There is no abstract available for this dissertation. / Department of Educational Leadership

Adolescents’ (N = 272) psychological changes were examined at a residential academy for gifted junior and senior high school students in the Midwest. The School-Based Conception of Giftedness (Coleman & Cross, 2005) was drawn on to understand how school environment influences student development. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to inform the study. Outcome measurement data from the Youth Outcome Questionnaire Self-Report 2.0 (YOQ-SR) tracked students’ level of psychological distress over the course of an academic year. Using Latent Growth Curve Model (LGM) analysis, the initial level of distress did not impact how students’ stress levels changed over time. The results indicated a strong negative correlation (r =-.884) between the slope and quadratic change; meaning, the more a students’ level of stress increased the more rapidly they were able to reduce it over time. Overall, the change in stress formed an inverted-U shape, as students adapted to the challenges of the school. Phenomenological interviews were conducted with 9 senior students with a wide range of YOQ-SR scores at the beginning of their junior year. Four categories emerged from the interviews about student experiences at the academy: Psychological Changes, Academic Adjustment, Social Adjustment and Social Comparison. In essence, when participating in the academy, students experienced advanced personal development, improved management skills and developed a sense of readiness for college. / Department of Educational Psychology

This study describes and analyzes within the cognitive-phenomenological theory of psychological stress developed by Lazarus and his colleagues the coping strategies used by 95 9th-grade adolescents in specific stressful events in their daily lives. / Four research instruments were administered three times at five- to six-week intervals: (1) the Semi-Structured Interview Schedule; (2) the Ways of Coping Checklist; (3) the Daily Hassles and Uplifts Scales; and, (4) the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist. / Results of the study indicate the most frequently reported hassles and uplifts are consistent with the age and developmental level of this sample. The concerns are primarily frequent, chronic minor events associated with activities of daily living. Hassles and uplifts were positively correlated with each other, as well as with symptomatology and coping strategies. Coping strategies were positively related to symptomatology. Female adolescents reported higher levels of uplifts intensity, more coping strategies, and higher levels of symptomatology than male adolescents. Although significantly fewer coping strategies were reported over time, both problem-solving and emotion-regulating strategies were used in the majority of stressful events. Significant differences in levels of symptomatology appeared as a function of the language-group to which subjects belonged. / While further investigation of adolescents' coping behaviors is warranted, the results of this study identified the need for stress management education for adolescents as well as for teachers, counsellors, and other professionals who work with them.

This study investigated the ego development of a group of dropouts who had returned to school. The specific purpose was to explore and evaluate, systematically, the ego development of the former dropouts, and to compare their levels of ego development and their school performance to a group of students who were considered to be at risk to drop out of school. A group of students who were not considered to be at risk to drop out served as a control group. Seventeen high school students served as the subjects in this investigation. The main sources of data were: the results of the Washington University Sentence Completion Test for Ego Development that was developed by Dr. Jane Loevinger, grade and attendance reports, and interviews with the students and their teachers. The findings indicated that while the former dropouts had levels of ego development that were higher than the at risk subjects, the difference was not great enough to be statistically significant. The interviews were examined for indications of the subjects' levels of ego development in the manner in which they spoke about their experiences. The limitations of this investigation are considered, and some suggestions for further research are offered.

