This two-part study provides a two-faceted analysis of female immigrant students' experiences in secondary physical education classes, together with an analysis of the discourse they use to express their feelings about these experiences. This information is needed to facilitate the process of integrating female immigrant students into mainstream physical education classes so they have the opportunity for successful and full participation in these classes. Recent research questions whether immigrant females are receiving equitable treatment in curriculum planning and in physical education classes. My research addresses this issue and should be of interest to those professionals involved in the instruction, design, and promotion of physical education and physical activity programs in which female immigrant students are involved. The purpose of the first part of this study was to assess the attitudes of female immigrant students toward physical education class and their participation rates in physical activities outside of physical education class. Measures were taken to determine whether attitudes and participation rates differed depending on ethnic background, religion, English proficiency, number of years in Canada and achievement levels. The purpose of the second part of this study was to gain an understanding of how ESL students use language to express their attitudes, opinions and feelings about physical education and to identify the main issues E S L female immigrant students saw as being barriers to their success in mainstream physical education classes. In order to fulfill the purposes of this study, two types of measuring instruments were developed and two sets of data were collected. First, a questionnaire that obtained background information from subjects and measured their attitudes toward physical education and their participation rates in physical activity was developed and administered. Second, cooperative activities designed to generate language on attitudes toward physical education class were developed. Quantitative data were obtained from the questionnaire and qualitative data were obtained from the language activities subjects were led through. Results from the quantitative questionnaire indicated that 26% of the female immigrant sample had limited background experience in physical education class when they arrived in Canada. Students felt mildly positive about taking physical education class in Canada but less positive than when taking physical education in their native countries. Subjects spent about two hours a week on physical activity in Canada, slightly less than they spent in their native country. While 86% of the subjects participated in some physical activity in Canada, only eight to 16% participated in exercise at a level likely to have a positive impact on their cardiovascular health. When subjects lived in Canada, there was no significant difference in subjects' attitudes toward physical education depending on their ethnicity, religion, English language proficiency or number of years in Canada. There was also no significant difference in subjects' participation rates in physical activity depending on religion. Ethnicity did, however, have a significant effect on participation rates in physical activity and participation rates increased significantly as students' English language proficiency improved and as students spent more time in Canada. Also, attitudes toward physical education class were strongly related to achievement in physical education while participation rates in physical activity were not. Results from the qualitative portion of the thesis focused on how students articulated their feelings on physical education. Analyzed language data showed that ESL students had limited lexicogrammatical resources to describe their feelings, behaviours and reactions. An analysis of the value judgments made showed that students had varying abilities to support their judgments with good reasons. The issue students discussed most often was that English language problems prevented them from communicating with other students and resulted in them disliking physical education and doing poorly. Another issue of great concern for these E S L students was how difficult it was for them to pair up with native speaking partners. Students felt physical education teachers could do more to assist students with limited proficiencies in English and recommended many good teaching strategies for this purpose. As a result of this study, physical education and ESL teachers are encouraged to implement strategies which help female immigrant students integrate more successfully into physical education classes. It is essential that teachers respect the linguistic, cultural, racial and religious diversities of their students. Teachers should also include students' heritages in the curriculum as this leads to greater school achievement and to students feeling more highly valued. By using specific cooperative learning strategies, . teachers can orchestrate positive interactions between students in their classes in a structured way. By using the knowledge framework to teach language, content and thinking skills to ESL students, teachers can minimize English language demands and access students' first language knowledge. By teaching critical thinking skills, teachers can help students evaluate present situations accurately and make good choices such as establishing how to function in physical education classes more successfully. By teaching ESL students the discourse of value judgments and choice, teachers can help them effectively communicate their feelings and explain their viewpoints using institutionally adequate reasons. ESL and physical education teachers should encourage immigrant females to become involved in extracurricular sport and exercise activities and actively find or create opportunities for their inclusion. The benefits for new immigrant students include developing English language competencies, making friends, improving psychomotor skills, becoming more competent in sports, and feeling better about their abilities. This study developed a perspective on one aspect of new female immigrant students' education and led to a more sophisticated understanding of the physical education of immigrant students. There is a great need for more studies that examine the experiences of new immigrant female adolescents in sport and exercise.

