Children's interaction with peers supports cognitive development in numerous ways. The claim investigated in the present study is that these benefits include support at a metacognitive level that children provide one another, specifically in the form of meta-level speech aimed at regulating the other's behavior. This proposition originates in Vygotsky's views of a bi-directional zone of proximal development between peers with resulting transfer from inter-mental to intra-mental planes. Sixty-four 7th graders participated in the study. Students who shared a position on a social issue engaged in electronic dialogs with a succession of pairs who held an opposing position. In one condition (Stay), students worked with the identical same-side partner over six twice-weekly dialog sessions. In the other condition (Switch), students worked with a new same-side partner at each session. Students experienced both conditions, half of them first the Stay condition and then, discussing a new topic, the Switch condition. Condition order was reversed for the other half of participants. Students engaged in more frequent meta-talk in the Stay than the Switch condition; Stay conversations contained more frequent regulatory utterances than Switch conversations and a greater proportion of planning statements. Electronic dialogs produced in the Stay condition contained a higher proportion of meta-talk than those produced in the Switch condition; however, differences favoring the Stay condition in direct counterargument use were found at only one of two data collection points. On the whole, differences suggest that collaborators scaffolded one another’s meta-level development through regulatory conversation that evolved over time as collaborators developed their relationships, and that, for Stay pairs, this evolving shared regulatory talk extended to the electronic discourse. There was no consistent evidence, however, that this success extended to argument strategies on the discourse task.

Faculty of Education. Bibliography: leaves 142-155.

The transition from elementary to middle school is a significant period of change for adolescents and is remarkable for several reasons, including the opportunity for new experiences and the potential for other developmental changes to occur simultaneously. Existing literature on transition includes both positive and negative outcomes for adolescents in areas of achievement, peer relations, self-esteem, and self concept, with gender differences including more negative outcomes for girls. The possibility of multiple transitions occurring simultaneously (i.e. puberty and academic transition), along with literature suggesting that the elimination of the middle school model and replacing it with a K-8 building configuration would reduce negative student outcomes, provided the rationale for the current study: an examination of early adolescents either making an academic transition following the fourth grade or remaining in a K-8 building, and the potential influence on self concept. In addition, student perceptions of school related issues were surveyed. A repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance revealed no significant interactions of time and either group status or gender on self concept. The information from the student perception survey suggested students in the Transition group were more likely to report school as being very different before and after transition. Environmental factors, such as having a locker and more choices in the cafeteria, were more important to students than making new friends or facing increased difficulty in academics. The findings of the current study lend support to academic transition occurring at an earlier age and suggest a greater emphasis on environmental aspects of transition and protective factors in facilitating positive outcomes. / Department of Educational Psychology

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-81). / vii, 81 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

M.Ed. (Psychology of Education) / It appears that not much research has been done in the field regarding separation anxiety suffered by school beginners. The current political developments towards a fair multicultural education will cause a far greater (increased) emergence of this phenomenon as schools are now confronted with a mixture of different cultures and creeds with (overly concerned parents).while separation anxiety is manifested in the young school beginners. Due to this increased exposure and subsequent increased child anxiety. this study is designed to identify the root causes of this anxiety. and provide guidelines for an education programme for parents and teachers to identify and counteract this problem. The investigation into the causes and characteristics of separation anxiety was undertaken by means of studying literature. existing case studies and material related to the subject matter. Insight derived from practical teaching experience and the literature available was so adapted and refined to set guidelines and identify characteristics for a programme that would assist the parents and teachers to identify and through corrective action overcome and / or eliminate this problem...

This study has the following purpose: (1) to find the relationship between teacher rating of pupil personality and standardized test results; (2) to find the relationship between teacher rating of pupil achievement and standardized test results; and (3) to determine where more emphasis should be placed in order to better evaluate the child and his work.

This study has the purpose to compare the relationships between personality, environment, achievement, and intelligence and discover the effect, if any, of environment upon the personality, achievement, and intelligence of a group of fifth grade pupils.

