-, emosionele- en seksuele molestering, asook depressie. In die opvoeding van die kind, is dit die selfkonsep as dimensie van die self, wat in volwassewording, en dan veral die kognitiewe en affektiewe komponente, die inisieerder van gedrag is. Dit is in sy opvoeding dat die kind in sy primere opvoedingsituasie, waarin hy deur opvoedingsfoute en - belemmeringe, nie altyd daarin kan slaag om effektiewe relasies te stig nie. Die intrapsigiese selfgesprek moet optimaal deur selfaanvaarding, selfagting en 'n gerigte handelingsgeneigdheid die self aktualiseer. Waar die klimaat en leefwereld van die kind in opvoeding, relasievorming sodanig affekteer dat emosionele wording geinhibeer word, kan 'n vrugbare teelaarde vir 'n krisis ontstaan. Vanuit Relasieterapie kan 'n opvoedkundige ingryping as 'n spesifieke program vir krisishantering, beplan word. Aanwysbare fasette van Rasioneel-Emotiewe Terapie, Realiteitsterapie asook Krisisintervensie, word by die' program ingeskakel. Om die werking van die program te illustreer, is een geval volledig as idiografiese studie aangebied. Orie ander gevalle word in kort detail beskryf as bevestiging van die ondersoek. Deur die essensies betekenisgewing, betrokkenheid, belewing en selfaktualisering in te skakel, is die onderskeie hipoteses aanvaarbaar bevind. Opvoedkundige ingryping in 'n krisissituasie ontleed eerstens die funksioneringsbeeld van die persoon. Daarna word die handelinge as profenomeen verbeeld. Deur gebruik te maak van 'n selfkonsepvraelys en kaartprojeksietoets word die relasies en persoonsbeeld van beskou. Na die irrasionele affektiewedie persoon en kognitiewe belemeringe ondersoek is, lei die diagnose tot terapie, soos beplan is. Hierdie terapie blyk suksesvol te wees. / When an individual moves affectively and cognitively into a crisis, the actual precipitator is often obscured by the precipitating event. The individual finds himself in a situation in which it is difficult, if indeed not impossible, to react independently. Intervention in the situation then becomes necessary to assure the continued existence of the individual. Of the two groups of factors in education - predisposing and precipitating - it is usually the latter group that forms the precipitator. Personal loss, death and divorce, loss of security and status, loss of significant other, physical, emotional and sexual molestation, as well as depression, are all included. In the education of a child, it is the self-concept as dimension of the self especially the cognitive and affective components - that forms the initiator of behaviour. It is for the child in education in his primary education situation, through education defects and impediments, that he experiences an inability to establish and maintain effective relationships. The intra-psychical discourse with the self, should actualize optimally through self-acceptance, self-esteem and a directed self-actuation propensity. Where the educative climate and live-world of the child-in-education affect the forming of relationships in such a way that emotional becoming is inhibited, a fertile breeding ground for a crisis develops. Through Relationships Therapy an educative intervention as a specific program for Accentuated facets of crisis handling, Rational Emotive can be developed. Therapy, Reality Therapy as well as Crisis Intervention, are incorporated into the program. To illustrate the application of the program, one case is described in detail as an idiographic study. Three other cases are presented in summary form. Through application of the essentials: giving meaning, involvement, live-experience and selfactualization, the various hypotheses are proved acceptable. Educative intervention into a firstly, the functional image of problem. Then the activity is crisis situation analyses the individual - the actual imaged as a phenomenon. Using a selfconcept questionnaire and a card projective test, the relationships, as well as the person-image of the individual are observed. After investigation of the irrational affective and cognitive experiences, the diagnosis leads to therapy. The therapy appears to be successful. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Sielkundige Opvoedkunde)

