The aim of this study was to explore and describe the use of music therapy during intervention with primary school girls who have been sexually abused. An empirical study of limited extent was undertaken, which was qualitative in nature and conducted from the interpretivist paradigm. In depth case study was used as research design, whilst educational psychological assessments, intervention and re-assessments, observation, interviews, analysis of documentation, field notes and a reflective diary were employed as data gathering methods. Two primary school girls in a place of safety were selected as participants in the study. Despite the fact that these girls had to cope with the trauma of sexual abuse, they had to deal with emotions and behaviour closely related to such trauma, including depression, aggression, fear, hate, inappropriate interpersonal relationships, sleeping disorders, low self-concept and behavioural difficulties. The findings of the empirical study are supported by literature, namely that music therapy can provide a safe setting to children for revealing their emotions, fears and needs related to trauma, such as sexual abuse. Music therapy had a positive effect on both cases, who illustrated positive change during the process of intervention and were able to replace negative experiences with positive emotions. Further findings of this nature include an improvement of both girls’ ability to express themselves on an emotional level, self-confidence, assertiveness, self-concepts, social skills and interpersonal relationships, as well as a decline in negative behavioural patterns and symptoms. Subsequently, both girls could perform on a higher level on all various domains of functioning. / Dissertation (MEd (Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Through a critical-functional, rather than literal, reading of the text of Revelation, this dissertation hypothesises a move beyond the paralysing constant reduction of hermeneutic meaning to two conventional poles when discussing hope – the early Christian movement’s hope through reversal, and contemporary nihilism. In order to do so in a responsible manner, it is necessary to study other research done on the topics of eschatology and hope – especially as seen in the book of Revelation. For this reason, the most popular and representative scholars of the Book of Revelation are studied. This overall look at current scholarships' views regarding the Apocalypse will help detect any possible missing elements in our approach to Revelation. But no study of this topic can be considered near complete if other disciplines are not involved; in this case especially when moving on to a critical-functional reading of Revelation. This thesis thus features an exploratory study of the functioning of ritual and hope within the human psyche; from archaeological to psychological perspectives. This emphasises the importance of, and leads into, the possibilities of a functional reading of the Book of Revelation. All of the above work leads to a re-evaluation of the success of hope as metanarrative for today. The suggestion is that Christian hope is not imaginary, but is irreducibly imaginative. For “reality is never just the world as it exists; it is the world as it is experienced through the lenses of social perception” (Barr 2010:636). / New Testament / D. Th. (New Testament and Early Christian Studies)

The purpose of this work is to investigate and shed light on how children’s literature is used in the after – school center, if there are any conversations with children’s literature as a starting point and if children’s literature and conversation from the books are used as tools to let students process issues concerning themselves, their lives and their thoughts. The servey was conducted in the form of a web-based questionnaire and the questionnaire responses were then analyzed from three different theoretical perspectives: a socio-cultural perspective, an environmental psychological perspective and Aidan Chamber’s model The Reading Circle. From the point of view of the socio-cultural perspective, communication and language are in focus and the interplay between the common thinking and the individual’s thinking is a prerequisite for development and learning. This perspective is set in relation to how conversation about read books can become tools for students’ development. The environmental psychological perspective in this work is about how noise affects students’ concentration and analytical ability, how the design of the room affects students’ views of both themselves and what the room should be used for and that the environment is also a matter of social impact. The reading circle offers a holistic perspective on the reading process, which is about choosing a book, reading the book, being able to reflect on and react to the book’s content, and then want to start over with the next book. Conclusions drawn from this study are that children’s literature is used in leisure centers to varying degrees, that the physical environment in the form of, for example, limited opportunities for quiet places affects the extent of student’s individual reading, and that books discussions and structured reflections based on children’s literature occur to a very limited extent. / Syftet med detta arbete är att undersöka och belysa hur barnlitteratur används i fritidshemmet, om det förekommer några samtal med barnlitteraturen som utgångspunkt och om barnlitteratur och samtal utifrån böckerna används som verktyg för att låta eleverna bearbeta frågor som berör dem själva, deras liv och deras tankar. Undersökningen har genomförts i form av en webbaserad enkät och enkätsvaren har sedan analyserats utifrån tre olika teoretiska perspektiv: ett sociokulturellt perspektiv, ett miljöpsykologiskt perspektiv samt Aidan Chambers modell Läsandets cirkel. I det sociokulturella perspektivets utgångspunkt står kommunikation och språk i fokus och samspelet mellan det gemensamma tänkandet och den enskildes tänkande är en förutsättning för utveckling och lärande. Detta perspektiv sätts i relation till hur samtal omkring lästa böcker kan bli verktyg för elevernas utveckling. Det miljöpsykologiska perspektivet i detta arbete handlar om hur buller påverkar elevers koncentration och analysförmåga, hur rummets utformning påverkar elevernas syn på både sig själva och på vad rummet ska användas till samt att miljö även är en fråga om social påverkan. Läsandets cirkel erbjuder ett helhetsperspektiv på läsprocessen som handlar om att välja bok, att läsa boken, att få reflektera över och reagera på bokens innehåll, för att sedan vilja börja om med nästa bok. Slutsatser som dragits av denna undersökning är att barnlitteratur används i fritidshemmen i varierande grad, att den fysiska miljön i form av till exempel begränsade möjligheter till lugna platser påverkar omfattningen av elevers enskilda läsning, samt att boksamtal och strukturerade reflektionstillfällen utifrån barnlitteraturen förekommer i mycket begränsad omfattning.

Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

This study explores the world of human conflict in the workplace, the workplace (in this case) being a South African university. Using the academic tools of ethnography and autoethnography, I investigate the dimensions of human conflict management, which include intrapersonal, interpersonal and intra-group conflict management, from a psychological perspective. In this thesis I refer, in particular, to examples and extractions taken from case studies that focus on conflicts between employees. In doing so I used an eclectic, psychodynamic theoretical frame of reference. The data was collected and processed over a period of fourteen years. Another focus of this thesis is my reflections on my personal development as a counselling psychologist specialising in intrapersonal, interpersonal and intra-group conflict management within an institutional organisation. The participants‟ stories revealed intense emotional experiences and I have put forward suggestions on how these experiences could be explored and dealt with by means of psychologically orientated techniques and interventions within the boundaries of the ethical codes and values of counselling psychology. My eclectic choice of brief psychotherapy, strengths-based counselling, and psychodynamic-based intrapersonal, interpersonal and intra-group interventions are included in my personal narrative. This study serves only as a guideline to other counselling psychologists who deal with human conflicts in similar situations. I have not tried to present a generalised theory. In this study, I argue strongly that there is indeed a place for counselling psychologists and the application of psychological knowledge in the world of human resources departments in organisations. I believe that counselling psychologists can operate, alternatively, as individual counselling psychologists, workshop facilitators and co-facilitators, as consultants, and as members of multidisciplinary teams to address, among other, conflict management in a tertiary institution. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

This study explores the world of human conflict in the workplace, the workplace (in this case) being a South African university. Using the academic tools of ethnography and autoethnography, I investigate the dimensions of human conflict management, which include intrapersonal, interpersonal and intra-group conflict management, from a psychological perspective. In this thesis I refer, in particular, to examples and extractions taken from case studies that focus on conflicts between employees. In doing so I used an eclectic, psychodynamic theoretical frame of reference. The data was collected and processed over a period of fourteen years. Another focus of this thesis is my reflections on my personal development as a counselling psychologist specialising in intrapersonal, interpersonal and intra-group conflict management within an institutional organisation. The participants‟ stories revealed intense emotional experiences and I have put forward suggestions on how these experiences could be explored and dealt with by means of psychologically orientated techniques and interventions within the boundaries of the ethical codes and values of counselling psychology. My eclectic choice of brief psychotherapy, strengths-based counselling, and psychodynamic-based intrapersonal, interpersonal and intra-group interventions are included in my personal narrative. This study serves only as a guideline to other counselling psychologists who deal with human conflicts in similar situations. I have not tried to present a generalised theory. In this study, I argue strongly that there is indeed a place for counselling psychologists and the application of psychological knowledge in the world of human resources departments in organisations. I believe that counselling psychologists can operate, alternatively, as individual counselling psychologists, workshop facilitators and co-facilitators, as consultants, and as members of multidisciplinary teams to address, among other, conflict management in a tertiary institution. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)