Single-mother families represent a large and growing segment of the population and are the poorest of all family types. There is a demonstrated link between educational attainment and employment and income, yet single mothers are also, as a group, the lowest-educated of all family heads. Little published research exists on the needs and issues of single-mother students. The purpose of this descriptive and exploratory study was to discover and categorize the types of incidents that facilitate and hinder single mother students in their progress through a two-year college program. Ten single-mother students were interviewed using the critical incidents technique. Two-hundred-and-fifty two incidents were identified and categorized into three major and nine minor categories. The first major category was Intrapersonal, containing two minor categories, Coping Strategies and Academic Issues. Interpersonal, the next major category, subsumed five minor categories: Instructors; Children; Friends and Family Members; Other Students and Ex-Husbands. The third major category, Situational, contained two minor categories, College Administration and Policies and Government Services and Programs. Tentative implications for future research, counselling practice and social policy are discussed.

Single-mother families represent a large and growing segment of the population and are the poorest of all family types. There is a demonstrated link between educational attainment and employment and income, yet single mothers are also, as a group, the lowest-educated of all family heads. Little published research exists on the needs and issues of single-mother students. The purpose of this descriptive and exploratory study was to discover and categorize the types of incidents that facilitate and hinder single mother students in their progress through a two-year college program. Ten single-mother students were interviewed using the critical incidents technique. Two-hundred-and-fifty two incidents were identified and categorized into three major and nine minor categories. The first major category was Intrapersonal, containing two minor categories, Coping Strategies and Academic Issues. Interpersonal, the next major category, subsumed five minor categories: Instructors; Children; Friends and Family Members; Other Students and Ex-Husbands. The third major category, Situational, contained two minor categories, College Administration and Policies and Government Services and Programs. Tentative implications for future research, counselling practice and social policy are discussed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

D.Phil. / The advances in information technologies have created an array of possibilities for today's learners in institutions of higher education. Kaye (1989) predicted that online education would ultimately emerge as a new educational paradigm, taking its place alongside conventional (face to face) education as well as distance education, and even changing the face of education in general. Although online education is becoming a common component of higher education, Wang & Newlin, (2000) confirm that relatively little is known about the characteristics of learners who choose to enroll for courses in an online learning environment. Schlosser and Anderson (1997) published a report entitled Distance education: Review of the literature in which they did not cite a single study on the characteristics of online learners. What seem to remain unanswered out of the literature are the questions: > Who are the students who undertake and succeed in online learning? > Are these students different from students who take and succeed in traditional, face-to-face classes? The answers to these questions are critical for the future of higher education.

An experimental design was employed to determine the knowledge gained through use of written Wound Healing Fact Sheets. The study sample consisted of 30 postoperative patients recruited from the accessible population of abdominal and chest surgery patients. Subjects were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Experimental subjects were interviewed, received the Fact Sheets and underwent knowledge testing prior to discharge and by telephone approximately one week after discharge. Control subjects did not receive the Fact Sheets but were interviewed and tested identically to the experimental group. Low equivalent reliabilities were demonstrated through use of the KR-20 for the knowledge test. Content validity was established by a panel of three experts. A t-test computed between pre and post test mean scores identified a significant difference in knowledge gained by experimental versus control subjects. Low reliability weakens the significance of this result.

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M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Increasing violence in South African schools is having ramifications. Newspapers report incidents of aggression in schools on an almost weekly basis. The educational environment in schools is deteriorating in this climate of violence. Incidents of violence in schools are but a part of a ripple effect caused by aggression in the broader community. Road rage, violence against women and children, racial conflict, as well as farm attacks are only a few examples of violence that occurs within the communities. Children who are raised in environments where such incidents are commonplace, view aggression as acceptable practice when solving problems. Although incidents of aggression at schools do receive attention, learners who attend schools catering for learners with special educational needs have been largely neglected in this regard. Education White Paper 6 of 2001 aims to implement inclusive education however, research has shown that learners with disabilities are frequently victimized by their peers. It is therefore vital that careful consideration be given to such learners, many of whom will be included in main stream schools where incidents of aggressive behaviour is commonplace. Learners with cerebral palsy form a small percentage of the learners who are accommodated in schools for learners with special educational needs. Aside from the fact thatthese learners are physically disabled, theyface many other barriers when trying to reach their full potential. The leamers' physical disabilities meanthat they often feel frustrated and excluded. Such feelings may be expressed through aggression. Other realities of life, such as dependence on their parents, can result in aggressive behaviour by the child with cerebral palsy. At the same time, the adolescent with cerebral palsy is also experiencing the normal changes and challenges that occur with and result from adolescence. The aim of this study is therefore to explore and describe how older adolescent boys with cerebral palsy experience aggression. The participants were between sixteen and eighteen years of age, mainly Grade 10 and 11 learners.

