Thesis (Ed. D.)--UCLA, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 40-46).

Doctorat en sciences psychologiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The objective of this study was to investigate the conditions under which family counseling was terminated and the relationship of the type of termination to children's self-concepts and parents' attitudes. For the purposes of this study, family counseling was terminated by either mutual termination or by family termination. Mutual termination referred to the family and the counselor mutually agreeing that termination from counseling was appropriate. Family termination referred to the family deciding without counselor agreement that termination from counseling was appropriate. For the purposes of this study a family's degree of commitment to the counseling process was indicated by the type of termination the families chose, that is, mutual or family termination.

Children of today inhabit a multi-dimensional world, and in order to communicate effectively in it, they need the ability to utilise four forms of communication namely, oracy, literacy, numeracy and graphicacy. Communicating in graphic form requires an ability to both encode and decode spatial information using symbols, which requires the utilisation and application of spatial perceptual skills and concepts. The acquisition of graphic skills has been influenced by traditional developmental perspectives; increasingly the assumptions underpinning these have been challenged by more recent international research findings. The draft Curriculum Framework for General and Further Education and Training (1996: 18) identifies graphic literacy as one of the critical outcomes of the new South African curriculum. For graphic literacy to be an achievable outcome of the new curriculum, we need to investigate the skills and concepts underpinning this form of communication. The goal of this research is to investigate graphicacy as a form of communication in South African primary schools. However, given the scope of a research project of this nature, it was decided that rather than dealing with graphicacy per se, pictures as the most frequent and concrete type of graphic communication encountered by young learners would be focused on. In seeking to investigate pictures, the first stage of the study is concerned with diagnosing and illuminating children's graphic skill development through identifying: what skills they use; how they use and apply these when communicating through and interpreting symbols; and the difficulties they experience when, firstly, encoding spatial information through a series of practical and drawing tasks; and secondly, when reading and interpreting pictures. The second stage of the study investigates the extent to which children's early childhood experiences may or may not have impeded or enhanced the acquisition of skills necessary for understanding and communicating about space. The research findings, evaluated according to existing and emerging theoretical perspectives on graphicacy, will help to illuminate the current situation regarding the graphic literacy of South African primary school children. The study may contribute to wider international debates about graphicacy as a form of communication and the development of graphic literacy, from a South African perspective.

This thesis takes the form of an in-depth case study within which the play therapy process of an aggressive 5-year-old boy was explored. The aim of the research was to examine the abundant expressions of aggression that were present within his therapy, and in so doing reflect their rich communicative content and their relevance and purpose in the development of his Self. Object relations theory formed the lens and theoretical context for this research with Winnicott’s contributions and Parens' model of aggression being considered in particular. A detailed data resource of the therapy process was compiled and transposed into narrative form. These narratives were reviewed with a reading guide as a means to facilitate a hermeneutic exploration of the data. The emergent themes were considered against the case data and the current theory, which allowed for their further analysis and development. From this the value of using Parens’ model was considered and deemed useful although limited in its contribution. The analysis and the themes which emerged conveyed how within this case the child’s aggression presented as: a significant feature of his ambivalence towards relationships; a powerful and pervasive protective fantasy of omnipotence; inherently linked to his sense of self and self expression; and as actively involved in his True Self’s hope-filled attempts for an alternative experience. This thesis provides a descriptive account of a challenging case, offering insights into the value and meaningful content of aggressive behaviours, with the intention being to reflect that which is often not easily appreciated or readily observable within such a therapy process, a trace of hope.

