The Personality Inventory for Youth (PIY) is a recently developed, multiscale assessment instrument designed specifically for adolescents between the ages of nine and 18. The purpose of this archival study was to establish clinical correlates for the PIY scales. PIY profiles were collected from 100 juvenile files at the Gainesville State School and examined in conjunction with the Child Assessment Scale (CAS) and the Personal Attitude Scale (PAS) to provide evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Results indicate modest to moderate convergent validity according to Campbell and Fiske's criteria for construct validity; however, discriminant results indicate considerable overlap among traits which are not expected to be highly correlated.

This study was designed to determine if a personality type or personality type characteristic that-was statistically different from the general population could be found for high school dropouts who perceived school dissatisfaction as the reason for dropping out of school. Data were collected from each gender group and analyzed by gender group.Dropouts registering to take the general equivalency test through one of three cooperating programs in Clark County, Ohio, were contacted to participate in the study. Individuals were determined to have dropped out of school because of perceived school dissatisfaction by means of their responses on a checksheet of reasons for dropping out of school. The list was culled from the review of literature. Dropouts Identified as "dissatisfied" were then given the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Form G. A total of 262 dropouts were contacted before the sample size of fifty males and fifty females was reached.Four null hypotheses were generated for the study. Analysis of data using a binomial distribution resulted in a refection of the four hypotheses at a .01 level of significance. Results of the analysis demonstrated the Introvert-Sensing-Thinking-Perceiving (ISTP) personality type for males and the Introvert-Sensing-Feeling-Perceiving (ISFP) personality type for females from the sample were statistically different from the general population. The Sensing (S) personality type characteristic for both gender groups in the sample was statistically different from the general population.Major conclusions were: 1) Males with an ISTP personality type and who are dissatisfied with school have a greater possibility of dropping out of school than males with other personality types; 2) Females with an ISFP personality type and who are dissatisfied with school have a greater possibility of dropping out of school than females with other personality types; and 3) Males and females determined to have the Sensing (S) personality type characteristic and who are dissatisfied with school are at a greater risk of dropping out of school than others displaying the Intuition CI) characteristic. / Department of Educational Leadership

M.A. (Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. / The aim of this study was to develop guidelines for principals and teachers when they identify leaders in secondary schools. That enables pupils with potential to function successfully as leaders in a school environment. Leadership in the secondary school has for too long been misinterpreted, misunderstood and grossly underscored in far too many ways. There is mistrust towards the identifying process. Present day demands require a specific form of education and training in leadership at school level to enable our youth to cope with these requirements. Educational authorities - especially school authorities are therefore compelled to address the matter of training and identification in a new light. Most of the existing research about identification of school leaders at secondary school level is of a quantitative nature and consisted of the completion of questionnaires. This brought about the testing and retesting of stereotyped proposals. In this study a qualitative research program was followed. By means of focus group interviews the views of a principal, teachers and secondary school pupils where collected. The research question in this study developed was the following: In what way does the personality of the pupil influences the teachers' choice of leaders at school level? The aim that followed was: To find out if there are personality traits that is necessary for a school leader at secondary school level to be successful. An explanatory, descriptive research design was used as part of qualitative research method during phase 1 of the research. The aim of phase 2 was to compare the results of the focus group interviews with a literature review. During phase 3 guidelines were developed for the identification of leaders in secondary schools. The conclusions of the research showed that the focus groups reflected reality, namely that the teachers lacked knowledge about leadership and that the pupils meaning reflects the findings of the literature study. Further it became apparent that although personality is relevant in leadership identification, it shouldn't be the main focus. Pupils should be helped to develop leadership skills which could be learned and to develop their personality or capabilities and in order to enable them to develop their full potential and to apply the leadership skills in their lives.

M.A. / The Myers Briggs Type® Indicator is a personality assessment instrument, which is based on the ideas of the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, and was developed by a mother-daughter team. Isabel Briggs Myers and Katherine Briggs dedicated their lives to type watching and perfecting their instrument. The notion of type became a focal point in the lives of these two women but especially Isabel Briggs Myers whose wish was that people recognise and understand their own, as well as others' uniqueness. By appreciating each other's "gifts", it was her deepest desire that people would be happy and effective in what they did. The MBTI® is used extensively throughout the world in many fields such as education, career guidance, family therapy, conflict resolutions in the business world, team-building etc. In South Africa the MBTI® is relatively new but has secured a very strong position amongst therapists, counselors, educationalists and business. With the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa in 1994, opportunities were open to all race groups. The South African society is both complex and diverse, bringing with it difficulties in adaptation, making sound career choices and developing mature career identities. The loss of opportunity and exposure during the apartheid era has created contradictions and uncertainty for many young black adolescents who must make career choices. In completing the MBTI® and the SDS questionnaires it is hoped that the young adolescent will have a better understanding of him or herself and that he or she would be guided in making sound career choices that will lead to a fuller and satisfying life. The purpose of this study is to validate the MBTI® in the context of career guidance against the Self-Directed Search; an instrument developed by John Holland as a means of operationalising his theory of Careers. There were 125 subjects in this research sample who were chosen from a group of predominantly black school children who came from a disadvantaged background and who were recognised as having the potential for tertiary education, specifically at university level. The study discusses the findings of the MBTI® types and SDS. The results are elaborated in terms of the influence of other possible variables.

For a number of years I have wondered why many of the prefects of some of the Grahamstown Schools have not become leaders in the particular sphere into which they chose to go after school. More than one head prefect that I have known has appeared to fade into anonymity after apparently leading his peers at school. I wondered if this was perhaps because at school he was not really a leader but simply an efficient policeman. Conversely, people who were not prefects at school often appeared as leaders in their chosen post-school careers. It seemed as if for some reason the prefect system at the schools concerned did not appreciably aid many pupils to develop their leadership potential or the selection procedures were inefficient. On investigating further I became more and. more interested in this topic until eventually, on discovering that the Rhodes University Education Department had a set of leadership scores, (calculated from a personality test) I undertook this investigation.