In this study we have analysed six modern books for children and adolescents. The books we chose to analyse were four titles from the series Lassemajas detektivbyrå, Rum 213 and Cirkeln because they are popular among girls in compulsory school. The aim of the analysis was to investigate how girls are presented in the books as regards personality, appearance and relations. We also wanted to investigate the gender relations expressed in the books. We discovered that the books we analysed largely go against traditional norms. This was most visible in Cirkeln. In Lassemajas detektivbyrå there are leading characters who break the norms, but otherwise traditional gender patterns are retained. In Rum 213 it was not as clear that the author wanted to break traditional patterns. In the books we observed a desire to create new spaces for girls to be themselves on the basis of their identity and not their gender. It is our perception that today’s books for children and adolescents are increasingly questioning traditional norms.

<p>This dissertation defines the literary genre of the American school story for girls from approximately 1845 to 1910. While recent critical studies have examined the American common school story or the women’s college novel, no scholar has surveyed the genre of American school stories for girls in the second half of the nineteenth century. Instead, the British school story tradition, such as the <i>Tom Brown’s School Days</i> series and twentieth-century girls’ boarding school stories such as those by Angela Brazil, has overshadowed the American genre. I also argue that the study of the girl’s book has focused on domestic (family) stories over the school story. By defining the American school story for girls, this project fills a critical gap and argues for how the school story is an important subgenre of the girl’s book that depicts the nineteenth-century girl in an educational environment with new personal and professional opportunities. </p> <p> </p> <p>The first half of the dissertation provides a genre and historical overview, while the second half consists of case studies of specific educational sites and types of experience. The first chapter provides a guiding definition of the school story and examines its subgenres. I split the school story into the following subgenres: the common story school, the seminary or boarding school story, and the college novel, and describe their common tropes and characters. The second chapter details the history of American women’s education and provides relevant examples of fictional school depictions. In chapter three, I analyze girls’ seminary (boarding school) schools including <i>The Boarding-School Girl</i> (1848) by Louisa C. Tuthill, <i>Hester Stanley at St. Mark's</i> (1882) by Harriet Prescott Spofford, and <i>Betty Baird</i> (1906) by Anna Hamlin Weikel. This chapter argues for the religious, personal, and professional goals that motivated the girl characters to attend school, and how the fiction depicted society’s expectations for these girls. Finally, chapter four examines three Vassar-focused college novels, specifically the first two books in <i>The </i><i>Three Vassar Girls </i>series (1883-1892) by Elizabeth W. Champney and Julia A. Schwartz’s <i>Elinor’s College Career </i>(1906), to argue that the college experience created networks to help further the lives of women, while also working to maintain homogeneity. </p>

Thesis advisor: Bonnie S., PhD Jefferson / This paper examines the parallels between the situation comedies, The Golden Girls and Sex and the City. These shows possess striking similarities in their character portrayals and both emphasize the sisterly relationships of their characters. Using representative episodes, this paper illustrates that The Golden Girls and Sex and the City belong to the same unique subgenre of sitcoms that involve the non-traditional family formed by close female friends. In addition to criticism by genre, this paper also analyzes The Golden Girls and Sex and the City for each show’s individual manifestations of and implications for feminism. This study observes that the messages communicated by these shows are significant on their own, but are magnified when conveyed through repetition dictated by membership in a genre. Comparative analysis of The Golden Girls and Sex and the City intersects genre criticism and feminist criticism, creating a situational feminism that transcends entertainment with its social implications. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Communication Honors Program. / Discipline: Communication .

