<p>Many universities have expanded from teaching only to include research goals, requiring shifts in organization behavior. An exploratory case study method was used to examine these dynamics among positive deviant researchers at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech), the single case examined, from a social construction perspective. As a participant observer in the organization, the researcher engaged in marginality and its associated risks in studying UTech&rsquo;s transition from low to higher research outputs to answer the research questions&mdash;significant norms influencing positive deviancy patterns of the researchers and, their perceptions and experiences during transition. A qualitative case report and mini-organization ethnography of UTech was produced to enhance contextual understanding of positive deviance among university researchers, an area not previously described in the literature. Several important organizational findings emerged from the analysis of interviews of 6 participants who received the President&rsquo;s Research Initiative Award (PRIA), artifacts of the organization, and participant observation. The results detail early development of a descriptive typology of positive deviance during organization change, including motivation, feelings of being marginalized and coping strategies. Three patterns&mdash;(1) teaching versus research (2) disorder, and (3) personal resilience&mdash;and 9 interrelated themes enhance understanding of role adaptations and the meanings and beliefs that these faculty associate with their research environment. The results also indicate organizational factors and personal dimensions in a research subculture that is emerging amidst strong pivotal teaching norms and culture; social costs involved in such a transition, and; some challenges and opportunities for building a research culture and a high performance research environment at UTech. A construct of organizational and individual adaptation to stress was hypothesized, subject to future research. The main conclusions included that research is a peripheral norm; doing teaching and research involved tensions, challenges, incongruence, disequilibria as new identities and the implied research subculture are emerging at UTech; there are anti-research risks to the transition, and; organizational tradeoffs might be required. The findings, although not a template, are of potential usefulness in any organizational setting where organization growth and change are contemplated. Recommendations are made for UTech and future research. </p>

<p> High school students in accelerated academic curricula including Advanced Placement (AP) courses and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs are faced with unique challenges associated with their rigorous academic demands, in addition to normative adolescent stressors. Because of the increasing popularity of AP and IB among high-achieving youth and benefits realized by students who successfully manage such curricula, there remains a need to better understand the experiences of stress and coping among this population. The current study used longitudinal and cross-sectional comparisons to (a) investigate the degree to which students in accelerated curricula experience environmental stressors and employ coping strategies to manage academic stressors, and (b) determine which stressors and coping strategies were associated with student success. The longitudinal sample consisted of 184 students from six high schools within three school districts who completed the six-factor Student Rating of Environmental Stressors Scale (StRESS) and 16-factor Coping with Academic Demands Scale (CADS) at Time 1 (grades 9-11) and one year later, at Time 2 (grades 10-12). The cross-sectional sample included 2,379 students (grades 9-12) from 19 high schools within five school districts who also completed the StRESS, CADS, and the Students Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS); grade point averages (GPAs) were gleaned from school records. Findings indicate that AP and IB students reported more frequent stressors specific to academic requirements over time, while older students (e.g., 11^th and12^th grade) also reported experiencing more frequent stress due to academic and social struggles and financial issues than their younger counterparts. Regarding coping strategies, findings from longitudinal and cross-sectional comparisons suggested students tend to respond to higher stress by increasing their use of maladaptive strategies including reliance on substance use, reduce effort on schoolwork, and deterioration. Predictive analyses indicated that environmental stressors explained 4-7% and 17-23% of the variance in academic achievement and life satisfaction, respectively. High-achieving students' stress due to academic requirements was related to greater academic success, while it did not appear to compromise life satisfaction. Moreover, while stress due to academic and social struggles was predictive of diminished life satisfaction, stress within this domain was not predictive of poorer academic outcomes. Coping strategies used to manage academic demands accounted for 13-20% and 23-32% of the variance in achievement and life satisfaction, respectively. Students who employed time and task management, sleep, and deterioration to cope were more likely to experience higher academic achievement, while those who coped by seeking academic support, skipping school, engaging in social and creative diversions, using substances, reducing effort on schoolwork, and handling problems alone were less likely to be academically successful. Additionally, those who used cognitive reappraisal, turning to family, and social and athletic diversions were more likely to experience high life satisfaction, while those relying on creative diversions, reduce effort on schoolwork, handle problems alone, and deterioration were less likely to have high life satisfaction. Implications of findings for key stakeholders, including schools psychologists, and future directions for research are discussed.</p>

<p> This causal comparative study investigated the relationship of an identified disability (IDEA declared vs. non-declared) on success outcomes for sixth through twelfth grade at-risk students enrolled in a school-based mental health program. Outcome variables included: selected attendance, behavior, and achievement indicators for students who were enrolled in and received intensive school-based counseling.</p><p> Overall, after one year in the program, referrals for violent incidents significantly decreased for both groups of students while lack of respect incidents increased, indicating that staff changes in providing preventative strategies and approaches for working with students may have led staff to "catch" student behaviors at an earlier phase. IDEA declared students also had a significant decrease in suspensions. Although absences increased and instructional days decreased for both groups of students, a few of the non-declared students had more extreme changes. In-depth examination of the data showed that non-declared students, in particular Black and Asian students, had the most negative changes. Achievement data revealed that the majority of IDEA declared and non-declared students failed at pre and continued to fail at post.</p><p> This study adds to the limited base of research that on outcomes for students with and without disabilities. As school-based mental health counseling programs, coupled with strengths-based, multi-level counseling approaches expand across schools, it is important that we further the research base to determine what differences exist and what ramifications emerge for students based on disability, mental health problem, or ethnicity. Findings in this study of decreased referrals for severe behaviors for all students, decreased suspensions for IDEA declared students, and more extreme cases of negative outcomes for Asian and Black students without a disability, should be considered important factors in the continued effort to improve educational success for all students by supporting and promoting positive social emotional development and decreasing student risk factors.</p>

