Physical activity-based positive youth development (PA-PYD) programs can serve to empower and alleviate barriers to development for at-risk youth. Youth leaders may play an important role in these programs to foster the development of their younger peers, while mutually benefiting from the program as they foster and apply skills such as leadership, communication, and self-direction. Currently, there is a gap in literature as very few studies have examined youth leadership within PA-PYD programming. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to explore the perspectives and experiences of youth leaders and their fellow program participants in relation to youth leadership within the context of a PA-PYD program for at-risk youth. Data were gathered from 16 youth leaders (Mage= 13.37, SD = 1.36) and 15 program participants (Mage= 10.53, SD = 1.12) across four different program locations, using semi-structured, one-on-one interviews. This thesis is composed of two articles. The first article used a deductive-inductive thematic analysis to better understand the experiences that youth leaders had in the program. Three themes were identified: (a) building youth leaders is a process, (b) mentorship is perceived as critical for one’s leadership development, (c) trust is important for enhancing youth leader engagement. The second article also used a deductive-inductive thematic analysis to examine how youth leaders perceive the influence they have on younger peers who participate in the physical activity-based youth development program, as well as how these program participants perceive the role and impact of the youth leaders. Five themes emerged from the analysis, which were: (a) learning and building skills, (b) receiving support, (c) enjoyment, (d) relatability, and (e) lack of maturity. This research contributes to current gaps in the literature on youth leadership within physical activity-based youth programming and provides practical recommendations to improve such programming.

This study is about the transition planning of young people with special educational needs (SEN) from secondary mainstream and special schools to post-secondary opportunities. Leaving secondary school is the first task related to the transition to adulthood and it has been identified as a particularly complex task for pupils with SEN. A systematic literature review was undertaken to start to develop a ‘map of transition’, a framework of positive transition practice. Interviews with key professionals, parents and teachers and pupil case studies were used to generate qualitative data. It was used to analyse transition practice in the real world of schools and the involvement of families, pupils and external services. This study was particularly concerned with understanding any barriers or gaps of transition work. Pupil annual reviews, including those adopting a person-centred format were thematically analysed in terms of their ability to address transition planning and future options. Results suggest similarities and differences in transition planning practices between mainstream and special schools. In both settings there was appreciable reliance on the Connexions Service. For pupils with SEN in mainstream schools transition planning could be conceptualised as ‘invisible transition’. It was a not an explicit process, with experiences and access to services likely to be related to schools’ perception of need, option pathways and whether or not pupils had a Statement of SEN. In special schools, transition planning was conceptualised as ‘visible but blurred’. It centred on gaining external service involvement, with limited focus on transition-related education. In both mainstream and special schools there were difficulties with the compilation of distinct transition plans and their implementation. Tensions related to unclear roles and responsibilities, difficulties with access to external services and limited post-secondary opportunities were highlighted. This allowed revision and extension of the ‘map of transition’. The study leads to suggested improvements to service delivery for young people by schools and other stakeholders.

This thesis is a comparative case-study of how teachers in England and Portugal conceptualise and respond to pupil diversity in the context of individual planning. The purpose is to compare the processes and underlying assumptions in the two countries, in order to understand the impact of cultural aspects and of system characteristics on the phenomenon of individual planning. The research was conducted through a nested case-study approach in 10 schools in England and six schools in Portugal. The methods used were interviews with practitioners and analysis of individual planning documents. This study was done by following the cases of 41 pupils, who were identified by their teachers as ‘needing individual planning’, over a two-year period. The most common form of individual planning mentioned in educational policy are Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for pupils with ‘Special Education Needs’ (e.g. UK SEN 2001 Code of Practice, Portuguese Law 3/2008). Despite the apparent similarities, what is meant by IEPs in educational policy varies significantly. In this study, a comparative analytical cultural-historical framework (Artiles & Dyson 2005) and a ‘societal approach’ (Hantrais & Mangen 2007) were useful theoretical resources to overcome these challenges. This thesis presents an original approach to individual planning by looking beyond ‘special needs’ and national boundaries. The research identifies responses associated with individual planning and problematizes this practice as a solution to the challenges posed by student diversity to schools. This process is done with reference to the unstated assumptions about normality and difference proposed by Minow (1990).The study concludes that teachers conceptualise and respond to pupil diversity through a formulaic problem-solving approach. This approach is based on limited repertoires that are underpinned by contextual factors such as educational policy. These repertoires are wider and more flexible in England than in Portugal.

