To be perfect is a study about the experiences among young women in upper secondary school about how they see themselves as student vis-a-vis their mental health. These experiences are analysed from a school sanctioned femininity, which intend to expose how the structures of school affects the young women. This femininity is based on the concept of “how to be” a young woman, which the school both encourage and support. With a qualitative interview study the following experiences of the young women are examined: Their view at the role of the school, how they view themselves as students and how the school affects them. The material is analysed through a phenomenological research approach to illustrate the essence of the phenomenon. The study shows us that the school which is an important part in the respondents’ lives, also entails stress to the young women according to themselves. The stress, which in some cases leads to anxiety, is based on the high demands and high expectations the young women experience. These demands and expectations are based on their own pressure within, but also based on what others demand and expects from them. This means that both the respondents themselves and teachers and other students sees them as” good students”. To be a good student is a role which affects the young women to behave in a certain way, where perfection is the main purpose to achieve. This perfection is based on behavior and how you perform good grades in school, and can be linked to how it is to be a young woman in upper secondary school. Thus, the young woman has an ideal which she has to follow to “succeed” in school, and to be seen as the good student.

The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of academic and social competence among adolescents with a continuum of inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms. Past literature suggests that children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) display self-perceptions that are overly positive compared to external indicators of competence, a phenomenon that is referred to as the positive illusory bias (PIB; Owens, Goldfine, Evangelista, Hoza, & Kaiser, 2007). The PIB is well supported among children with ADHD, and recent research suggests that the PIB persists into adolescence. To date, research on the PIB has relied on difference scores (i.e., an indicator of competence is subtracted from student self-ratings); however, difference scores suffer from numerous methodological limitations (Edwards, 2002). The current study investigated the relationship between self and teacher ratings of academic and social competence and inattentive, hyperactive/impulsive, and overall ADHD symptoms among a diverse sample of 395 students and their teachers. Polynomial regression and response surface methods were used to account for self and teacher ratings separately and decrease reliance on differences scores. These methods have been recommended to answer complex questions related to agreement and disagreement between ratings. The results of this study suggest that some adolescents with ADHD symptoms demonstrate the PIB, while others perceive their impairments and rate themselves as having low competence aligned with teacher ratings. Accurate ratings of low competence were more common within the academic domain than the social domain for students with overall ADHD symptoms as well as specific inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms. Results within the social domain indicate that all ADHD symptoms increased more sharply as the discrepancy between self and teacher ratings increased. Student overestimation of competence in both the academic and social domains was shown to be more predictive of high inattentive symptoms compared to hyperactive/impulsive symptoms. These findings suggest this new analysis approach allowed for a more nuanced understanding of the complex relationship between student and teacher competence ratings and ADHD symptoms. Gaining a better understanding of the PIB through this improved methodology has the potential to influence assessment and intervention practices among school psychologists, and to contribute to future research in this area. This study contributes to the literature by being the first to (1) examine the PIB in relation to a range of general and specific ADHD symptoms, (2) use polynomial regression/response surface methods to address limitations of difference scores, and (3) explore the PIB among a school-based sample of adolescents.

Throughput rates and student retention are a burning concern that all higher education institutions share, as student dropout rates remain high. Promoting student academic success has become imperative. This study is concerned with students who display innate resilience and overcome adversities in their personal lives, but fail to demonstrate resilience when it comes to being academically successful. The objective of this study was to explore: (1) the personal resilience in at-risk students who overcome adversities in their personal lives, but fail to demonstrate resilience when it comes to being academically successful and (2) how their personal resilience can be tapped into to promote academic success. A mixed methods approach was used, employing both quantitative and qualitative methods. At-risk students at a particular higher education institution were identified using their study records. From these students a subgroup of resilient students were selected by means of a resilience questionnaire. This group completed a pre-interview questionnaire, resulting in 10 students being selected on the grounds of being information rich cases of the at-risk resilient student. Through the process of social constructivism and dialogue between the researcher and the participants, themes were identified and analysed using an inductive data analysis style. The data was finally linked to supportive literature. The primary finding was that the same protective factors that can assist a student in developing innate resilience, can also cause the student to be placed academically at- risk. The study further revealed, that if the environment in which students find themselves does not allow them to negotiate for resources, these students' innate resilience alone cannot assist them to overcome the challenges of higher education. The researcher concludes that higher education institutions in their attempts to retain and assist students should be encouraged to tap into students’ innate resilience to develop their academic resilience / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Throughput rates and student retention are a burning concern that all higher education institutions share, as student dropout rates remain high. Promoting student academic success has become imperative. This study is concerned with students who display innate resilience and overcome adversities in their personal lives, but fail to demonstrate resilience when it comes to being academically successful. The objective of this study was to explore: (1) the personal resilience in at-risk students who overcome adversities in their personal lives, but fail to demonstrate resilience when it comes to being academically successful and (2) how their personal resilience can be tapped into to promote academic success. A mixed methods approach was used, employing both quantitative and qualitative methods. At-risk students at a particular higher education institution were identified using their study records. From these students a subgroup of resilient students were selected by means of a resilience questionnaire. This group completed a pre-interview questionnaire, resulting in 10 students being selected on the grounds of being information rich cases of the at-risk resilient student. Through the process of social constructivism and dialogue between the researcher and the participants, themes were identified and analysed using an inductive data analysis style. The data was finally linked to supportive literature. The primary finding was that the same protective factors that can assist a student in developing innate resilience, can also cause the student to be placed academically at- risk. The study further revealed, that if the environment in which students find themselves does not allow them to negotiate for resources, these students' innate resilience alone cannot assist them to overcome the challenges of higher education. The researcher concludes that higher education institutions in their attempts to retain and assist students should be encouraged to tap into students’ innate resilience to develop their academic resilience / Psychology / M. A. (Psychology)