Includes bibliographic references (leaves 140-148). / The study investigates the prevailing conditions of schooling and classroom teaching and learning in southern Zimbabwe, using the Vygotskian socio-cultural theory to analyze the consequences that the breakdown of schooling and classroom teaching and learning had on learners' performance and cognitive development. Using a case study of a specific primary school in Gwanda district, the study has found that classroom teaching and learning in rural Zimbabwe was adversely affected by a conglomerate of contextual factors and worsened by the prevailing socio-economic and political problems resulting in contradictory classroom practices of teaching and learning. The analysis reveals the extent to which classroom teaching and learning has deteriorated and how the cultural practices of this specific tradition of schooling, impede on possibilities for meaningful learning activities in the classroom. The study contributes towards an understanding of the effects of the specific cultural conditions of schooling on learners' learning and cognitive development within the prevailing context of socio-economic and political instability in Zimbabwe and suggests ways in which teachers could organise pedagogy to assist their learners' learning and cognitive development.

Attention is a skill that is vital for learning to occur in the classroom where many competing factors may impede a learners' ability to pay attention. Moreover, the classroom environment has different role players and factors that impact the quality of teaching and learning that takes place. These include the teacher, other learners, the school, and other support structures such as an occupational therapist. Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] is a common, catch-all label used with learners who do not sit still or struggle to complete tasks independently, to name but a few observations done in classrooms by occupational therapist. Yet, a learners' learning and engagement is greatly impacted on by the teacher who acts as a mediator in the classroom. This research uses a qualitative research design to unpack the teachers' perceptions of these attention difficulties in the classroom. Particular focus was placed on how teachers identify these learners and the support structures in place to assist these identified learners. Through interviews conducted, six Grade 1 teachers were investigated and explored in order to gain a deeper understanding of these attention difficulties in the classroom as perceived by the teachers, and the support thereof. This research demonstrates that many of the teachers showed an understanding of the perceived attention difficulties that went beyond surface level. Furthermore, all the participating teachers have experience with attention difficulties and rely on their experiences rather than theoretical knowledge in order to help identify and support these learners. Overall, many of the teachers feel alone in supporting the learners as the home environments do not always play a helpful role within the learners' daily lives. Finally, support provided by on-site occupational therapist was found to be more beneficial for the teachers. However, there are still challenges experienced by teachers in managing big class sizes and covering the curriculum. It is recommended that further research is conducted on the role of an Occupational Therapist in the classroom. In addition to this, teachers require additional training around attention difficulties as a means of providing appropriate support in the classroom.

For many Grade 4 learners within South Africa, the transition to English as their Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) is often turbulent and troublesome due to current approaches and practices falling short or failing to meet the unique contextual needs of their learners. This paper investigates the potential practical applications of Vygotsky's theory of learning and Hedegaard's Double Move in these classrooms, in an attempt to understand if these concepts and methods are or could be utilized to better accommodate for multilingual learners The data for this multiple case study was collected through observations of Grade 4 English Home Language lessons at two rural primary schools within Limpopo, as well as through semi-structured interviews with the participating teachers. Within these English Language classrooms, the utilization by teachers of Everyday Concepts in an attempt to aid in the understanding of Scientific Concepts occur naturally. This occurrence was also often coupled with increased learner engagement. This signifies teachers gravitate towards Hedegaard's Double-Move Method intuitively, despite not having prior knowledge or familiarity with the model, due to its found usefulness by the teacher during instruction. However, due to their lack of knowledge on the model there were no complete Double-Moves throughout the lessons. These findings indicate that a space exists within English Language classrooms for a conscious application of the model. Furthermore, the use by teachers and learners of their mother tongue within the classroom when engaging in discussion or instruction suggests that a place already exists for it and thus could potentially be utilized as a tool to further facilitate learning. With both educators indicating the inability of learners to cope with the transition and, in turn, their struggle to meet the needs of their learners, a need for a new approach clearly exists. This, coupled the positive results within STEM classrooms, both in relation to learners' ability to grasp the content as well as in providing them with the tools to reclaim foreign topics as their own (Hedegaard & Chaiklin, 2005; Hardman & Teschmacher, 2019; Fleer, 2020; Fleer, 2008; Fleer & Ridgway, 2007), led to the assertion that it held the same potential for English Language classrooms.

