The main objective of this research was to explore how teachers teach reading comprehension to Grade 3 Tshivenda-speaking learners. The research was prompted by the low performance of reading amongst these Grade 3 learners in this area. This study was a qualitative study. The paradigmatic position of the study was the interpretive paradigm. Data was collected through individual teachers’ interviews, focus group interviews, classroom observations and content analysis. Interviews and focus group discussions were taped, transcribed, analysed, and data was categorised into themes. Three schools, each with two Grade 3 classes, were selected. Learners were involved because the main aim was to observe teachers teaching reading comprehension to them. This study did not attempt to measure learner performance, but investigated the teaching of reading comprehension to Grade 3 Tshivenda-speaking learners. The aim of this was to investigate how teachers teach reading comprehension in their classrooms. The study developed a conceptual framework from the literature review, consisting of five phases. These phases were identified and developed as it became clear that, in order to teach reading comprehension effectively, various parties involved in schools need to be actively involved in the different phases when teaching reading comprehension education of learners. In addition, the learning and developmental theories consulted in this study were related to the conceptual framework. The research implies that reading comprehension can be taught and learnt, which further supports the development of the conceptual framework for this study. The findings of the study revealed that the participating teachers had limited understanding of reading comprehension strategies. They regarded teaching comprehension as a challenge as they do not know what comprehension strategies are and how to apply them. Additionally, they are stressed, confused and frustrated, because learners cannot read and understand the text. Furthermore, responses showed that teachers are uncertain of how to teach reading comprehension. Teachers spent little time on reading comprehension with learners, with no uniform approach amongst them on how to teach reading comprehension. Guided practice and time to practise comprehension strategies were absent in classrooms. The teachers also showed a lack of theoretical knowledge and practical experience about teaching comprehension strategies, which seems to result in teachers’ developing a negative attitude towards their learners (who struggle to read). Interviews and classroom observations revealed that, although the participating teachers said they understood what reading comprehension was, there was no correlation between what they said and what they did in practice in their classrooms. The results measured against Zimmerman’s (1998) applied social model of self-regulated learning, show that teachers lack the theoretical knowledge of teaching reading comprehension. In addition, participants were not satisfied with the intervention strategies and policies provided by the Department of Education. They felt neglected because guidelines were only in English and not in African languages, like Tshivenda. As such, no guidelines to teachers written in Tshivenda with Tshivenda examples exist. Workshops had not been helpful to Tshivenda teachers either. The study also revealed a lack of learning support materials, no variety of reading materials for learners and, in some schools, no readers at all. Lastly, the study shows that these teachers do not have access to research literature on the teaching of reading comprehension and rely on their own experience. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Early Childhood Education / unrestricted

Purpose: The construction industry is facing changes as academic education is becoming more common. Practical competence will be lost as newly graduated civil engineers often lack practical experience. As the industry is characterized by a clear identification and where a common view is that "you ought to have experience from construction work", this change is problematic. This study focuses on the supervisors role, where the aim of the report is to analyze how newly graduated civil engineers handle the lack of practical experience. Method: In order to achieve the objective of the study, the supervisor role has been studied at two large construction companies. To get a deep and fair view of the role, site managers and construction workers, together with supervisors with both practical experience and theoretical background have been studied. The nature of the study is qualitative