Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-152). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-152). Also available on the Internet.

This study examines ideas of self and self-cultivation as developed during the first half of the Choson Dynasty (1392-1911) by focusing on introductory texts or commentaries, diagrams, or Korean annotations on the Great Learning. Moreover, given that much of this material is pedagogical, how and to whom these ideas were presented will also be examined. The scholars examined here were leading thinkers during the first half of the Choson Dynasty— Kwon Kun (1352-1409) helped introduce and lay the intellectual framework of Ch'eng-Chu Neo-Confucianism in the early period of the Choson Dyansty. T'oegye (1501-1570) is often seen as the foremost Confucian scholar of the Choson period. His ideas served as the foundation of a major school of thought during the Choson Dyansty, the Yongnam school. The last scholar, Yulgok (1536-1584), is also seen as one of the great scholars of the period. His ideas form the basis of the other major school of thought in Korean Neo-Confucianism- the Kiho school. Examining the ideas of these thinkers will reveal how ideas of human nature and self-cultivation developed and changed over the early course of the Choson Dynasty and how and to whom these ideas were presented. / Arts, Faculty of / Asian Studies, Department of / Graduate

M.Ed. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of conditioning on the realization of a person's full potential from a personal leadership perspective. As humans our perception of ourselves and our capabilities are subject to many conditioning influences, for example family, education, society, culture and the media. Conditioning influences can lead to the formation of habits in the way people think and act. A problem arises because many of these conditioning influences have a negative impact on the way in which a person perceives himself and his potential, by focussing mainly on possible limitations and by overemphasizing conformation. A field of study that focuses on the overcoming of self-imposed boundaries and that strives to promote personal growth and the realization of a person's unique potential, is personal leadership. Personal leadership was defined in the study as an ongoing process of introspection and self-examination and a commitment to self-improvement, change and personal growth on the way to realizing one's unique potential. The general aim of the study was to investigate the nature of the concept 'conditioning' and the influence it has on a person's perception of himself and his potential, as well as to search for ways in which the negative influence of conditioning on personal growth can be identified and overcome, all within a personal leadership framework. The research methodology used in the study included hermeneutic and descriptive strategies. The research methods that were used included a word and concept analysis of the concept 'conditioning' as well as a literature study in order to identify and describe ways in which conditioning affects personal growth and how negative conditioning influences can be eliminated. The following are the most important findings of the study: • Both classical and operant conditioning are learning processes that play a role in establishing habits of thoughts and actions, by means of the formation of stimulus-response associations. • Conditioning can be a powerful inhibiting factor in personal growth, because it can lead to the formation of a poor self-image and limiting beliefs regarding personal potential. • Conditioning influences like family, education, peer groups, culture and the media can condition a person to believe that he has limited potential. • Conditioning influences can inhibit a person's ability to adapt to change and may also cause a person to become satisfied with the average and loose his motivation to actualize his full potential. • Through personal leadership a person can overcome the negative influence of conditioning by becoming aware of conditioning influences in his life and by realizing that conditioned habits are formed by his own free will and that it can be overcome by equipping himself with knowledge of how to successfully implement the desired change. • By overcoming the negative influence of conditioning in his life, a person can progressively realize personal goals that will lead to realizing of his unique potential and personal fulfillment.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between experiential learning and self-directed learning readiness of bachelor's and master's level social work students. A quantitative design was utilized. The study consisted of 115 senior social work students and 70 master's level social work students (separated into three student groups) from a state university. Students participated in a one-semester field education component as part of their social work degree program. The research instrument utilized was the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) constructed by Guglielmino (1978). The SDLRS is a self-report questionnaire with 58 Likert scale items designed to measure the attitudes, values and abilities of learners relating to their readiness to engage in self-directed learning. A pretest, treatment, posttest design was utilized. Demographic data were collected with the pretest administration and level of satisfaction information was collected with the posttest administration. The bachelor's level social work students demonstrated statistically significant differences in the pre and posttest SDLRS scores while the master's level social work students' changes in readiness for self-directed learning were not significant. It is important to note that the master's level social work students spent only half the amount of hours in the field education as the bachelor's level students at the time of the posttest. Correlations between change score from pretest to posttest SDLRS with students' previous exposure to the field of social work, prior experiential learning in a social work program, their satisfaction with the experiential learning component, and demographic factors of gender, age, ethnicity, marital status, number of children, and number of years pursuing degree were not significant. / The initial SDLRS scores of the bachelor's level students were found to be consistent with those of nursing students previously scored on the SDLRS. In the ANOVA of all groups, significant differences were not found with the four groups of social work students in their change scores of pretest and posttest SDLRS or their overall level of satisfaction with the field experience and overall level of satisfaction with the quality of the supervisor in the field experience. The internship did not demonstrate particular merit for improving readiness for self-directed learning except for the bachelor's level students. However, students were satisfied with the experience and felt it changed their perceptions of self and others. / Beth E. Amey. / Vita. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, FL : 2008 Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1961 S83

The problem of this study was to develop and analyze a useful approach to the professional development of faculty members in schools of business through the technique of self-appraisal. This study contained the following subdivisions: (1) a review of current college faculty development practices, (2) a review of current executive development practices within industry, (3) an explanation of the philosophy and technique of self-appraisal in professional development, (4) an application of the technique in six institutions of higher education, and (5) an analysis of results obtained from these institutions along with some suggestions for further research.

M.Ed. / Internationally in countries such as the United States of America and Australia, there has been a shift in focus over recent years from essentially content based education curricula towards education curricula which offer the opportunity for all individuals to realize their potential, and that are capable of producing productive, contributing members of society. According to the United States Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory's most recent regional needs assessment (www.nwrel.org/planning/rna2000.html), "helping students become self-directed learners who take responsibility for their own academic performance" was ranked near the top of identified priorities. The focus on developing responsible and selfdirected learners extends beyond application to learning as cultivating responsible and self-directed behaviours is clearly intended to equip learners with responsible and self-directed behaviours and skills that in time will translate to their emergence as responsible and self-directed adult members of society. This is significant when considering the South African educational context, which also forwards educational goals that reflect the values of the society and that encapsulate the type of member of society that the educational system envisages producing. Given the legislative framework of South Africa, the resulting educational policies, as well as the importance of preparing learners to participate and contribute to a democratic society, it becomes clear that the development of responsible and self-directed learners is relevant to the South African context. Self-directed learning encourages individuals to take control of the learning experience. This means that learners are given choices and encouraged to make decisions as well as accept responsibility for associated consequences. Various characteristics, attitudes and behaviours of self-directed and responsible learners have been forwarded by various researchers in the field. Jones, Valdez, Nowakowski, and Rasumssen (1995) suggest that responsible learners exhibit behaviours such as setting goals and choosing tasks, and have the ability to plan effectively and think ahead. Responsible and self-directed learners have been identified by Long (in Hiemstra,1994 ) as having typical, common internal personality traits or characteristics as well as characteristic external behaviours, attitudes and responses. In addition to certain personality traits, specific kinds of cognitive skills are identified by Long (in Hiemstra, 1994) as being particularly important in successful self-directed learning. Self-directedness in learning is then a term recognizing both external factors that facilitate a learner taking primary responsibility, and internal factors that predispose an individual to accepting responsibility for learning-related thoughts and actions, which are characterised by particular traits, and skills that are demonstrated by responsible and self-directed behaviours.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-137). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Dr. Robert K. Branson, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Feb. 25, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.