<p> The number of Americans reporting extreme stress has increased over the past six years. Prolonged exposure to stress has the potential of producing severe damage to the health of individuals. Pennebaker and Graybeal (2001) stated, &ldquo;When people write about their deepest thoughts and feelings about an emotionally significant event, there are numerous benefits in many domains (e.g., health, achievement, and well-being) result&rdquo; (p. 1). Writing about extremely stressful situations has health and wellness benefits. In this study autoethnography and externalization were combined as a method to examine how feasible it might be for persons to employ the combined methods to process stressful life events. The externalization involved creating a persona (White &amp; Epston, 1990). The personas represented the lived experiences of work and family. In addition, the externalization application was the backdrop for the theoretical concepts of hardiness, thriving, resilience, and posttraumatic growth. The feasibility of this method was explored through an analysis of the autoethnographer&rsquo;s lived experiences of the externalization, where the researcher was also the autoethnographer-externalizer. As a result of the externalization, relevant themes emerged in the areas of Memory of Work and Family Events, Challenge Indicators, Management Indicators, Activity Persistence Indicators, Growth Indicators, and Positive Change Indicators. The researcher&rsquo;s experience, and the themes that emerged from the data, provided evidence that applying the externalization to the autoethnographic process was feasible and suggests a methodological combination that might help others, including leaders, cope with the stress associated with traumatic events.</p>

<p> Researchers have associated parent involvement in primary schools with the improvement of grades, attendance, and the decrease of negative social behaviors. Consequently, parent involvement has improved in many primary schools. However, in secondary schools, parent participation continues to be deficient, particularly among Latino and African American communities due to language barriers, low incomes, and lack of social networks. Research is needed on how parent participation affects student achievement in secondary schools with underserved populations. Social capital theory provided the conceptual framework to help determine if parent involvement could create parent-school relationships that would lead to improved student academic and behavioral outcomes in a predominantly minority urban charter high school. The quasi-experimental observational study used program data and pre and post archived student records provided over a 2-year period from a convenience sample of 83 continuously enrolled students. Epstein&rsquo;s framework was used to categorize types of parent involvement, which constituted the independent variables. T tests and chi-squared analyses were used to test the association between the independent variables and dependent variables. The study found a limited association between GPA and ELA grades and certain types of parent participation activities for students overall, but not for English Language Learners. Attendance was not found to be affected significantly and data were lacking on suspensions and expulsions. The results of this study informs administrators who seek to increase parent involvement in order to improve student achievement and decrease the drop-out rate in high schools serving at risk students.</p>

<p> College is already considered an at-risk period for the development of mental illness, however a number of studies have suggested that certain stressors may increase student athlete&rsquo;s vulnerability to depression. Despite this, research into the actual prevalence rate of depression among this population is thin. This study, therefore, aimed to determine an overall prevalence rate for depression symptoms among NCAA Division I collegiate athletes. It was also designed to assess various risk-factors that may increase an athlete's vulnerability to depression such as sex, academic class, scholarship level, sport season status and history of injury. Due to the lack of any required mental health education in college athletics, athletes were also asked questions regarding their opinion of current mental health services within their athletic program. Using a sample of 950 Division I student athletes it was found that 33.2% of athletes experienced symptoms of depression, contradicting findings from previous studies that have suggested a prevalence rate lower than the general college population (approximately 30%). Female athletes (<i> p</i> =. 00), underclassmen (<i>p</i> = .01), and in-season athletes (<i>p</i> = .05), were all found to experience higher rates of depression symptoms than other athletes. Similarly, athletes who suffered an injury in the previous 6 months (<i>p</i> = .05) experienced more severe depression symptoms than healthy athletes. Missing practice or competition due to injury was also shown to increase depression symptoms (<i> p</i> = .00) compared to athletes who were able to continue their activity. It was found that 25.7% of athletes did not know how or where to access mental health treatment at their university, and 44.5% had received no mental health education from their athletic department. The results from this study suggest that depression is a more significant issue in college athletics than previously thought, and highlights the need for continued improvements to be made in both the understanding of mental health issues in college athletics, and the services that are provided to athletes.</p>