This study examined eighth grade students' perceived degree of mattering in their private school environments. Mattering, as defined by Rosenberg and McCullough (1981), is a person's sense that he is the object of interest and importance to others, he is wanted or serves as an ego-extension for others, and others depend on him. The study included 167 students from three urban private schools in the lower mainland. Students completed The Ways of Mattering Questionnaire (Individual and Group Forms), and a one page questionnaire, providing information about students' academic self-concept (Bachman's scale), student involvement in extracurricular school activities, and selected demographic variables. Step-wise multiple regression revealed that gender and grade point average were statistically significant predictive variables on the Group Mattering Scale in student to teacher relationships, and only grade point average was a significant predictive variable on the Individual Mattering Scale (student to peer relationships). Recommendations are provided for further study into students' feelings of mattering in the school environment.

While the literature on the experiences of women in academe generaly, is growing, the experiences of women student mothers in post-secondary education are rarely explored. Given the increasing number of women students enroling in university and the fact that the student population is aging, there is a greater likelihood of these students being mothers. A study of these women is timely and crucial to understanding their needs and chalenges within the university. The purpose of the research was to examine the experiences of doctoral student mothers living at the intersection of studenthood and motherhood as it was expected that the demands from the family and university would create specific chalenges. The study delineates the women's understanding of and the degree to which they accepted the dominant North American ideology of intensive mothering and the ideology of the good student. Further, the study sought to ascertain whether the student mothers experienced contradiction between the two ideologies similar to that experienced by the women in Hay's (1996) study of employed and stay-at-home mothers. The study utilizes the concept of the public/private dichotomy and the notions of greedy institutions and competing urgencies in its framework. The design consisted of in-depth semi-structured interviews with seventeen mothers at various stages in their doctoral programme. The women range in age from thirty-three to forty-seven and have at least one child, under age of thirteen, living with them full-time. Findings noted that the women were able to articulate the dominant definitions of the good mother and the good student but, for the most part, they rejected them. They preferred to be balanced both as mothers and as students, although almost all of them insisted their children were their first priority. The women experienced a contradiction between the two ideologies and, using the concept of ideological work developed by Berger (1981), their experiences were explored. The women engaged in ideological work to support their alternative definitions of the good mother and the good student. When they were not as able to sustain their ideological work they tended to revert to the dominant definitions.

This study explores how developing purposeful relationships with students fosters engagement. Grade seven students were surveyed, interviewed, and given the opportunity to reflect on the first seven years of their schooling. Based in Appreciative Inquiry (AI), the students took a closer look at attitudes, teaching skills and the relationship with an enjoyable teacher and added their own personal experiences to research-based examples of factors contributing to engagement. The results confirm that developing purposeful relationships contribute to raising student engagement and yield numerous examples of what students value. These examples were compiled and highlight that there is an undeniable human aspect to teaching. Building purposeful relationships does not solve all school related issues but provides students with a more positive outlook on schooling. / xiv, 168 leaves : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 29 cm

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the phenomenon of spiritual nurturing as experienced by students in their fourth-year of an undergraduate baccalaureate nursing education program in Canada, using van Manen’s (2002) approach to phenomenology. The goal of this study is to describe the lived experience of spiritual nurturing of fourth-year nursing students in order to reflect on how nursing students learn spiritual care. Data were collected via in-depth interviews with seven fourth-year nursing students and analyzed according to van Manen’s interpretive approach. Three themes of spiritual nurturing emerged: spiritual nurturing as exchanging energy (spirituality as relationship with others), spiritual nurturing as recharging energy (spirituality as relationship with self), and spiritual nurturing as receiving energy (spirituality as relationship with transcending). Spiritual nurturing as it applies to nursing education, nursing practice, administration of nursing programs and nursing research are discussed from the students’ perspectives. / vii, 142 leaves : ill. (col. ill.) ; 29 cm

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Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for a Masters Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / Background: The aim of this study was to determine the attitudes of Chiropractic students towards research at Durban University of Technology (DUT). The Chiropractic profession has made significant progress with regard to the production of high quality and clinically relevant research (Newell and Cunliffe, 2003; Hawk et al, 2008) and the continuation of this research effort will be the responsibility of the graduates that constitute the future profession (Newell and Cunliffe, 2003). Furthermore Cull, Yudkowsky, Schonfeld, Berkowitz and Pan (2003) state that the greatest predictor of this is a positive attitude, therefore it is essential to establish the present attitudes amongst the students. Method: The study was a quantitative questionnaire based, self administered, attitudinal survey. The sample group included all the Chiropractic students registered at DUT (n=185). Results: There was a response rate of 74,59%. The results indicated that on average students thought that the research subjects and courses taught at DUT were not interesting and that they did not adequately prepare them to perform research. The majority of the students felt that the research process was completely vague to them and that they felt insecure about their knowledge of research methodology. It was evident that students thought that DUT staff members placed a great emphasis on research and that they were easy to approach with regards to research. The area of greatest concern was that although students thought that the student researcher relationship was of great importance, they indicated that it was difficult to find a supervisor and they also indicated that inadequate supervision had delayed their research progression. For the most part students thought that research was important and they enjoyed listening to and reading research. However, only slightly positive scores were recorded when students were asked if they wanted to do research in the future, as they felt it was difficult and time consuming. Conclusion: Many factors were significantly associated with positive attitudes towards research at DUT and the strongest correlation between scales was between the importance of research and positive feelings towards research (r=0.713). Most students felt research was important and that it made them more knowledgeable however, if given the choice they would study at an institute where research was not mandatory.