M.Ed. / Next to the school the parental home plays a dynamic role in the formation of the learners' self-esteem. The learner with mental-disabilities very often has a long history of disappointments and failures. In the teaching process teacher use words such as "stupid", "unwilling", "silly" and "lazy" when they refer to learners with mental-disabilities. The actions of teachers are very often characterized by impatience and fury. Even in special schools such remarks as "he's too lazy to think", "she does not want to use her intellect" and "you can forget about it because you'll never get it right". Against this background the aim of this study was to investigate the self-esteem of the learner with slight to moderate mental-disability in the special school. At the same time investigation of learners in the mainstream school with no mental disabilities was made. The quasi-experimental research method was used to collect data. This approach made it possible for the researcher to examine the comparisons between the various groups and also to identify possible similarities and differences. A structure questionnaire, in Afrikaans and English, was used to examine the self-esteem on eight different scales. These self-esteem scale includes the physical self-esteem, the experience of frustration, the relationship with the family and extended family, the social relationship of religion, self confidence and the academic self-esteem. The questionnaire was given to 924 learners of which 419 learners were mentally disabled and in special schools, while the other 505 learners had no disability and were from the mainstream schools. The analysis and interpretation of the data yielded the following results: Teachers that are involved with the education of the grade 10-learners with mental disabilities have to pay more attention to minimize the increase of frustration experiences that these learners are experiencing.

Responses of six severely language delayed (SLD) children were obtained on three measures of central auditory processing and one measure of language proficiency. The results of these measures were compared to the results obtained from six normal-hearing children, matched in age and Performance IQ on the WISC-R. The 12 children were tested with the Pitch Pattern Sequence Test (PPST), the Dichotic Digit Tests (DDT), and the Pediatric Speech Intelligibility Test (PSI). Differences in the central auditory abilities as well as the history of each child were presented in .a case study format. The results of the history information demonstrated no unusual problems among these 12 subjects. Ten out of 12 subjects demonstrated abnormal results on at least one measure of the central auditory battery.

