published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Education

Mémoire (M.Ed.)--Universite du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1989. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

The purpose of the research was to use life mapping during the intervention period in order to enhance the self-knowledge of the children in their mid-childhood years, in a children’s home. In order to reach this goal, the life mapping- and the gestalt play- therapeutic processes had been combined with, art and creativity included in the process. The study is quantitative and a standardised measuring instrument had been used for the pre-test and posttest, according to the single-system design. The hypothesis was tested by way of statistical analysis, by comparing data obtained from the pre-test and posttest. The child in a children’s home does not always know who he/she is. Because of possible trauma experienced before admission to the children’s home, self-knowledge could not be developed from within or from input obtained out of the social environment. Sometimes, a child in a children’s home, does not know why he/she was admitted. It is necessary for the child to know where he/she came from, where he/she is at present and where is he/she is going. The framework of life mapping integrates these concepts. By compiling a life map, a child obtains self-knowledge. When he/she had formed a perception of who and what he/she is and what he/she wants to achieve, the child can start working on self-fulfillment. With self-knowledge and a good perception of his/her life, the child develops a self concept, which usually contains an element of self-evaluation. The child can start leading an own life, make own choices, take responsibility for his/her own life and becomes independent, notwithstanding the circumstances of origin. The purpose is to bring back balance and a sense of self into the life of the child, which are also the purposes emphasised by both life mapping and gestalt play therapy. The literature study includes both the behaviour and emotions of the child in a children’s home. The influence on the life of the child had been investigated. Objective one was to build on the knowledge base on life mapping and gestalt play therapy processes. The processes were compared and integrated in this study. Life mapping as a concept, is known since the early 20th century, but was not applied in therapy, often. The developmental phase of a child in mid-childhood, in a children’s home had been studied. The developmental tasks in the mid-childhood are varied and is a progression of tasks from the previous phases. The synthesis, according to Erikson, during this phase, is capability. Industry versus inferiority could be seen as the “crisis” of this developmental phase. The child starts having the concept of the true self, versus the ideal self and he/she compares him/herself with others. Objective two was intervention by way of life mapping, together with the gestalt principles. This proved to have been very successful with observing the research results. Aspects of the whole life of every respondent had been included into the life maps. The fact that the life had been looked at in totality is in accordance with the gestalt concept of gestalt therapy. The respondents started owning their own personality traits and began to experiencing their uniqueness. It was thus enhancement of self-knowledge that took place. All the objectives of the study had been reached. The study resulted in an 80 percent significant change in the average self-knowledge of the respondents. / Dissertation (MSD Play Therapy(Social Work))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

The current landscape of South Africa’s education system is one riddled with many challenges. Young people studying in this unfavourable climate have become disillusioned by the failing system and this has resulted in negative attitudes towards schooling. A shortage of teaching personnel and a lack of resources further exacerbate the situation. In recent years however, it has been found that a significant number of young people seem to have “beaten the odds”, in spite of these unfavourable conditions as they have seen themselves being granted entry into tertiary institutions. The dearth of information on academic resilience and the increased number of “educational success stories” led the researcher to embark on this qualitative study. The aim of this exploratory, descriptive and contextual research study was: to enhance understanding of the academic resilience and subsequent academic success at school, as experienced by first year NMMU students from disadvantaged communities, by exploring their constructions of academic resilience. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory as well as Resilience Theory was used to examine the phenomenon of academic resilience. Purposive sampling techniques was utilised to draw participants within the NMMU’s School of Behavioural Sciences and data was collected by means of narrative accounts by participants. The two phases of narrative analysis were applied to analyse the data collected and Guba’s model for trustworthiness was used to verify the data. The findings of the study indicated that both intrinsic and extrinsic factors contribute to the fostering of resilience.

