The purpose of this study has been to examine what assistance potential mothers’ of the next generation suggest for girls, in order for all to be able to complete primary education. This has been investigated through asking 36 women age 18-25, what obstacles they see for socio- economically constrained girls. They have also been asked about how they think these obstacles can be altered for the next generation. The study method has been focus group interviews. When analysing the interview material Empowerment theory and the Salutogenic theory have been applied. The main solutions presented by the respondents is support in income generating activities for the poorest mothers and advocacy for girls’ education. The best way of supporting mothers would according to the respondents be for the Ethiopian Government to assist the poorest mothers to start and run businesses. Religious leaders are perceived to be the possible assistance provider in position to affect the public opinion making the whole society more willing to invest in girls’ educational chances.

Previous research indicates that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is helpful in reducing depression in youth. However, little research exists into what specific components within CBT treatment protocols are associated with decreases in depression. Furthermore, little is known about how components within CBT treatment protocols reduce depression. Cognitive theories suggest that interventions targeted at negative cognitions reduce depression. Research has provided initial support for this position, although these studies did not utilize clinically depressed youth. Research has also shown that the therapeutic ingredients of therapist relational behaviors and group cohesion are important general factors in treatment; however, research exploring these variables in youth depression is lacking. Cognitive theories of depression suggest depressogenic thinking mediates the relationship between interventions and depression. However, no research exists exploring depressogenic thinking as a mediator between specific components of CBT treatment protocols and youth depression. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the association between specific components of a CBT treatment protocol and depression. The current study also sought to investigate depressogenic thinking as a mediator between the components of interest and depression. Participants were 42 girls, aged 9 to 14, who completed a manualized CBT group treatment protocol for depression. Participants completed a diagnostic interview for depression and completed self-report measures of depressogenic thinking. Group therapy sessions were coded for cognitive interventions, therapist relational behaviors, and group cohesion. The results of the main hypotheses indicated no significant associations between cognitive interventions, therapist relational behaviors, group cohesion and depression. Furthermore, tests of depressogenic thinking as a mediator could not be conducted based on the aforementioned results. However, post-hoc power analysis revealed extremely low power for the analyses. To further investigate the data, an exploratory analysis was conducted, with steps taken to increase power. Results from the exploratory analysis indicated the therapist relational behaviors measure consisted of two factors, both of which were significantly associated with post-treatment depression. Furthermore, the exploratory analysis revealed a significant association between cognitive interventions and post-treatment depression. Finally, no significant association was found between group cohesion and post-treatment depression. Implications, limitations, and recommendations for further areas of research are presented. / text

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Grounded in feminist and sociocultural theories, the purpose of this study was to expand the focus of research in the field of learning disabilities to include descriptions from insiders' perspectives as to what it is like to be an adolescent girl identified with a learning disability in writing. This research sought to answer the following questions: How do the participants describe the various experiences with and purposes of writing both in and out of school? How do they describe the (non) efficacy of their in-school instructional and special education support service experiences? How do they describe their learning disability diagnosis? What meaning do they make of these experiences?This research took place on the campus of a large southwestern urban high school. Eleven adolescent girls identified with learning disabilities in writing participated in this study. Six of the participants were Mexican-American, three European-American, one African-American, and one Native-American. Data were collected over a six-month period and included in-depth phenomenological interviews, focus groups, field notes and official school record reviews. These were analyzed using a phenomenological framework.Three major themes emerged across findings: the importance of relationships, the emotive component of writing, labeling and learning, and the strategic thinking of the participants. Most significantly, the findings emphasized the essential theme of visibility as a major concern for the participants. The study concluded with a discussion of implications for classroom instruction, teacher education programs and future research.

Tyrimo objektas – dziudo sportuojančių 16–17 metų amžiaus merginų fizinis parengtumas. Darbo tikslas – nustatyti dziudo sportuojančių 16–17 metų amžiaus merginų fizinį parengtumą ir jo kaitą. Uždaviniai: 1. Nustatyti ir įvertinti tiriamųjų pusiausvyrą ir lankstumą bei jų kaitą. 2. Nustatyti ir įvertinti tiriamųjų greitumą ir jo kaitą. 3. Nustatyti ir įvertinti tiriamųjų staigiąją jėgą, jėgos greitumą ir jų kaitą. 4. Nustatyti ir įvertinti jėgos ištvermę, statinę jėgos ištvermę ir jų kaitą. 5. Nustatyti ir įvertinti jėgos greitumo ištvermę. Rezultatai Nustatyta, kad mūsų tirtų dziudo sportuojančių merginų fizinio parengtumo rodikliai yra vertinami nevienodai: pagal Eurofito orientacines vertinimo skales (Eurofitas. Fizinio pajėgumo testai ir metodika, 2002) testų rezultatų vertinimas svyruoja nuo 6 iki 10 balų. 1. Vidutiniškai vertinami (7 balais) „flamingas“ pusiausvyros testo rezultatai pirmojo ir antrojo testavimo metu abiejų svorio kategorijų grupėse. Liemens lankstumo „sėstis ir siekti“ rezultatai pirmojo testavimo metu lengvo svorio sportininkių buvo vertinami (7 balais), o antrojo testavimo metu lengvo svorio sportininkių grupėje buvo vertinami gerai (8 balais). Vidutinio svorio grupėje pirmojo testavimo metu lankstumas buvo vertintas vidutiniškai (7 balais), o antrojo testavimo metu buvo vertinamas labai gerai (9 balais). Vidutinio svorio merginų šis rezultatų pagerėjimas buvo statistiškai reikšmingas (p<0,05). Specialus lankstumas testas „tiltelis“ abiejų svorio... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Object of research: Physical capacity and its change among 16–17 years old female judoists. Aim of work: To determine physical capacity and its change among 16–17 years old female judoists. Tasks: 1. To identify the balance and flexibility of investigated persons, and their changes. 2. To identify speed and changes of investigated persons. 3. To identify the sudden strength, speed of strength and changes in investigated persons. 4. To identify the strength endurance, static strength endurance and their changes. 5. To identify the strength speed endurance. Results It was found that the physical fitness indicators of our studied judo female sportsmen are assessed differently: according to the Eurofit Reference Scales (Eurofitas. Physical fitness tests and methodology, 2002), the assessment of test results ranges from 6 to 10 points.

