This research project investigated how students and mentors in the 2008 Melon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship experienced the benefits and difficulties of the mentoring relationship. With the help of the mentor students appeared to excel both academically and personally. A qualitative research paradigm was used and unstructured interviews were conducted with five mentors and five students in the first cohort of the MMUF at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Mentoring reports completed by mentors were analysed and validated the content of the interviews. Both mentors and mentees confirmed that mentoring was indeed a powerful tool for academic and personal development. They maintained that there was no way that one could develop academically and not develop personally. Mentoring relationships that did not succeed were attributed to no effort on the part of either the student or the mentor. The mentors and mentees agreed that the benefits were mutual; they all learned from each other. Student development was observable and students reported that they were beginning to feel part of a community of scholars.

The study aimed to identify and understand the phenomenon of group processes comparing two Personal Development (PD) group modalities. One group mainly used verbalisation and the other mainly used movement for interaction and self-expression. Group processes were expressed through the analysis of the participant's non-verbal movements and the verbal expressions of their experience in the group. The thesis of this study was that group processes can be expressed and identified through movement and verbal expressions. This study built on previous studies that have explored group processes in both Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) and in Verbal Group Psychotherapy fields in relation to PD groups. Two theoretical frameworks that underpinned this study were: DMP as group work and Group Psychotherapy with the primary focus on group processes in PD groups. These theories were selected for their pertinence to the understanding of group processes and PD groups. The comparison between the groups intended to answer the study's question: which group processes as expressed verbally and non-verbally in movement can be identified in a dance movement PD group compared with a verbal PD group? Qualitative hermeneutic phenomenology methodology was employed in this study in order to answer the above question using two collection and analysis methods: movement observation using Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) and a thematic analysis of participants' verbal reflections in semi-structured interviews. The findings of the study have shown which group process developed in each of the PD groups identified through the two collections methods. For instance, they were conflict, rivalry, trust, intimacy and cohesion. The analysis of the DM PD group has shown differences in findings between that which the movement observation identified and that which participants described in the interviews. The study aimed to contribute to the body of knowledge regarding group processes in DMP and group psychotherapy theory and research. Exploring group processes through the use of movement and verbalisation adds to the professional development and training in both fields. The study outcome offers an original contribution to practice, through the development of a group work guide for facilitators, derived from the group processes conceptual model. It represents a new way of understanding group processes and dynamics through the observation of a group's movements and verbal reflections by participants. This guide is aimed at supporting facilitators of PD groups when considering interventions both when leading groups and when reflecting on the groups' processes.

Le droit au développement personnel fut consacré, il y a un peu plus d'une dizaine d'années, par la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme, sur le terrain du droit au respect de la vie privée, dans le prolongement de la reconnaissance d'une protection se déployant dans la sphère sociale de l'existence de l'individu. Il va débuter et poursuivre sa « construction » au gré d'une jurisprudence dynamique et évolutive, traitant de problématiques liées aux transformations et bouleversements qui animent les milieux sociaux dans lesquels la Convention européenne a vocation à s'appliquer. Il se déploie, d'une manière formelle, exclusivement dans la jurisprudence relative au droit au respect de la vie privée, aux côtés de certaines notions avec lesquelles il entretient un rapport de consubstantialité. Ces notions semblent alors fonctionner à la manière d'un bloc, imbriquées dans une formulation sous-tendant un objectif commun qui, au regard des espèces dans lesquelles le juge européen les sollicite, paraît avoir trait au respect, à la préservation, voire au développement de la qualité de vie et du bien-être de l'individu. Mais cette relation n'est pas constante, et varie dans le raisonnement de la Cour européenne, au gré des affaires soumises à son examen. Le droit au développement personnel se décline ainsi comme une notion complexe, revêtant deux facettes distinctes, quoique non nécessairement a priori inconciliables. Il se caractérise en effet par des traductions juridiques concrètes, et se présente par ailleurs comme un concept assumant une fonction plus générale, d'une nature plus abstraite. Du fait notamment de sa généralité, il semble, dans une certaines mesure, trouver une résonance dans la jurisprudence relative à d'autres dispositions du texte conventionnel. Dans cette perspective, il paraît susceptible de contribuer à l'évolution et à la cohérence du système européen de protection des droits de l'homme, tantôt de manière concrète, tantôt de manière moins tangible, mais dans les deux cas, en saisissant particulièrement l'esprit du texte conventionnel. / The right to personal development was established, a little more than a decade ago, by the European Court of Human Rights in the area of the right to respect for private life, as an extension of the recognition of a protection of the existence of the individual within the social sphere. It will begin and continue to develop through a dynamic and evolving jurisprudence dealing with issues related to transformations and upheavals that drive social environments in which the European Convention is intended to apply. It is formally unfolding exclusively in the jurisprudence on the right to respect for private life, alongside notions with which it maintains a consubstantial relationship. These notions seem to operate as a unit, nested in a formulation underlying a common goal that, in terms of cases in which the European Court uses them, seems to relate to the respect, preservation and even the development of the quality of life and well-being of the individual. However, this relationship is not constant and varies in the reasoning of the European Court, according to the cases submitted for its consideration. The right to personal development thus appears to be a complex notion, with two distinct facets, though not necessarily a priori irreconcilable. It is indeed characterized by specific legal translations and also seems to be a concept assuming a more general function of a more abstract nature. Due specifically to its general character, it seems, to a certain extent, to resonate in the jurisprudence of other provisions of the text of the Convention. From this perspective, it seems likely to contribute to the development and coherence of the European system for the protection of human rights, sometimes concretely, sometimes less tangibly yet, in both cases, particularly comprehending the spirit of the Convention text.

