This research aimed to study the academic adjustment of Kaohsiung county junior high PE class students. The goal was to understand the students¡¦ adjustment in school and further to explore whether there were remarkable differences when various backgrounds changed. The research adopted survey research methodology, using ¡§Academic Adjustment Scales¡¨ compiled by the researcher as an overall survey to the PE class students in Kaohsiung county junior high schools. 1435 copies had been sent out and 1064 valid questionnaires were received, with a valid return rate of 74%. Data were analyzed by the package software SPSS 14, using £\¡Õ.05 as a remarkable level, and the analytical methods included descriptive statistics, t-test, and one-way ANOVA etc. The findings of the research are as follows: 1.The overall academic adjustment of the Kaohsiung county junior high PE class students indicated in a fine condition. 2.The total scale and sub scales of the first-year (7th grader) junior high PE class students showed remarkable higher scores. 3.The total scale of academic adjustment and sub scale of learning adjustment indicated remarkable higher scores for female students. 4. For elementary graduates of non-PE classes, the total scale of academic adjustment and sub scale of learning adjustment demonstrated remarkable higher scores. 5.The total scale of academic adjustment and sub scale of learning adjustment for students who received more than five-day specialty training in a week showed remarkable lower scores. 6.The total scale of academic adjustment and sub scale of learning adjustment for students who received less than three-class specialty training in a day showed remarkable higher scores. 7.The total scale of academic adjustment and sub scales of learning adjustment and of teacher-student relationship were remarkable lower for students who had participated more than 11 competitions for this semester. 8.Students spent less than one hour afterschool study showed remarkable lower scores on the total scale of academic adjustment and each sub scale of all categories. 9.Students having five study classes showed remarkable lower scores on the total scale of academic adjustment, sub scales of learning adjustment and of physical training adjustment.

Abstract Due to a decline in the number of domestic students in many New Zealand and other foreign Western countries' universities, there is more recruitment of international students. In New Zealand universities, beside the increase in the number of other foreign international students, the number of Muslim international students and especially Muslim women students has increased in the past few years. This is due to internationalisation of New Zealand education and the economic benefits which international students provide to New Zealand economy. The reason for undertaking this study is because as a Muslim women and a student myself, I wanted to investigate the adjustment problems of the increased number of Muslim women international students at the University of Waikato. This is because, it would provide information to researchers, theoreticians and policy developers regarding adjustment issues that might be specific to Muslim women. Unfortunately, this area is under researched; hence this study could assist in filling the vacuum in this area. The literature so far has discussed the adjustment issues of international students in general and from the literature there seems to be two main dominant areas where international students suffer adjustment problems. These two areas are the academic environment of the university and the socio-cultural environment of the university. The academic environment has many elements to which many international students are believed to face adjustment problems such as adjusting to the 'study shock'. On the other hand, in the socio-cultural environment, students are believed to face adjustment problem to the culture shock. However, there are many flaws in the existing literature which results in its weakness and hence the need for this study. In order to discuss the adjustment issues of Muslim women international students' one has to examine the educational background of these students. It is important to also examine the religious and cultural backgrounds of these students because religious beliefs and practices combined with their cultural background have an impact on their adjustment into the foreign academic and socio-cultural iii environment. Islam strongly encourages the acquisition of education for women. Looking at the history of Muslim women, one can find great scholars who achieved enormously from their right to education. However today there is great tension in the Islamic world regarding women's education which makes this issue very complex. This is due to the different interpretations of the Islamic scholars of the verses of the Quran, and Muslim people cultural and tribal codes. Therefore, many Islamic countries have taken different approaches to the education of their female population that is from very conservative to liberal ones. The qualitative approach used in this chapter helped in understanding the perspectives and world views of the respondents which would have not been possible otherwise. The confidentiality and anonymity of the respondents was catered for before conducting the interviews and pseudo names are used in this study to refer to the respondents of this study. This study is however limited in that the time constrain did not allow me to do a longitudinal study in order to discover the many un answered questions or ambiguous sentences. This study has revealed four major themes which were identified through this research as being specifically important to the adjustment of Muslim women international students. These women did not view their adjustment as a huge shift instead for them it required more of gentle shift in their adjustment. The similarities in the academic environment of the international students and that of New Zealand universities made the adjustment to the academic environment even smoother. There are also other positive adjustments these international students make while in New Zealand universities. They are more independent and are able to communicate in English language which for most international students seems to be main reason for coming to Western universities. There is need for the staff and students to understand the religious and cultural beliefs of these international students so that they can help them in the adjustment process. There is also increased need for the universities and policy developers to provide help and support for the international students. iv There are many issues that seemed to need further exploration which this study has not managed to find out. The research needs to be done to discuss the huge emotional or psychological impact on the international students' due to teachers' and local students' lack of knowledge of their religious and cultural beliefs. The researchers also need to investigate how this change in the personality and thinking of women impacts on them when they go back to their home countries. In theorisation, there is need to theorise the adjustments of students who belong to other religious and cultural groups and how it might impact their adjustment process. For the practitioners, there is need to investigate the role of the staff and institutes to clearly identify to the role of staff in how they could make international students transaction to the university smoother.

