The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of using a computer word processing program in the assessment of written expression with college-bound individuals who had been diagnosed with a learning disability (LD) and/or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Fifty-six (35 eleventh and 21 twelfth) graders, attending a private college-preparatory school for students with LD and/or ADHD, were administered the Spontaneous Writing composite of the Test of Written Expression - Third Edition (TOWL-3). The TOWL-3 has equivalent forms, Form A and Form B. One form was administered in accordance with the test manual, using paper and pencil (standard format). The other form (i.e., alternate format) was administered with word processing access. Paired samples tests (repeated measure) and bivariate correlation designs were computed to explore the relationships between measures. Results of the study revealed significant increases (p<.01) in the subtest and composite scores when participants were administered the test in the alternate format. Other components of the research study did not reveal strong meaningful relationships when cognitive ability, graphomotor speed, and keyboarding rate were compared with the standard and/or alternative formats of the writing composite. A high rate of comorbity was exhibited with the majority of participants (75%) having two or more LD and/or ADHD diagnoses. On an informal questionnaire, the participants endorsed a strong preference for the use of word processors in the majority of their written academic tasks. The study concludes that for students who are accustomed to producing written work on a word processor, restriction from this writing tool can adversely affect the results of their product, leaving a false impression, underestimating their writing skills, ability, creativity, and subject knowledge. In addition, having access to a word processor during high stakes testing is paramount. Inaccurate results can affect future opportunities, such as admission to postsecondary educational settings. In summary, future and more extensive studies are needed to continue to increase the understanding of assessment, diagnosis, instruction, and assistive technology (AT) options for individuals with written language disorders.

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This MA thesis deals with the influence of single-sex tourist groups on creating the identity of their members. The aim is to discover the effect of membership in such a non-coeducational tourist clubs on children, and also how this leisure activity affects children's identity and what impact it has on their development. The theoretical part discusses socializing, social environment, gender, gender socialization and gender stereotypes. Furthermore, it also deals with the influence of peers and peer groups for socialization of children and the issue of the high quality use of leisure time. For the purpose of this thesis, interviews were carried out with all parties involved in the functioning of these clubs, namely leaders, instructors, parents and of course also the current and former members of these clubs. For comparison of some statements, an interview with a leader of a very similar, but non-coeducational club was carried out. The results showed that non-coeducational clubs are beneficial for children because the children have the opportunity to access activities normally carried out by the members of the opposite sex, and to do so without gender-motivated social prejudices. Additionally, the approach and attitudes of the leaders have great influence on the running of the club, the nature...

Актуальность магистерской диссертации обусловлена важностью разработки ряда предложений, направленных на увеличение вовлеченности молодежи в народное творчество. Рассмотрены теоретические аспекты духовно-нравственного воспитания молодежи в процессе народного творчества. Автор представил результаты эмпирического социологического исследования потенциала народного творчества в духовно-нравственном воспитании молодежи на примере Уральского центра народного искусства (г. Екатеринбург). По итогам эмпирического исследования выявлены основные направления развития духовно-нравственных качеств молодежи; разработаны предложения, направленные на полное использование потенциала народного творчества в духовно-нравственном воспитании молодежи; определена их социальная эффективность. / The relevance of the master's thesis is due to the importance of developing a number of proposals aimed at increasing the involvement of young people in folk art. The theoretical aspects of spiritual and moral education of youth in the process of folk art are considered. The author presented the results of an empirical sociological study of the potential of folk art in the spiritual and moral education of youth on the example of the Ural Center for Folk Art (Ekaterinburg). Based on the results of an empirical study, the main directions of the development of spiritual and moral qualities of youth are identified; developed proposals aimed at the full use of the potential of folk art in the spiritual and moral education of youth; their social effectiveness is determined.

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While many follow-up studies have been conducted which examine the post-school status of special education students from a single point in time perspective, few can be found which provide an in-depth look into their lives in the years following school completion. The purpose of this study was to develop a detailed picture of the adult lives of selected learning disabled subjects to determine the impact of their disability on this post school years. / Ed. D.