<p> To be successful, a business must ensure proper staff training of their team. Video modeling has proven to be an effective method to train staff, but the effect of a time delay with this method has not been analyzed. In Applied Behavior Analysis, team members are tasked to implement different programming depending on their client. In the current study, a time delay when watching a video model then performing discrete trial teaching was analyzed. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups. One group watched the video model then two minutes later performed discrete trial teaching. The other group watched the same video model, then 24 hours later performed discrete trial teaching. Both groups increased their percentage accuracy from baseline to treatment. The results of this study indicated no statistical significance between the groups.</p>

<p> This study investigated relationships between nine independent variables and three dependent variables measuring intrinsic motivation (for knowledge, to accomplish, to experience), extrinsic motivation (external, introjected, and identified regulation), and amotivation (neither intrinsic nor extrinsic motivation), in a comparison analysis of second-generation Iranians and American university students. The nine independent variables measured were, participant&rsquo;s age, participant&rsquo;s education, father&rsquo;s education, mother&rsquo;s education, parental income, gender, number of siblings, stress, and confidence. Based on the principles of self-determination theory a multidimensional approach was taken that included assessments of self-efficacy (stress and confidence) and need for social approval to determine if there were any possible interrelationships with the outcome variables. <i>T</i>-test results revealed a significant difference in each motivational type between the Iranian group and the American group. In a step-wise backward multiple regression technique, the nine independent factors were analyzed to determine possible relationships with the outcome variables. The independent variables had a notable influence on the outcome variables and the variable <i>confidence </i> was consistently observed for both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Parental income, gender, stress, and participant&rsquo;s post-graduate/PhD degree level had a direct influence on amotivation. Results indicate that self-determination, autonomy, and regulation of behavior are internalized differently in diverse individuals and social background plays a significant role. Limitations and recommendations for future research are also discussed. </p>

<p> A grounded theory study explored the elements of thriving among small business owners. Fifteen interviews were conducted and analyzed, resulting in the identification of personal investment as the core concept which explains thriving for small business owners. Personal investment is defined in terms of time, effort and money. This core concept is supported by the four subcategories of mastery, motivators, personal characteristics, and the role of others. These four categories are further explained through seventeen practical elements which drive thriving for small business owners. A model of thriving for small business owners is proposed, showing alternating periods of personal investment and capitalization on opportunities, leading to brief periods of intense thriving and subsequently higher levels of sustained thriving.</p>

<p> An online study was conducted to ascertain the potential of two independent variables, teaching self-efficacy and critical thinking skill (via a self-efficacy survey and a critical thinking appraisal) to predict four aspects of professional engagement (via a teaching career aspirations survey) among 95 self-selected early-career K-12 teachers. A regression model was attempted across the four aspects of professional engagement surveyed: planned persistence (PP), professional development (PD), professional leadership (PL), and planned effort (PE). However the data violated regression assumptions, necessitating non-parametric analysis. Analyses using Kendall&rsquo;s tau showed a significant correlation between teaching self-efficacy and all four dependent variables (&tau;_PD = .34, <i>p</i> &lt; .01; &tau;_PL = .29, <i>p</i> &lt; .01; &tau;_PP = -.09, <i>p</i> &lt; .01; &tau;_PE = .41, <i>p</i> &lt; .01). Critical thinking did not show a significant relationship with professional engagement. Two post hoc studies investigated these results. Non-parametric analysis showed a significant relationship between critical thinking scores and the critical thinking appraisal completion time (&tau; = .15. <i>p</i> &lt; .05). <i>T</i> tests showed no significant differences between a sample (<i>n</i> = 27) of the main group (<i>N</i> = 95) and a retained group of participants who completed the surveys but did not complete the critical thinking appraisal (survey only group, <i>n</i> = 27). The significant relationship between teaching self-efficacy and career engagement in this study warrants further attention.</p>