Many studies have been conducted on military families in order to determine the effect of parent absence and frequent family moves on the academic adjustment and emotional well-being of children. Research has shown that environmental factors, such as parents coping abilities, social support, length of deployment, frequency of moves, and preparation for deployments or moves can influence the effects children experience due to deployments and relocations. Children of military families can be resilient and successful in school during deployment and moves. / text

Perfectionistic standards are ubiquitous features conveyed in several aspects of life. Although some aspects of perfectionism may be beneficial to promote achievement, continuously targeting perfection and flawlessness has been shown to impede on one’s psychological adjustment, motivation, and self-regulation (Hewitt & Flett, 1991). Essentially, there still exists no consensus among researchers to identify whether perfectionism—or at least, some facets of perfectionism— is likely to promote or undermine positive outcomes (e.g., Gotwals, Stoeber, Dunn, & Stoll, 2012). The 2 × 2 model of perfectionism (Gaudreau, 2012; Gaudreau & Thompson, 2010) is a welcome addition for researchers studying perfectionism because it proposes an open-ended theoretical system in which novel hypotheses are amenable to empirical scrutiny, thus offering leeway for researchers to theorize and reinterpret those past mixed findings. The overarching goal of this dissertation was to address some of the gaps of the perfectionism literature in order to better understand under which circumstances perfectionistic standards are useful to foster achievement without thwarting psychological adjustment. Accordingly, the current dissertation used the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism as theoretical framework to propose four original studies regrouped under three articles. In Article 1, we aimed at providing a multilevel extension of the 2 × 2 model in order to better understand how the relationships between subtypes of perfectionism and indicators of positive and negative psychological adjustment may vary according to the level of analysis that is being studied. In other words, in this study, we examined the within-person relationships between subtypes of perfectionism and psychological adjustment (i.e., accounting for the fact that these relationships may vary within each person from one life domain to another) in complement to the between-person relationships (i.e., accounting for individual differences across people). A sample of 338 undergraduate students completed measures of perfectionism, vitality, goal progress, affect, and stress for each life domain in which they reported being invested. Preliminary analyses of multilevel confirmatory factor analysis supported the multilevel factorial structure of our measure. Furthermore, results of multilevel regressions with random coefficient supported most hypotheses of the model with positively-, but not negatively-worded outcomes, deserving further discussion. In an attempt to better understand these unexpected yet interesting findings, Article 2 aimed at extending the findings of Article 1 by examining the multilevel associations between subtypes of perfectionism and coping strategies of undergraduate students. Two studies were conducted to examine the between- and within-person relationships respectively. Accordingly, 332 undergraduate students completed measures to assess their dispositional perfectionism and coping tendencies in Study 1 (i.e., between-person). In Study 2, 203 undergraduate students completed repeated measures of perfectionism and coping for each life domain in which they reported being invested (i.e., within-person). Results of multiple regressions from Study 1 (i.e., between-person) showed similar findings than those obtained in past research with task- and disengagement-oriented coping, and support of all four hypotheses was obtained with relative coping (i.e., proportion of task-oriented compared to one’s overall coping). Results of multilevel regressions with random coefficient from Study 2 (i.e., within-person) provided support for all hypotheses with disengagement-oriented coping, two hypotheses with task-oriented coping, and three hypotheses with relative coping. Finally, in Article 3, we aimed at identifying the potential role of moderators in the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism, particularly the role of sociocultural identity. A sample of 697 undergraduate students (538 Euro Canadians and 159 Asian Canadians) completed measures aimed at assessing perfectionism and indicators of school achievement (i.e., satisfaction and grade-point average). Preliminary multi-group confirmatory factor analyses with invariance testing supported the factorial structure of our measure across both samples, thus rendering the measure equivalent across both sociocultural groups. Furthermore, results provided support for our socially prescribed perfectionism as a cultural makeup hypothesis, suggesting that Asian Canadians with a subtype of mixed perfectionism (i.e., high self-oriented and high socially prescribed perfectionism)—in contrast to their Euro Canadians counterparts—were able to reach both the achievement and satisfaction targets known to play an important part in the positive academic experience of students. Overall, the current dissertation bears significant theoretical implications by providing further validation of the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism, as well as supporting a multilevel and cross-cultural extension. It also holds methodological contributions by supporting the factorial invariance of the short-Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale across levels of analysis and sociocultural groups. Furthermore, this dissertation involves practical implications for clinical psychologists by underlining the need to compare clients to their own average across significant domains of their life (e.g., to monitor their progress or areas of concern) along to the normative standards designed to compare them with individuals (e.g., to monitor their levels in comparison to the population).

