Much scholarship on first-generation students has focused on their academic and social integration in college (Collier & Morgan, 2008; Lowery-Hart & Pacheco, 2011; Stuber, 2011). Little is known about the experiences of first-generation students in schools of social work. In this research I've expanded the focus beyond students' experiences of academic integration to explore how first-generation students in a school of social work describe their relational worlds and the implications for professional socialization. Informed by Standpoint Feminism and Postmodern/Post structural Feminism, I conducted focus groups with 19 students in two undergraduate programs and one graduate program in a school of social work and analyzed these conversations using Voice-centered Relational Data Analysis (Brown & Gilligan, 1992). This research highlighted how students bridge the cultures of home and school through 1) Experiences of support from home cultures while 2) pursuing school largely on their own and experiencing 3) the potential for distance from cultures of home, as they 4) work to stay integrated in home cultures while simultaneously 5) working to become integrated in school. I've also written about students' experiences of becoming caught "in-between" the cultures of home and school (Anzaldúa, 1987/2012), a less common but nevertheless important experience for educators to attend to. Here I've argued for broadening the focus beyond academic integration (Tinto, 1975, 1993) and underscored the relational nature of first-generation status, as well as drawing attention to potential for relational injury embedded in our narratives about educational attainment and class mobility. Implications for social work education, practice, and research are discussed.

The aim of this investigation is to determine the influence of pupils' perception on their academic achievement. The literature review indicated that sensation and perception are separate but unitary processes. It was also discovered that academic achievement is influenced by the perception of several factors pertaining both to the pupil himself as well as those responsible for his academic growth. There was conclusive evidence from both the literature and empirical investigation that perception influences academic achievement. Results from the empirical study confirm that pupils with negative perceptions achieve poor academic results and those with positive perceptions achieve good academic results. It has also been found that there is no difference in the overall perceptions of pupils in standards 6,7,8,9 and 10. There was a significant difference in the perceptions of boys and girls, with girls having more positive perceptions than boys. An attempt to change the negative perceptions of pupils to positive perceptions will inevitably result in an improvement in academic achievement. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

This study employed a pretest/posttest control group design to investigate the achievement of second grade Hispanic students from a predominantly low socio-economic school in a large metropolitan city. The thirty Hispanic students with the lowest scores on the Gates MacGinitie Reading Test were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n =15) or the control group (n=15). The treatment consisted of 16, 30-minute sessions of play intervention--2 times per week for 8 weeks. The providers of play therapy were school personnel trained in the principles of child-centered play therapy including tracking, reflecting feelings, and setting limits. Instruments were administered to all subjects prior to the 8 week treatment period and in the two-week period following treatment and included the GMRT, the Joseph Pre-School Primary Self-Concept Test (JPPSCST) and the Child Behavior Checklist Teacher Report Form (CBCTRF). Statistical analyses included a (t-test; 2 tail; p > .05), discriminant analysis, and cross validation. The results indicated that children who received play therapy did not achieve notably higher mean scores in reading. However, play therapy did improve the experimental group's self-concept scores and their internal behavior scores, though not significantly. All differences between the experimental and the control groups were within 1 point except the JPPSCST self-concept mean scores were 1.53 in favor of the experimental group. The CBCTRF Internal behavior mean scores were 1.20 in favor of the experimental group indicating a positive trend. The CBCTRF External behavior scores were 2.74 in favor of the control group. None of the differences was statistically significant and the 4 null hypotheses were accepted. The sample size (N =30) suggests the need to exercise caution in interpreting these findings.Further research utilizing a longer time period between pretesting and posttesting is recommended and may provide more definite information regarding the impact of play therapy on children's reading, self-concept, and internal and external behavioral characteristics.

Many college students have reported struggling with mental health problems while dealing with challenging demands of college. The initial theoretical framework for this research was Pearlin's stress process model (SPM). Building on the SPM, the three additional mediating variables of perceived control, meaninglessness, and financial worries were added to create a composite model for the research. Mental health outcomes in the model were measured by a comprehensive range of factors, which included: psychological distress, suicide, substance abuse, and anger. Data were collected from a non-probability convenience sample of 463 undergraduate students attending a large state supported university in the southwestern region of the United States. Among the social status variables measured, being married, female, and white were significant predictors of poor mental health in the sampled college students. Poor self-image, feeling of meaninglessness, and worrying about current and future finances were significant mediating variables. Poor mental health could make individuals overwhelmed and discouraged. This is a formula for failure in college. The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the correlates of mental health problems among college students. A greater understanding means that families and college administrations will have better ideas about how to intervene to reduce the stress of students and to focus the available and often limited resources to help young adults in their college experience.

The problem of this study is to determine the influence that Sunday school attendance has on behavior of children now enrolled in the elementary grades of North Texas State College Demonstration School of Denton, Texas.

The problem of this study is to determine the stability of interest of male and female students at the various age levels in the School of Education of North Texas State Collage, Denton, Texas. To be more specific, the problem is to determine the relationship of age, sex, or both upon stability of interest.

This study was undertaken to determine what differences are found among personality characteristics of superior students, in special English classes, who score high on a standardized achievement test and superior students in the same classes who score low on this test. A second dimension of the study was to determine whether the same personality characteristics are evident among superior students in these classes at the eighth, tenth and twelfth grade levels.

The purpose of this study was to explore how supportive functions of parent-child relationships influence young adult dating motivations and involvement. Theoretical literature suggests that emotionally supportive homes provide a secure base for children to depend on as they explore themselves and other relationships. However, problematic family ties could be expected to inhibit relationship involvement due to negative past experiences or to encourage involvement as a search for intimacy. A sample of 206 single, female undergraduates completed questionnaires assessing relationships with parents and aspects of romantic involvement and development. The set of Parent-Child Relationship variables included Support, Conflict, Depth, and Affective Quality in relationships with mother and father. The Attachment Related Dating Motivation variables included measures of Anxiety, Dependency, and Closeness in relationships, Attachment Motivation, Sexual Expression, Dating Exploration, Behavioral Indicators of Romantic Involvement, Sexual Involvement, and Level, Satisfaction, and Importance of Romantic Involvement.

The purpose of this study was to determine personality characteristics of students who are successful on traditional campuses and students who are successful on alternative campuses. With this knowledge, more students may be served on the traditional campus without the necessity for alternative education.

The purpose of this study was to examine how parental separation is related to eating disturbances and assertiveness in females who struggle with bulimic symptoms. Two-hundred ninety-two undergraduate females from the University of North Texas comprised the subject group. Using pen and paper measures of assertiveness, bulimia, and parental separation, support was found for the prediction that there would be a relationship between assertiveness and parental separation. Likewise, partial support was found for the prediction that there would be a relationship between bulimia and parental separation. Parental separation was found to affect levels of bulimia and assertiveness. Finally, it was found that subjects endorsed greater emotional independence from fathers than from mothers.