The purpose of this study is to make an investigation of the extent to which the community served by the South Junior High School of Waco, Texas, meets the recreational needs of its boys.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

No description available.

This thesis is a sociological investigation into Aberdeen’s ‘boy racer’ culture and the reaction it has provoked amongst various outside groups.  Ethnographic research was conducted which included participant observation and semi-structured interviews with members of the subculture.  The attitudes of outside groups were explored though semi-structured interviews with police officers, journalists, residents and politicians; and content analysis of media articles, council reports and statistics.  The first strand of the research involves an exploration of the internal dynamics of the ‘boy racer’ culture.  Here, I explore the rituals engaged in by members of the culture which include car modification, subcultural media and events, their appropriation of public space and the quest for celebrity status.  The thesis also addresses the role of gender within a male-dominated culture.  Conflict within the subculture is also explored using the notion of respectability.  Participants viewed themselves as respectable members of the culture in contrast to the ‘rough racers’.  This respectability related to the pride they took in their cars and driving skills, and their adherence to societal laws and subcultural norms.  In the second strand of the thesis I argue that the reaction to Aberdeen’s ‘boy racer’ culture is evidence of a local moral panic.  The threat posed by the drivers’ presence at Aberdeen’s seafront was exaggerated and distorted by members of the outside groups, including in particular, the local media.  Moreover, the moral panic concerning deviant driving practices by youths was institutionalized through the use of powers under the Antisocial Behaviour etc.(Scotland) Act 2004.  Members of the culture in Aberdeen attempted to distance themselves from the ‘boy racer’ label and instead viewed themselves as car modifiers or enthusiasts.  Ironically, the space used to express their opinions – their own forms of subcultural media, also became the focus of the moral panic.

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of "work" as a reinforcing stimulus in a behavior modification program designed to eliminate disruptive talking. A response-cost procedure was established whereby the reinforcement was made contingent upon the behavior of eight students with learning disabilities.

Abstract Boys' underachievement has become a topical issue in recent years. In response, one New Zealand primary school created a Boys' Project. It encompassed a range of interventions designed to address boys' underachievement by re-culturing the school to make it a more positive environment for them. This qualitative research is a case study of this school and it seeks to identify elements of school culture that support boys' learning. The literature revealed contrasting and conflicting theoretical perspectives contributing to the debate around boys' achievement. From one perspective it is accepted that boys and girls are different and schools are expected to accommodate these differences. The alternative perspective suggests that differences between girls and boys should not be viewed as inevitable and that, for boys, schools and society should work to change undesirable attitudes and behaviours if their learning needs are to be addressed. The research revealed that boys' underachievement is indeed a complex issue that is unlikely to be solved by short-term interventions or strategies. The research concludes that educational outcomes for boys will be positively affected by a school culture that fosters strong relationships, a focus on learning, and an understanding of how beliefs and attitudes about gender are influential on learning.

Gender research throughout the last two decades has positioned sport as one of the central sites in the social production of masculinities. In particular, body contact, confrontational sports have been identified as central to the reproduction of a dominant but problematic form of masculinity, typically known as hegemonic masculinity. Whether it is through participation, opposition, resistance, complicity or media consumption, contact sports have been identified as constructing individual understandings of masculinity as well as contributing to the continued marginalization and subordination of other types of masculinities. Researchers working within schools have also linked rugby to similarly negative understandings of masculinities. The majority of these school based studies have been conducted in countries where contact sports are traditionally respected or in schools where rugby is tied to traditional and institutionalized understandings of masculinity. As yet little attention has been paid to boys who play rugby in countries or schools where rugby is not tied to traditional and institutionalized understandings of masculinity. As a New Zealand teacher working in an American school, in Taiwan, I set out to examine the rugby experiences of high school boys and to investigate the influence that rugby has on their understanding of masculinities. My study employed in-depth interviews with seven boys. Cognizant of the fact that the majority of gender based sport research has utilised Connell's theory of hegemonic masculinity, I adopted a 'Foucauldian method' to analyse the data. In doing so it was my intention to contribute to the field of sport and gender studies by utilising an alternative perspective instead of creating repetitive and redundant research which could lead to some problems being explored exhaustively. My main findings revealed a number of dominant discourses surrounding and constituting rugby within the American School of Taiwan. These included discourses of rugby as a masculine sport, as a foreign/western sport, and as a low status sport. Drawing upon these discourses I examined how the participants' gendered subjectivities were influenced by their rugby participation. The results revealed that within the general context of the school, rugby players were generally regarded as low status male athletes. However, within the western cultural group of students, rugby players were regarded as high status male athletes. This study contributes to gender and sport studies by suggesting that contact sports such as rugby need not always contribute to structured and hierarchical understandings of masculinities.

Thesis (M.D.S.)--University of Hong Kong, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 282-298). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009. / Full text also available online. Scroll down for electronic link.