Teachers appear to feel challenged by children’s off-task behavior in the classroom. Children’s off-task behavior can result in reduced academic engagement, increased teaching stress, and strained teacher-child relationships. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of kinder training on young children’s on-task behavior in the classroom. This study utilized an experimental single-case methodology and a multiple baseline across subjects design. Three elementary school teachers conducted weekly individual play sessions with students they identified as frequently exhibiting off-task behavior. The three children ranged in age from five to six years: two males and one female, two Caucasian non-Hispanic and one biracial. Two trained observers repeatedly assessed the child participants’ on-task behavior using the Direct Observation Form throughout the baseline and intervention phases. The findings provide support for kinder training as an effective play-based professional development-training model that can improve children’s on-task behavior. Results demonstrated that all child participants showed improvement in on-task classroom behavior. Visual analysis revealed that all child participants demonstrated a positive change in on-task behavior during the intervention phase. All teacher participants reported observing improvement in the child participants’ on-task behavior and teacher-child relationships. Teachers’ post-intervention reports supported the notion of reciprocal interactions among teacher-child relationships, understanding of children’s lifestyle and goals of misbehavior, and children’s on-task behavior.

by Ng Hung Sum. / Chinese title: / Bibliography: leaves 115-121 / Thesis (M.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1984

吳健雄 = Stressful life events, defensive styles and psychological well-being among Hong Kong secondary students / Ng Kin Hung. / 論文(碩士) -- 香港中文大學硏究院敎育學部, 1995. / 參考文獻: leaves 77-96. / Wu Jianxiong = Stressful life events, defensive styles and psychological well-being among Hong Kong secondary students / Ng Kin Hung. / 摘要 --- p.i / 誌謝 --- p.iii / 目錄 --- p.iv / 表內容 --- p.vi / 附錄內容 --- p.vii / Chapter 第一章 --- 前言 / 研究背景 --- p.1 / 研究目的 --- p.3 / 研究意義 --- p.3 / Chapter 第二章 --- 青少年的生活壓力 / 壓力與健康 --- p.5 / 青少年成長與壓力 --- p.6 / 家庭壓力與影饗 --- p.10 / 學校壓力與影饗 --- p.14 / 同儕壓力與影饗 --- p.15 / 性别差異與壓力生活事件 --- p.20 / Chapter 第三章 --- 心理防衛方式 / 心理防衛的概念 --- p.22 / 心理防衛的動機 --- p.25 / 心理防衛的運作 --- p.25 / 心理防衛的發展 --- p.26 / 心理防衛的效能 --- p.30 / 性别差異與心理防衛方式 --- p.33 / Chapter 第四章 --- 研究方法 / Chapter (一） --- 研究問題 --- p.36 / Chapter (二） --- 受試者 --- p.36 / Chapter (三） --- 硏究變項 --- p.36 / Chapter (四） --- 研究工具 --- p.36 / Chapter (五） --- 模擬測驗 --- p.41 / Chapter (六） --- 研究假設 --- p.42 / Chapter (七） --- 資料處理 --- p.43 / Chapter 第五章 --- 研究結果 / Chapter 1 --- 取樣特性 --- p.44 / Chapter 2 --- 測試工具的可靠性 --- p.44 / Chapter 3 --- 壓力生活事件，心理防衛方式 及心理健康匯報情況 --- p.45 / Chapter 4 --- 性别與班級對壓力生活事件累積 影響及成熟與不成熟心理防衛 --- p.65 / Chapter 5 --- 壓力生活事件，心理防衛方式 及性别對心理健康的影響 --- p.67 / Chapter 第六章 --- 總結及討論 / 總結及討論 --- p.71 / 研究限制 --- p.76 / 參考文獻 --- p.77 / 附錄 --- p.97

Faculty of Education. Bibliography: leaves 142-155.

