The purpose of this project is to develop a domestic violence consciousness raising-education program and a self-administered risk assessment for a population of community college nursing students. When the faculty became aware that attrition rates were rising and that a high number of requests to drop out of nursing school were disproportionately linked to recent incidences of domestic violence, a potential contributing cause of the high drop out rate was revealed.

Physical attractiveness plays an important role in many aspects of our lives. The aim of this study is to reveal what is the correlation between rating of physical attractiveness made by oneself and by others, and personal grooming. The relation between self-rating of overall physical attractiveness and its rating made by others (using photographs) and connection between these ratings and personal grooming were examined on the basis of a heterogeneous sample of 43 women and 32 men. These ratings of overall attractiveness, face attractiveness and body attractiveness were provided by 34 judges (each time 17 males and 17 females) different for every variable. Our results showed a positive relation between participant's self-rating of overall physical attractiveness and its rating made by others. Further analyses proved that rating of overall physical attractiveness was positively associated both with facial and body attractiveness for both sexes. With regard to women, a correlation between self-rating of physical attractiveness and reduced care of body shape and eyebrow was revealed; regarding men, self-rating correlated with reduced care of body shape, hair, fingernails and less care for outfit was shown. Concerning female participants, no relation between rating of overall physical attractiveness...

Abstract in English, Afrikaans and Zulu / The purpose of this interpretive study was to explore the perceptions of selected Namibian subject advisers on their role in supporting teaching and learning. There are limited studies on the roles of subject advisers in supporting instruction. Delivery of quality teaching and learning prompts subject advisers to support teachers. The study is important to build upon the body of literature on instructional support and how subject advisers elsewhere support instruction. International and national scholastic literature was interrogated to seek more insight into the research topic. This qualitative study was located within a phenomenological/interpretive paradigm. The study explored the purpose of subject advisory support, how teachers’ support needs are identified, the roles of subject advisers, character traits of subject advisers, formats of support used by subject advisers, and the challenges as well as support provided to subject advisers. The study was conducted at three Regional Offices of Education, Arts and Culture in Namibia and included ten subject advisers selected through purposive sampling. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Key findings emerged through the data analysis by identifying categories and themes. These findings emphasised that subject advisers understand the nature of instructional support differently. The findings revealed that subject advisers face challenges that make them less effective in teaching support. It was further evident that subject advisers receive limited support and that they need to be supported through training, provision of resources and reduction of workload. These conclusions and others informed the recommendations that are aimed at improving subject advisers’ practice. / Die doel van hierdie vertolkende studie was om die persepsies van uitgesoekte Namibiese vakinspekteurs oor hul rol in onderrig- en leerondersteuning te ondersoek. Die bestaande studies oor die rol van vakinspekteurs in onderrigondersteuning is beperk. Die lewering van