The network "Developing Quality in Mathematics Education II" is a continuation of the associated project "Developing Quality in Mathematics Education" (http://www.dqime.unidortmund. de). In this project participate universities, teacher education institutions and schools from 11 European countries. Cross-cultural cooperation and exchange of ideas, materials, teachers and pupils support developing quality in mathematics education, especially in the area of mathematical modelling. The quality and application of the developed learning materials is also guaranteed by using, comparing and modifying them in eleven different countries. This comparison leads to an agreement about contents of mathematical learning and teaching in eleven European countries. Thus we want to establish a "European Curriculum for the teaching and learning of mathematics" in the 21st century. A special feature of this project is the strong connection between theory and practice and between the research and development of mathematics education. In this project our Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics of Comenius University Bratislava manage testing of translated teaching materials at the high school „Gymnazium Sturovo“. We know that using ICT and didactical software in schools is almost present and wide spread. So we try to focus on several possibilities in solving real-life tasks using this technologies, regard to the fact technologies are hard upon the young generation of students.

The network "Developing Quality in Mathematics Education II" is a continuation of the associated project "Developing Quality in Mathematics Education" (http://www.dqime.unidortmund. de). In this project participate universities, teacher education institutions and schools from 11 European countries. Cross-cultural cooperation and exchange of ideas, materials, teachers and pupils support developing quality in mathematics education, especially in the area of mathematical modelling. The quality and application of the developed learning materials is also guaranteed by using, comparing and modifying them in eleven different countries. This comparison leads to an agreement about contents of mathematical learning and teaching in eleven European countries. Thus we want to establish a "European Curriculum for the teaching and learning of mathematics" in the 21st century. A special feature of this project is the strong connection between theory and practice and between the research and development of mathematics education. In this project our Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics of Comenius University Bratislava manage testing of translated teaching materials at the high school „Gymnazium Sturovo“. We know that using ICT and didactical software in schools is almost present and wide spread. So we try to focus on several possibilities in solving real-life tasks using this technologies, regard to the fact technologies are hard upon the young generation of students.

There is scant research concerning youth development programmes specifically from Adler's (1968) Individual Psychology perspective. Current programmes seem to be void of critical issues that are important in the local context because of their having a strong bias towards the Western perspective. Thus, the present research project sought firstly to assist the Previously Disadvantaged Youth (PDY) to develop constructive lifestyles characterised by self-mastery, encouragement, creativity and social interest. Secondly, it aimed to obtain specific local African input that would help expand the current Personal Life Planning Programme (PLPP) to one that addresses the unique needs and circumstances confronting South African PDYs today. Finally, it attempted to test the validity, scope and merit of Adler's theoretical assertion, within the context of the previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa, that all humans are engaged in a lifelong striving for superiority to overcome perpetual feelings of inferiority and life tasks. The latter objectives were addressed through the implementation of the PLPP. The study, as well as the related PLPP, is strongly founded on Adler's Individual Psychology (Adler, 1968; Ansbacher & Ansbacher 1956; Corsini & Wedding, 2005; Meyer et al., 2003; Prochaska & Narcross cited in Osborn, 2001). The relevant data were collected from a sample of matriculants from the PDY population living in a black township near Pretoria. The information was collected by means of the PLPP workbook; semi structured interviews, as well as, audiovisual equipment. A combination of a "Pre-structured Case Outline" and the related "Sequential Analysis" (Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 85) was adopted, with the researcher undertaking the entire data management process. In addition to confirming the applicability of Adler's theory within the PDY context, the findings suggest that the research objectives were significantly met, i.e. the participants reported and displayed marked lifestyle improvements along with specific life skills development needs related to their deprivation. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

There is scant research concerning youth development programmes specifically from Adler's (1968) Individual Psychology perspective. Current programmes seem to be void of critical issues that are important in the local context because of their having a strong bias towards the Western perspective. Thus, the present research project sought firstly to assist the Previously Disadvantaged Youth (PDY) to develop constructive lifestyles characterised by self-mastery, encouragement, creativity and social interest. Secondly, it aimed to obtain specific local African input that would help expand the current Personal Life Planning Programme (PLPP) to one that addresses the unique needs and circumstances confronting South African PDYs today. Finally, it attempted to test the validity, scope and merit of Adler's theoretical assertion, within the context of the previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa, that all humans are engaged in a lifelong striving for superiority to overcome perpetual feelings of inferiority and life tasks. The latter objectives were addressed through the implementation of the PLPP. The study, as well as the related PLPP, is strongly founded on Adler's Individual Psychology (Adler, 1968; Ansbacher & Ansbacher 1956; Corsini & Wedding, 2005; Meyer et al., 2003; Prochaska & Narcross cited in Osborn, 2001). The relevant data were collected from a sample of matriculants from the PDY population living in a black township near Pretoria. The information was collected by means of the PLPP workbook; semi structured interviews, as well as, audiovisual equipment. A combination of a "Pre-structured Case Outline" and the related "Sequential Analysis" (Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 85) was adopted, with the researcher undertaking the entire data management process. In addition to confirming the applicability of Adler's theory within the PDY context, the findings suggest that the research objectives were significantly met, i.e. the participants reported and displayed marked lifestyle improvements along with specific life skills development needs related to their deprivation. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

The purpose of this study was to bridge the existing gap in the literature by exploring the relationship between the Adlerian concept of social interest, expressed through cooperation and conflict, and perceived level of marital happiness. This study explored behaviors along a continuum of social interest from cooperation to conflict. Preexisting data were used from the longitudinal Marital Instability over the Life Course Project funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institute on Aging (Booth, Johnson, Amato, & Rogers, 2003). Data from telephone surveys were collected in 1980, 1983, 1988, 1992-1994, 1997, and 2000 from married individuals who were between the ages of 18 and 55 in 1980. The initial random sample was 2,033, but attrition took place for each of the subsequent waves, resulting in 762 respondents in 2000. Results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed statistically significant relationships in a positive direction between cooperation and marital happiness, and in a negative direction between conflict and marital happiness across all waves of data. Cooperation and conflict as indicators of social interest accounted for between 26% and 37% of the variance in marital happiness, except for the 1988 wave, which was an aberration on all measures and accounted for only 12% of the variance. This still exceeded the a priori effect size selected for the study, a standardized regression coefficient of |.10|. Implications for theory, research and practice include focus on the link between higher levels of social interest as demonstrated through cooperative behaviors and greater marital happiness, one between conflict and lower levels of marital happiness. Marriage and family therapists need to consider the underlying goals of conflict such as power that may reveal underdeveloped levels of social interest. Counselors need to focus on helping couples develop relational skills that include the social provisions needed like empathy, understanding, and support. Future research is needed to more clearly define behaviors along the continuum of social interest.