<p> This qualitative research focused on the type of support that influenced college enrolled former foster youth's educational decision making from the perspective of the youth.</p><p> The research data was collected via participant interviews that were recorded and transcribed. The data was analyzed to identify themes that related to social capital formation and emancipated foster youth's college enrollment. </p><p> The research results revealed that foster youth need interventions that will address their decision to decline emancipation services that promote their higher education enrollment. Further exploration within this subject matter is needed to better understand the subject matter and supplement the empirical literature that guides the professionals that provide services to foster youth.</p>

<p> While substantiating the effectiveness of honors programs to increase learning among the academically gifted, assessment and any associated outcomes should also be effectively used to understand the psychosocial development challenges of these students and, at the same time, increase their learning in and out of the honors environment. Robinson's (1997) research showed that, saddled with the typical college student's at-risk characteristics, e.g., first-generation status, low-income, financial limitations, etc., gifted students also face unique adjustment challenges in terms of their social development. These challenges include habits and attitudes associated with and/or resulting from not having to work at their studies in high school, such as `grade shock,' mediocrity, and an expectation of naturally being at the top of their class; not knowing their strengths and weaknesses due to a lack of academic challenge; not experiencing having to ask for help; and having multiples gifts and talents that are or can be channeled in multiple directions. This mixed methods study examined how educators may be able to use psychosocial student development theory and research in the use of personality type assessment instruments, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to support these students whose unique attitudes and behaviors put them at risk of losing their educational and career opportunities.</p>

A field investigation was carried out with student nurses entering General Training in a School of Nursing. Autogenic Regulation Training (ART), sickness absence, personal problems, time and their emotional physical experience was evaluated. Measures used in the study included:The Sickness Absence Record (SAR)The Mooney Problem Checklist (MPC)The Crown-Crisp Experiential Index (CCEI)and The Personal Observations Inventory (POI)Data was collected at different time periods early in their nurse education. The study was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of ART in providing a method of coping with individual stress. Analyses were made between and within an ART group of student nurses and a comparison group who did not receive training in ART. Consideration was also given to individual differences of student nurses in each group.Particular attention was paid to the hypotheses that 1) ART is associated with reduced sickness absence in student nurses when analysed against a comparison group' of student nurses not trained in ART; and 2) ART is associated with reduced stress in student nurses when compared with student nurses not trained in ART. 'It is generally concluded that student nurses trained in ART may reduce their level of sickness absence and can alleviate stress for some student nurses. However, examination of individual student nurse reports of ART and its usefulness and practice within these group data, suggest more complex interpretations of the study. Despite the study limitations, implications for methods of stress control for nurses, curriculum development and cost-effective savings for nursing administrations are suggested, and possibilities for the development of comprehensive counselling services for nurses are raised. These issues it is suggested, should be examined within a broader programme of research into coping with stress amongst nurses.

<p> Parent involvement has been shown to have positive effects on student achievement and engagement, yet the lack of necessary social and/or cultural capital prevents some parents from being involved. Applying a conceptual framework based on Bourdieu's concepts of social and cultural capital, this study examines the social and cultural capital that one parent advisory group possessed and the influence their involvement had on student engagement at an upper middle class high school. This qualitative study used a semi-structured interview protocol and narrative inquiry approach. Using NVivo software, 15 participants' interviews were coded and analyzed for emergent themes in the areas of social and cultural capital. Twelve themes emerged. Social capital themes included: Group memberships that provided a sense of empowerment and responsibility, social networks that highlighted the importance of the community and knowing the right people, and relationships that were purposeful, caring, supportive, and trusting. Cultural capital themes included: having privileged status, knowing how the system works, setting priorities for action and change, and having high expectations and values. Despite the fact that these parents had an extensive network of social and cultural capital, the findings from this study suggests caring relationships that instill a value in education, and that high expectations might be the most important form of capital parents need to be effectively involved. Implications and recommendations for practice and future research are discussed.</p>

<p> The enrollment of students with invisible disabilities has continued to increase unabated in postsecondary environments. As a result of the applicable laws governing the provision of accommodations and/or modifications in higher education, the impetus and responsibility to succeed rests almost entirely with the individual student. Research showed for many students with invisible disabilities, the transition from a more passive role in the acquisition of education at the primary and secondary levels to a more active role in the acquisition of higher education at the post-secondary level was difficult, as evidenced by a large percentage of such students failing to complete their degrees (Barber, 2012, Hadley, 2006; 2011, Skinner, 2004). Nonetheless, some of the same research indicated some students with invisible disabilities succeeded and completed their degrees (Barber, 2012, Skinner, 2004). The literature suggested that certain characteristics, particularly self-determination, were at least in part responsible for the success of these students. </p><p> The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the level of self-determination in successful students with invisible disabilities who participated in higher education. Data were collected through the administration of an online, anonymous, and untimed survey that ocnsisted of Wehmeyer and Kelchner's (1995) Arc Self-Determination Scale, as modified by Jameson (2007), as well as supplemental questions both adapted from Stage and Milne (1996) and created by the investigator. Levels of self-determination between successful students with invisible disabilities and their otherwise non-disabled peers were measured and analyzed for significant differences in means. The quantitative data revealed no significant difference in means on any domain score, including the Self-Determination Total score between groups, as measured by the modified Arc. Subsequent content analyses of supplemental questions revealed identical emerging themes in both participant groups, which aligned with Wehmeyer's essential characteristics of self-determination. </p>

Thesis (PH.D.) -- Syracuse University, 2007. / "Publication number AAT 3281772"

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Education, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: A, page: 2816. Adviser: Thomas M. Duffy. Title from dissertation home page (viewed Apr. 14, 2008).