This thesis concerns the use of repertory grids to examine personal and professional development (PPD) during professional training programmes. Paper one consists of a systematic review of 11 repertory grid studies of people undergoing training in human services professions. The findings suggest that professional socialisation occurred in line with the aims of training programmes but was an idiosyncratic, non-linear process which continued post-qualification. Trainees' thinking style became more abstract, less polarised and more cognitively complex. Implications for people training in human services professions and training providers are discussed and suggestions for improved future research are provided. Paper two reports a repertory grid study examining 26 third-year trainee clinical psychologists' construal of their PPD. The findings suggest that trainees' personal and professional selves were construed to be similar to each other. Trainees reported feeling anxious, stressed, unsettled and lacking an appropriate work-life balance. These difficulties were attributed to the demands of training and were expected to resolve once training was completed. Suggestions for future research with improved methodology are made and the implications of the findings for trainees, training providers and employers of newly qualified clinical psychologists are given. Paper three provides a critical reflection of the thesis; discussing the strengths and limitations of each of the papers and concluding with the author's personal reflections on the process of the research and her own PPD.

Public administrators and civil servants working with vulnerable youth have the challenging yet critical job of supporting their young clients in overcoming adversity and achieving optimal life outcomes. Public administrators and civil servants work with vulnerable youth to help shift their trajectories toward positive life outcomes; however, if these professionals are not thriving in the workplace, they may not have the best possible positive influence on youth. Little was known about how to support the ability of professionals to experience professional thriving, defined as the experience of feeling energized at work and motivated toward professional growth and success. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the experiences that youth-serving professionals, employed by the Bermuda Government, have in transformational coaching as a first step in understanding its potential to enhance individuals' experiences of thriving at work. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 8 individuals working in public education, a subset of youth-serving public sector employees. Data were subjected to Thomas's 5-step data analysis procedure, including inductive coding and categorization of codes into themes. Findings indicated 5 common themes experienced by participants: perspective taking, responsibility and commitment, better relationships and results, personal well-being, and risk taking and growth. These themes have all previously been linked to thriving, indicating the potential for transformational coaching to positively affect workplace thriving. The positive social change implication is to provide public administration leadership with an effective professional development strategy to boost employees' potential to thrive and maximize their influence on youth.

Studien syftar till att identifiera eventuella samband mellan hur universitetsstudenter som för närvarande studerar på Mälardalens Universitet uppfattar sin uppväxt och sin studiesituation. Med sådan kunskap kan stödet på universiteten utvecklas och eventuellt dolda resurser synliggöras. Studien baseras på ett urval om 2000 studenter från ett mellanrankat universitet i Sverige. Två forskningsfrågor besvaras. i) Vilka faktorer under universitetsstudenternas uppväxt samvarierar med faktorer rörande deras uppfattade studiesituation på ett signifikant sätt? ii) Föreligger det en signifikant skillnad mellan hur studentgrupperna skattar sin uppväxt och hur de uppfattar sin aktuella studiesituation? Resultatet visar hur faktorer såsom motivation, vänskap och en tidig dialog med vuxna i omgivningen bidrar till studenters personliga utveckling på universitetet. Inga skillnader vad gäller första respektive fortsatta generationens studenters personliga utveckling på universitetet urskiljs. Däremot fastställs skillnader i deras uppväxt. I studien identifieras hur en känsla av trygghet under studenternas uppväxt genererar en självsäkerhet i universitetssammanhang samt urskiljs att äldre studenter respektive studenter som varit utsatta för mobbning under uppväxten är mer öppna inför och intresserade av andra människors åsikter.