where empirical data has been collected through interviews, observation, and analysis of internal company documents. Findings: The analysis is that the supervisors’ role is characterized by a certain number of tasks and operations. From these, connections can be made to how management should be handled, and the characteristics required in such operations. The last part includes collective identification within the industry and its pressure on the role. From these aspects the result is summarized. The affect is that newly graduated civil engineers require a more analytical and information seeking mindset when lacking practical experience. Implications: The conclusion of this study is that practical experience is an advantage in the role of supervisor, and that it is important to give the chance for supervisors to gain practical experience. In compensation for the lack of practical experience of newly graduated civil engineers, they instead have an analytical and information- seeking mindset. They also possess basic knowledge of the complete building process. The characteristics that are more important to focus on than experience are: having commitment, clarity in communication, clear structure and sense of initiative. The critical factors for leading the construction production is to disseminate information, take initiative, react to unexpected crises and allocate resources. Limitations: The study focuses on the role of supervisor at two major construction companies. If the study had also included smaller construction companies, a wider and more general conclusion of the role at large, could have been made. The study would be improved if more observations were possible to implement. To also observe the role from different occupational groups, other aspects and a wider analysis would have been possible to conduct. Keywords: Supervisor’s role in construction industry, Mintzberg's leadership roles, first-line manager, practical experience/academic education, collective identity. / Syfte: Byggbranschen står inför en del förändringar då akademisk utbildning blir allt vanligare. Praktisk kompetens går förlorad då nyexaminerade byggnadsingenjörer ofta saknar praktisk erfarenhet. Då branschen präglas av en tydlig identifiering och samhörighet där ”man ska ha varit ute i produktionen”, blir denna förändring problematisk. Denna studie fokuserar på arbetsledarrollen där målet med rapporten är att analysera hur nyexaminerade byggnadsingenjörer hanterar bristande praktisk erfarenhet. Metod: För att uppnå målet med studien har arbetsledarrollen studerats på två större byggföretag. Platschefer och yrkesarbetare samt arbetsledare med både praktisk erfarenhet och teoretisk bakgrund har studerats för att få en djup och rättvis bild av rollen. Studien är av kvalitativ karaktär där empirisk data har samlats in i form av intervjuer, observation och analys av företagens interna dokument. Resultat: Analysen är att arbetsledarrollen präglas av ett visst antal arbetsuppgifter och arbetsmoment. Utifrån dessa kan tydliga kopplingar dras till hur ledandet bör ske och vilka egenskaper som krävs i samband med dessa moment. Sista delen innefattar den kollektiva identifieringen inom branschen samt dess påtryckningar på rollen. Från dessa aspekter sammanfattas resultatet till att arbetsledarrollen påverkas genom att nyexaminerade byggnadsingenjörer kräver ett mer analytiskt och informationssökande tänk vid avsaknaden av praktisk erfarenhet. Konsekvenser: Slutsatsen är att praktisk erfarenhet är en fördel i rollen som arbetsledare, samt att det är av vikt att ge arbetsledare möjligheten till ökad praktisk erfarenhet. Som kompensation för den bristande praktiska erfarenheten hos nyexaminerade byggnadsingenjörer har de en helhetsbild över byggprocessen samt att de i större utsträckning söker upp och analyserar information. De egenskaper som är viktigare att fokusera på än erfarenhet är engagemang, tydlighet, struktur och initiativtagande. Samt de avgörande faktorerna för att leda byggproduktionen är att kunna sprida information, ta initiativ, agera vid oväntade kriser, samt fördela resurser. Begränsningar: Studien fokuserar på arbetsledare vid två större byggföretag. Om studien även hade omfattat mindre byggföretag hade bredare och mer generella slutsatser för rollen i stort kunnat göras. Studien hade förbättrats om fler deltagande observationer hade varit möjligt att genomföra. Att även observera rollen utifrån olika yrkesgrupper hade kunnat bidra till andra aspekter i analysen. Nyckelord: Arbetsledarrollen i byggbranschen, Mintzbergs ledarroller, första linjens chef, praktisk erfarenhet/akademisk utbildning, kollektiv identitet.

