D.Ed. / The frequency and intensity of aggression that has become an everyday reality to an increasing number of adolescents who perpetrate it, witness it or become its victims necessitates research of the phenomenon in context so that measures may be put in place to curb it or prevent it from occurring in the first place. Despite current legislation to protect the rights and safety of pupils, reports in literature on aggression in South African schools illustrate the ways in which aggression continues to have a detrimental impact on adolescents in secondary schools. Hence, the first research aim of this study, conducted within a psychoeducational framework, was to explore how adolescents experience aggression in an urban public secondary school in the Johannesburg South school district in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Based on the findings the second aim of the research study was to develop, implement and evaluate a psycho-educational programme for the constructive management of aggression that adolescents experienced in that context in order to facilitate improvements in their mental health. A mixed methods research design with an explorative, descriptive, explanatory and contextual focus was followed. The qualitative phase of the mixed methods design not only provided richer insight and understanding into the complex phenomenon of aggression in secondary schools but also served to provide a foundation for the quantitative stage of the study. The four criteria of truth-value, applicability, consistency and neutrality, identified by Guba to ensure trustworthiness in research, were applied. Ethical measures were strictly adhered to and included maintaining the confidentiality of the data and respecting the privacy, anonymity and the voluntary participation of the participants. Informed consent to conduct the research was obtained from the necessary authorities and from the research participants. The study was conducted in four phases as prescribed by programme development, implementation and evaluation. In phase one, the situation analysis phase, data was collected using phenomenological interviews and field notes which were verified by means of a literature control. The data generated from this phase was analysed using Tesch’s open coding method of analysing descriptive data. Three themes were identified that encapsulate the adolescents’ experience of aggression. The themes identified that adolescents are aware of their diverse experiences of aggression, that they experience aggression as an internal or external point of control in their lives and that they experience aggression as a barrier to healthy interpersonal relationships. The data was used in phase two as a basis to develop a psycho-educational programme aimed at teaching adolescent pupils the skills to manage the aggression they experience in secondary school in a constructive manner. Phase three saw the implementation of the psycho-educational programme. In phase four the researcher used an experimental research design to evaluate the efficacy of the programme. The results were analysed using rigorous statistical techniques. The narrative comments made by the participants to evaluate each workshop session were used to provide a qualitative evaluation of the programme process. The positive results obtained from both the qualitative and the quantitative evaluations of the psycho-educational programme suggest that it may be applied successfully to facilitate the constructive management of aggression that adolescents experience in the secondary school environment and in life so that they can attain mental health and actualise their full potential for a positive future.

D.Ed. / The aim of this research was to develop a psycho-educational programme for grade eleven teachers to effectively, without the use of violence, manage aggression demonstrated by grade eleven boys. The aim is for teachers to support and assist the boys to channel their aggression positively. The grade eleven teachers are faced with the huge challenge to manage aggression exhibited by the boys in their classes. Therefore this study is mainly focused on the impact of aggression on the teachers' effectiveness.

