Thesis advisor: Jacqueline Lerner / Americans are more educated than ever, and high educational attainment has long been associated with positive outcomes for individuals and society as a whole. However, one-third of high school students do not enroll in post-secondary education immediately after graduation, thereby reducing potential benefits. A thorough understanding of college enrollment patterns is needed to develop and enhance interventions that will effectively promote immediate college enrollment. Extant literature on college access focuses largely on contextual factors that influence college enrollment, such as families, schools, and classrooms. Given that context is only one component of development, additional research on the role of the individual may be especially useful for understanding more fully the transition from high school to college. For this dissertation, theoretical approaches from higher education and developmental psychology were combined to provide a new framework for exploring immediate college enrollment. The variables of interest included indicators of college readiness (e.g., academic preparedness and sources of college information) and three internal assets: self-regulation, school engagement, and expectations for academic success. College enrollment patterns were examined using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, which surveyed students nationwide in 2002 (Grade 10), 2004 (Grade 12), 2006, and 2012. A series of multinomial regression equations revealed significant main effects and indirect effects of internal assets on college enrollment through college readiness variables, but no interaction effects between internal assets and college readiness variables. Analyses also provided support for previous findings related to racial/ethnic and socio-economic group differences, as well as school-level contextual factors. The findings from this study have valuable implications for college access programs: internal assets appear to be driving college readiness, not merely bolstering it, and should be a focus for interventional efforts. Additional research across applied settings for youth is needed to replicate and extend the findings from the current study, to evaluate applicable measurement standards, and to propose reform in practice and policy. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

This syudy aims to find out the role of self-esteem, hope and external factors in predicting resilience of students in Regional Boarding Elemantary Schools. The sample was 391 students in 6. 7. and 8. grades of Regional Boarding Elemantary Schools in Ankara. A demographic data form developed by the researcher, California Resilience and Youth Developmant Module (CDE, WestEd, 2001 / Gizir, 2004), Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (&Ccedil / uhadaroglu, 1985 / Rosenberg, 1965), and Children&#039 / s Hope Scale (Kemer &amp / Atik, 2006 / Synder et al., 1997) were used to collect data. Multiple regression analysis for the total sample results revealed that predictor variables explained 69% of the total variance. According to results Hope, and some external assets (Home Caring Relationships, High Expectations, and Meaningful Participation, Community Caring Relationships and High Expectations / School and Community Meaningful Participation / Peer Caring Relationships and High Expectations) were important predictors of resilience. However, Self-esteem and two external assets (School Caring Relationships and High Expectations / and School Connectedness) did not contribute to internal assets of resilience scores. Furthermore, findings showed differences between boys and girls in terms of the predictor variables of resilience. Regression analysis indicated that the model with eight predictors explained 69% of the total variance among females and %70 for males. On the other hand, male students possesed five protective factors predicting resilience, whereas females had three.

My study is informed by a partnership initiated between Gun Free South Africa and the Department of Education (District Tshwane South) with the concern of addressing violence in schools. Schools are often seen as professionalised and distant from their local communities. Learners belong to the very communities that are distanced from the school. They bring to school the unresolved issues from their families and interpersonal relations within the community. The study aimed to explore and describe the experiences of violence by a school community and how they cope with it. The study was informed by a qualitative and instrumental case study design within an interpretivist paradigm. Furthermore, the study was guided by an integrated conceptual framework derived from an asset-based and ecosystemic model, coping theories and the management system adapted from Babbie (2001). To address this I incorporated a variety of strategies such as interviews, collages, timeline and concept mapping through which a crystallisation of data could be obtained. I also used informal observations and visual data as additional data generating methods. Through a thematic analysis approach the study reveal the existence of violence as a challenge to the school community, and impacts directly or indirectly to their well-being. The study has further indicated that the perpetrators are known to the victims. The findings of the study suggest that on the basis of the integrated conceptual framework support structures could be mobilized, building partnerships between local schools and the community to provide a firm foundation for educational renewal and community regeneration and to contribute directly to the strengthening and development of the school community. The information gathered might also assist policy developers in developing support and intervention programmes for the restoration of school safety. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Educational Psychology / MEd / unrestricted