Thesis advisor: Jane E. Regan / This dissertation considers adolescent girls and what they need from an all-girls’ Catholic school that will prepare them, not just for college and career, but for life in a world that marginalizes girls and women. More than simply trying to make a case for single-sex schooling for girls, it suggests that the single-sex school is an important site for conversations about what it means for adolescent girls to be adolescent girls. This project names the patriarchal forces that marginalize girls and calls for a pedagogical approach that is rooted in the theological affirmation that adolescent girls are created in the image of God and called to exercise a prophetic imagination. Chapter one introduces the history of all-girls’ Catholic secondary schools, a history rooted in the story of women’s religious orders and the ministries of these women religious as educators at a time when the education of girls was not valued. Today’s all-girls’ Catholic schools are informed by this history and the Catholic Church’s commitment to honoring the dignity of each student, thus grounding a commitment to a caring and liberative educational approach. Chapter two argues that contemporary adolescent girls, including those who attend these all-girls’ Catholic secondary schools, are growing up in a cultural milieu that makes them vulnerable to the effects of the conflicting and impossible expectations to which girls and women are held. Chapter three investigates the imago Dei symbol as a theological foundation for fighting this toxic cultural milieu. Taking a cue from feminist theologians who have explored embodiment and relationality as central expressions of the imago Dei, this chapter proposes that creating communities of God’s hesed (loving-kindness) and resisting injustice are two ways that the imago Dei symbol can be expressed so as to best include adolescent girls. Chapter four suggests that, in order to realize this goal of affirming the imago Dei in adolescent girls by creating communities of God’s hesed and resistance to injustice, a feminist prophetic imagination is needed. Drawing on Walter Brueggemann’s identification of the prophetic imagination as the twinned process of denouncing the oppressive forces of the dominant culture and announcing a new and more just way of being in the world, it proposes a feminist prophetic imagination that engages in a feminist critique of the cultural milieu that girls experience and the construction of communities based in hesed and resistance to injustice. Chapter five takes up the pedagogical challenges of teaching with and for a feminist prophetic imagination. The liberative pedagogy of Paulo Freire and the caring pedagogy of Nel Noddings provide the resources for educating adolescent girls to participate in communities of God’s hesed and in practices of resistance to injustice. Chapter six returns to the concrete situation of all-girls’ Catholic secondary schools and imagines how these schools can speak to a commitment to educating for a feminist prophetic imagination in their mission and reflects on how a feminist prophetic imagination can be expressed and formalized in all Catholic schools.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management (August 2016) / The purpose of this research paper is to explore the proposition around the factors influencing fashion choices for teenage girls which include attitude, impulse consumption, peer pressure, self-congruency and socialisation agents which all lead to their intention to purchase fashionable clothing brands. The research problem was to identify whether the factors influencing teenagers’ attitudes and decision making styles actually affect their intention to consume fashionable clothing brands. The design approach and methodology was the gathering of qualitative data from conducting five focus groups consisting of six female respondents each. The respondents were teenage girls aged between 13 and 19 years old, from different social backgrounds. Findings showed relatively high levels of consumption of fashion brands among the respondents, but not necessarily conducted in the traditional consumer decision-making processes. The manner in which teenage girls consume fashion brands creates a clear distinction and gap in the market of how to connect with this age segment. Key findings of the research show that teenagers no longer conform to typical adolescent ways, and it is through their consumption behaviour that marketers need to identify ways in which retail marketers can engage with them. / MT 2018

Studiens syfte är att beskriva och jämföra pojkars respektive flickors matematiska mindset i årskurserna 2 och 3. Detta görs genom att beskriva vad pojkarna respektive flickorna anser utmärka personer som är matematiskt duktiga, vad gemene man behöver göra för att bli matematiskt duktig, samt deras syn på sin egen förmåga i matematikämnet. För att studera detta har semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts med tolv elever, sex pojkar och sex flickor. Resultatet visar att eleverna har en samstämmig syn på hur de matematiska kunskaperna kan förbättras och menade att det sker genom övning och träning. Flickorna ansåg att de var duktiga i matematik, men pojkarna hade inte samma tilltro till sin matematiska förmåga. Övriga slutsatser som dras är att det kvarligger stereotyp syn hos pojkarna, vilka ansåg att män är mer matematiska än kvinnor. Detta synsätt återfanns inte hos flickorna. / The aim of the study is to describe and compare the mathematical mindset of boys and girls in grades 2 and 3. This is done by describing what the boys and girls think distinguish people who are mathematically proficient, what they think one needs to do to become mathematically proficient, and their beliefs about their own mathematical ability. To receive answers on these research questions semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve students, six boys and six girls. The result indicates that the students have a consistent view of how mathematical knowledge can be improved and meant that this is done through practice. The girls thought they were good at mathematics, but the boys did not have the same confidence in their own mathematical ability. Other conclusions drawn are that the boys seem to have a more stereotypical approach than the girls as they considered that men are more mathematical than women. This view was not found for the girls.