The study is about factors that influence students‟ choice of a campus and how those choices influence students‟ decision to complete their courses. Since FET colleges have campuses with different historical backgrounds and unique characteristics, they offer specialised programmes according to the resources they have, relevant to their geographic location. The research focused on answering the following questions 1) What factors influence students‟ choice of campus? 2) What factors influence the students‟ completion or non-completion of courses? The aim of these questions was to determine what currently influences the students‟ choice and what kind of information or sources do students use in their study choice decisions. Some related researchers in other contexts have shown that there is a link between education and socio-economic factors. This study has been primarily informed by Tinto‟s (1987) theory on student retention and no-completion of courses, which suggested that non-completion is a result of a mismatch between the social/academic background, intentions and goals of the student and their institution‟s ability to meet those goals. Chapman‟s model of choice (1991) enabled him to indicate some factors, which influence student‟s choice. The aim of using the model was to check if the same influential factors were important for the current FET students in South Africa. A number of available studies have focused on the student, significant others in their lives, parents and teachers, as well as marketing of colleges or recruitment of students as factors influencing the choice. There is little literature that looks at how the fixed college factors such as program availability, location and reputation influence students, which is the focus of this research. This study falls into an interpretive paradigm and is qualitative in nature. Data has been collected using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews conducted among students of different campuses in one FET College. The sources of information are current students, those who dropped out and students who have completed their courses. Data collected show that the costs factor, academic achievement and significant others influence students‟ choices. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

This study examines customer care at University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg (UNP). It investigates the quality of service received by students, from support departments, during registration. Data was collected via a simple random sample within the three libraries (Main, Law and Life Sciences) on campus. This ensured that students from the different faculties had an equal probability of being part of the survey, providing a true representation of the campus population. The research instrument was a questionnaire, 300 of which were administered to establish the attitude and helpfulness of staff from the departments of Finance, Financial Aid, Library, Risk Management Services, Student Admissions, Student Counselling and Student Housing. A total of 287 students responded. The software package that was used to run all the analyses was SPSS version 9. Results are graphically displayed in the form of bar graphs, tables and a pie chart. Interpretation of the results reveals that the overall rating for all departments ranged from average to excellent. Recommendations are made in light of the results of the survey and the literature reviewed. / Thesis (MBA.)- University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

Aim To describe psychiatric nursing students‟ stereotypical beliefs associated with mental illness labels and the potential mediating effects of information provided from curriculum content and contact through clinical placement. Methodology Four nursing campuses were sampled, resulting in one hundred and thirty two (n=132) participants. Participants remained the same for all three phases of the repeated measure. A quantitative approach, non-experimental survey design with repeated measures made use of a self-report questionnaire. Section A included demographic data (age, gender and cultural group), while Section B consisted of a semantic differential measure (SDM) focusing on three mental illness labels; schizophrenia, major depressive disorder and bipolar mood disorder. Data was collected on the first day of the psychiatric nursing training block, the last day of the training block, and the first day of the second training block, after approximately six weeks of clinical placement in specialist psychiatric settings. Results Participant scores suggested greater negative stereotypical beliefs associated with the schizophrenia label in all the three phases of data collection. The bipolar mood disorder label was the least associated with negative stereotypical beliefs. Information given during the initial teaching block and contact during the clinical placement period resulted in a slight reduction of negative stereotypical beliefs associated with the schizophrenic label. In contrast negative stereotypical beliefs associated with the bipolar mood disorder label were increased slightly after information and contact. Conclusion and recommendation The results of the study confirmed that health care professionals are not different from the general population in their negative stereotypical beliefs towards mental illness labels. A review of the proposed new nursing curriculum should specifically include emphasis on psychosocial rehabilitation. In addition, clinical placement of the student nurses must be designed to ensure interaction with mental health care users engaged in recovery and community integration to remove perceptions of inability to recover associated with mental illness labels (Adewuya & Oguntade, 2007; Adewuya & Makanjuola, 2008; Corrigan, 2007; Smith, 2010). / M.N. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2014