Stress is a pervasive phenomenon that occurs in the lives of people of all age groups but is particularly prominent in the lives of adolescents. A limited and manageable degree of stress motivates a person to perform and engenders a zest for living, but excessive stress is harmful, not only to the victim's health, but also to his affective, social and cognitive development. Too much stress in the life of the adolescent may therefore exert a negative influence on his scolastic performance in that it may lead to underachievement, concentration problems, absenteeism, disinterest in class- and homework, and lowered student satisfaction and self-esteem. To prevent these problems teachers should be capable of identifying excessive stress in pupils and of assisting pupils to cope with stress. Although a considerable number of questionnaires aimed at identifying stress in adolescents are available overseas, no such instrument has been developed for specific application under South African conditions. The purpose of this research is therefore to furnish the educator with 'an instrument for identifying stress in adolescents, not as a means of labelling the child, but to obtain a reference point from which assistance can be offered to the victim of stress. The becoming and development of the adolescent, the definition, causes, mediators and consequences of stress, and responses to stress, have been researched by means of an extensive literature study. A model for the identification and handling of stress in pupils attending secondary schools is proposed, and emphasis is placed on the importance of the teacher's role in the prevention and identification of stress and in assisting pupils who are overburdened with stress. The Adolescent Stress Identification Inventory was developed with reference to the literature study and, following a nomothetic study, standardised by means of statistical methods. It appears from the research that the questionnaire has both a high reliability coefficient and construct validity. It can therefore be applied successfully by educationists and psychologists to identify stress in adolescents. It must be emphasised, however, that awareness and identification of stress in adolescents would be meaningless unless identification leads to prevention and assistance. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

<p> The concept of self-esteem has so thoroughly infiltrated American education that &ldquo;most educators believe developing self-esteem to be one of the primary purposes of public education&rdquo; (Stout, 2001, p. 119). That the available scholarship challenging the validity of self-esteem principles has had little to no impact on schooling and school policy demonstrates the need for more a comprehensive interrogation of a concept that has become so pervasive and commonsensical that many administrators and teachers do not even think to question its place in traditional pedagogy, let alone consider the possibility that self-esteem is a damaging ideological construct. The rhetorical (and impossible) promise of self-esteem as both a quantifiable and fixed human resource has proliferated in educational language as schools continue to promote self-esteem among racialized and poorly performing students, while the structural conditions that negatively impact these students&rsquo; performance in the first place remain intact.</p><p> The legacy of self-esteem in educational discourse requires a critical interpretation, or re-interpretation, by educators who wish to challenge oppressive commonsense assumptions and feel-good principles that covertly help to maintain &ldquo;dominant cultural norms that do little more than preserve social inequality&rdquo; (Darder, 2015, p. 1). This study takes a decolonizing approach that involves a substantive interrogation&mdash;historical, political, and philosophical&mdash;of the Eurocentric epistemological concept of self-esteem, in order to demonstrate the debilitating effects that self-esteem has on students from working-class communities of color. It then suggests an emancipatory understanding of the self and alternative critical pedagogical principles of social empowerment.</p>

<p> This research was carried out within a qualitative research paradigm. The objective was to observe, analyze and enrich pedagogical practice through the use of pedagogical learning strategies. The learning strategy was a participative and individualized lab carried out during a research project in a non-Traditional Laboratory (LnT). The primary aim of this research was to observe if the LnT assist the students and in this way maximizes success and knowledge in the Introductory Math course (MATE3001) on the University of Puerto Rico campus. </p><p> The investigation questions were discussed in the light of each of the strategies of information collected, personal experience and revision of literature. The methodology used was of a qualitative nature in which the student reflected on the process experienced in the LnT. Seven participants of the math course (MATE3001) who formed part of the LnT in a voluntary manner were interviewed at the beginning and at the completion of the research. The purpose of the interviewed was to discover the participant opinion regarding the pedagogical impact of the LnT. Finally, the research professor made an observation in order to discover of the LnT strategy had the anticipated acceptance by the students.</p><p> The LnT contributed to: (1) students improved their study habits; (2) the students had greater participation in the solution of math problems, their practice and discussion; (3) they accepted that the research professor supervise their work as it was carried out and understood that the presence was for their benefit. Also, the findings of this research were contrasted with the Theory of reciprocal determinism, sources of self-efficacy and self-regulation of Bandura with the impact that these have on learning (Bandura, 1986, 1989a, 1989b). It was also found as the implicit theory (Yeager &amp; Dweck, 2012) resurges in the LnT the effects on interest, student&rsquo;s resilience and situational motivation (Nolen, Horn, &amp; Ward, 2015) which occurs during the living out of the lab experience. LnT stimulates the student, creates security and increases confidence in the solution of math problems.</p>