<p>Enligt rapporten "Akademi eller Verklighet?" skriven av Svenskt Näringsliv saknar många akademiker en god kontakt med arbetslivet under sina studier. Rapporten poängterar att svenska universitets och högskolors samverkan med arbetslivet är bristande och är i behov av förbättring. Detta då bristande arbetslivskontakt under studier kan resultera i att akademiker inte anses vara lika attraktiva på arbetsmarknaden som de akademiker som anser sig ha haft god kontakt med arbetslivet under sina studier.</p><p>Att akademiker som upplevt en god samverkan under sina studier gör dem mer eftertraktade på arbetsmarknaden tyder på att en positiv förändring sker hos en person som har upplevt en god kontakt med arbetslivet och fått praktisk erfarenhet i ett yrke.</p><p>Denna uppsats ämnar analysera huruvida en förändring sker i studenters prioritering av ledarskapsfärdigheter efter att praktiskt fått utöva ledarskap i form av en yrkespraktik. Uppsatsen har vidare som ansats att analysera huruvida de eventuellt ändrade prioriteringarna kan härledas till specifika situationer som upplevts under praktikperioden.</p><p>Uppsatsen utgår från ett hermeneutiskt synsätt och är en fallstudie då uppsatsen har som avsikt att djupgående beskriva och analysera det generella undersökningsproblemet genom att kvalitativt studera studentorganisationen AIESEC. Detta genom att sex intervjuer med studenter som alla besitter ledarskapspositioner, i form av en yrkespraktik, inom organisationen genomfördes. Undersökningen har även en kvantitativ ansats då en enkätundersökning bland studenter som saknar erfarenhet inom ledarskap genomförts för att kunna jämföra prioriteringen av ledarskapsfärdigheter hos studenter som saknar och studenter som praktiskt utövar ledarskap i form av en yrkespraktik.</p><p>För att kunna analysera data erhållen genom undersökningen samt kunna besvara undersökningsfrågan valdes teorier inom området lärande genom erfarenhet samt en modell angående ledarskapsfärdigheter. David Kolbs teori</p><p>Experiential Learning och teorin Action-Observation-Reflection Model är två teorier som författarna av denna uppsats har utgått ifrån för att bättre kunna förklara den eventuella förändringen och härledningen av denna. Teorierna användes även när enkäten och intervjuguiden konstruerades. Vidare användes även ett antal ledarskapsfärdigheter som Hughes, Ginnett och Curphy beskriver i boken Leadership – Enhancing the Lesson of Experience som stöd för undersökningen.</p><p>Efter att undersökningens insamlade data analyserats kunde det tydas att en förändring i prioriteringen av ledarskapsfärdigheter tycks ske då en yrkespraktik inom ledarskap genomgås. Undersökningen tyder på att de studenter som saknar praktisk erfarenhet inom ledarskap prioriterar färdigheten lyhördhet högt medan de studenter som praktiskt utövar ledarskap i form av en yrkespraktik istället tycks prioritera färdigheten motivation. Trots att även likheter i prioriteringen av ledarskapsfärdigheter påträffades mellan studenter som saknar och studenter som praktiskt utövar ledarskap i form av en yrkespraktik tyder bland annat härledningen av prioriteringen av ledarskapsfärdigheter som studenter som praktiskt utövar ledarskap gör att deras prioritering har påverkats av erfarenheten som yrkespraktiken erbjudit. Undersökningen visade att studenters prioritering av ledarskapsfärdigheter tycks kunna härledas till situationer som upplevts eller upplevs i deras ledarskapsposition inom AIESEC samt till tidigare ledares bristande respektive lyckade ledarskap.</p> / <p>According to the report "Akademi eller Verklighet?" written by the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise do many academics lack good contact with the working life during their studies which has resulted in the problem of academics not being desired by employers. The fact that academics that have had a good contact with the working life during their studies are more desired by employers than those academics who did not consider themselves to have a good contact with the working life during their studies shows that a positive change seems to occur when someone undergoes a practical experience within a profession.</p><p>This Bachelor thesis has the purpose to analyze whether a change occur in students prioritization of leadership skills due to a practical experience of leadership in terms of an internship. The thesis aims further to analyze whether one can derive the possible change in students prioritization of leadership skills to situations experienced during the internship in the field of leadership.</p><p>The thesis proceeds from a hermeneutic view and is a qualitative case study since the thesis has the purpose to analyze and describe the research question by studying the student organization AIESEC. The research consists of one questionnaire study among students that lack practical experience in the field of leadership and six interviews with students that practice leadership within the student organization AIESEC. This enables a comparison between the prioritization of students that lack ctical experience of leadership and students that practice leadership in terms of an internship.</p><p>The theories Experiential learning and Action-Observation-Reflection Model and a model regarding leadership skills were used when the questionnaire and the interview guide were constructed and when the information received from the research were analyzed. The theories where also used when the research question was answered.</p><p>After the information received from the research had been analyzed one could interpret that a change in the prioritization of leadership skills seems to occur due to an internship in the field of leadership. One could also interpret from the study that the prioritization of leadership skills derives from situations experienced during the practical experience of leadership and also from previous leaders lacking or successful leadership.</p>

The focus of this study is to identify important factors affect, how teachers' professional identity and role are shaped and changed during and after teacher training. Study's focus is to identify important factors bearing on how teachers' professional identity and role are shaped and changed during and after a teacher training. Respondents included in study are all teachers in vocational subject in upper secondary school. They also have experience from at practical profession before they began to work as teachers and started the teacher training. Method used in this study is the life stories of narrative nature. The questions revolved around the nature of studies and professional lives. It’s found that teachers experience a noticeable difference between the learning in the former profession and learning in academic studies. By participating in different groups during their training, partly with students in other categories partly with those with similar background. In this context the former professional exercise got a different and more important meaning. The conclusion is that institutional learning is of an entirely different character than learning to a practical profession can be, and this will require time for reflection. The question is whether the gap that seems to exist can be overcome if students' professional experiences are procured in a manner that does not neglect scientific fact.

