Background/Aims: Urie Bronfenbrenner's bioecological systems model is well regarded in the field of child development. Although this model is not commonly used by literacy researchers, I argue that Bronfenbrenner's emphasis on the roles of personal characteristics, proximal processes, contextual systems, and historical time has explanatory power in the area of literacy. Methods: I review this body of literature and describe a visual representation that clarifies the relevant aspects of the theory. Results: Adoption of Bronfenbrenner's model increases the likelihood that literacy development will be understood as occurring at the site of transaction between cognitive processes and social practices. Literacy researchers who have applied this theory differ in the degree to which they have attended to Bronfenbrenner's guidance relative to adequate research practice and, as such, findings from this research range from less to more theoretically sound and useful. Conclusion: As contemporary literacy researchers consider employing Bronfenbrenner's theory to frame their work, it is necessary for them to account for all aspects of his rich and complex model.

Doctor of Philosophy / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Bronwyn S. Fees / Character development is core in building a moral society and in the development of an individual (Lickona, 1996; Park, 2009). Building character is a continual developmental process across the lifespan and is subject to a myriad of influences. Character is often defined as the respect an individual has for the rules of the community and cultural surroundings (Lerner, 2007; Lerner et al., 2006; Phelps et al., 2009; Roth & Brooks-Gunn, 2003; Snyder & Flay, 2012). Lickona’s theory of character (1999) distinguishes character development as a continual work in progress, and the morality of an individual contributes “to the cognitive element of character” (2001, p. 246). Additionally, Bronfenbrenner’s (1986; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998) bioecological model more specifically identifies the potential relationships within the microsystem as well as between the elements of the microsystem and youth that affect character. The purpose of this study was first, to examine the predictive nature of specific elements of the microsystem including peer relationships, parental involvement, and adult mentors on the development of character during adolescence and, secondly, to examine the change in variance explained by these specific elements on the development of character over time during the high school years. Data to address these questions were drawn from Lerner and colleagues’ (2005) 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development. Results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses reveal parental involvement to be significant in predicting youth’s self-assessed character during their senior year, and each year between the freshman and senior years. The effects of peer relationships are significant only during the freshmen, sophomore, and senior years. Adult mentors reach positive significance only during the freshman year. When control variables are added, adult mentors are negatively significant during the junior and senior years. Results suggest parent’ involvement in predicting character is more enduring than peer relationships, which is consistent with previous research (Lickona, 2001; Park, 2004). With adult mentors reaching significance for only one year and with the other two years being negatively significant, the results of this study contradict what other research suggests as adult mentors’ integral role in youth development, particularly with frequent engagement in extracurricular activities wherein youth interact with adult advisors. Additional research is needed to understand specifically the role of adult mentors in character development, as well as other developmental areas of high school adolescents.

This is a study of parenting and child development in a slum area in a developing part of the world. The aims of the study were threefold. The first aim was to explore the physical and social contexts for parenting in a shantytown in Rio de Janeiro using an ecological perspective. The second aim was to examine parenting and subsequent child outcomes among a sample of families living in the shantytown. The third aim was to explore what factors contribute to differences among parents in how they nurture and protect their children. The theoretical framework of the study was an updated version of Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of human development. Using self-report questionnaires developed by Rohner, data on perceived parental acceptance–rejection were collected from 72 families with adolescents 12–14 years old, representing approx. 75% of all households with children in this age group in the shantytown. Besides self-report questionnaires, each adolescent’s main caregiver replied to several standardized questionnaires developed by Garbarino et al., eliciting demographic and social-situational data about the family, neighborhood, and wider community. The results of the study paint a complex portrait of the social living conditions of the parents and children. Despite many difficulties, most parents seemed to raise their children with loving care. The results from the self-report questionnaires indicate that the majority of the adolescents perceived substantial parental acceptance. The adolescents’ experience of greater or lesser parental acceptance–rejection seems to influence their emotional and behavioral functioning; it also seems to be related to their school attendance. Much of the variation in degree of perceived acceptance–rejection seems to be related both to characteristics of the individual adolescents and their main caregiver(s) and to influences from the social and environmental context in which they and their caregivers interact and live their lives.

