This is a phenomenological study exploring leadership identity development of Chinese generation Z student leaders by referring to Leadership Identity Development (LID) theory. There are two research questions. First, in what ways, if any, is the development of Chinese Generation Z student leader’s leadership identity similar to the Leadership Identity Development (LID) by Komives et al. (2005)? Second, in what ways, if any, is the development of Chinese Generation Z student leader’s leadership identity different from Leadership Identity Development (LID) by Komives et al. The research adopts purposeful sampling and 10 participants were interviewed. Based on the analysis of the interview data, five major themes emerged; five similarities and six differences were found. Five major themes include beliefs and values, influential people, experiences, leadership identity development, changing views. Five similarities are as follows: 1. There are three similar influential factors existing in college student leaders’ development of leadership identity, including people (adults, peers) and experiences (involvement of leadership experiences). 2. There are similar ways for students to build self-confidence, through others, oneself, and involvement in activities. 3. The process that students develop their views and perceptions of organizations is basically the same. 4. There is similar change of understanding of leadership, from positional to non-positional. 5. Chinese college student leaders agree with the six LID stages developed by Komives and her colleagues in American context. Six differences include 1. In developmental influences, school counselors have tremendous influence over Chinese students’ leadership development. 2. Chinese student leaders admit that peer influence has both positive side and negative side. 3. This study didn’t find any race or gender identities problem from Chinese student leaders during their leadership experiences. 4. Academic success is a critical factor for Chinese students to build self-confidence and to obtain leadership roles. 5. Chinese student leaders’ interaction with group members is different from that of American students. 6. Chinese students believe that leadership develops fast under great pressure and difficulties.

As online graduate programs gain popularity, it has become more important to understand how students enrolled in these programs develop their professional identities. Researchers have demonstrated that there are both benefits and drawbacks to participation in blended learning programs (which incorporate in person and online instruction). It is not known how students enrolled in blended clinical psychology PhD programs experience the in-person portion of these programs and what their experiences mean for their professional identity development. This study examined the perceived impact of one part of an online clinical psychology doctoral program, the in-person classroom experiences, on the professional identity of clinical psychology trainees. Drawing from theories such as actor network theory and transactional distance theory, the current study explored how interactions between students and professors shaped professional identity. The study was qualitative phenomenological, using NVivo software to organize interview data from participants enrolled in blended doctoral programs. There were 6 participants total. A total of 8 themes were found in the data. These themes included fear, expertise, improved understanding, adjusting, growth, change, dissatisfaction, and finding support. Students valued the time spent with professors and perceived themselves to have grown after participating in in-person intensives. The themes found gleaned insight into the professional identity development of students enrolled in blended clinical psychology doctoral programs. This study has implications for how training programs for those in blended programs can be improved, thus improving the quality of patient care.

The purpose of the study is to understand/investigate how unaccompanied boys from Afghanistan experience their identity and identity development in interaction with Swedish culture and Swedish society. Qualitative data collection methods have been used in the form of semi-structured interviews. The material has been analyzed on the basis of identity development theory and the theory of ethnic identity. Based on the study's gathered empirical data and analysis, important results found that experiences of identity development in unaccompanied boys are strongly influenced by Swedish society and Swedish culture. The majority of the informants expressed that their identity has been affected and changed a lot during the time they lived in Sweden and that influence has helped these young people to develop a new identity. In order to be a part of the majority society and integrate well into society, this influence on identity has been positive and important for the informants. The study’s results also show that the informants have managed to find a balance between the new identity and their ethnic identity.

This project used narrative inquiry to examine adolescent experiences that contributed to the development of positive mathematics identities in successful African Americans. Ten African Americans, who had worked in a STEM-related occupation for at least two years, were asked to reflect on in- and out-of-school experiences with mathematics during their middle and high school years. Data collection included individual interviews and one focus group discussion. A combination of internal and external factors emerged as contributors to participants’ adolescent mathematics identities. Internal factors included early career interest, finding enjoyment in the challenges associated with learning mathematics, or facing setbacks they were determined to overcome. External influences included parents/family members, teachers/school staff, and peers who were influential agents in participants’ mathematics socialization. Participants’ stories revealed that mathematics identities were developed in several communities of practice—the mathematics classroom, after-school (or school-affiliated) programs, summer programs, and during unstructured free time. The findings offer three possible applications to practice: 1) Continue developing school-based and out-of-school programs aimed at exposing African American adolescents to STEM and allowing them to apply the knowledge gained in the classrooms in the real world; 2) Increase efforts to educate African American parents about the variety of occupations related to STEM and the foundational knowledge needed to gain access to these occupations; and 3) Continue efforts to recruit African American secondary teachers for STEM-related courses.

This qualitative research study explored how verbal processing occurred in music therapy work with adolescent boys living in a shelter in Pretoria. The study examined both how the adolescent boys and the therapist engaged in verbal processing. Three audio excerpts derived from the music therapy sessions were analysed through a process of content analysis. The data was coded, categorised and organised into themes. Results indicated that verbal processing was interrelated between the therapist and the adolescent boys, both making use of various techniques of verbal processing. This proved to be invaluable with the verbal processing facilitating the therapeutic process as the boys were afforded with a safe space where any ideas, feelings, thoughts, hopes and dreams could be expressed and shared with each other, and the therapist was able to gain greater insight into the boys’ more intimate world. I am unaware of any published literature of music therapy with adolescent boys living in a shelter, as music therapy is in its early stages in South Africa, especially with this specific client group. The majority of music therapy literature however, not surprisingly, focuses on musical exchanges during sessions. I would therefore like to explore how verbal processing was used in the music therapy process, after music listening and during song writing, with adolescent boys living in a shelter. This is in order to facilitate a greater understanding and openness towards the possibilities of including clinically informed verbal processing as part of music therapy work with this population group. / Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / gm2014 / Music / Unrestricted