It was hypothesized that differences would exist in the aggressive content of the word association responses of aggre-sive (A) and non-aggressive (KA) subjects (Ss) to a word association test (WAT) containing homonymic words having alternate meanings, aggressive and non-aggressive (A:NA). In Study I the WAT was constructed as the research instrument and administered to A and NA groups of Ss previously assessed as to aggressive personality characteristics by the total inventory score of the Buss-Durkee Hostility-Guilt Inventory. The Ss' responses to the A:NA stimulus words were rated for aggressive content and a comparison between A and NA groups performed. The results indicated that two of the twelve A:NA words yielded significant differences between groups. Suggestions for improvement of the methodology and extension of the theoretical framework and analyses were proposed and subsequently incorporated into Study II. The ideas for improvement outlined in Study I were introduced in Study II. These modifications included determining the reliability of ratings of the A:NA words which was assessed and found to be adequate. Next, a larger group of experimental Ss was sampled. The Buss-Durkee Hostility-Guilt Inventory was rescored to obtain a measure of aggression more indicative of verbal hostility. Finally, the reliability of ratings of the aggressive content of responses to the A:NA words was assessed and found to be adequate. The data in Study II were analyzed to test the hypothesis that the A group would respond with significantly more aggressive word associations to the A/NA words than would the WA group, and the results were in the direction predicted. The second part of the study involved an attempt to determine which of the A:NA words contributed significantly to differentiating A and NA groups. A comparison across groups of the mean response values (average aggressive content) of the associations to the A:NA words indicated that five of the twelve terms subscribed significantly to the discrimination. The third segment of the research involved an attempt to test the hypothesis (Berkowitz, 1962, p. 257) that the A individual reacts in a hostile manner to suitable stimuli, but does not behave aggressively in the absence of such cues. In accordance with this suggestion, it was hypothesized that A Ss would respond with hostile associations to the A:NA words more frequently than to any neutral (Nu) word on the WAT. Therefore, the Ss' word association responses to twelve randomly selected Nu words were rated for aggressive content. The results indicated that A Ss responded with more hostile word associations to the A:NA terms than to the Nu words. The fourth part of the study attempted to determine if an examination of relatively unique word association responses to the A:NA words would result in a greater disparity between the aggressive content of the free associations of the A Ss and those of the NA Ss. The results did not support the hypothesis. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / The aggression phenomenon is embedded in the heart of the culture of society. Aggression is described as any kind of behaviour that intends to harm or hurt someone else and can be either physical or psychological (Feldman, 2001:299). It is internalised in childhood and adolescence, and manifests later in a variety of situations throughout life ahead (Tehrani, 2001:7). Unfortunately it does not stop at the school gates, but continues through the university stage, and is prominent in the workplace (Instructor, 2011:20). Like every country, South Africa also has its own challenges. Baron and Byrne (2004:437) state that aggressiveness results from increased levels of frustration arising from environmental challenges. South Africa is a country with exceptionally high levels of frustration and trauma (Einarsen, Hoel, Zapf & Cooper, 2003:212). Aggression in the form of house robberies, rapes, xenophobia, hijackings and road rage is everyday news. Research shows that a third of all people are exposed to some form of violence (Carstens, 2009:23). Frustration runs high. This creates a constant sense of uncertainty and insecurity, as well as fear, causing high stress levels - not only at personal levels, but also at a professional level. High stress levels are known for fuelling aggression in the workplace (Einarsen et al., 2003:15). This phenomenon has an effect on men as well as women in the workplace. The research question that arises here is: "What is the female teacher's experience of aggression in the workplace?" The research objective of this study was the exploration and description of women teachers’ experiences perceived as aggression. The design developed was exploratory, descriptive, contextual and qualitative in nature. The method was divided into two phases: a phenomenological approach was used to obtain the data in phase 1. In the second phase, guidelines were derived from the findings in the first phase. Women teachers, who met the criteria, participated by means of three options. Firstly, by means of an interview and secondly they could do an interview as well as write a naïve sketch to supplement the interview. Thirdly, they could also participate by writing a naïve sketch only. A trial pilot interview was conducted. xiii Since this research is sensitive in nature, the ethics was of particular importance. As recommended by Creswell (2008:13), ethical considerations were not considered as an afterthought, but applied right from the start of the research. The rights of participants were constantly taken into account. Honesty regarding the reporting of this information was applied. The recognition of the research area was taken into consideration, and permission was obtained from the appropriate persons and institutions, such as the participants, the school principals and the University of Johannesburg, to be allowed to do the research. The researcher used measures to ensure trustworthiness. Credibility, transferability, reliability and neutrality were implemented to further trustworthiness. The result of this research is condensed into four themes that developed from the data. The first theme is that different perceptions influence the experience of aggression of women teachers. Secondly, the contextual pressure in the school system forms an integral part of the experience of perceived aggression. The third theme is that manifestations of the perceived aggression are experienced. The fourth and last theme is the effect of aggression on women teachers. Guidelines for assisting female teachers experiencing aggression in the workplace were formulated. It was discussed by means of the above four themes and categories and recommendations were made. It was recommended that awareness of this problem in society should become an objective. "Tackle violence in society by starting in the workplace" (Einarsen et al., 2003:315).

M.A. (Psychology) / This study was conducted in an attempt to determine whether children defined as predominating on traits of aggressiveness, assertiveness and submissiveness would model aggressive behaviour elicited by an aggressive teacher within a classroom situation. The experimental hypotheses were: 1. Aggressive children will become more aggressive with an aggressive teacher. 2. Assertive children will become neither more aggressive nor more compliant with an aggressive teacher. 3. Submissive children will become more submissive with an aggressive teacher. One hundred and ninety six primary school pupils in standard two and three were assessed for aggressiveness, assertiveness and submissiveness within their specific classrooms by means of a self - report inventory. The teachers of the classes were tested and assigned to either an experimental aggressive group or a nonaggressive control group. Each class then underwent observation in order to determine whether aggressive teachers had any effects on the aggressive behaviour of aggressive, assertive and submissive children in the normal classroom situation. The results of the study did not substantiate the hypotheses. It was found that aggressive teachers did not necessarily elicit aggressive responses from the children. These findings suggested that situational constraints inhibited aggressive behaviour.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University. / The effects of aggressive film content upon the aggressiveness of young children and upon their identification choices of persons who might serve as models conduct is becoming a major question with the behavioral sciences and the public charge. There has occurred a renewed interest in the effect of film content with increase of television in the viewing habits of children. Most of the available media from which to draw observations concerning mass media were published twenty or so years ago. These data were acquired when motion picture films were still a novelty in the behavior of children and when television was non-existent. The effect of the film upon the behavior of present day children should differ as the viewing counts and general amount of exposure to films has changed. [Truncated]

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