Enligt rapporten "Akademi eller Verklighet?" skriven av Svenskt Näringsliv saknar många akademiker en god kontakt med arbetslivet under sina studier. Rapporten poängterar att svenska universitets och högskolors samverkan med arbetslivet är bristande och är i behov av förbättring. Detta då bristande arbetslivskontakt under studier kan resultera i att akademiker inte anses vara lika attraktiva på arbetsmarknaden som de akademiker som anser sig ha haft god kontakt med arbetslivet under sina studier. Att akademiker som upplevt en god samverkan under sina studier gör dem mer eftertraktade på arbetsmarknaden tyder på att en positiv förändring sker hos en person som har upplevt en god kontakt med arbetslivet och fått praktisk erfarenhet i ett yrke. Denna uppsats ämnar analysera huruvida en förändring sker i studenters prioritering av ledarskapsfärdigheter efter att praktiskt fått utöva ledarskap i form av en yrkespraktik. Uppsatsen har vidare som ansats att analysera huruvida de eventuellt ändrade prioriteringarna kan härledas till specifika situationer som upplevts under praktikperioden. Uppsatsen utgår från ett hermeneutiskt synsätt och är en fallstudie då uppsatsen har som avsikt att djupgående beskriva och analysera det generella undersökningsproblemet genom att kvalitativt studera studentorganisationen AIESEC. Detta genom att sex intervjuer med studenter som alla besitter ledarskapspositioner, i form av en yrkespraktik, inom organisationen genomfördes. Undersökningen har även en kvantitativ ansats då en enkätundersökning bland studenter som saknar erfarenhet inom ledarskap genomförts för att kunna jämföra prioriteringen av ledarskapsfärdigheter hos studenter som saknar och studenter som praktiskt utövar ledarskap i form av en yrkespraktik. För att kunna analysera data erhållen genom undersökningen samt kunna besvara undersökningsfrågan valdes teorier inom området lärande genom erfarenhet samt en modell angående ledarskapsfärdigheter. David Kolbs teori Experiential Learning och teorin Action-Observation-Reflection Model är två teorier som författarna av denna uppsats har utgått ifrån för att bättre kunna förklara den eventuella förändringen och härledningen av denna. Teorierna användes även när enkäten och intervjuguiden konstruerades. Vidare användes även ett antal ledarskapsfärdigheter som Hughes, Ginnett och Curphy beskriver i boken Leadership – Enhancing the Lesson of Experience som stöd för undersökningen. Efter att undersökningens insamlade data analyserats kunde det tydas att en förändring i prioriteringen av ledarskapsfärdigheter tycks ske då en yrkespraktik inom ledarskap genomgås. Undersökningen tyder på att de studenter som saknar praktisk erfarenhet inom ledarskap prioriterar färdigheten lyhördhet högt medan de studenter som praktiskt utövar ledarskap i form av en yrkespraktik istället tycks prioritera färdigheten motivation. Trots att även likheter i prioriteringen av ledarskapsfärdigheter påträffades mellan studenter som saknar och studenter som praktiskt utövar ledarskap i form av en yrkespraktik tyder bland annat härledningen av prioriteringen av ledarskapsfärdigheter som studenter som praktiskt utövar ledarskap gör att deras prioritering har påverkats av erfarenheten som yrkespraktiken erbjudit. Undersökningen visade att studenters prioritering av ledarskapsfärdigheter tycks kunna härledas till situationer som upplevts eller upplevs i deras ledarskapsposition inom AIESEC samt till tidigare ledares bristande respektive lyckade ledarskap. / According to the report "Akademi eller Verklighet?" written by the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise do many academics lack good contact with the working life during their studies which has resulted in the problem of academics not being desired by employers. The fact that academics that have had a good contact with the working life during their studies are more desired by employers than those academics who did not consider themselves to have a good contact with the working life during their studies shows that a positive change seems to occur when someone undergoes a practical experience within a profession. This Bachelor thesis has the purpose to analyze whether a change occur in students prioritization of leadership skills due to a practical experience of leadership in terms of an internship. The thesis aims further to analyze whether one can derive the possible change in students prioritization of leadership skills to situations experienced during the internship in the field of leadership. The thesis proceeds from a hermeneutic view and is a qualitative case study since the thesis has the purpose to analyze and describe the research question by studying the student organization AIESEC. The research consists of one questionnaire study among students that lack practical experience in the field of leadership and six interviews with students that practice leadership within the student organization AIESEC. This enables a comparison between the prioritization of students that lack ctical experience of leadership and students that practice leadership in terms of an internship. The theories Experiential learning and Action-Observation-Reflection Model and a model regarding leadership skills were used when the questionnaire and the interview guide were constructed and when the information received from the research were analyzed. The theories where also used when the research question was answered. After the information received from the research had been analyzed one could interpret that a change in the prioritization of leadership skills seems to occur due to an internship in the field of leadership. One could also interpret from the study that the prioritization of leadership skills derives from situations experienced during the practical experience of leadership and also from previous leaders lacking or successful leadership.