Cette étude vise à examiner les effets respectifs de l’anxiété et de la menace du stéréotype sur les performances des collégiens en mathématiques à travers deux expériences menées en milieu scolaire, dans les collèges d’Aix-en-Provence. L’hypothèse principale de cette thèse est que les stéréotypes sociaux liés au genre déclenchent l’anxiété qui elle-même influence les performances en mathématiques. L’intérêt de ce travail est de montrer que l’effet du mécanisme générateur de l’inhibition des performances en mathématiques repose sur l’interaction entre l’anxiété et la menace du stéréotype. L’influence de l’anxiété représente la variable médiatrice. La mise en perspective des deux expériences (intervention / non –intervention) a mis en évidence que les stéréotypes provoquent de l’anxiété chez les élèves et que cette anxiété affecte à son tour la performance. Cette recherche, dont les résultats mettent clairement en évidence l’intérêt d’une sensibilisation et d’une prise en compte des stéréotypes véhiculés en milieu scolaire, démontre qu’il existe des moyens de limiter l’impact des stéréotypes sociaux et de l’anxiété sur les performances scolaires. / This study aims at examining the respective effects of anxiety and stereotypes which threaten the performance of middle school students in mathematics, through two experiments in secondary schools of Aix-en-Provence. The principle hypothesis of this work is that social gender stereotypes trigger anxiety, which itself influences the performance in mathematics. The interest of this work is to show that the effect of generating mechanism of inhibition in mathematics performance is based on the interaction between the anxiety and the stereotype threat. Putting these two experiments in perspective (intervention/non-intervention) showed that stereotypes cause anxiety among students and that this anxiety, then, affects performance. This research, of which the results clearly demonstrate the interest of raising awareness and considering stereotypes conveyed in schools, indicate that there are ways to minimize the impact of social stereotypes and anxiety on school performance.

No description available.