This study explored the relationship between specific instructional leadership behaviors of elementary principals and student achievement as measured by the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS). One hundred twenty-five principals were systematically and proportionally selected from Arizona, lowa, and Virginia. Seventy-two percent of the principals met all criteria and agreed to participate. The Measure of Elementary Principal Instructional Leadership Behavior, MEPILB, was developed for eight teachers at each school (total of 576) to indicate those instructional leadership behaviors demonstrated by their principals. Other data collected and analyzed were fourth grade ITBS mean normal curve equivalent, NCE, scores for two years, 1987-88 and 1989-90; percentage of students on free- and reduced-price meals as a proxy measure of socioeconomic status (SES); percentage of Parent-Teacher Association or organization membership as measure of parental involvement; district per pupil expenditures; and several school and principal demographic information. A principal components analysis with varimax rotation was performed on the MEPILB results to determine underlying instructional leadership dimensions. Four factors were revealed with two of those significantly associated with student achievement: monitoring instruction and testing (p < .05), and providing instructional feedback (p < .10). When these variables were added in the full regression model with SES, no significance was found between the two instructional leadership factors and student achievement. SES contributed the largest amount of explained variance to student achievement. The results of this study identified specific instructional leadership behaviors of elementary principals, but these behaviors were not found to significantly contribute to the variance in student achievement. / Ed. D.

This research study investigated the effectiveness of a filial therapy training model as a method to train fifth grade students in child-centered play therapy skills and procedures. Filial therapy is an intervention that focuses on strengthening and enhancing adult-child relationships. The fifth grade students were trained to be a therapeutic change agent for kindergarten children identified as having adjustment difficulties, by utilizing basic child-centered play therapy skills in weekly play sessions with the kindergarten children. Specifically, this research determined the effectiveness of filial therapy in increasing the fifth grade students': 1) empathic responses with kindergarten children; 2) communication of acceptance with kindergarten children; 3) allowance of self-direction with kindergarten children, and 4) involvement in play activities of kindergarten children. The experimental group of fifth grade students (N=12) received thirty-five minutes of training twice a week for 5 weeks and then once a week for the duration of the 10 weeks of play sessions. The control group (N=11) received no training during the 15 weeks of the project. Fifth grade student participants were videotaped playing with a kindergarten child identified as having adjustment difficulties in 20-minute play sessions before and after the training to measure empathic behavior in adult-child interactions. Analysis of Covariance on adjusted post test means revealed that fifth grade children in the experimental group demonstrated statistically significant increases in empathic responses, acceptance, and behavioral willingness to follow the kindergarten children's lead, and involvement. A measure of communication of acceptance of kindergarten children's feelings and behaviors although not statistically significant indicated a positive trend. This study supports the use of filial therapy as an effective training model for increasing fifth grade students' empathic behavior with kindergarten children experiencing adjustment difficulties. Filial therapy offers significant possibilities for training fifth grade students in a developmentally appropriate model for working with kindergarten children, in order to prevent future problems. The observed power of the therapeutic relationship between the fifth grade students in the experimental group and the kindergarten children suggest the continued implementation of this innovative project.

M.A. / This research has been undertaken against the background of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) as being one of the major causes of death in South Africa. An indepth literature study made it evident that, despite intervention programs that have been successful in reducing the CHD rate, it still remains a number one killer. This could possibly be attributed to CHD prevention programs that historically have focused on biologically related lifestyle factors, and neglected a very important adjuvant risk factor for CHD, namely Type A behaviour. The aim of this dissertation was to study the viability of changing Type A behaviour in childhood through group sport participation in view of the fact that the Type A behaviour pattern (TABP) already present in childhood, has to date not been addressed as a primary preventative possibility. Group sport was chosen as an intervention by nature of it being co-operative, socially supportive and successful in the improvement of a number of relevant factors. Sport has also been demonstrated to be an appropriate outlet for aggressive impulses apparent in Type A behaviour. Twenty subjects participated in the intervention program that took place over a period of eight weeks. A second group of ten Type A subjects served as a no-treatment control group. The intervention was carried out at a primary school in Johannesburg. The results of the study revealed that Type A behaviour (TAB) was not reduced, save for the impatience component, by participation in group sport. Aggressive potential and anxiety in the Type A child, were also not reduced. It is concluded that the intervention of group sport in the reduction of TAB was not successful, and that future studies should investigate an intervention that is successful for the reduction of the TABP in childhood.