The present study investigated hypothesized links between subjects' perceptions of their own physical appearance and other aspects of psychosocial functioning (e.g., general anxiety, social acceptance, athletic competence, and global self-worth) as rated by self, peers, and counselors. In addition, the study attempted to isolate the age at which young females first experience a decline in perceptions of their own physical appearance. To investigate these relationships, 554 females (ages 7-18) attending a summer camp completed the Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985) or the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents (Harter, 1988), a sociometric friendship rating scale, and the Revised Manifest Children's Anxiety Scale (Reynolds and Richmond, 1978). In addition, camp counselors completed the Teacher's Behavior Rating Scale (Harter, 1985, 1988) for each subject. Results indicated that 45% of the variance in the subjects' ratings of their own physical appearance was accounted for by age, ratings of global self-worth, anxiety, social acceptance as rated by the subjects, and athletic competence as rated by the counselors. The first significant decrease in body image occurred between the ages of 12 and 13. Although there are several limitations with respect to cross-sectional designs, it may still be useful to conceptualize the possible psychosocial changes that occur during adolescence within a developmental-contextual model. This study does not purport to demonstrate bidirectional interactions and does not allow for a definitive interpretation of the results with respect to developmental patterns; however, the developmental-contextual model is suggested as a possible framework for understanding the development of body image, and is in need of further comprehensive investigation. In addition to past research, this study may contribute to speculation about when intervention programs may be useful in order to prevent the development of related psychological disorders. / Master of Science

Text in Afrikaans / The young learner is in the developmental phase where he wants to master tasks successfully. When the learner experiences problems at school it influences his motivation and how he views himself. Learning disabled learners are exposed to academic failures and form negative views about their abilities and functioning. The effect of Gestalt play therapy on the self-esteem of the learning disabled learner was explored. The study was done through a baseline consisting of an adjusted Rosenberg's Self-esteem Questionnaire that was completed by educators and learners before and after the therapeutic program. Because of the learners' learning disability, they used an aid namely "Talking-Mats". Although learning disabilities influenced the learners' self-evaluations substantively, the learners' circumstances at home further substantively influenced their self-esteem. It seems that Gestalt play therapy did have a positive effect on the self-esteem of learning disabled learners. / Social work / M. Diac.

This study attempted to determine the relationship between self concept and participation in extra-curricular activity: specifically, whether self concept differentiates between participants and nonparticipants and whether self concept scores differed between male and female participants. Sixty fourth graders were assessed on self concept by the Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept Scale. Participation or non-participation was determined by written parental response. Analysis of variance was used, with level of significance at .05. There was no evidence that participants can be distinguished from non-participants on measures of self concept. Scores on self concept did not differ for males and females.

Every day, children throughout the United States are given psychological evaluations for many different clinical and psycho-educational purposes. Very little research has attempted to investigate children's responses to the experience of having intellectual and achievement tests administered. The goal of the current research was to explore the effect a psycho-educational evaluation has on children in areas of self-concept and anxiety. Dependent variables consisted of pre- and post-test measures of anxiety and self-concept. A total of 75 children in the 4th 5th and 6th grades were recruited after referral for evaluation and possible placement in the Talented and Gifted Program or Special Education. This study employed Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), t-tests, multiple regression analysis, and correlational analysis. Findings included initial evidence that children endorsed decreased anxiety after psycho-educational assessments rather than increased anxiety, suggesting that fear of unknown situations may be more anxiety provoking than the actual situation itself, potentially beneficial findings for psychology and psychometric professionals who evaluate children daily. Students endorsement of academic self-concept significantly predicted anxiety after a psycho-educational evaluation, indicating that students who feel capable in academic areas may endorse less anxiety after an evaluation than students who do not feel academically capable. Finally, negative verbal interaction with parents significantly predicted lower general self-concept scores, providing evidence that the manner in which parents verbally relate to their children may have significant impact for the mental health of children.

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / In this study an attempt was made to ascertain if there Is a difference In personality traits between behaviorally handicapped children from Intact homes and behaviorally handicapped children from divorced homes. In South-Africa one out of every two marriages tend to end up In divorce. Divorce has a negative Influence on children and more children from divorced homes show deviant behaviour and are failures at school, than children from Intact homes. Boys are more adversely affected by divorce than girls ...

A RESEARCH REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE DIVISION OF SPECIALIZED EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND, JOHANNESBURG, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DSGREE OF MASTER OF EDUCATION (SCHOOL COUNSELLING) / There is generally a lack of research in the area of self concept development in the classroom, as related to Black education in general, and at Black colleges of education in particular. The importance of self-concept in the academic situation and the need to develop it in Black education was a motivating reason for the current research study. The study was undertaken at the Soweto College of Education. (Abbreviation abstract) / Andrew Chakane 2019