Thesis advisor: Maria E. Brisk / While traditional multicultural education has advanced school personnel's cultural awareness and the implementation of multicultural curricula, it can also perpetuate stereotypes of certain cultural groups by overstating the role of culture. The widely held stereotypes of Chinese immigrants as super-achievers and a "model minority" may dangerously hide the problems that many Chinese immigrant families face upon immigrating. In this dissertation, I share findings generated from the narrative inquiry of sixteen Chinese immigrant parents. The study was to uncover multiple realities related to the parenting experiences constructed by Chinese immigrant parents in their given social, cultural, and personal circumstances. Guiding this inquiry is the bioecological model, which provides an overarching framework to address all the factors that possibly influence immigrants' parenting. With a focus on critical events, data collected from multiple open-ended interviews and documents were presented in two ways: case-focused narrative analysis and cross-case thematic analysis. The findings show that Chinese immigrants are a diverse group, with each individual's parental beliefs and practices influenced by multiple personal and contextual factors. All the factors interacted through complex processes occurring at various levels within the parents' ecological environments between the two cultures. In addition, several issues related to Chinese immigrant families were exposed from the parents' narratives that have not been well researched so far, including: subgroup differences, the influence of marital discord as a result of immigration on child development, the role of religion change on parenting, and grandparents as major childcare giver. At a theoretical level, notions of the continuum of common cultural values, and the continuum of enculturation and acculturation provide a fluid and dynamic theoretical lens to better understanding immigrants' in-between cultural values. I suggest that school personnel and social workers work towards eliminating pre-assumptions about any cultural group, attending to each child's unique identity without over-emphasizing the role of culture. Furthermore, schools need to take efforts to build effective and reciprocal relationships with immigrant families to better address the immigrant students' individual needs. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

<p>This is a study of parenting and child development in a slum area in a developing part of the world. The aims of the study were threefold. The first aim was to explore the physical and social contexts for parenting in a shantytown in Rio de Janeiro using an ecological perspective. The second aim was to examine parenting and subsequent child outcomes among a sample of families living in the shantytown. The third aim was to explore what factors contribute to differences among parents in how they nurture and protect their children. The theoretical framework of the study was an updated version of Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of human development. Using self-report questionnaires developed by Rohner, data on perceived parental acceptance–rejection were collected from 72 families with adolescents 12–14 years old, representing approx. 75% of all households with children in this age group in the shantytown. Besides self-report questionnaires, each adolescent’s main caregiver replied to several standardized questionnaires developed by Garbarino et al., eliciting demographic and social-situational data about the family, neighborhood, and wider community. The results of the study paint a complex portrait of the social living conditions of the parents and children. Despite many difficulties, most parents seemed to raise their children with loving care. The results from the self-report questionnaires indicate that the majority of the adolescents perceived substantial parental acceptance. The adolescents’ experience of greater or lesser parental acceptance–rejection seems to influence their emotional and behavioral functioning; it also seems to be related to their school attendance. Much of the variation in degree of perceived acceptance–rejection seems to be related both to characteristics of the individual adolescents and their main caregiver(s) and to influences from the social and environmental context in which they and their caregivers interact and live their lives.</p>