Many educators are experiencing challenges in educating autistic learners, with the media reporting incidents of autistic learners being denied access to their local schools. This case study investigated how effective the TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Communication Handicapped Children) model is, in helping autistic learners to learn in an inclusive environment. The data collection instrumentsused included a literature review, questionnaires, interviews and artefacts. The collected data were analysed statistically, and descriptively. It seems as if there is perception that autism is increasing. Teachers need to be taught about full support mechanisms to deal with the challenges of teaching autistic learners. The research revealed that teachers were struggling to implement the TEACCH program owing to a lack of support programs for teachers, as well as a lack of continued use by other teachers. It was revealed that the teachers felt that for intervention programs to be successful, autistic learners should learn separately. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In a post apartheid South African educational environment, learners’ academic achievement is generally seen as a barometer of the quality of education in schools. The low academic performance of black learners has contributed to an overall, but narrow and decontextualised view, that these learners generally produce poor results because of something inherently wrong with their abilities to learn. Educational research has hitherto focused on unproblematized pedagogical approaches that result in narrow and decontextualized, functionalist views that working class learners’ learning is problematic. What is less known are the challenges that working class learners have to face on a daily basis as they try to navigate deeply constraint lived spaces of their homes, communities and schools in their quest to realise their educational goals. The study explores selected working class high school learners’ navigation and mediation practices as they engage with their schooling over different spaces of their rural town. I assert that these learners have the ability to shift their habitus just enough to enable them to stay on course in their quest for educational achievement and a better future. I argue that, through the optimal utilisation of available resources in their lived spaces and the strategic deployment of embodied adaptive practices, these youth develop a ‘self-schooled’ habitus that enable them to re-imagine their daily realities and aspire to better futures despite their adverse living conditions. In order to study these learners’ habitus adaptations, I utilise Bourdieu’s theoretical lenses of field, capital and habitus to argue that the youth in this study are not mere passive recipients of global influences and changing environments, but active agents in the shaping of their local realities. Through ethnographic study I explore the self- schooled navigation practices that these youth employ to help them mediate between the structural reproductive influences of their educational environments and their educational aspirations. The thesis is motivated by the position that qualitative research can offer a view of the intersections of fast changing macro-community processes and young people’s micro-lived educational dimensionalities. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In ´n post-apartheid Suid-Afrikaanse onderwysopset word leerders se akademiese prestasies oor die algemeen beskou as die maatstaaf van kwaliteit in skole. Die lae akademiese prestasie van veral werkersklas- leerders in die land dra by tot ´n hegemoniese, maar nou en gedekontektualiseerde siening dat werkersklas-leerders oor die algemeen swak uitslae oplewer omdat daar iets inherent verkeerd is met hul leervermoeëns. Opvoedkundige navorsing in Suid-Afrika sentreer hoofsaaklik rondom onuitgedaagde pedagogiese benaderings wat werkersklas-leerders se leervermoëns as problematies sien. Wat minder bekend is, is die uitdagings wat werkersklas-leerders op ´n daaglikse basis moet trotseer soos hulle probeer om deur die verskillende leefruimtes van hul ouerhuise, gemeenskappe en skole te navigeer in die nastrewing van hul opvoedkundige aspirasies. Hierdie studie eksploreer geselekteerde werkersklas-hoërskoolleerders se navigering en mediëringspraktyke soos hulle omgaan met hul skoling oor die verskillende ruimtes van hul landelike dorp. Ek asserteer dat hierdie leerders hul aspirasies lewend hou deur hul habitus sodanig te verskuif dat dit hulle aan koers hou deur die skool. Ek argumenteer dat hierdie jeugdiges, deur die maksimalisering van hul leefruimtes en die strategiese ontplooiing van beliggaamde aanpassingspraktyke, ´n selfgeskoolde habitus ontwikkel wat hulle in staat stel om ´n beter toekoms te ‘sien’ en struktureel-reproduktiewe ruimtes te transendeer. Om hierdie studente se habitusaanpassing te verken, maak ek in hierdie studie gebruik van Bourdieu se teoretiese lense van veld, kapitaal en habitus om te argumenteer dat die jeugdiges in hierdie studie nie net passiewe ontvangers is van globale invloede en snel-veranderende omgewings nie, maar aktiewe meemakers in die vorming van hul plaaslike realiteite. Gebaseer op ´n etnografiese studie, eksploreer ek die selfgeskoolde navigeringspraktyke wat hierdie jeugdiges ontplooi om hulle te help om tussen die strukturele reproduktiewe invloede van hul opvoedingsomgewings en hul eie opvoedkundige aspirasies te medieer. Hierdie tesis is gemotiveer deur die posisie dat kwalitatiewe navorsing ´n siening kan bied van die interseksies van snel-veranderende makro-prosesse en jongmense se mikro-beleefde opvoedkundige dimensionaliteite.