<p> This study inquires into the peak experience of educators arising within educational encounters with students. It indicates a particular trend in education away from authoritarian modes of teacher behavior toward dialogic, empathetic relationships cultivated by teachers with their students. Also indicated is the potential for teachers to transform themselves morally, thereby creating conditions necessary for students to develop moral attitudes and behavior. By developing capacities for meditation, contemplation, and self-reflection, by developing intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, teachers enter on a path of development and actualize a truly human individuality. When self-actualization becomes a modus operando, peak experiences may give self-reflecting teachers knowledge of their own development. </p><p> A mixed-methods approach to the project was used that employed a questionnaire to: (a) establish the demographics of the sample; and (b) survey the types of peak experience that occurred within teachers resulting from educational encounters with children. The questionnaire also requested that the participant give a narrative of a peak experience. From the pool of 46 respondents, seven were chosen for interviews that ultimately clarified and enabled a deeper understanding of the narratives. The interview data and narratives were analyzed using a 3 step process proposed by Ricoeur (1986) and employed by Lindseth and Norberg (2004). The data revealed that teachers working with Steiner pedagogy have a multitude of peak experiences. These teachers use contemplative practice and self-reflection to cultivate intrinsic qualities of empathy, love, and dialogic competence. The findings also affirm that the kinds of peak experience reported by James (1901/2008), Bucke (1905/2006), Maslow (1970), and Csikszentmihalyi (1990) are definitely and extensively in evidence in the sample surveyed. Particular aspects of experience reported also included: dreaming as a mode of cognition, the prescient nature of some experiences, the prevalence of self-reflective and contemplative practices as precursors to peak and transpersonal experiences, the importance of the encounter as a condition for the emergence of such experiences within teachers.</p>

Anxiety has been shown to be associated with lowered academic attainment (Hembree, 1988) yet it remains, to some extent, unsupported in our country’s classrooms. Much of the existing literature is correlation in nature and as such does not provide a rich knowledge base from which an Educational Psychologist (EP) can plan for intervention and support. The lack of empirical research also means that understanding how anxiety may disrupt certain academic tasks is unknown. Frick, Silverthorn and Evans (1994) theorized that children with anxiety are not generally recognized due to the lack of externalized behaviour problems which may account for the lack of support and research aimed at supporting these pupils. This thesis investigated the effects of anxiety on three central executive tasks. A task switching paradigm was used in order to test the prediction made by Attentional Control Theory (ACT). The shifting, inhibition and updating functions were investigated. The results indicated that in certain conditions anxiety leads to a decrease in performance however in other conditions performance was improved. This paper suggests that, in line with much previous research, anxiety has both a positive and negative mediating role on performance. Many of the predictions that are made by ACT were supported by the data. The updating function failed to meet statistical significance though it was suggested that task selection was at least partially responsible. It is argued that task difficulty, goal setting, focus and motivation are the main catalysts for improved performance. Limitations of the study and future directions for the research is discussed before the findings are framed in terms of their implications for the development of theory and practice for Educational Psychologist.

<p> The decision regarding when to send their child to school can be difficult one for parents. Much attention has been paid to the relationship between age of entry into kindergarten and academic achievement. However, a child&rsquo;s ability to maintain the behavioral standards of a classroom is an equally important aspect of readiness for school. In this study, a secondary analysis of 9,474 kindergarten students examined the relationship between the age at which a child enters kindergarten and teacher reports of externalizing behavior problems. Data on other child factors including child sex, attendance in a preschool program, socioeconomic status, race, and family structure were also obtained in the fall of the kindergarten year. There was a significant main effect of child age on externalizing behaviors, even after controlling for family structure and socioeconomic status (SES). In addition, there were significant relationships between race and externalizing behavior, child sex and externalizing behavior, and preschool attendance and externalizing behavior, even after controlling for family structure, and SES.</p>