Submitted by IVAN WALLAN TERTULIANO null (ivanwallan@gmail.com) on 2016-12-12T13:25:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TERTULIANO_IVAN_TESE_VERSAO_FINAL_2016_EXPATRIACAO_DE_VOLEIBOLISTAS.pdf: 2878359 bytes, checksum: 84707042bfac0547d15538cf3bc6b1a3 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Felipe Augusto Arakaki (arakaki@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-12-15T14:56:47Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 tertuliano_iw_dr_rcla.pdf: 2878359 bytes, checksum: 84707042bfac0547d15538cf3bc6b1a3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-15T14:56:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tertuliano_iw_dr_rcla.pdf: 2878359 bytes, checksum: 84707042bfac0547d15538cf3bc6b1a3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-11-29 / Expatriação é um fenômeno que cresce a cada ano, muito influenciada pelas dinâmicas econômicas ou pela busca de novos objetivos de carreira. No esporte, essa dinâmica tem o objetivo de levar o atleta a melhorias de vida ou de carreira. Sendo assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar os fatores que levam o jogador de Voleibol à mudança de equipe e país e sua adaptação ao processo de expatriação. Para isso, participaram do estudo 68 pessoas (48 atletas e 20 exatletas), sendo 43 homens e 25 mulheres, com idade média de 27 anos. Os participantes foram divididos em 2 grupos de investigação: G1 (Atletas Internacionais) e G2 (Atletas Nacionais). O grupo G1 foi composto por 30 participantes (19 homens e 11 mulheres) e o grupo G2 por 38 participantes (24 homens e 14 mulheres). Para este estudo foi desenvolvido um instrumento, em formato de questionário, dividido em 2 partes: a primeira parte procurou compreender as características gerais, de ordem socioeconômica e de dinâmicas da expatriação; a segunda parte procurou compreender a adaptação do participante ao processo de expatriação. O instrumento constou de questões estruturadas, as quais poderiam ter respostas abertas ou fechadas. Por se tratar de 2 grupos experimentais, o instrumento foi elaborado com questões que eram similares aos 2 grupos, mais questões exclusivas para cada grupo. O estudo envolveu a aplicação do instrumento via internet, por meio do Google Formulários. A análise dos resultados foi conduzida via análise descritiva e análise inferencial, tanto entre grupos quanto intragrupo. Além disso, para análise intragrupo utilizou-se: Anova one-way com medidas repetidas no último fator, Teste t pareado e teste de Correlação de Pearson ou Spearman. Para análise entre grupos, utilizou-se: Teste t para amostras independentes. Os resultados apresentaram que os atletas tiveram boa capacidade de adaptação ao novo contexto, seja ele ao clube ou à nova cidade (para os dois grupos), não apresentando diferenças significantes entre os grupos. Além disso, os resultados foram explicados por meio da Teoria Bioecológica, demonstrando que o processo de adaptação contribuiu com o desenvolvimento dos atletas, principalmente com a disponibilidade de recursos frente às adversidades que os atletas encontraram durante a expatriação. Pode-se concluir que a teoria Bioecológica apresenta constructo coerente e robusto, pois foi utilizada na explicação dos resultados, que a família é importante no processo de expatriação, já que a saudade da família foi determinante para o retorno do atleta ao Brasil e que existe a necessidade da elaboração de estratégias de treinamento para o processo de expatriação, assumindo a ambientação do atleta ao novo clube, a nova cidade, ao novo país e o envolvimento na família nesse processo. / Expatriation is a phenomenon that grows every year, greatly influenced by economic dynamics or the pursuit of new career goals. In sport, this dynamic has the goal of leading the athlete to life or career improvements. Therefore, the study aimed to identify the factors that lead volleyball players to change team and country and their adaptation on expatriation process. For this, 68 people had participated in the study which are 48 players and 20 former athletes, 43 men and 25 women, with an average age of 27 years. Participants were divided into two research groups: G1 (International Athletes) and G2 (National Athletes). G1 group was composed by 30 participants (19 men and 11 women) and G2 group had 38 participants (24 men and 14 women). For this research, it was developed a questionnaire-format tool, which was divided into two parts: the first part sought to understand the general socioeconomic characteristics and dynamics of expatriation; the second part focused on the adaptation of the participant to the expatriation process. The instrument consisted of structured questions with either open-ended or closed-ended answers. Since there were two experimental groups, the instrument was prepared with similar questions for both groups, and also unique topics for each one. The study involved the application of the instrument which was done by internet, through Google Forms. The analysis was conducted through descriptive and inferential analysis both of them between groups and intra-group. In addition, to intra-group analysis was used: one-way Anova with repeated measures on the last factor, paired to test and Pearson or Spearman correlation test. In the analysis between groups a test for independent samples were used. The results showed that athletes had good ability to adapt to the new context, either the new club or city (for both groups), which showed no significant differences between groups. Moreover, the results were explained through the Bioecological theory, demonstrating that the adaptation process contributed to the development of the athletes, especially with the availability of resources against the adversities that the athletes encountered during the expatriation. It can be concluded that the Bioecological theory presents a coherent and robust construct, since it was used in the explanation of the results, that the family is important in the process of expatriation, since the homesickness of the family was determinant for the return of the athlete to Brazil and that exists The need to elaborate training strategies for the expatriation process, assuming the athlete's environment to the new club, new city, new country and the involvement of the family in this process.

This study examined the developmental value of Japanese student intercultural interaction during short-term study abroad in the United States. It utilized a modified version of the Study Abroad Social Interaction Questionnaire for data collection and an approach to analysis framed by Bronfenbrenner and his colleagues’ bioecological theory of human development. Past research framed by the bioecological theory has identified sojourner personal characteristics as the most significant factors influencing the amount and quality of intercultural interaction that students experience during study abroad; this study, which included participants of two different programs, found characteristics of context and time to be equally if not more significant. Implications are presented as practical recommendations for programs, participants, policymakers, and other stakeholders in intercultural development during study abroad.