Although research and practice agree that visions are essential for organizations, the process of vision development remains elusive in academic literature. Presenting the "theory wave", this paper proposes a knowledge-based theory for developing sustainable visions to guide the creation of measures and actions in the future. Central to the theory wave, we suggest three features that characterize the development of sustainable visions; (1) learning from an envisioned future, (2) need orientation and (3) a wavelike process combining top-down and bottom-up approaches. Furthermore, by enhancing the creation of different kinds of knowledge, the theory-wave entails aspects of research on knowledge creation and thereby, it provides a new perspective on the field of vision development.

Background: Palliative care can be given to patients with progressive, incurable disease. In palliative care the patient is seen in a holistic perspective, the goal is to prevent and relieve physical, psychological, social and existential suffering. The four cornerstones of palliative care are symptom relief, teamwork, communication/relation and support to next of kin. The nurse in palliative care builds a relationship with the patient and next of kin. The nurse also works with symptom relief and informing patient and next of kin. Next of kin to patients in palliative care often put themselves aside to care for the patient and wish to be with the patient until the end of the patients’ life. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe next of kins’ need for support from the nurse in end-of-life care in hospitals. Method: A literature study based on nine qualitative articles retrieved through systematic search in database Cinahl. The articles were analysed with a five-step method. Results: Two categories emerged in the results. The first was A respectful nurse, with the subcategories Emotional support, To be together and The patient is well taken care of. The second was To be involved as next of kin with the subcategories To be informed and Participation. Conclusion: Next of kin to patients in end-of-life care need a nurse who cares for them, enables them to be with the patient and participate in the patients’ care, guides and informs them in the end-of-life process and takes good care of the patient.

Åtgärdsprogram ska upprättas i skolan för de elever som är i behov av särskilt stöd. I åtgärdsprogrammen ska åtgärder framskrivas på olika nivåer såsom individ, -grupp-och organisationsnivå. Det som framgår i forskningen är att åtgärder upprättas mest på individnivå och åtgärder på grupp-och organisationsnivå uteblir. Vidare visar forskningen att skolan sällan granskar sin egen verksamhet. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur tre speciallärare och tre specialpedagoger upprättar och resonerar kring åtgärdsprogram och hur de arbetar med särskilt stöd med tonvikt på grupp-och organisationsnivå. Detta är en kvalitativ studie som genomförts med datainsamlingsmetoden semistrukturerade intervjuer och för att analysera data har tematisk analys använts. De begrepp som användes i intervjuerna är särskilt stöd och åtgärdsprogram på nivåer som grupp-och organisationsnivå och utredning samt förebyggande insatser. I studien framkommer vilka svårigheter som de intervjuade speciallärarna och specialpedagogerna upplever i arbetet med åtgärdsprogram. Denna studie utgår ifrån relationellt perspektiv som innebär att elevens skolsvårigheter inte förläggs till individen utan problemen uppstår i samband med lärmiljön. Studiens resultat visar att särskilt stöd handlar mestadels om individinriktat stöd och att stödet ges ofta utanför klassens ram. Åtgärder på grupp-och organisationsnivå förekommer i mindre omfattning. Vidare visar resultatet att åtgärder på grupp-och organisationsnivå inte alltid dokumenteras i åtgärdsprogram. Vårdnadshavare och elever är inte så delaktiga i upprättandet av åtgärdsprogram.