This study was conducted to explore the college adjustment of first year college students studying at a university in Northern Cyprus. Study I which used longitudinal mixed method design, examined changes in social, academic, and total college adjustment, perceived stress, self-esteem, college adjustment self-efficacy, cultural distance levels of students through three assessments (3 months, 6 months, 9 months) / and investigated college adjustment process and experiences of students through three interviews at three stages (3 months, 6 months, 9 months). Participants were 14 English Preparatory School Turkish students at a university in the Northern Cyprus. Study II, investigated the role of gender, academic achievement, student club membership, perceived stress, self-esteem, college adjustment self-efficacy, and cultural distance, on college adjustment. Participants were 186 English Preparatory School Turkish students at a university in the Northern Cyprus. In Study II, data were collected at the end of the academic year. In Study I, it was found that, students&rsquo / self-controlled persistence of activity dimension of CASES scores increased significantly from 3 to 6 months, and students&rsquo / cultural distance scores increased from 3 to 9 months. However, no significant differences were encountered in other variables&rsquo / scores among three assessments. The qualitative findings indicated that students experienced several challenges and frequently used active coping strategies to deal with them. During this challenging process family and friends were the two prime sources of support for the students. Students also revealed that their first year experience contributed to several positive personal changes and their supportive social network and previous experiences/life style were two important facilitative factors in their adaptation process. In Study II, the results of the three hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that combination of all 5 predictors in three steps explained 34 % of variance in total college adjustment, 31 % of variance in social adjustment, and 34 % of variance in academic adjustment scores of the students. Among all individual predictor variables / self adjustment in human relations dimension of CASES, self-esteem, student club membership were positive predictors of overall college adjustment and social adjustment / academic achievement and self-controlled persistence of activity dimension of CASES were positive predictors of academic adjustment. On the other hand, perceived stress was a negative predictor of overall college adjustment and academic adjustment.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a peer counseling program in improving undergraduate students' academic adjustment. Six upperclassmen were carefully selected and systematically trained in the use of a study skills instruction program and certain supportive, therapeutic techniques. These six served as peer counselors. The peer counseling program provided individualized study skills instruction, informal personal/motivational counseling, and general educational information and advising for volunteer students in academic difficulty. Twenty-one volunteer students each completed a minimum of four sessions with a peer counselor. The first objective of the study was to determine if the students who participated in the peer counseling program improved in their study skills and attitudes. A t-test for correlated means was used to analyze differences in the pretest and posttest means of the Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes and the Effective Study Test. The second objective of the study was to determine if students who participated in the peer counseling program made a better academic adjustment to college than a matched group of students who did not participate in the program. Three measures of academic adjustment were examined. First, grade point average for the quarter following participation for the treatment and control groups was compared using a t-test for correlated means. Secondly, the proportion of students who dropped in academic standing during the quarter following participation in the treatment group was compared with the proportion of students who dropped in academic standing in the control group by means of the sign test. Finally, the proportion of students who dropped out of school the quarter following participation and two quarters after participation in the treatment group was compared with the proportion of students in the control group who dropped out of school at corresponding times by utilizing the Cochran Q test. The peer counseling program was effective in improving the study skills and attitudes of students in academic difficulty. The 21 students showed a mean improvement of approximately one standard deviation from the pretest to the posttest on the Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes and on the Effective Study Test. No significant difference was found between students who participated in the program and a matched group who did not participate on grade point average, academic standing, or dropout rate. It was recommended that further research utilize a experimental design with random assignment of students to the two groups and examine the impact that the program has on the individual peer counselors.