Thesis (MPhil (Centre for Higher Education))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / Bibliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Learning in young adulthood, especially in communities where there may be substantial barriers to learning and exclusion from formal education, needs further investigation. This study provides an in-depth investigation of six youths’ predispositions to learning while awaiting trial in a place of safety. This study focused on an in-depth investigation of youths’ predispositions to learning in the particular context of the place of safety (Western Cape, South Africa). I have been working with awaiting trial male youths for over four years as principal at the place of safety. The place of safety is a residential facility for boys and youths between the ages of 10 and 16 years who broke the law and who were at risk. The court placed these youths at the place of safety for the duration of their pending court cases, which may take up to two years in extreme cases like rape and murder. They typically come from communities where they had been exposes to violence, substance abuse and crime, both at home and at school. All of the youths at the place of safety broke the law and were awaiting trial; and they had all dropped out of school or had never attended school. The six respondents used in my study either were abusing drugs themselves or witnessed drug abuse. During their stay al the place of safety, the learners undergo various therapeutic programmes. They also attend school, where the curriculum is adapted to the individual needs of the learners. While working with these youths at the school, I became deeply concerned about the limited prospects they seemed to have. I was curious why most of them demonstrated little or no ambition or eagerness to learn, given that they all had literacy levels below the average for their age group and that most of them had dropped out of school or had never attended school. Popular media reports as well as official documents indicate that youths in South Africa – and the Western Cape in particular – are exposed to drug abuse, violence and crime, which may influence the escalating number of school dropouts. An understanding of the predispositions to learning among awaiting trial youths may contribute to a better understanding of the sense of disempowerment within these communities. This research project focused on qualitative case studies where I tried to discover and understand youths’ predispositions to learning. I followed an interpretive approach to provide insights into the life stories of the six respondents between the ages of 14 and 16 years and how they interpret and make meaning of their personal realities. This marginalised group of people had the opportunity to narrate their individual life stories with relation to their experienced learning processes. I conducted this study, collected, and interpreted data over a period of approximately two-and-a-half v years. I collected data from their official files and by conducting in-depth individual interviews. I video-recorded the six personal interviews and used the footage to assist me in the process of data analysis. The thesis presents the life stories of the six respondents as a foundation for a discussion on how we as educators define and practice adult education in the context of marginalised youth. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die leerprosesse van jeugdiges in gemeenskappe waar akute leerstoornisse en gebreke ten opsigte van formele onderrig heers, behoort nagevors en ondersoek te word. Hierdie studie het gepoog om ondersoek in te stel na die ontvanklikheid of predisposisie van ses jeugdiges teenoor leer terwyl hulle verhoorafwagtend is en in plek van veiligheid aangehou word. Die studie het op grondige ondersoek na die ontvanklikheid of predisposisies vir leer by jeugdiges teen die agtergrond van die plek van veiligheid (Wes-Kaap, Suid-Afrika) gefokus. Ek werk reeds langer as vier jaar by die plek van veiligheid as skoolhoof. Seuns en jeugdiges van 10 tot 16 jaar oud wat die wet oortree het en sorg nodig het, gaan daar tuis nadat die hof hulle daar geplaas het vir die duur van hulle hofsake. In sommige ernstige sake, soos moord en verkragting, kan dit selfs twee jaar neem vir die sake om afgehandel te word. Hulle kom gewoonlik van gemeenskappe waar hulle tuis en by die skool blootgestel was aan geweld, dwelmmisbruik en misdaad. Die ses respondente in my studie het self dwelms misbruik of was blootgestel aan dwelmmisbruik. Alle leerders by die plek van veiligheid het die wet oortree en is verhoorafwagtend. Hulle het die skool op voortydige ouderdom verlaat of het nooit voorheen skoolgegaan nie. Terwyl hulle by die plek van veiligheid bly, ondergaan hulle verskillende terapeutiese programme. Hulle woon ook skool by. Die leerplan is aangepas na aanleiding van die individuele behoeftes van die leerders. Terwyl ek met hierdie seuns en jeugdiges by die skool gewerk het, het ek besorg geraak oor die beperkte verwagtinge wat hulle klaarblyklik gehad het. Ek het gewonder waarom die meeste van hulle min of geen ambisie toon en klaarblyklik min of geen gretigheid het om te leer nie, veral as in ag geneem word dat hulle vlakke van geletterdheid benede die gemiddelde vlakke van hul ouderdomgroepe is en dat die meeste van hulle die skool voortydig verlaat het of selfs nooit skool bygewoon het nie. Algemene beriggewing en amptelike dokumente dui aan dat jeugdiges in Suid- Afrika – en veral in die Wes-Kaap – toenemend aan dwelmmisbruik, geweld en misdaad blootgestel word. Dit kan invloed hê op die groeiende aantal skoolverlaters. Beter begrip van verhoorafwagtende jeugdiges se ontvanklikheid of predisposisies vir leer kan lei tot beter begrip van die graad van ontmagtiging wat in hierdie gemeenskappe ervaar word. Hierdie navorsingstudie het op kwalitatiewe gevallestudies gefokus waartydens ek gepoog het om jeugdiges se ontvanklikheid of predisposisies vir leer te ondersoek en te verstaan. Vertolkende of interpretatiewe benadering is gevolg om insigte te bekom ten opsigte van die lewensverhale van vii die ses respondente en die wyse waarop hulle hul persoonlike werklikhede interpreteer en verstaan. Hierdie gemarginaliseerde groep mense het die geleentheid gekry om hul persoonlike lewensverhale met betrekking tot hul beleefde leerervaringe te verbaliseer. Ek het hierdie studie oor tydperk van ongeveer twee-en-‘n-halwe jaar uitgevoer, met in agneming van dataversameling en –verwerking. Ek het data versamel deur middel van inligting in amptelike dokumente, asook deur die voer van persoonlike onderhoude. Die indringende onderhoude wat ek met ses respondente gevoer het, is op video vasgelê. Ek het hierdie data gebruik in die proses van dataverwerking. Die tesis bied blik op die lewensverhale van die ses respondente. Dit kan dien as grondslag vir diskoers oor hoe die beoefening van volwasse onderrig en leer teen die agtergrond van gemarginaliseerde jeugdiges gedefinieer en toegepas word.