For a mother raising a child with special health care needs (CSHCN), maintaining positive feelings of gratitude can become challenging because of the stress associated with caregiving, as well as the consequences of unmanaged stress, which include decreases in both physical and psychological health and well-being. Chronic, unmanaged stress has been associated with various health issues that can be severe and potentially life-threatening. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine how mothers raising a CSHCN experience gratitude. A secondary purpose was to identify possible barriers to experiencing gratitude, which, when implemented as a coping style, may decrease the negative effects of daily stress and improve mental health. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions along with the transactional model of stress and coping provided an optimal conceptual framework for this study. The research questions were centered around the challenges and stressors unique to each mother, coping strategies, and gratitude. The ways in which the combination of factors contributed to quality of life among the mothers were examined specifically. Data from face-to-face interviews with 15 mothers were transcribed, coded, and thoroughly analyzed for themes. The primary themes that emerged were support from family and friends, feelings of gratitude, coping mechanisms, life satisfaction, gratitude for a flexible job, stress related to full dependency, high stress levels over the past 30 days, increased stress when describing the child, and a need to work on eating habits. Findings and recommendations from this study may contribute to positive social change and support the benefits of gratitude, especially in highly stressful situations.

Thesis (M. Ed. (Community and Continuing Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / The purpose of this study was to identify the educational needs and assets of language educators for teaching vernacular reading. A qualitative research study was conducted to examine what educators have and need to teach Sepedi reading skills at Mashiloane Higher Primary School and Tours Junior Primary School. Six vernacular teachers participated in the study. The teachers were assisted in identifying the educational needs and assets for teaching learners to read Sepedi. The study has highlighted the areas where language educators need support in order to teach vernacular reading proficiently. The study revealed a lack of Sepedi reading material and adequate training for vernacular teaching in both schools, especially in the Foundation Phase. The educational assets for vernacular language teachers were also assessed. Chapter two outlines the theoretical framework and defines key concepts. Assumptions were formulated about what teachers need to proficiently teach reading of a vernacular language. These include issues such as adequate training, Sepedi reading materials and sufficient space in the classrooms, among others. Chapter three outlines the research methodology. It clearly explains the research design, data collection and data analysis. This study was purely qualitative and took the form of a case study. This enabled a detailed and intensive study of the case as it exists in its physical setting. Data collection included document analysis, observations, one-on-one interviews and focus group discussions. A data matrix was used in the analysis of data. Chapter four constitutes the presentation and analysis of the findings of the study. The milieu and physical location of the schools are also described. The chapter further outlines both the educational needs and assets of the two schools for teaching reading in a vernacular language, i.e Sepedi. Chapter five presents the conclusions from the outlined educational needs and assets from the two schools. The recommendations, which might assist in the creation of a Sepedi-reading culture, are based on the findings. Included in this chapter are reflections on the research process. Recommendations are made for further research towards developmental programmes for Sepedi teachers in the primary schools of Limpopo.

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Context – The prevalence of problem substance use is a global concern, particularly for adolescents due to their ongoing developmental changes. Amongst other contributory factors, parenting styles adopted by parents and caregivers can either; increase the risks of their children developing substance misuse problems or prevent its onset. Knowledge about the needs and experiences of the caregivers of adolescents who misuse substances is limited and greatly under-researched. Brief interventions (BIs) have been identified as an effective means of tackling this problem-type behaviour among adolescents, including ‘Teen Intervene', which was developed in the US. This evidence-based intervention included a parent component which has been found to further enhance the interventions' positive outcomes. Rationale – In light of the unique caregiver structures in South Africa, the general neglect of their needs in the South African literature with regards to interventions and the high prevalence of adolescent substance misuse in the Western Cape, exploring these needs within the country's context is warranted and necessary. Design and data collection – This was a qualitative study and data for the study was collected in two main phases: through focus group discussions to identify caregivers needs and to explore perceptions of the intervention; and post-intervention interviews with caregivers and adolescents at a 1-month follow-up session. Findings – Template analysis revealed six main themes: 1) Access to knowledge about substance misuse; 2) Parenting skills; 3) Sources of emotional support; 4) Empowerment for female caregivers; 5) Financial concerns; and 6) Alternative solutions to adolescent's involvement in the justice system. Caregivers also reported various feelings that are a direct result of their experiences. Discussion – Caregivers have distinct needs that require designated responses, however, some of these needs can be addressed through their inclusion in treatment interventions for adolescents who misuse substances.