gehalte-onderrig en -leer spoor vakinspekteurs aan om onderwysers te ondersteun. Hierdie studie is belangrik omdat dit op die bestaande literatuur oor onderrigondersteuning en hoe vakinspekteurs elders onderrig ondersteun, moet voortbou. Internasionale en nasionale skoolverwante literatuur is geraadpleeg om meer insig oor die navorsingsonderwerp te kry. Hierdie kwalitatiewe studie val binne ʼn fenomenologiese/vertolkende paradigma. Die studie het ondersoek ingestel na die doel van vakinspekterende ondersteuning, hoe onderwysers se ondersteuningsbehoeftes geïdentifiseer word, die rol van vakinspekteurs, karaktereienskappe van vakinspekteurs, ondersteuningsformate wat deur vakinspekteurs gebruik word, en die uitdagings wat vakinspekteurs te bowe moet kom sowel as die ondersteuning wat hulle ontvang. Die navorsing is gedoen by drie streekskantore van Onderwys, Kuns en Kultuur in Namibië, en tien vakinspekteurs is deur doelbewuste steekproefneming gekies vir hierdie doel. Die data is deur halfgestruktureerde onderhoude en dokumentontleding ingesamel. Sleutelbevindings het deur die data-ontleding aan die lig gekom deur die identifisering van kategorieë en temas. Hierdie bevindings beklemtoon dat vakinspekteurs die aard van onderrigondersteuning verskillend verstaan. Verder onthul die navorsingsresultate uitdagings wat vakinspekteurs minder doeltreffend maak in hul onderrigondersteuning. Dit was ook duidelik dat vakinspekteurs beperkte bystand kry en dat hulle ondersteun moet word deur opleiding, voorsiening van hulpbronne en verminderde werkslas. Bogenoemde en ook ander gevolgtrekkings het aanleiding gegee tot die aanbevelings wat gedoen is en wat gemik is op die verbetering van vakinspekteurs se manier van doen. / Lolu cwaningo oluhlaziyayo beluhlose ukuthola imiqondo yesihloko sabaluleki bezifundo baseNamibia abakhethiwe ngendima yabo yokuxhasa uhlelo lokufundisa nokufunda. Luncane kakhulu ucwaningo olwenziwe mayelana nendima edlalwa ngabaluleki bezifundo ekuxhaseni uhlelo lwezemfundo. Ukwethulwa kohlelo lokufundisa nokufunda kuphoqa abaluleki bezifundo ukuba baxhase othisha. Ucwaningo lubalulekile ekwakheni uhlaka lombhalo wobuciko ohlelweni oluxhasa ezemfundo nangendlela abeluleki bezifundo kwezinye izikhungo baxhasa izinhlelo zemfundo. Umbhalo wobuciko emhlabeni kanye nasezweni waphenywa ngenhloso yokufuna ulwazi olubanzi ngaphakathi kwesihloko socwaningo. Lolu hlobo locwaningo olwencike kwizingxoxo lwatholakala ngaphakathi kwepharadayimu yefenomenoloji/ yokuhlaziya. . Ucwaningo luye lwaphenya inhloso yohlelo oluxhasa ngezeluleko, indlela izidingo zothisha zivezwa ngayo, izindima ezidlalwa ngabaluleki bezezifundo, izimpawu zesimilo sabaluleki bezifundo, izinhlaka zokuxhasa ezisetshenziswa abaluleki bezifundo, kanye nezinselelo ezibhekene nabaluleki, kanyenoxhaso olunikezwa abaluleki bezifundo. Ucwaningo lwenziwa kumaHovisi eSiyingi ezeMfundo, eZobuciko kanye neZamasiko eNamibia kanti luye lwaxuba abeluleki bezifundo abayishumi abakhethwe ngohlelo lwesampuli olunenhloso. . Idatha yaqoqwa ngohlelo lwenhlolovo embaxambili kanye nokuhlaziywa kombhalo. Kuye kwavela ulwazi olubalulekile olutholakele ngokusebenzisa uhlelo lokuhlaziya idatha ngokukhipha izigaba kanye nezindikimba. Lolu lwazi olutholakele lugcizelela ukuthi abeluleki bezifundo banolwazi ngobunjalo bohlelo oluxhasa ezemfundo ngendlela eyehlukile. Ulwazi olutholakele lukhombisa ukuthi abeluleki bezifundo babhekene nezinselelo ezibenza ukuba bangakwazi ukusebenza kahle ohlelweni lokufundisa oluxhasayo.. Ngaphezu kwalokho kuye kwacaca ukuba abeluleki babengaxhaswa ngokwanele mayelana nokuqeqeshwa, ngokuhlinzekwa ngemithombo yezemfundo kanye nangokunciphisa umthamo womsebenzi. Lezi ziphetho kanye nokunye yikho okuye kwakha izincomo ezenziwe futhi ezazihlose ekuthuthukiseni imisebenzi yabeluleki bezifundo. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

