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This research was an investigation of three domains identified through a thorough review of the literature as fundamental to the equitable implementation of Response to Intervention (RtI) with English language learners (ELLs): (1) degree of intercultural sensitivity of educators involved in the RtI process, (2) training of educators in implementation of RtI with ELLs, and (3) educator familiarity with empirically-based interventions for use with ELLs. The validity of using RtI with ELLs has been questioned by both supporters and detractors of the model (Linan-Thompson & Ortiz, 2009). The most fundamental tenets of RtI are predicated upon the use of empirically validated interventions and the application of culturally responsive educational practices that provide equitable learning opportunities for all students. Due to the critical role of school psychologists in the development and implementation of RtI models, a questionnaire was designed for use with this population to explore the three domains delineated above. The Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS; Chen & Starosta, 2000) was used to document participants' degree of intercultural sensitivity. Additional questions addressing domains two and three strategically juxtaposed participants' experiences with and perceptions regarding RtI with native English speakers versus RtI with ELLs. Through a series of eight research questions and the associated analyses, the following conclusions were reached: (1) Statistically significantly higher mean scores on the ISS were present among those respondents who identified themselves as Hispanic/Latino/Spanish and/or fluent in more than one language; (2) Statistically significant differences were documented in participants' responses to items focused on perceptions of training for implementing RtI with native English speakers versus training for implementing RtI with ELLs; and (3) Statistically significant differences were found in participants' responses to items inquiring about perceptions of familiarity with empirically-based interventions for use within an RtI framework with native English speakers in comparison to ELLs. Taken together, and in conjunction with a qualitative analysis of two open-ended questions, these results suggest the presence of considerable delays in school psychologists' training and perceptions of preparedness to implement RtI with a linguistically diverse population as compared to native English speakers. This outcome is disconcerting, given the emphasis throughout the literature on the importance of unique considerations required to implement RtI equitably with ELLs. Recommendations for practice and future research are provided that emphasize the need for additional research and training in implementing RtI with a linguistically diverse population.

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Disputes concerning care and contact arrangements for the minor children of divorcing couples present special challenges for professionals in the legal and psychological professions. Care and contact (custody) disputes, which are complex undertakings, are a point of debate in the professional arena in South Africa. Clinical psychologists are often included in the professional cohort that assists the high court, as the upper guardian of minor children, in the decision making process regarding contested care arrangements of children. This field is further challenged by the lack of training programmes and practice guidelines, the intense adversarial nature of disputes and litigation processes, as well as the increase in board complaints levelled against psychologists at the Health Professions Council of South Africa. These challenges contribute to the reluctance of psychologists to become involved in care and contact matters. This study therefore aimed first to explore the current practices and contributions of clinical psychologists in care and contact disputes in South Africa, and second to evaluate the procedures used by clinical psychologists to inform their recommendations to the court. In such matters, clinical psychologists adhere to the best interest of the child (BIC) principle. The final aim of the study was to identify and propose guidelines for a model of better practice. The study was guided by a Constructivist Epistemology and a Social Constructionist paradigmatic framework. A qualitative research approach was employed. Data were collected through face- to-face interviews with clinical psychologists and advocates and were analysed using Thematic Network Analysis of Attride-Stirling. The findings, which indicated that that the practices of psychologists are plenteous, revealed significant shortfalls in current practices. In addition, the findings designated that creating a universal model for care and contact evaluations to fit with the legal professions’ empiricist tendency poses a paradigmatic dilemma and a practical challenge. A position of observer-dependence and a reflective position on the part of the psychologist is instead indicated. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Psychology)

This study explores trainees' experiences of power dynamics within a ritualised training context, with reference to the three major aspects of the study: training, ritual and power. The psychotherapeutic training took place at Agape, a community-based counselling service in Mamelodi, whose theoretical approach to training included a mixture of postmodern, ecosystemic and African traditions. A substantial literature survey examines the major concepts and issues related to the research subject, such as psychotherapeutic training approaches, the philosophies and theories that may inform training procedures, ritual practices in psychotherapy, and organisational and power aspects of psychotherapeutic training. The research process was executed using the qualitative, interpretive research methodology. A sample of six of the trainees who had completed their training at this placement was interviewed, and two of the trainers. The researcher's reflections on her own training experiences are woven into the material. Using the interview technique and through asking a series of open-ended questions, the researcher obtained an account of the subjective, sacralised training interactions at Agape. Themes were identified that had emerged during the interview process. In brief, the themes referred to trainees' theoretical and practical experiences in the training placement, how they made sense of the sacralised therapeutic experiences, and comments on their relationship with trainers and fellow trainees. The most common theme that emerged was that of power. The end product of this study portrays the trainees' understandings of power within a sacralised psychotherapeutic context and their responses to this. This study makes explicit the links between ritualisation and power within an evaluative psychotherapeutic training context, and the consequences of this for training. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

This postmodern dissertation examines three individual experiences of violence in South Africa, using the qualitative research method of heuristics. Using social constructionism as a lens for viewing the phenomenon, violence is seen as occurring within a specific ecology, which is part of the individual's fluctuating, subjective reality. This discussion proposes that the violent experience, to which meanings are attributed, is part of the individual's socially constructed ecology. This ecology can either be transformed or conserved through dialogue, specifically dialogue relating to the telling of the story of the violent experience. This is discussed in relation to therapeutic encounters. The primary objective of the research is the implication of ecological thinking generally and, more specifically, ecological thinking on violence, for therapeutic interactions and psychological theory. This discussion also refers to psychological ethics. / Psychology / MA (CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY)