I began with an interest in what makes a difference for girls who face challenging circumstances: What helps them to develop sturdy, resilient, and resistant selves? What role does narrative play in this process? I set in motion a process of storytelling and reflecting by inviting girls and women to share stories together—their own stories, fictional narratives, and myths. The participants had faced particular challenges in adolescence, including economic hardship; disrupted social or family circumstances; mental health; abuse; or trauma. The girls and women had differing racialized, class, cultural, social, religious, and ethnic backgrounds. Drawing on the work of biblical scholars who understand Jesus’ parables as poetic metaphor, I identified 11 aspects of parables that helped me to hear and interpret girls’ stories: participation, difficulty, metaphor, fractals, truth, emergence, performance, possibility, power, wisdom, and beauty. Listening with a parabolic ear, I came to experience girls’ storytelling selves as participatory, metaphorical, fractal, truthful, and emergent; I observed girls’ selves as artistic practices that are embodied performances of their wisdom, power, and beauty. And I discovered how such performances of the self create enlarged spaces of possibility for girls in the face of life’s difficulty. I discovered that storytelling selves are girls’ power—power realized as storytelling, participation, mutual relation, meaning-making, enlarging spaces of possibility, disidentification, and embodiment. I identified six elements that seemed to be important in nurturing girls’ parabolic imagination. These are community participation, experienced observation, complexity, care, interpretation, and artmaking. These elements provide a framework for considering how educators might support girls’ selves but they do not provide a methodology. Taken together, they are more like a parable—an opening onto a particular worldview that invites participation in the world of a girl. These six elements may be signs that point to places where parables of the self are already being told. They become questions that make sense only to those who already understand: Is this community? Is anyone listening? Is it complex? Is this a place of compassion and care? Is meaning being shaped and questioned and reimagined here? Is there art? Is there play? / Thesis (Ph.D, Education) -- Queen's University, 2009-12-18 17:19:42.63

This study explored elite female adolescent swimmers' perceptions of the motivational influences of their coaches, parents, and peers using qualitative methods. Nine elite female swimmers (aged 13--15 years) participated in two semi-structured interviews that were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Data was gathered and analyzed according to Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (Smith & Osborn, 2003). Six categories emerged including: individual factors, and assistance, informational, esteem, emotional, and network support. Results indicated girls' interpretations and unique, salient aspects of social support types provided by coaches, parents, and peers. Findings are related to past self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985) motivational research. In particular, swimmers social support experiences were uniquely linked to their perceptions of competence, autonomy, relatedness, and motivation in elite competitive swimming. Findings support main SDT tenets and offer new insights into the important and differential social support influences in sport.

The present study examined the discrepancy in the literature regarding the absence of gender differences in the stability of same-sex close friendships. One hundred and twenty children and adolescents (60 females and 60 males) from three grade levels (5, 7, and 9) participated in the study. An interview measure was developed to assess for the level of intimacy, the social context in which the friendship occurred (dyad vs. group), and perceptions of equality of achievement for both current and former same-sex close friendships. Intimacy and equality are features most closely associated with the social context of girls' same-sex friendships. It was theorized that the more intimate, dyadic nature of girls' friendships would contribute to interpersonal difficulties within their friendships. Individual interviews were conducted with each participant. It was hypothesized that girls' close friendships would be more unstable than those of boys and that girls' friendships would show more signs of vulnerability to dissolution. Statistically significant gender differences were obtained, that were consistent with the hypothesis, when only the very closest same-sex friend for both genders was included in the analyses. Girls' current same-sex closest friendships were shorter in duration compared to boys, girls' were more likely than boys to report that their current closest friends had already done something to threaten their friendship, and girls' were more likely to report a history of break ups with former same-sex close friends. Girls were also more likely to report greater distress when asked to imagine the potential dissolution of their current friendships and more likely to both anticipate and to have experienced a greater life change following the imagined and actual dissolution of their current and former friendships, respectively. The results are discussed in terms of the possible reasons behind the greater fragility of girls' friendships rela

This study explores the ways in which grade 10 girls experience violence within a single-sex high school setting in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The focus of the study is on their accounts of witnessing violence amongst other girls in the school. The study shows that despite the view that single-sex schools are regarded as a safer option for many girls in South Africa, different forms of violence and aggression are reported by the girls in this study. Violence and aggression are not easily definable but the eye-witness accounts from the grade 10 girls in this study show how - in everyday relations - violence is gendered, raced and classed. Violence and aggression are also related to sexuality and the study shows how girls fight for boys. This study draws upon a qualitative methodological approach to identify the various forms of violence experienced within this setting. Through the process of analysing semi-structured interviews, this study has revealed that the single-sex environment for high school girls is a highly charged site of violence and aggression. Implications for understanding girls' violence, as well as recommendations to address such, conclude the study. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.