<p>The focus of this study is to identify important factors affect, how teachers' professional identity and role are shaped and changed during and after teacher training. Study's focus is to identify important factors bearing on how teachers' professional identity and role are shaped and changed during and after a teacher training. Respondents included in study are all teachers in vocational subject in upper secondary school. They also have experience from at practical profession before they began to work as teachers and started the teacher training. Method used in this study is the life stories of narrative nature. The questions revolved around the nature of studies and professional lives. It’s found that teachers experience a noticeable difference between the learning in the former profession and learning in academic studies. By participating in different groups during their training, partly with students in other categories partly with those with similar background. In this context the former professional exercise got a different and more important meaning. The conclusion is that institutional learning is of an entirely different character than learning to a practical profession can be, and this will require time for reflection. The question is whether the gap that seems to exist can be overcome if students' professional experiences are procured in a manner that does not neglect scientific fact.</p>

No description available.

The purpose of this thesis is to carry out a qualitative study of the perceptions of language teachers as to their role in the teaching of values and morals to pupils. Five language teachers have been interviewed about their perceptions of how values are taught and their role therein. The interviews serve to investigate the reality of teaching values to pupils in a Swedish secondary school and the work involved in this on-going process, this being with a view to having a better understanding of just how important a role the teaching of values plays in the daily working life of a teacher. Terms such as fundamental values and morals can be difficult to define as they are highly personal and can differ from person to person depending on one’s background, experiences and family circumstances, for example. The main values that are referred to in this piece of work are the fundamental democratic values and human rights as outlined in the national curriculum for Swedish secondary education (GY 11). It is insufficient for pupils to leave high school with a high academic aptitude and subject knowledge without having been guided by the school with regards to basic human values thus allowing them to develop into democratic citizens. Similarly, parents also have an important role to play when it comes to instilling their children with democratic values. Adolescents are highly influenced by the actions and opinions of adults in their immediate surroundings, therefore it is imperative that schools actively take a stand against and work to prevent all forms of discrimination, prejudice and negative attitudes that go against the school’s fundamental values. The results show that all teachers who have been interviewed are in agreement that teaching core values is a fundamental part of their teaching role. However, although they are aware of the National Curriculum´s guidelines regarding the teaching of values it is not a document to which they would often refer in their daily teaching role. Instead, they allow their own moral compass to guide them in how best to work with moral issues. Most of the teachers agree that it is important for teaching staff to have a unified view on how best to work with core values However, one teacher highlighted the danger of a combined ideology based solely on state doctrine and stressed that freedom of speech should still be respected. The teachers have expressed a wish to have more discussion, lectures and training about how to actively work with ethics and morals in the classroom. This is due to the fact that they are still unsure as to how to implement practical exercises involving core values into their lesson plans. They did, however, mention the importance of working with carefully selected literature, texts and films, for example, in order to put these moral issues into focus.