No description available.

The problem of this study was to determine the personal, social, and academic adjustment problems of Arab students at selected Texas institutions of higher education. The students in this study were 315 undergraduate and graduate Arab students attending four Texas institutions of higher education who were enrolled in the spring semester of 1979. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to identify the personal, social, and academic adjustment problems perceived by Arab students; and (2) to analyze and to interpret the data in relation to the adjustment problems of full-time Arab students included in this study. Results indicated that the Arab students were in general agreement concerning the questionnaires; no significant differences were found at the .05 level between male and female Arab students, married and single Arab students, and undergraduate and graduate Arab students. Recommendations were included which suggested that faculty and administrators who interact with Arab students be acquainted with the findings of the study. Orientation programs should be provided for Arab students, and the possibility of developing and enhancing the students' academic and non-academic experiences by identifying those individuals who have the ability and interest necessary for working with Arab students should be examined. Better communication should be developed and programs should be implemented to facilitate better understanding and respect between Arab students and Americans.

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of four racialized, male, first-year, international students attending a university in southern Ontario and living in university residence. Through four one-on-one interviews, my qualitative study sought to uncover the challenges, needs, and opportunities of these students. In addition to cultural and academic adjustment, my study focused on how the participants preserved their masculine and cultural/religious identities in a Western university. A secondary purpose of my study was to examine how these four international students experienced living in university residences, what challenges they faced, and how their specific needs were met. Four themes emerged from the interviews. First, the participants outlined their difficulties adjusting to Canadian university culture. While some enjoyed the transition to Canada, others found adjusting their cultural identities challenging. Second, these participants struggled to adjust to the academic rigour and workload during their first year at university. Despite the demands of university academics, the participants generally welcomed the freedom and flexibility of university life, which allowed them to create their own work schedules and engage in their social lives. Third, the participants maintained their masculine and cultural identities, to more or lesser degrees, despite being immersed in the social and cultural norms of Canadian university life. While some felt isolated within Queen’s University because of their different cultural and masculine identities, overall, these participants valued their own identities and resolved to preserve them. Finally, the participants discussed the benefits and challenges of living in university residences. While residences tended to provide the participants with a sense of community and belonging, sometimes it was challenging living in a loud and hectic environment. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-19 17:28:16.91

The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to examine student-athlete perceptions of the role of summer pre-enrollment in their adjustment and transition to college. The study focused on student-athletes who received athletically-related financial aid at a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I-AAA institution. The Academic Progress Rate (APR), which measures academic eligibility and retention while incorporating a penalty structure for underperforming teams and athletic departments, has emerged as the fundamental measure of academic success for intercollegiate athletics programs. Educators have responded with a broad spectrum of support programs for student-athletes in order to meet APR benchmarks and avoid costly penalties. The NCAA first permitted the awarding of athletic aid to incoming student-athletes for summer pre-enrollment during the early part of the last decade. However, relatively little research has examined the concept of summer pre-enrollment and the role it may play in a student-athlete's adjustment and transition to college. The researcher conducted retrospective in-depth interviews with seven men's and women's basketball student-athletes who had completed one year of full-time enrollment at the selected institution and who received athletic aid for their summer pre-enrollment. Data was analyzed in a manner consistent with Boeije's Constant Comparative Analysis. This study drew upon Schlossberg's Transition Theory, and the participants described their experience in relation to their situation, self, support, and strategies. Collectively, the findings suggested that the participants perceived at least some benefit to their academic adjustment and social integration to college from the summer pre-enrollment. Though the summer pre-enrollment may not have provided identical academic, athletic, and social demands as the academic year, most of the participants indicated they were able to gain a better understanding of what college classes and college life were like as a result of their summer pre-enrollment participation. The findings further suggested that the participants were well prepared and well equipped for the demands of college prior to their summer pre-enrollment experience. Future research is needed to examine the role of summer pre-enrollment in the college adjustment and transition of student-athletes who are less prepared for the demands of college.