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

Dress and appearance constitute the visual realm in the dialectic of identity construction and are powerful communicators in this process, since dress and appearance are the symbolic means by which we locate ourselves and others through interaction within social contexts. Dress is used to differentiate and create boundaries for group belonging and exclusion, and in the uniform has been understood to have a capacity to suppress individuality and to identify the wearer with objectives beyond the self. Adolescence is a time of intense identity work and in New Zealand coincides with secondary schooling during which school uniforms are usually worn. Is freedom in dress necessary for development of personal identity? The effects of same-dressing on identity development in adolescence were investigated in the context of the history, practice, and meanings of school uniform in New Zealand secondary schools. This was investigated through a nationwide survey, analysis of selected school photographs and records, interviews with students, review of legal and bureaucratic structures supporting the practice, and review of the literature of school uniforms, and education and social history of New Zealand. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods contributed to analysis of both dress practices in wider New Zealand contexts, and more personal use of dress in the formation of personal identity. Analysis of school uniforms as mechanisms of power, constituting both the student and the self, drew on symbolic interactionist theory and on Foucault�s later interpretations of power, while also linking material culture and social structures. New Zealand has a strong and continuing tradition of school uniform in secondary schools, yet this practice is characterised by change, variety, and differences, challenging the sameness which uniforms are supposed to embody. Meanings and functions of uniforms have changed considerably over the twentieth century, evolving through extreme and diverse expressions of the expectations of social, political, and education systems towards their young people, and mediated in turn by students themselves. While school uniforms both manifest and mediate the power of the school over the bodies of children, the power embodied in uniforms is not always and only a repressive power, but is also a generative, productive power. Students described uniforms as a form of shelter and protection, embodying belonging and participation in the school and a projected future of success and engagement in adult society and work. Uniforms also maintained a breadth of possibilities consistent with a fluid class system and egalitarian ideals of New Zealand society. While students believed self-expression essential for the formation of a self, they believed this need could be met through the use of minor differences in uniforms, while uniforms allowed them to retain the advantages of group belonging. Schools allowing some personal expression effectively strengthened the sense of belonging and participation, by maintaining the individual in positive relation to the group. The interaction that creates a self consists in symbols, involving meanings, appearances, and communication: differences and similarities from part of these complex interactions.

Recent New Zealand (NZ) research found rates of physical fighting and weapon carrying among high school students in Dunedin were equal to that of rates for the United States (US). The NZ Government has identified violence as a priority health issue. However, NZ is lacking information on the prevalence of the problem, and the identification of factors which may provide clues for prevention. The current understanding of the social context in which physical aggression takes place, has focused on risk factors that are present in the adolescents� ecological frame. Emerging protective factors are increasingly being recognised as major determinants that can moderate the adverse effects of risk factors. However, little research into protective factors has been conducted in NZ. The aim of this thesis was to investigate physical aggression among adolescents in NZ. This was explored through four in-depth studies: i) a national survey of secondary school principals and counsellors ii) focus groups with students in Otago; iii) an online survey with students in Otago and iv) a survey with teachers in Otago. The national survey of secondary school principals and counsellors points to a degree of concern about physical violence in NZ. One in ten reported fights occurred frequently, and over a quarter of principals and over one third of counsellors reported that at least one student at their school had been caught carrying a weapon. Focus groups with Otago adolescents indicated that fights often began as verbal disagreements escalating to physical fights, that a fight should be defined as serious as opposed to a play fight; and differences were also found between fighting at school and outside of school. Participants suggested that items may be reported as weapons, even though they are not being carried for such purposes. Previous estimates of aggressive behaviours may have been unjustifiably high and possibly hid signifcant differences in the nature of the aggression being reported. A quantitative cross-sectional online survey was undertaken with Otago secondary school students, and confirmed that physical aggression among NZ adolescents is a significant problem. Mutivariate analyses identified the school as an important factor in the social system of adolescents; in particular feeling safe, not feeling alienated and being treated fairly. The results highlighted the need to concentrate on strategies that improve students� positive engagement with school as a means to reduce physical aggression. The final study of Otago secondary school teachers showed that while teachers did not consider physical aggression as a major problem in their schools, they did report frequent occurrences of physical fighting. Respondents also reported some teachers experienced significant physical aggression from students. Physical aggression among NZ adolescents is a significant public health problem that needs addressing. This behaviour impacts directly on the education offered to students, the safety of the environment in which learning takes place, and the stress of the work place for teachers. This thesis has identified school engagement as the most promising protective factors for young people against involvement in physical aggression.

Thesis (MEd (Distance Education))--Deakin University/University of South Australia, 1993

Thesis (MPhysio)--University of South Australia, 1998