In the context of sustainable development, evaluations have particularly high relevance as complex issues have to be dealt with generally over an extended period of time. Furthermore, there is a growing demand to evaluate against the concept of sustainable development. Especially evaluations with sustainable development are a rather new type of evaluation, as the source of its evaluation questions and the criteria applied are rooted in the concept of sustainable development. Sustainability of a specific project or process is often highly case specific as sustainable development is determined by many often unique issues. However, evaluations would be highly inefficient, if they would have to be newly designed in every case. Thus it is necessary to determine and utilize the major issues for evaluations with sustainable development. This paper is part of a series of three papers - which can be used independently - that present the major common issues for evaluations with sustainable development in a Tool Box. The results presented here are based on outcomes of a research project funded by the "Austrian Science Fund". This paper presents practical problems related to the issue of complexity in evaluations with sustainable development. Notwithstanding the multiple challenges, the strategic options available are presented in terms of strategies. Especially commissioning agents, but also other evaluation stakeholders will find an overview and an assessment of the strategies regarding resources required, state of practical experience as well as their compatibility with the concept of sustainable development. (author's abstract) / Series: Research Paper Series of the Research Focus Managing Sustainability

<p> </p><p>Denna undersökning syftar till att belysa elevers perspektiv kring orsaker till omval på gymnasiet. Uppsatsen är baserad på kvalitativ forskning och sex elever som gjort omval på gymnasiet har intervjuats. Ibland fokuserar omvalet på frånfaktorer och tillfaktorer. Orsakerna till varför elever bytte <strong>från</strong> ett gymnasieprogram var osäkerhet, dålig organisation, boende på annan ort, obekvämt boende, ångrat sitt yrkesval, tröttnat på ämnen på programmet, ointresse, lågt studietempo samt otillräcklig kunskap om sig själv och om programmet. Skälen att elever bytte<strong> till</strong> ett gymnasieprogram var intressen, osäkerhet och kamrater. En strategi var att förlänga betänketiden innan yrkesvalet, då bytte man till ett studieinriktat program. Man kan se att elevernas senaste omval upplevs mer säkra än tidigare val. Faktum är att alla elever valt yrkesförberedande program från grundskolan. De elever som gick på annan ort sökte sig hemåt i omvalet. Samtliga elever har bytt från yrkesförberedande program till studieförberedande gymnasieprogram. Information om gymnasiet och de förberedande aktiviteterna inom studie- och yrkesvägledning är något som skolan erbjuder inför gymnasieval. Eleverna i denna undersökning har nämnt många olika aktiviteter inom studie och yrkesvägledning men de enda kommentarerna kring detta var att det var för lite praktik och att man inte lärde sig så mycket av studiebesök på företag. Föräldrar, kamrater, vägledare och mentorer är de man i denna undersökning talar med inför sina omval. Alla informanter hävdar att de pratar med kompisar men påtalar också att det är deras egen vilja som styr. Trots denna rapports begränsningar visar detta arbete på att det för en del elever kan vara för tidigt att göra studie- och yrkesval redan från grundskolan, årskurs nio.</p> / <p> </p><p>The purpose of our essay is to shed light on the reasons for students making a new/second selection of program to upper secondary school.  The essay is based upon qualitative research and interviews with six pupils who have made a new selection.  Often the causes for making a new selection are either to leave a particular program or to enter a particular program.  Some of the reasons for students changing <strong><em>from</em></strong> a program are uncertainty, poor organization, living away from home, uncomfortable living quarters, tired of the program, lack of interest, low pace of study, as well as a lack of knowledge of one's self and/or the program.  The reasons for a student changing <strong><em>to</em></strong> a particular program are interest, uncertainty and friends.  One strategy was to extend the time for consideration regarding choice of vocation and then changing to a study-specific program.  It is apparent that the most recent selection was considered more certain than previous selections.  All of the students in this study had chosen vocational programs while in comprehensive school.  Those students who studied in communities away from home chose to return to their home community to study.  All of the students have changed from vocational programs to programs preparing them for continued academic studies.  Information concerning upper secondary school and preparation for both vocational and academic studies is offered by the school before program selection.  The students in this study have mentioned numerous activities concerning academic and vocational preparation but their only comments concerning these activities were that there was too little practical experience and too little information presented during their educational visits to various businesses.  Before making a new choice of program, students generally discuss their choice with parents, friends, guidance counselors and mentors.  All the students claim that they had had discussions with their friends but that the final decision was their own. </p>