D.Ed. / Societal structures are undergoing drastic changes at present. In the modern technological community, increasing pressure is placed on the child to achieve, particularly in the scholastic field. The urgent need for higher scholastic achievement makes greater demands on both the educator (parent and teacher) and the child. A positive self-concept can provide the motivation which could lead to higher scholastic achievement, but the way in which the child plans and uses his time, and works towards future success, may be of the utmost importance for high average scholastic achievement. Against this background, the aim of this research was to investigate selfconcept and time-concept within an educational context. The study probed the issue of whether there is a difference between the self -concept and time-concept of pupils with a high average scholastic achievement and those of pupils with a low average. Further, the possible relationship between the self-concept and the time-concept of these pupils was investigated. To achieve this goal, the research was based on seven sub-goals. The first three of these goals were realised by investigating a theoretical framework regarding the self-concept and time-concept of pupils within an educational context, and also by educationally founding self-concept, time-concept and scholastic achievement. An empirical investigation was undertaken on the basis of the theoretical framework mentioned. Standard six, eight and ten pupils who were enrolled at an Afrikaans-medium and an English-medium high school in the Roodepoort area falling under the ex-Transvaal Education Department, as well as such pupils at an English-medium high school in the Johannesburg area, falling under the ex-Department of Education and Training, were involved in the investigation. A structured questionnaire in Afrikaans and English was developed on the basis of the above-mentioned self-concept and time-concept by adapting and refining already existing instruments. In accordance with the fourth sub-goal, this questionnaire, consisting of two instruments, was used to investigate the pupils' self-concept (instrument one) and timeconcept (instrument two). The approach followed for analysing and interpreting the data entails six steps. The data on self-concept and time-concept were analysed separately in steps 1, 4 and 5. In step 1 the validity and reliability of the measuring instruments were investigated. First order factor analytical procedures and item analyses were applied respectively in this regard. In each case only one variable (scale), namely self-concept and time-concept, was identified in this way. In step 2 the calculation of the correlation between the average percentage of the previous examination (biographical information) and the calculated average percentage (from information in Annexure C) was done on the basis of the data obtained from the Afrikaans-medium high school. This calculation was aimed at using the data from the questionnaire (obtained from the one English-medium high school that failed to provide the information required in Annexure C) for further statistical analyses. Step 3 entailed the determination of the cut-off points for pupils with a high average and those with a low average in scholastic achievement. Two groups of pupils were thus identified, namely the group of pupils with a high average scholastic achievement and the groups of pupils with a low average. The variables (number of factors) of self-concept and time-concept that could be used in the further analyses of the data, were identified by means of a prime factor analysis (PFA1), together with a Doblimin rotation method identified in step 4. The variables of self-concept and time-concept were subsequently used to conduct multi-variable and single variable analyses according to step 5 on the data of the pupils. These analyses were aimed at establishing whether there was a difference between the self-concept and the time-concept of the pupils with a high average and those of the pupils with a low average in scholastic achievement. The Hotelling T 2 test and MANOVA were used to test multi-variable hypotheses. The Student's t-test, ANOVA and the Scheffe test were used to test the single variable hypotheses. In step 6 of the analyses a canonical correlation analysis was performed on the data to establish whether there were statistically significant relationships between the self-concept and the time-concept of the pupils with a high average scholastic achievement. The same procedure was followed to determine whether there were statistically significant relationships between the self-concept and the time-concept of the pupils with a low average scholastic achievement. The findings obtained from all these analyses are stated briefly: There is, in fact, a difference between the self-concept and time-concept of pupils with a high average scholastic achievement and those with a low average. With regard to self-concept, the pupils with a high average have a more positive academic self, a better relationship with family and relatives, a more supportive religious orientation and a better attitude towards values than the pupils with a low average in scholastic achievement. With regard to time-concept, the pupils with a high average are more future-oriented, more conscientious in their time management, experience less anxiety about the future and are less focused on the present than the pupils with a low average in scholastic achievement. With regard to the relationships between the self-concept and the timeconcept of the pupils, the findings include the following: * Pupils with a high average scholastic achievement - there is a relationship between academic self, relationship with family and - relatives, social relations, religious orientation, physical self, negative experience of frustration, attitude towards values and future orientation, conscientious time management, negative in anxiety about the future, independent utilisation of time and contentment with the present and the past. Pupils with a low average scholastic achievement - there is a relationship between academic self, relationship with family and relatives, social relations, religious orientation, physical self, attitude towards values and future orientation, conscientious time management, time-consciousness, focus on the present, independent utilisation of time and contentment with the present and the past. On the whole, it would therefore appear that two variables of the timeconcept, namely anxiety about the future and focus on the present, can give rise to an inability to achieve a high scholastic average. It could therefore be in the interest of the child that the educators (parents and teachers) should make every effort to foster a positive selfconcept and a future-oriented time-concept in the child. The emphasis should be placed on planning and working towards a future goal. In addition, it should also be stressed that the enjoyment of the moment should be exchanged for future success.

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / A youth's career choice is without doubt one of the most important decisions of his life because according to expectations, he will spend almost half of his life exercising his chosen vocation. In order to make a decision concerning a vocation. a youth requires knowledge. knowledge of his specific interests. aptitudes. personality and intelligence. A youth should discover his own identity - he should find out who he is and in what he believes. This self-knowledge is a prerequisite for career choice. Inadequate self-knowledge may lead to an erroneous career choice and that in turn may lead to work dissatisfaction and a negative attitude towards labour. In the process of career guidance, use is principally made of psychometric testing in order to help the youth gain self knowledge. The importance of psychometric testing cannot be underestimated and it is generally accepted that career guidance cannot take place without it. No research appears to have been done which determines the youth's self-knowledge without the use of tests. It is thus necessary to determine what the youth's intuitive perception of his self-knowledge is. and then to compare this to the test results. In chapter two the process of career guidance. as well as the importance of decision making. and the role the parents and school play in the youth's career choice, is explored. Chapter three explores the concept of self-knowledge and four facets of self-knowledge are discussed: interests. aptitudes. personality and intelligence. In chapter four the research design is discussed. Standard ten pupils' self-knowledge is obtained without the use of psychometric tests. and these findings are compared with the test results. The parents' opinions are also taken into account by comparing their estimation of their child's self-knowledge with the child's own estimation.

D.Ed