Humans are relational beings, as they are constantly in interaction with others and with their environment. In schools, learners spend at least nine years of their lives in formal schooling, and the relationships they have with their teachers are bound to have an impact on their self-configuration. According to the Field theory, the Bioecological theory and the Dialogical theory of self, which were used as theoretical frameworks for this study, individuals’ self-configuration is impacted by their environment, experiences and interactions with others. The focus of this study was on Grade 7 learners’ self-configuration experiences within the teacher-learner relationship. Grade 7 learners are at the beginning of the adolescent phase, which is characterised by many changes, transitions, challenges and uncertainties. One of these transitions is the forthcoming transition from primary school to high school and a healthy self-configuration could assist learners to adapt to these changes in a positive manner. The research was qualitative in nature and made use of the case study method. This allowed the researcher to use data gathering approaches through which the subjective experiences of the participants could be explored. Twelve participants volunteered to take part in this study, and data was gathered by means of individual interviews as well as group discussions. All interviews and group discussions were voice and video recorded, where after they were transcribed and analysed by means of thematic analysis. The analysis allowed for data to be organised into meaningful themes. It was found that learners’ experiences of relationships with teachers are both positive and negative. Self-regulation in learners takes place through encouragement and disapproval from teachers, as well as through lessons learnt from teachers and from past experiences. Further studies around self-configuration and teacher-learner relationships are recommended, in order to make teachers more aware of the importance of the teacher-learner relationship, and also to determine what the obstacles are in developing supportive and caring teacher-learner relationships. By highlighting the importance, and by determining the obstacles, more meaningful teacher-learner relationships could be encouraged and developed in order to enhance learners’ self-configuration experiences. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Humans are relational beings, as they are constantly in interaction with others and with their environment. In schools, learners spend at least nine years of their lives in formal schooling, and the relationships they have with their teachers are bound to have an impact on their self-configuration. According to the Field theory, the Bioecological theory and the Dialogical theory of self, which were used as theoretical frameworks for this study, individuals’ self-configuration is impacted by their environment, experiences and interactions with others. The focus of this study was on Grade 7 learners’ self-configuration experiences within the teacher-learner relationship. Grade 7 learners are at the beginning of the adolescent phase, which is characterised by many changes, transitions, challenges and uncertainties. One of these transitions is the forthcoming transition from primary school to high school and a healthy self-configuration could assist learners to adapt to these changes in a positive manner. The research was qualitative in nature and made use of the case study method. This allowed the researcher to use data gathering approaches through which the subjective experiences of the participants could be explored. Twelve participants volunteered to take part in this study, and data was gathered by means of individual interviews as well as group discussions. All interviews and group discussions were voice and video recorded, where after they were transcribed and analysed by means of thematic analysis. The analysis allowed for data to be organised into meaningful themes. It was found that learners’ experiences of relationships with teachers are both positive and negative. Self-regulation in learners takes place through encouragement and disapproval from teachers, as well as through lessons learnt from teachers and from past experiences. Further studies around self-configuration and teacher-learner relationships are recommended, in order to make teachers more aware of the importance of the teacher-learner relationship, and also to determine what the obstacles are in developing supportive and caring teacher-learner relationships. By highlighting the importance, and by determining the obstacles, more meaningful teacher-learner relationships could be encouraged and developed in order to enhance learners’ self-configuration experiences. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Title: Preschool – a social language environment and an arena for emergent literacy processes. Author: Martina Norling By focusing on preschool, as an arena for emergent literacy and language learning processes, this thesis put the lens on preschool staff´s approaches and strategies in the social language environment in Swedish preschools. Taking its point of departure in real preschool settings, the overall purpose of this thesis is to develop a greater understanding of this social language environment, with particular emphasis on the quality dimensions of strategies, such as the preschool staff´s sensitivity and approaches in the preschool environment. Two didactic issues are of special importance to the thesis: preschool staff´s descriptions of what kind of strategies and approaches they use in the social language environment as well as how preschool staff support children’s language learning processes in literacy-related activities. The thesis consists of four articles aimed at capturing, variations of dimensions of preschool staff strategies as well as approaches that contribute to highlighting essential strategies for supporting children in the social language environment. The theoretical framework in this thesis consists of social constructivism (Vygotsky, 1997) and bioecological theory (Bronfenbrenner, 2005). The four empirical studies in this thesis have made possible a mixed method design. The data production consists of questionnaires with questions regarding background information of the participants, observation instruments (scoring the quality of the social language environment), focus group interviews, video observations as well as a systematic literature review. In this thesis, three dimensions of preschool staff strategies in social language environment emerged: play strategies, emotional strategies and communicative strategies. The social language environment in Swedish preschool can be described in terms of those three strategy dimensions and continuous interplay processes among children, peers and preschool staff, over time. The quality dimensions of strategies focus, on preschool staff efforts and children’s prerequisites of learning processes, rather than focusing on children’s individual performance. Keywords: Preschool, social constructivism, bioecological theory, preschool staff, emergent literacy, social language environment, language learning processes