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / Research training is attracting more inspection as research itself is viewed as having greater importance in the global knowledge economy. Students in the social sciences particularly struggle with the research component of their degrees. The development of an identity as a researcher has been under-researched whilst the development of other professional identities and competencies, e.g. as clinical practitioners, was prioritized. Research looked at students’ understanding of and attitudes towards research however, the extent to which students in professional programmes identify as researchers has not been explored. The extent to which students and graduates develop an identity as researchers that enables them to engage in psychological research and to become productive in a knowledge economy has not been examined systematically.

We examined the relationships between family structure, gender and age and profiles of identity exploration and commitment in the ideological (occupation, values, politics, religion, gender roles) and interpersonal identity (dating, friendships, and family) domains among 388 young adults. The general profile revealed low exploration in both domains, with ideological exploration being the lower, compared to high and comparable levels of commitment in the two domains. Older participants explored more than younger ones, and females gave more attention to the interpersonal domain than did males. Participants from original families explored more in the interpersonal domain than in the ideological domain, but their commitment was the same for the two domains. Participants from non-original families explored in equal amounts in the two domains, but were more committed in the interpersonal domain compared to participants from original families. Participants from non-original families explored more in the ideological domain than did participants from original families. Our findings indicate that individuals from non-original families exhibit positive outcomes and strengths that are often overlooked in the literature.

Qualitative research is scant on success factors of professional identity development for female African American counselor educators, specifically those who graduated from CACREP-accredited counselor education and supervision programs at predominately White institutions (PWIs). The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the lived experiences of female African American counselor educators who attended a CACREP-accredited counselor education and supervision program at a (PWI). This study focused on the phenomenon of success factors of professional identity development to doctoral degree completion. This study examined the lived experiences of 10 female African American counselor educators to gain a better understanding of how their experiences at CACREP-accredited counselor educations and supervision programs at a (PWI) impacted success of professional identity development to doctoral degree completion. It used a qualitative, phenomenological methodology grounded in Intersectionality theory, Black Feminist thought, and Critical Race theory as frameworks. There were three research questions to guide the study in the participants? perceptions of professional identity development and the impact of success factors of professional identity development on doctoral degree completion. This study conducted semi-structured interviews with ten female African American counselor educators who completed doctoral degrees in (PWIs) in the United States. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Moustakas (1994) Modification of Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen data analysis. The goals of this study was to: a) review and present literature on female African American in the academy; b) increase knowledge on professional identity among female African American counselor educators who attended a CACREP -accredited counselor education and supervision program at (PWIs) in the United States; and c) explore ways to increase professional identity development to support female African American doctoral students to complete their doctoral degree and move into counselor education positions. Ten African American females who graduated from CACREP-accredited counselor education and supervision programs were interviewed. There were six themes: Convenience of the Location, Importance of support from Dissertation chair, Representation of African American women with PhDs in the community, I was needed and access, Being a Black woman in that space and Voice, Faith-based community and I prayed. Recommendations and directions for future research are discussed.

Women throughout the world have found emancipation through education. Yet, there has been no research on the role that education plays in dairy farm women's primary, on-farm identity development and how farm women's identities develop. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine dairy farm women's perceptions of previous learning (education) and its influence on their primary, on-farm identity development. The feminist standpoint theory provided the framework for this study. A homogeneous, purposeful sample of 10 active dairy farm women were interviewed using individual, face to face, semistructured questions to answer the question: What are dairy farm women's perceptions of previous learning (education) and its influence on their primary, on-farm identity development? Emergent themes and patterns were identified following the in-depth data analysis process of interpretive phenomenological analysis. The findings revealed 3 superordinate themes: identity, identity development, and education. All of the participants discussed factors that contributed to their identity development (family, emotions, and freedom), and they described their perceptions of education's influence on their primary, on-farm identity development. Incidental learning and transfer of skills were perceived as having the strongest influence followed by informal learning, mentorship, and formal learning. The postive social change implication of this research was to change the way agricultural educators and policy makers present information to dairy farm women.

Blacks marry less and divorce more than any other racial demographic in the United States. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine identity style preferences in relation to attitudes toward marriage and marital satisfaction among Black Americans. Identity style is the way in which a person approaches and processes information that has the potential to affect self-identity. Identity style theory suggests there are three primary styles (informative, normative, and diffuse-avoidant) and that each person will eventually settle upon a preferred style. All participants in this study were United States citizens, over the age of 18, and self-identified as Black. Participants were recruited through online participant pools. This study consisted of 2 groups of participants: single and married. All participants completed the Identity Style Inventory 5 to provide a measure of identity style preference. Single participants completed the General Attitudes toward Marriage Scale (GAMS) to provide a measure of attitudes toward marriage. Married participants completed the ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Scale to provide a measure of marital satisfaction. Multiple regression analyses were used to identify relationships between the 3 identity styles, marital satisfaction, and attitudes toward marriage. The informational identity style was found to predict higher marital satisfaction. The diffuse-avoidant identity style was found to predict positive attitudes toward marriage. The normative style was not found to predict marital satisfaction or attitudes toward marriage. This study adds to the current literature regarding Black marriage trends and may aid in future development of intervention methods designed to increase the marriage rate and lower the divorce rate among all Black Americans.