The purpose of this thesis is to develop a comprehensive process for identifying and addressing primarily constitutional, medico-legal and liability issues, and in addition ethical, social and scientific issues related to the psychiatric and psychology professions in South Africa. In fulfilling this purpose, a comprehensive search is conducted of relevant historical, ethical, philosophical and clinical aspects pertaining to psychiatry and psychology, as well as an evaluation of the current juridical framework regarding the legal liability of the psychiatrist and psychologist balanced against the constitutional rights of the mentally disordered patient in South Africa. Recommendations are made for the establishment of any new controls needed to mitigate and prevent the exposure of mentally disordered patients, further attempting to provide specific remedies to adapt the current juridical framework in South Africa. The examination is conducted within the framework of the South African and United Kingdom's legal systems. Focus is placed on aspects of medical law, human rights law (as envisaged in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996), criminal law and the law of delict and, to a lesser extent, administrative law and the law of evidence. / Law / LL.D.

This report is the result of a literature study and questionnaire which gave insight on the role of Department of Correctional Services in the rehabilitation of child molesters. Correctional Services has adopted a new approach, where offenders need to change their negative behavior and be rehabilitated. Corrections have a societal responsibility towards the community to guide the offender on his rehabilitation path. This study was conducted to give a better understanding of rehabilitation to child molesters. It seems that child molesters will re-offend if they are not included in a thorough treatment programme. The purpose of this research is to determine if the Department of Correctional Services delivers on its legal and social responsibility towards the rehabilitation of child molesters. It is evaluated against international benchmarks. In this study the researcher gathered information on the profile of a child molester, the programmes currently available in Correctional Services, and also the involvement of the community in this process. Corrections cannot work alone, and needs the help of the community and leaders in the community to assist it in this process. Correctional Services faces many challenges in order to succeed in the rehabilitation of offenders. Currently there is a shortage of social workers and psychologists in the Department of Correctional Services, and the Department cannot, therefore, fully succeed in its rehabilitative role. Another aspect is that treatment is voluntary, and offenders can decide if they want to become involved or not. Only if the judge decides that the offender must be included in therapy, can he be forced to do so. / Penology / M.A. (Penology)

This study explores the training of Psychology tutors at the University of South Africa's (UNISA) learning centres with a view to providing a paradigm shift in tutor training and contributing towards new ways of thinking about education and training in South Africa. It furthermore opens up alternative ways of thinking about the process of facilitation in general. Although the study focuses on tutor training within the discipline of Psychology, the outcomes of the study are applicable to tutor training and tutoring in general, and make a valuable contribution in identifying the basic principles underlying tutor training in other disciplines as well. An ecosystemic approach encourages the trainer-trainee system to become aware of how they affect each other's thinking and behaviour. The basic principles underlying the process of facilitation that emerge in the study, therefore apply equally to the training of tutors and the tutoring of learners by others. These principles provide guidelines in terms of the processes involved in tutor development, as well as inform the issues and themes around which the sharing of ideas can be choreographed in the field of tutor training and tutoring. In conclusion, the information generated in the study focuses specifically on student support in the form of face-to-face tutorials in the distance education setting, the form of tertiary education which is most accessible to many historically disadvantaged learners in South Africa today. More generally, it will make a valuable contribution in the current educational context in South Africa, where student support is of the utmost importance in striving for equality in education, and where the focus is on outcomes-based education. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T13:32:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria Cecilia de Vilhena Moraes Silva.pdf: 1246481 bytes, checksum: b36c2aeff72f55fcdd6467b0a7b3dc27 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-06-16 / Since they were created, psychological tests have been used in different contexts to support decisions that affect the life of many people. If they are to be used properly, it is critical to know both their underlying theoretical assumptions and their limitations. This thesis aims to bring to light such assumptions and to demonstrate that psychological tests , as a generic label, is not suited for the broad array of psychological assessment techniques available today. Based on the work of Pierre Bourdieu, who considers scientific knowledge as a social activity and the conformation of scientific fields as stemming from the configuration of the forces that conform it in a given historical period, this thesis investigates the trajectory of Alfred Binet and Francis Galton, two important actors of the psychological assessment field, considering the personal, social and historical context of their work, and the influence of their contributions to the subsequent conformation of this field. The differences between projective techniques and psychometrical tests are highlighted and the implications of considering both as psychological tests for the conformation of the psychological assessment field in Brazil, today, are discussed. A few issues regarding the education of qualified psychologists for the proper use of these techniques are also considered / Desde sua criação, os testes psicológicos têm sido usados em diferentes contextos, subsidiando decisões que afetam a vida de muitas pessoas. Seu uso adequado tem, como condição fundamental, o conhecimento de seus pressupostos teóricos e de suas limitações. O objetivo deste trabalho é explicitar tais pressupostos e demonstrar que o rótulo genérico testes psicológicos é inadequado para abrigar a diversidade de instrumentos do exame psicológico existentes. Com base em Pierre Bourdieu, considera-se o conhecimento científico como uma atividade social, sendo a conformação de um campo científico decorrente da configuração das forças que o compõem e de seus respectivos pesos em um dado momento histórico. Procura-se recuperar a trajetória de Alfred Binet e de Francis Galton, dois dos principais atores do campo do exame psicológico, abordando o contexto pessoal, social e histórico em que desenvolveram suas obras, e a influência de suas ideias na conformação posterior do campo. A partir disso, procura-se diferenciar técnicas projetivas e testes psicométricos, discutir as implicações de considerá-los sob o mesmo rótulo na conformação do campo do exame psicológico no Brasil de hoje e apontar aspectos importantes da formação do psicólogo para o uso adequado desses instrumentos