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / In this study, conflict as a management task is placed in the context OT special education and more specifically in the context of the special school. Special education makes provision Tor pupils who have an intellectual disability. They repeatedly find that they have an intellectual shortcoming and a handicap in this area. These pupils are usually pupils with a contrasting lifestyle and experience. a different emotional life and different social adjustment. In spite of their intellectual shortcomings, the intellectually retarded pupils are persons who are able, and who should shoulder responsibility. Such responsibilities must not be hampered by conflict; therefore provision must be made for the handling of conflict in the special school where these pupils are educated. This study endeavours to identity the areas that have such conflict potential. Problems experienced with regard to the pupil the parent the teacher and the principal were investigated and guidelines are proposed which can serve as an aid in the handling of conflict to ensure that intellectually retarded pupils develop their Tull potential in the unfolding of their personalities. Adequate educational management is OT great value For pupils in special schools in order to limit conflict to the minimum. The situation necessitates the management of conflict by means of a team effort initiated by the principal. The principal should be able to inspire and motivate his staff in order to cultivate a positive attitude amongst them. A positive and harmonious relationship between the principal and his staff will lead to an open and healthy educational climate with stimulating working conditions. Such a positive attitude will be transferred by the teacher to the pupil and this will eventually determine the Quality of the education and teaching.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Psychology / Master / Master of Philosophy

I used an alternating treatments design and a delayed multiple probe across participants design to conduct a functional analysis of the effects of a social condition on the direct reinforcement value of writing and indirect conditioned reinforcement for writing. I defined the direct reinforcement value of writing as writing taking place under conditions where the natural contingencies of writing resulted in the participant emitting the behavior. That is, writing automatically or implicitly reinforced the participant’s behavior and the reinforcement was intrinsic to the stimulus. I defined indirect conditioned reinforcement for writing as changes in performance (the emission of behaviors already in repertoire) or learning (acquisition of new repertoires) when opportunities to write were the consequence for responding. I conducted a functional analysis of indirect conditioned reinforcement for emitting performance behaviors through analyzing changes in rate of writing the letters A-Z. Two treatment conditions were implemented in which green tickets (access to a preferred activity) or red tickets (opportunities to write) were delivered upon responding to the performance task. I tested indirect conditioned reinforcement for learning new operants through analyzing correct responding when participants were given opportunities to learn new chemical element names. For this dependent variable, participants were given immediate access to an opportunity to write upon correct responses to learning presentations. Lastly, I measured the direct reinforcement value of writing in 5-minute observations of responding to writing tasks, where I collected data on whole, 5 s intervals of writing. After establishing that participants’ behaviors were not directly or indirectly reinforced by writing, I exposed participants to a social condition where he or she was deprived of opportunities to write. I chose participants because their rate of writing was slow and writing was not a preferred activity. I conducted 2 experiments, with the second as a replication and expansion of the first. Experiment 1 results showed writing was not an indirect reinforcer for emitting performance behaviors and learning new operants, and writing was not a direct reinforcer. Following the social condition, direct reinforcement for writing increased for all participants and opportunities to write were indirect reinforcers for performance behaviors and acquisition of new operants for 2 participants, with marginal increases for 1 participant. Experiment 2 was a replication of Experiment 1, with 4 added dependent variables including number of letters written, number of words written, a statistical analysis of naïve readers’ scores of permanent products, and numbers of correct structural and technical components. Results showed increases in direct reinforcement for all participants, and increases in indirect reinforcement for emitting performance behaviors for 2 out of 4 participants. Indirect reinforcement for learning new behaviors increased for 3 participants. Results are discussed in terms of the onset of the demonstration of the ability to acquire new reinforcers via social conditions as a prerequisite for some verbal developmental cusps, different kinds of reinforcement, and writing in the context of today’s educational practices.