With the new goal of K-12 education being to prepare students to be college and career ready at the end of high school, education needs to start changing at the elementary school level. The literature suggests that teachers need reflective professional development (PD) to effectively teach to the new standards and to demonstrate change to their current instructional practices. This mixed-method multiple-case study investigated the impacts of a reflective professional development (PD) in changing elementary school teachers' instructional practices. Teachers Instructional Portfolios (TIPs) were scored with a TIP rubric based on best practices in teaching mathematics problem-solving and science inquiry. The TIPs were also analyzed with a qualitative coding scheme. Case descriptions were written and all the collected data were used to explain the impacts of the reflective PD on changes in teachers' instructional practices. While we found no predictive patterns in relation to teachers changing their classroom practices based on the reflective PD, we claim that teachers' desire to change might contribute to improvements in instruction. We also observed that teachers' self-assessment scores tend to be higher than the actual TIP scores corroborating with the literature on the usage of self-assessment to evaluate teachers' instructional practices.

The purpose of this study is to describe trauma in the lives of social work students studying at Unisa South Africa. It explores how they describe trauma, what traumatic experiences they have gone through, the effect these experiences had on them, what they did to cope and how these experiences impacted their work as aspiring social workers. A case study was conducted with fourth-level students at Unisa South Africa. The theoretical framework adopted for the research was the person-centred approach. The research involved both focus group interviews and a survey. Both quantitative and qualitative data were generated. Descriptive statistics were used to create a profile of the participants. Qualitative data were analysed using a hermeneutic method. The perceptions of the participants were re-told by the researcher in the form of specific themes that emerged from the data. These themes were discussed and compared with the literature. Implications for the students’ work as social workers were discussed. The study accessed unique aspects of trauma that are grounded in the South African context. The description of trauma that emerged from the research created a new definition of the meaning of trauma. The research discusses the effects of trauma on the emerging professional self of the social work student. Recommendations are made that could be valuable to social work educators wishing to further the personal and professional growth of social work students. The research is also of value to those working with traumatised people. / Social Work / D .Litt. et Phil. (Social Work)

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Mentoring as a professional development strategy forms an integral part of the Advanced Certificate: School leadership that was introduced in 2007 by the National Education department as an entry qualification in the school principalship. The Advanced Certificate in Education: School Leadership is aimed at capacitating school leaders to address the challenges experienced by school principals. The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether the mentorship component of the course is experienced as a form of social learning by the candidates. To achieve this goal, open-ended questions were prepared and administered during semi-structured interviews with the school principals who have been mentored within the ACE programme. The interviews were conducted to ten (10) participants including principals, deputy principals and heads of departments (school level) within the Gert Sibande District (Mpumalanga Province). The investigation highlighted that principals do indeed experience mentoring as a form of social learning. This was confirmed by the statements given by the interviewed principals that their learning was based on learning from each other through observation and engagement as well as through their mentors. This learning is confirmed by Bandura’s Social Learning Theory (1977) which suggests that learning takes place through observation and positive behaviour of the mentor. Based on the findings, the main recommendations were that mentorship, as social learning, should be extended to all school leaders and ultimately to school educators, that a mentoring unit should be based at each district office, that the selection of mentors should be carried out carefully so that protégés could benefit maximally and that the period of mentoring should go beyond merely being a component of an academic course. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Mentorskap as ‘n professionele ontwikkelingstrategie vorm ‘n integrale deel van die Gevorderde Onderwyssertifikaat: Skoolleierskap wat in 2007 deur die Nasionale Onderwysdepartement as ‘n toetree-kwalifikasie vir skoolhoofde ingestel is. Die Gevorderde Onderwyssertifikaat: Skooleierskap is gerig op die kapasitering van skoolleiers om die uitdagings wat die posisie van Skoolhoof meebring aan te spreek. Die primêre doelwit van die studie was om vas te stel of die mentorskapkomponent van die kursus deur kandidate as ‘n vorm van sosiale leer ervaar word. Om die doel te bereik is oopvrae voorberei en geadministreer tydens semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude met skoolhoofde wat as deel van die Gevorderde Sertifikaat: Skoolleierskapkursus gementor is. Die onderhoude is gevoer met tien skoolhoofde, adjunkhoofde en departementshoofde van die Gert Sibande distrik (Mpumalanga). Die ondersoek het aan die lig gebring dat skoolhoofde wel die mentorskapproses as ‘n vorm van sosiale leer ervaar. Hierdie aspek is bevestig deur die respons van skoolleiers dat hulle van mekaar geleer het deur observasie en braadslaging asook deur die modelering van mentors. Diè vorm van leer strook met Bandura se Teorie van Sosiale Leer (2007) wat die idée onderskryf dat leer plaasvind deur observasie en modelering van positiewe gedrag van die mentor. Gebaseer op die bevindinge is die hoof aanbevelings wat in die studie gemaak word dat mentorskap, as sosiale leer, uitgebrei behoort te word na alle skoolleiers en uiteindelik na alle onderwysers, dat ‘n mentorskapeenheid by elke distrik gebaseer behoort te word, dat die keuring van mentors omsigtig moet geskied sodat protégés maksimaal voordeel trek en dat mentorskap verder moet strek as bloot ‘n komponent van ‘n akademiese kursus.