This thesis emerged from the author’s quest to increase her personal and professional effectiveness, to become more congruent, and to be a better person in the world. The thesis discusses how to move from Argyris and Schon’s behavioural model 1 (seeking answers externally, blaming others, avoiding responsibility, controlling behaviour and the belief that there is one right way) to model 2 (seeking answers from within, accepting responsibility, living in a state of flow, surprise and emergent possibilities, looking at the world in multiple ways and collaborating with others). Drawing from her own experiences and interactions with others, the author explores issues such as how people learn the qualities that enable them to be better people; what experiences have enabled people to move toward model 2; what happens when a group, especially within an organisation, moves toward model 2 and how does this happen; and how can conditions be created to enable individuals or groups to move toward model 2. / Master of Science (Hons)

<p>Through this project -“Projekt Pedadoggen”- I have tested dog training as a pedagogical resource at Daily activities. The study was made together with a group of persons with intellectual and neuropsychiatric disabilities, whose daily activities consist of running a day-care centre for dogs. Each participator of the project trained a dog towards a specific goal. This goal was individually formulated by each participator from his or her specific interest. The participators chose to set up a show, which was planned and performed by them selves. </p><p>At the end of the project the participators were interviewed about their experiences of taking part on the project. Together with notes from the training, these interviews were the foundation of the hermeneutic influenced analysis. The theoretical outpost touches job satisfaction, work-integrated learning and the role of the pedagogue. </p><p>The main conclusion is that dog training can create good conditions for personal development which favour both the work-integrated learning and the lifelong learning. The role of coaching creates opportunities for personal development, among other things by giving the participators opportunities to plan, to work towards a goal, to read and adjust another individual, to improvise, to learn about exercise psychology, etcetera. The training with dogs creates lots of opportunities for interaction, for examples between the participator and participator, between the participator and the dog, and between the participator and people outside the work place. A positive aspect which was stressed by the participators is their own job satisfaction as well as the job satisfaction of the dog. They also stressed the special friendship which can develop between human and dog.</p>

<p>Varje år tar 5000 studenter i Sverige examen i företagsekonomi och så många som 650 studenter läser idag civilekonomprogrammet vid Högskolan i Gävle (HiG). Vi är själva ekonomstudenter vid HiG och snart redo att ta steget ut i arbetslivet, vilket innebär blandade känslor av både förväntan och oro. Orsaken till denna osäkerhet är till stor del det faktum att vi inte vet vad som förväntas av oss den dag vi tar examen. Vad har vi egentligen lärt oss under vår utbildning och vad förväntar sig arbetsgivarna att vi kan? För att besvara denna fråga har vi intervjuat före detta studenter från HiG, varav en man och en kvinna från den privata sektorn samt en man och en kvinna från den offentliga sektorn. Vi intervjuade även en näringslivsutvecklare på Gävle kommun och olika arbetsgivare.</p><p>Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att undersöka hur väl ekonomutbildningen vid HiG svarar mot arbetsgivarnas kompetenskrav.</p><p>Genom intervjuerna uppkom förslag på förbättringar av ekonomutbildning, såsom att praktik och beteendevetenskap bör vara en del av utbildningen. Utifrån intervjuerna med arbetsgivarna fann vi, till vår förvåning, att de allra flesta rekryterare lägger störst fokus på de personliga egenskaperna. De före detta studenterna förstärkte detta budskap då de förde fram liknande åsikter, samtidigt som utbildningen utgör en viktig teoretisk grund så är det personligheten som avgör huruvida en person blir anställd. Detta medför att det borde vara mer eller mindre självklart att HiG utökade antalet personlighetsutvecklande moment i ekonomutbildningen.</p><p>Med utgångspunkt i empirin sökte vi efter lämpliga teorier för att kunna styrka eller dementera de argument och åsikter som framkom under intervjuerna, där bland teorier som berör rekrytering och praktik. Vi fann att de flesta teorierna stämde bra överrens med resultatet från vår empiridel, som exempel kan nämnas att även teorin visade att de personliga egenskaperna har en viktig del vid rekrytering.</p><p>Vid genomförande av förbättringar såsom praktik, fler personlighetsutvecklande moment i kurserna och beteendevetenskap, så anser vi att ekonomstudenter vid HiG skulle vara bättre föreberedda för arbetslivet, men att det även skulle ge en viktig konkurrensfördel gentemot andra ekonomstudenter i Sverige.</p> / <p>Every year 5000 students in Sweden take their bachelor degree in business administration and as many as 650 students attend to the economic education at the University of Gävle. We ourselves study economics at the University of Gävle and are soon ready to take part in the labour market, for us this means mixed feelings of both anticipation and concern. The cause of this concern is partly the fact that we don’t know what is expected of us when we graduate. What have we really learned during our education and what does the employers expect of us? To answer this question we have interviewed former students from the University of Gävle, one man and one woman from the private sector as well as one man and one woman from the public sector. We also interviewed a developer of the labour market in Gävle and different employers.</p><p>The purpose with the essay has been to examine how well the economic education at the University of Gävle answers to the qualification set by the employers.</p><p>Suggestions to improve the economic education appeared during the interviews, such as practical training and behavioural science. From the interviews with employers we learned, to our surprise, that most recruiters pay most attention to the personality. The former students had similar opinions; while the education serves as an essential foundation, it is more or less the personality that the recruiter focuses on when he/she decide whether or not to hire the person. Due to this, it is obvious that the University of Gävle should increase elements of personal development in their economic education.</p><p>We tried to find suitable theories to strengthen or contradict the arguments that appeared to us during the interviews. What we found was theories which included for example recruitment and practical training. Most of these theories matched our empirical results, for example both showed that the personality played an important part for recruiters.</p><p>Improvement such as practical training, more elements of personal development in the courses and behavioural science would prepare students of economics at the University of Gävle better for the labour market. We also think that it would give an important competition advantage against other students of economics in Sweden.</p>

Varje år tar 5000 studenter i Sverige examen i företagsekonomi och så många som 650 studenter läser idag civilekonomprogrammet vid Högskolan i Gävle (HiG). Vi är själva ekonomstudenter vid HiG och snart redo att ta steget ut i arbetslivet, vilket innebär blandade känslor av både förväntan och oro. Orsaken till denna osäkerhet är till stor del det faktum att vi inte vet vad som förväntas av oss den dag vi tar examen. Vad har vi egentligen lärt oss under vår utbildning och vad förväntar sig arbetsgivarna att vi kan? För att besvara denna fråga har vi intervjuat före detta studenter från HiG, varav en man och en kvinna från den privata sektorn samt en man och en kvinna från den offentliga sektorn. Vi intervjuade även en näringslivsutvecklare på Gävle kommun och olika arbetsgivare. Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att undersöka hur väl ekonomutbildningen vid HiG svarar mot arbetsgivarnas kompetenskrav. Genom intervjuerna uppkom förslag på förbättringar av ekonomutbildning, såsom att praktik och beteendevetenskap bör vara en del av utbildningen. Utifrån intervjuerna med arbetsgivarna fann vi, till vår förvåning, att de allra flesta rekryterare lägger störst fokus på de personliga egenskaperna. De före detta studenterna förstärkte detta budskap då de förde fram liknande åsikter, samtidigt som utbildningen utgör en viktig teoretisk grund så är det personligheten som avgör huruvida en person blir anställd. Detta medför att det borde vara mer eller mindre självklart att HiG utökade antalet personlighetsutvecklande moment i ekonomutbildningen. Med utgångspunkt i empirin sökte vi efter lämpliga teorier för att kunna styrka eller dementera de argument och åsikter som framkom under intervjuerna, där bland teorier som berör rekrytering och praktik. Vi fann att de flesta teorierna stämde bra överrens med resultatet från vår empiridel, som exempel kan nämnas att även teorin visade att de personliga egenskaperna har en viktig del vid rekrytering. Vid genomförande av förbättringar såsom praktik, fler personlighetsutvecklande moment i kurserna och beteendevetenskap, så anser vi att ekonomstudenter vid HiG skulle vara bättre föreberedda för arbetslivet, men att det även skulle ge en viktig konkurrensfördel gentemot andra ekonomstudenter i Sverige. / Every year 5000 students in Sweden take their bachelor degree in business administration and as many as 650 students attend to the economic education at the University of Gävle. We ourselves study economics at the University of Gävle and are soon ready to take part in the labour market, for us this means mixed feelings of both anticipation and concern. The cause of this concern is partly the fact that we don’t know what is expected of us when we graduate. What have we really learned during our education and what does the employers expect of us? To answer this question we have interviewed former students from the University of Gävle, one man and one woman from the private sector as well as one man and one woman from the public sector. We also interviewed a developer of the labour market in Gävle and different employers. The purpose with the essay has been to examine how well the economic education at the University of Gävle answers to the qualification set by the employers. Suggestions to improve the economic education appeared during the interviews, such as practical training and behavioural science. From the interviews with employers we learned, to our surprise, that most recruiters pay most attention to the personality. The former students had similar opinions; while the education serves as an essential foundation, it is more or less the personality that the recruiter focuses on when he/she decide whether or not to hire the person. Due to this, it is obvious that the University of Gävle should increase elements of personal development in their economic education. We tried to find suitable theories to strengthen or contradict the arguments that appeared to us during the interviews. What we found was theories which included for example recruitment and practical training. Most of these theories matched our empirical results, for example both showed that the personality played an important part for recruiters. Improvement such as practical training, more elements of personal development in the courses and behavioural science would prepare students of economics at the University of Gävle better for the labour market. We also think that it would give an important competition advantage against other students of economics in Sweden.