Introdução A gravidez na faixa etária de 10 a 14 anos traz alguns desafios quanto à abordagem e análise do tema. Objetivo Compreender o significado da gravidez em meninas gestantes de 10 a 14 anos. Método Pesquisa qualitativa, de caráter exploratório, com orientação analíticodescritiva, por meio de entrevistas individuais, abertas e semi-estruturadas, gravadas e transcritas pela pesquisadora, mediante prévia aprovação dos Comitês de Ética em Pesquisa da Faculdade de Saúde Pública da USP e do Hospital Municipal Maternidade-Escola Vila Nova Cachoeirinha, além de consentimento esclarecido assinado pelas entrevistadas e seus responsáveis legais. Resultados e Discussão Foram entrevistadas 10 meninas gestantes, nulíparas, em acompanhamento de pré-natal, no período de agosto a outubro de 2009. O tratamento dos dados foi realizado por meio da análise de conteúdo, com enfoque na análise temática. Foram definidas quatro categorias de análise: 1) A sexualidade como expressão do feminino; 2) Saúde: uma relação tão delicada; 3) Tecendo redes sociais e 4) Autopercepção e projetos de vida. No grupo entrevistado a maioria dos parceiros tem idade superior em pelo menos 20% a das meninas. Houve relato de sofrimento de violência psicológica e física causada por parceiros e familiares, em alguns casos, acarretando reações depressivas nas meninas. A maior parte delas interrompeu os estudos em decorrência da gravidez, e apresentam poucas perspectivas futuras de projeto de vida. Considerações finais A gravidez na adolescência tem sido considerada precoce, indesejada e/ou não planejada, ou inadequada para esse período de vida, além de ser vista como um problema de saúde pública a ser enfrentado. Além disso, o direito ao exercício da sexualidade na adolescência é mais valorizado quando associado à vida masculina, o que dificulta que essa temática seja contemplada nas questões associadas à gravidez em meninas. É necessário que o atendimento em saúde para adolescentes inclua discussões sobre questões de gênero e de saúde sexual e reprodutiva, possibilitando o fortalecimento dessas meninas enquanto sujeitos de direitos, criando recursos para que elas decidam quando, com quem desejam ter sexo, além de optar sobre o momento da gravidez. A falta de opções para projetos de vida pode conduzir essas meninas a situações de gestação que, mesmo quando consideradas desejadas, aumentam a vulnerabilidade a qual estão expostas. A ampliação do acesso a serviços de saúde, que contemplem temáticas próprias de adolescentes, muito além da atenção médica estrita, pode ajudar no fortalecimento da cidadania desses sujeitos. / Introduction Pregnancy at the age range from 10 to 14 years old brings some challenges related to the approach and to the topic analysis. Objectives Understand the meaning of pregnancy in pregnant girls at the age of 10 to 14 years old. Methods Exploratory, qualitative research, with analytical-descriptive orientation, through individual interviews, open and semi-structured, recorded and transcribed by the researcher, upon authorization from the Committees of Ethics in Research from the College of Public Health of USP and from the Municipal Maternity School Hospital Vila Nova Cachoeirinha, and the agreement signed by the interviewees and their legal sponsors. Results and Discussion Ten nulliparous, pregnant girls during prenatal care were interviewed between August and October in 2009. The data treatment was made through content analysis, focusing on the topic analysis. Four categories were defined: 1) Sexuality as the female expression; 2) Health: a delicate relationship; 3) Building social networks and 4) Selfperception and life projects. In the interviewed group, most of the partners ages are at least 20% higher than the girls. There were reports about psychological and physical violence caused by partners and family, in some cases, leading to depressive reactions in the girls. Most of them interrupted the studies due to pregnancy, and present few prospects of life projects. Conclusions: Teenage pregnancy has been considered premature, unwanted and/or not planned, or inadequate to this period of life, and it is also seen as a Public Heath problem to be faced. Besides, the right of practicing sexuality during the adolescence period is more valuable when associated to male life, making it difficult to associate this issue on questions related to girls pregnancy. It is necessary the inclusion of discussions about gender and sexual and reproductive health in the health care for teenagers, allowing the strengthening of these girls as subjects of rights, creating resources for them to decide when, whom to have sex with, and also choose about the time for pregnancy. The lack of options related to life projects may lead these girls to pregnancy situations that, even when they are considered desired, raise the vulnerability to which they are exposed. The improvement of the access to health services, having proper issues for teenagers, beyond the strict medical attention may help strengthening citizenship of these individuals.

The purpose of this mixed methodological study was to discover the possible causes of persistence for African-American high school girls attending a 4-year program in Mississippi. Currently there is a precise focus on African-American high school girls and the detrimental outcomes that follow as a consequence of behavioral referrals within schools. Unfortunately, the narrative of African-American high schools girls centers on discipline as a leading concern in their academic performances. This study sought to determine whether student perception of completing a 4-year high school program plays a significant role for African-American girls. Support systems of teachers towards high school African-American girls were assessed in consideration for the educational professionals and their influence to the academic advancement of students. Lastly, the social influences of social media were investigated as a contemporary factor for African- American girls considering completing a 4-year program. The consideration of organizational structures that are not conducive to the advancement of high school graduation is the primary discussion for educational leaders to evaluate.