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

本研究之目的在了解使用同儕評量為考核方式時，可能影響團體成員公平知覺等心理反應的因素。研究中以96名大學女生為實驗對象，採2x2x2實驗設計，探討“同儕評量與自評之差異”、“團體成員相對親疏關係”及“決策控制力（自評對獎金分配之影響力）”等三個因素對團體成員公平知覺之影響，並了解內外控傾向在此影響機制中扮演的角色。研究結果顯示，當團體使用同儕評量之考核方法時，“同儕評量與自評之差異”對個體的公平知覺、結果滿意、團體吸引力、再次合作意願均有非常顯著的影響。顯示個體相當關心自我評量與同儕評量之差異，當同儕評量比自評低時，個人在以上幾種心理反應都顯著的較弱。在“相對親疏關係”上，結果顯示個體進入團體中時，若感覺其他兩位成員間之親疏關係，比個體自己與其他任一人間為親密時，其公平知覺會較低。在“決策控制力”上，則發現其對公平知覺與再次合作意願有顯著影響，當自評對酬賞結果具有影響力（決策控制力高）時，個體的公平知覺會較高，也較願意再次與其他兩位成員合作。在“同儕評量與自評之差異”、“相對親疏關係”、“決策控制力”三者之交互作用方面，分析結果顯示均未達顯著。在內外控此變項上，除發現其對公平知覺有顯著影響，即愈外控者之公平知覺愈低外，另亦顯示內外控與“相對親疏關係”具有交互作用，但與“決策控制力”、“同儕評量與自評之差異”之交互作用並不顯著，表示內外控只在“相對親疏關係”對公平知覺之影響上有調節效果。本研究最後對未獲驗證之部份加以討論，並依實驗所得結果，提出可能之貢獻、限制、對未來研究的建議及工商實務上之應用。 / This study, employing 96 undergraduates and 2×2×2 experimental design, examined the effects of “discrepancies between peer rating and self rating”, “ relative relationship” and “decision control (the influence of self rating on reward) ” to group members’ perception of fairness. The role of locus of control was also explored. When using the peer rating, subjects who received relative lower peer rating showed weaker perception of fairness, less satisfied with outcome, less attracted to other two coworkers and lower recooperative willing. Subjects perceived fairer when the relative relationship is equal (the familiarity within group members is the same). With the high decision control, subjects’ perception of fairness and recooperative willing were higher. No interaction effect of these three independent variables was found. Locus of control had moderating effect on the relation between relative relationship and perception of fairness. Implications for management and future research are discussed.

Graduation date: 2006 / Curricular models and teaching techniques that support college students as the primary authors of their writing-across-the-curriculum experiences remain largely unexplored. This thesis addresses that research gap by investigating the use of a start-of-term writing self-assessment and goal-setting questionnaire (STQ) for upper-division undergraduates taking writing-intensive (WI) college courses in their majors. The tool was piloted in 23 WI sections at Oregon State University during winter term 2004. Feedback obtained through an end-of-term writing self-evaluation showed that students who completed the start-of-term questionnaire tended to take the effort seriously, fill out the questionnaire completely, and use the tool for its intended purposes of reflective self-assessment and goal-setting. Students saw the tool as something that could help them with their writing, and study results suggest that its benefits may have been reinforced by students’ end-of-course review of their STQ responses. Feedback from participating instructors indicated that the tool helped with their teaching as well as their students’ learning, and most instructors planned to continue using the STQ beyond the pilot study. Study results also suggest that the questionnaire can serve as a program-level research and assessment tool, providing WI program administrators and policy-makers with new insights on students’ writing needs and goals. Campus-wide use of the STQ may lead to WI program enhancements, generate new ideas for WI instructor training, and support department, college, and institutional writing-curriculum development efforts.

This sequential explorative mixed methods study aims to explore how selfassessment strategies can be used to enhance quality education in schools in the Zambezi region of Namibia. The researcher posits that teachers are key in enhancing quality education if accorded appropriate recourses to innovate and explore the use of self-assessment strategies in schools. A pragmatic research approach was used to guide this sequential explorative mixed methods study. The study sought participants’ perceptions on four sub-problems of the study: What entails quality and quality education? How can self-assessment strategies be linked to quality and quality education in general terms? What recourses are available to ensure that quality education is realised by the use of self-assessment strategies in the Zambezi region? How can self-assessment strategy models be developed to enhance the quality of education in the Zambezi region? Purposefully sampled school principals and heads of departments of five combined schools participated in the study. During the first phase, face-to-face interviews were conducted with the five participating school principals while the HoDs were engaged in a focus group interview. The qualitative data was later used to inform the design of the second phase of the study (quantitative). In the second phase, fifty-four teachers completed Likert-scale questionnaires which were analysed using IBM SPSS.19 and Microsoft Excel to compare with the qualitative data. This study revealed that schools have common understandings of quality and quality education albeit defined differently. The study also revealed that external professional support is inadequate to support teachers in continuous professional development activities. Furthermore, the study showed that the available recourses are seldom utilised to enhance quality education in schools. Finally, the study revealed that the use of one type of teacher self-evaluation (TSE) deprives innovative teachers from initiating and exploring other viable self-assessment strategies. Therefore, this study propagates the use of alternative self-assessment strategies that can contribute towards the enhancement of quality education in schools in the Zambezi region of Namibia. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed.