M.A. (Social Work) / The function of social work is to enhance the social functioning of individuals, smaller groups (including families) and the community. This implies need meeting and growth-promoting activities for the purposes of reinforcing, enhancing or discouraging inappropriate behavior. In order to achieve success , social workers need to explore every avenue of helping, so that the client with his unique needs are always held in respect and helped the most successfully. Behavior modification, although still underdeveloped in social work, is one of the numerous approaches that can be utilised to meet the needs of the social work clientele ...

This thesis attempts to construct a conceptual map for thinking about family therapy in a recursive way. The axes used for this map are 1) the Taoist philosophy of change in the Chinese classic I Ching, and 2) the cybernetic epistemology of Gregory Bateson. Each is used to help explicate the other. The relational character of patterned change in the I Ching is explored in depth from five different perspectives. The first discusses the elusive and paradoxical subject of the Tao, the meta-pattern which interweaves stability and change, and connects all living systems in a dynamic recursive balance. The Tao is process, the context of all change, and is closely related to Bateson's notion of immanent Mind. The second perspective examines the nature of the relationship between yin and yang, the complementary opposites that are both distinct (separate) and mutually dependent (connected). The relation between connection and separation is the basis of the recursive balance of life and death, and is an important theme in therapy. The third perspective presents a model for the understanding of gradual development and sudden transformation as part of a cyclic process of completion. Like a plant going to seed, the maturation of a situation or relationship heralds both death and renewal. But such completion is only possible when there is a flowing connection between parts of the system. The counsellor uses various techniques for helping the family connect in ways which allow old patterns to disperse and new ones to emerge. There are some indications that the authors of the I Ching were directly influenced by the Chinese philosophy of music. The fourth perspective discusses this possibility in some depth and then turns to modern jazz theory as a means of characterizing the relationship between family and therapist, and of explaining the way change is introduced into the therapeutic system. The fifth perspective explains the nature of the I Ching's curious diagrams of change known as "hexagrams." Based on the relation between yin and yang, and illustrated with mantic, philosophical, and poetic phrases, hexagrams, in both structure and image, are metaphoric expressions of process and connection. The thesis concludes with a case-history of a dysfunctional family and a description of their changes In terms of the principles outlined in the previous chapters. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

No description available.

Note:

Alternative school models should represent options for students characterized as disenfranchised and/or underachievers. Mississippi?s Alternative School Education Program Standards were established to provide a framework for local school districts to use in developing the alternative school?s design to meet the unique needs of the students it would serve. It was established by Mississippi Law to serve as a learning alternative placement for students who had difficulty adjusting to a regular classroom environment or who experienced disciplinary problems in the classroom or at school. Raywid (1999) suggested that unless alternative schools have sufficient freedom to do things differently from the traditional high schools ? organize themselves differently, offer different curriculum or at least a different articulated curriculum, provide a different school climate with flexibility ? then they are not going to be any more successful with their charges than the regular traditional high school has been. Five alternative schools identified by the Mississippi Department of Education as operating an exemplary Alternative School Education Program were examined in this study. A case study approach, which utilized observations, interviews and a report, was conducted to investigate eight areas identified as critical indicators necessary to operate an effective alternative school. These eight areas were: (a) a clearly and focused school mission, (b) a safe and orderly environment, (c) program expectations, (d) alternative educational opportunities, (e) instructional design, (f) a monitoring and evaluation system, (g) support services, and (h) parental/community involvement. Each alternative school visited met all eight indicators. However, the state?s program design falls short of rendering sufficient and appropriate services to young people with opportunity to obtain an education. The state?s program does offer an alternative school setting to children that will allow them to remain in school and not be deposited on the streets as a result of suspension or expulsion from the regular school setting. However, the way the Alternative School Education Program is designed goes a long way toward shaping the nature of its establishment and its prospects for success. There is an immediate need for the state to engage in a paradigm shift for its alternative school program?s design in order to better meet the needs of the public school system and the people it serves.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.