This interdisciplinary dissertation describes the pedagogy of Ignatius of Loyola (e.g., a Jesuit education is world-affirming, assists in the total formation of each individual within the human community) and examines its import for public schools. Chapter 1 establishes the research context within the historical landscape of Ignatian Pedagogy, with the dissertation question: Could the pedagogical philosophy of the Jesuit founder, Ignatius of Loyola, be used to apply and create a similar program/system of character formation in the New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) schools. Character Formation is explained as the way youth are formed as whole persons to be in relationship with self and others, as active participants in a world where their flourishing is emphasized and their ability to be critical, reflective, and self-directed is enhanced by their psycho-social-environmental well-being. Chapter 2 presents a literature review to examine Ignatius of Loyola’s ideas about character formation. Chapter 3 continues the literature review, addressing concerns about the meeting of faith and education in public schools, this is done through the lens of feminist theology and pedagogy. Chapter 4 describes the strategy of program review of the Loyola Academy Encore Program of Character Formation that I employed to develop and form students’ character at the Jesuit-sponsored Loyola Nativity School in St. Louis, Missouri. Chapter 5 examines a pilot study completed at one of my schools, 30Q151, the Mary D. Carter school, which tracked five special education students’ placement from a Most Restrictive Environment to a Least Restrictive Environment, in order to build their self-esteem and form their character. Chapter 6 discusses findings and implications for the NYC DOE if it were to consider developing a universal program of character formation based on the programs in place at Jesuit-sponsored schools. Chapter 7 presents a theological-philosophical framework grounded in literature for creating the Beloved Community (e.g., King, Gandhi, Freire), my statement for and about how human beings flourish, e.g., ascending towards a rationalization for why public and private schools need programs of character formation in the 21st century.

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a teaching unit for improving self-esteem in high school students. To measure the level of self-esteem, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was chosen. The data were compiled from twenty-one high school students in a rural Texas high school. The female level of self-esteem was significantly lower than the male self-esteem level prior to studying the class unit. There were no significant differences in levels of self-esteem on the pretest and post test, although there was a slight improvement in the female level.

Interpersonal skills, which are variously called soft skills, employability skills, people skills, and noncognitive skills, are critically important in personal, academic, and workplace settings. This descriptive case study explored how individuals from underserved communities described the use of reflective learning journals in an interpersonal skills course during their short-term training to become employed in full-time information technology roles. The 13 trainees, who were from four cohorts in three locations, participated in semi-structured interviews and took a survey that attempted to assess how the participants valued using the learning journals to develop and enhance their interpersonal skills. The training was sponsored by Workforce Opportunity Services, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Dr. Arthur M. Langer in 2005 following a five-year workforce development study at Columbia University. The curriculum for the interpersonal skills course is based on the Langer Workforce Maturity Arc, a development tool designed to measure workplace literacy skills. Langer’s research suggested that individuals from underserved communities were capable of doing the technical work but needed additional mentoring and training to further develop their communication skills and bolster their self-esteem. Overall, the findings from analyzing the learning journals, the interviews, and the survey indicate that most participants found reflective learning journals during the WOS job training program were useful in self-reflection, gaining new perspectives on experiences, and facilitating personal and professional development. Based on the thematic analysis of the learning journals, two themes emerged: self-awareness and relationship building. Goal setting was the most frequently mentioned interpersonal skill, followed by learning skills. Teamwork emerged as the most cited skill under relationship building.

This study investigated changes in self-esteem and perceived problem solving ability of academically at-risk students participating in a program called Science of Survival. The program combined adventure education and problem based learning approaches. One hundred and fifty-five male and female students, between the ages of 16 and 24 years completed the Self-Esteem Inventory and the Problem Solving Inventory at the beginning of the semester, after an adventure experience weekend, and at the end of the semester. A group of seventy-seven first year social science students, serving as a control group, also completed the inventories on the same time schedule. Self-esteem and perceived problem solving ability scores were analyzed by two one-way (treatment versus control) repeated measures (three assessments times) ANOVAs. Correlations between the two measures were also computed. Results indicated significant (p $<$.05) interactions of group by time for both self-esteem and perceived problem solving ability and significant correlations. Further analysis showed the Explorations II program was effective at increasing self-esteem and perceived problem solving ability and that these two constructs are related. The control group did not change in self-esteem over the period, but showed a deterioration in perceived problem solving ability.

This thesis offers a critical reflection of a study I initiated to enhance self-esteem for self-actualization. The research process involved enhancing my own self-esteem before facilitating the enhancement of the self-esteem of my participants. This endeavour included the simultaneous exposure given to researcher and researched, with the aim of helping to attain the respective transformative potentials of the latter. An action research methodology was used, intending to improve my own practice and to involve and learn from the participants in order for all relevant stakeholders to capitalize from the learning experience. Whilst undertaking this study, I learned to reflect on my values, attitudes and relationships with my learners. I also became aware of how individuals‟ perceptions of themselves can influence other aspects of their development. This awareness enabled me to become more sensitive to the emotional needs of the learners in my care and also led to a greater understanding of their individuality. I came to comprehend the impact of a positive self-esteem on the learning process that aided me in developing an understanding of the positive impact an enhanced self-esteem has on how my learners view themselves. In the course of the research, I developed an awareness of the need to create a caring practice centred on values of gentleness, respect, kindness, awareness and recognition of individual strengths. These afore-mentioned values are premised on the recognition and acknowledgement of basic human rights, inclusivity, equality and social justice; principles reflecting my own living standards. This heightened vii awareness influenced the ways I organized the learning and teaching process in my classroom. Enhancing my own self-esteem and those of my learners basically involved interchangeable interventions such as encouraging involvement, allocating responsibilities, creating opportunities for assertiveness and being generous with affirmation, praise and motivation. These endeavours occurred within a social constructivist approach, enabling participants to construct their own epistemologies within their respective ontologies. My findings offer new conceptualizations about how an enhanced self-esteem can help individuals realize their fullest potential.

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