This study was designed to explore the effects of high school sport participation on female adolescent body image and self-esteem. This study also explored differences in body image and self-esteem among upperclassmen and underclassmen. The sample consisted of two adolescent female groups: 47 athletes (20 upperclassmen and 27 underclassmen) and 34 nonathletes (18 upperclassmen and 16 underclassmen). All participants took the Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire (BIAQ), Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale (SES), and a Demographic Questionnaire. All data were analyzed by conducting t-tests. Results indicated nonathletes had significantly higher scores on body image avoidance than athletes, and underclassmen had significantly higher scores on body image avoidance than upperclassmen. There were no significant differences found on the self-esteem measure. Implications for research and practice are discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Research demonstrates correlations between the sensing-intuitive dimension of psychological type as interpreted by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) (Myers 1985) and science-related career choices. Alarming decreases in science-related career interests prompted this study which employed psychological type theory to investigate relationships between teaching strategies preferences of Indiana high school biology teachers and science-related attitudes of their academically-talented students. The purpose was to learn if good biology teachers instill positive attitudes within the context of the sensing-intuitive dimension by adapting teaching strategies to match the psychological type composition of their classes and therefore inspire students to pursue science-related careers. Teacher and student psychological type was determined by the MBTI. Teaching style preferences of 20 exemplary teachers and 16 randomly-selected teachers related to their 722 academically-talented students were explored by the Biology Teaching Strategies Inventory developed by the researcher. This instrument contained 40 forced-choice items with paired sensing and intuitive activities written to reflect sound biological conceptual themes from BSCS recommendations. An ANOVA determined that neither teacher group appeared to be adapting teaching strategies. Both teacher groups preferred teaching strategies corresponding to their own psychological type, sensing or intuitive, even when they were to select strategies to use with their specific classes.Science-related attitudes of 338 academically-talented students of 10 exemplary and 16 randomly-selected teachers were examined by seven scales of the Test of Science-related Attitudes (TOSRA) (Barry Fraser 1981). A covariant analysis of student science-related attitudes coupled with student variables of Psychological type (sensing and intuitive), career choice, gender, and socio-economic level indicated statistically significant differences in attitude scores of students of both teacher groups: females of exemplary teachers scored almost as high as males of both teacher groups on enjoyment of science learning and science leisure interests, sensing males of higher socio-economic levels had very low attitudes on adoption of scientific attitudes, females of both teacher groups had more positive attitudes than males on normality of scientists, students of exemplary teachers choosing biology-related careers had lower scores than students with similar career choices of randomly-selected teachers. Intuitive students had more positive attitudes than sensing students on all TOSRA scales. / Department of Biology

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

The Social Action by Youth (SAY) project provided participants with an opportunity to explore their hopes, celebrate their social identity and address their community concerns by creating participant designed and participant-led community-building and social action projects. The researcher worked in partnership with a community agency in a socially disadvantaged area of Melbourne. An appreciative inquiry approach to action research was taken with three local youth groups who became active co-operative inquirers. The first group of 16 year old school students designed and successfully undertook community-building projects in community arts, including: a drug-free underage dance party, a community theatre group, a student battle of the bands, children's activities in a cultural festival for refugees and designing an Aboriginal public garden. The group of same-sex attracted youth in a social setting chose to address heterosexism in the local community by the workshops and performances of their own drama scenarios at a teachers' forum on same-sex attracted friendly environments in schools. The third group, recently arrived refugee youth from the Horn of Africa in an educational bridging program, organised a celebratory day on their recent educational achievements with food, music and dancing. Participants reported alienation from their local neighbourhoods at the beginning of the research. However, through the process of appreciating their identity and successfully creating community projects, the participants in each group reported feelings of positive identity affirmation and being able to make a difference in their communities. Participants began a social transformation process of developing new positive narratives for an improved sense of community connectedness.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1977. / Title from title page screen, viewed Dec. 17, 2004. Dissertation Committee: Creta Sabine (chair), Elwood Egelston, Ronald Laymon, Larry Kennedy, Ronald Halinski. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-115) and abstract. Also available in print.