On the hypotheses, all except those relating to the appraisal of intensity and financial welfare were supported. / Some differences were found between western theories and the findings of the study. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) / The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among three major variables. The first variable is the active responses from Xiagang Zhigong, the unemployed workers with Chinese characteristics, which consisted of cognitive appraisal and job search behaviors for reemployment. The second one is the multiple social support systems which are composed of informal social support, financial welfare and formal services. And the third one is reemployment status. Triangulation of data collection methods, including a questionnaire survey and an in-depth interview, was used to gather and analyze data in order to describe basic features of those variables, and to test the following hypotheses. (1) The more social support Xiagang Zhigong obtain, the stronger their active responses will be. (2) The more active their cognitive appraisal are, the more job search behaviors they will engage in. (3) The more job search behaviors they finish, the better their reemployment status will be. / The research findings about the three variables are as follows. First, Xiagang Zhigong's active responses were found to be not positive enough. They basically felt that their unemployment was externally driven, and that unemployment was a very serious problem. Concerning their job search behaviors, informal contacts through friends, relatives and former colleagues were most frequently used to find jobs, followed by formal channels through the government and direct applications for jobs by themselves. Secondly, it was found that Xiagang Zhigong were not able to get sufficient social support. They got only a little informal social support from relatives, ex-colleagues and friends, which was mostly emotional support. The financial welfare they obtained was minimum. Very few unemployed workers were covered by more than one financial assistance program. Most of them were able to get assistance to meet their basic needs at a subsistence level. Moreover, the formal services they got were also not sufficient. Most of them got nothing. Thirdly, the data showed that about forty percent of Xiagang Zhigong found job successfully. Generally, the successful workers started to hunt job six months after they lost their job, and that they got their new position after ten months' job seeking. Nevertheless, they were dissatisfied with the reemployment quality in terms of income, position and the job as a whole. / 顧東輝. / 論文(博士)--香港中文大學, 2000. / 參考文獻 (p. 370-404) / 中英文摘要. / Adviser: Mok Bong-ho. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 61-08, Section: A, page: 3351. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / School code: 1307. / Lun wen (bo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2000. / Can kao wen xian (p. 370-404) / Zhong Ying wen zhai yao. / Gu Donghui.

More adolescents are surviving cancer and being treated outside the hospital-setting, allowing them to return to typical activities of development like attending school. Effective preparation for school re-entry is an important aspect of easing the transition back-to-school following a cancer diagnosis. Previous research has used the terms school re-entry, school re-entry preparation, and school reintegration interchangeably. For the purposes of the current study, school re-entry refers to going back-to-school. School re-entry preparation or interventions refers to the preparatory process implemented for the initial return to school following a cancer diagnosis. Conversely, school reintegration refers to the ongoing or long-term adjustment of the child or adolescent with cancer to the school environment. Research in school re-entry preparation began in the late 1970s, but much is still not well understood about appropriate school re-entry preparation in terms of application, outcome, or the adolescent's needs. The adolescent with cancer's perspective has been grossly neglected in research. Furthermore, current research lacks an operational definition of "successful school re-entry" and knowledge of specific factors associated with positive school re-entry outcomes. Identifying variables that positively impact the school re-entry process is critical to improving and individualizing school re-entry interventions. The current study used an adaption of the Disability-Stress Coping Model (DSC; Wallander & Varni, 1998) to both define school re-entry success and identify potential predictors that may impact school re-entry success. In addition, to obtain a more comprehensive picture of re-entry success, adolescents with cancer rated the success of their back-to-school experiences. The current study asked 85 adolescents with cancer (ages 11 - 19 years) to complete a web-based survey asking about their re-entry experiences and daily functioning. Results provided tentative support for a discrepancy between professional and adolescent re-entry needs/goals. Findings suggest that a subset of adolescents with cancer may be at risk for poor school re-entry/reintegration outcomes, including females, being of lower SES, having certain types of cancer (brain tumors, leukemia), undergoing specific treatments (radiation, chemotherapy), being out of school for longer periods of time, having pre-morbid academic difficulties, and/or having poor social support. Adolescents who demonstrate these risk factors may warrant increased, specialized attention when preparing to return to school. In addition to systemic and within-person factors from the adapted DSC model, findings suggest that developmental characteristics of adolescence must be considered in planning re-entry intervention. Appropriate modifications to school re-entry preparation for adolescents may include utilizing electronic and social media, implementing peer mentors, focusing on reinforcing appropriate social circles, and emphasizing autonomy. More research is needed to understand how to best assist the adolescent with cancer in returning to school.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between characteristics of refreshed registered nurses and reemployment in the nursing workforce post Refresher programme. The application forms completed by the participants of the six programmes conducted by the ACT Health Authority (ACTHA, now Department of Community Services and Health ACT) provided data for a profile analysis. Employment data was derived mostly from statistics compiled by the Research Officer, Nursing, ACTHA. The findings of this study demonstrated that inactive registered nurses do return to nursing from periods of non-participation as nurses, following completion of Refresher programmes. Moreover, significant numbers of these returning nurses remain in nursing employment. In relation to that aspect of workforce planning which considers sources of supply for the registered nurse labour market an area for further study would be to explore the area of patient care in which the greater concentration of refreshed nurses were to be found post programme: acute care settings or extended care facilities. The study found that predictions of the successful reentry to nursing of the individual refreshed nurse and of retention in the nursing workforce could not be based on the characteristics of that person, alone. These findings supported the study's hypothesis that there would be no statistically significant difference between the characteristics of refreshed registered nurses who returned to, and remain in, the nursing workforce and those refreshers who either did not reenter nursing post programme or who left during the following twelve months. The characteristics examined were age, family status, post registration nursing experience, post registration nursing courses, worked as a nurse in the ACT prior to the programme, previous employment status, and time inactive from nursing pre-Refresher programme. Trends were identified which indicated that with some characteristics there was a greater likelihood of post programme reemployability in nursing. Refreshed nurses who reentered and remained in the nursing workforce tended to be younger.than those not working as nurses. There was a trend for post programme participators in the nursing workforce to have had fewer years of post registration nursing experience and to be more likely not to have obtained post registration nursing qualifications than their counterparts not working in nursing positions. Perhaps not surprisingly the study found that a higher proportion of the refreshers employed as nurses had previously worked at some stage in ACT health care facilities as registered nurses. A somewhat unexpected finding was that amongst the group of refreshed nurses working in nursing the largest contingent had been inactive from nursing for more years than was the case for those not working as nurses. The majority of refreshed registered nurses, whether they were working as nurses post programme or not had a family status of partner/husband and child(ren) and were unemployed before undertaking the Refresher programme. Refreshed registered nurses have provided a source of supply to the nursing workforce during a period of shortage of qualified nurses in the health care system. In the latter part of the 1980's there have been indications that shortage is largely confined to nurses with specialised skills. The findings from this study should assist the nursing profession in deciding the future role of programmes of reentry for inactive registered nurses who require reskilling for current clinical competence for general patient care areas.

The overall aim of this thesis was to identify factors that early in a sick leave period could illuminate people’s resources and obstacles for returning to work; factors that could predict need for professional support in the sick leave process leading to a positive outcome for the individual. This thesis consists of four studies. The studied population was living in a rural part of a northern county in Sweden, and had been on sick leave for 28 days irrespective of diagnosis. The participants have been followed for five years with different investigation methods and subgroups of participants. The thesis was initiated by sending a questionnaire to the participants; the responses were compared to groups of healthy controls. The aim was to find predictors of the likelihood of a return to work that can be identified early in a sick leave period. The main focus was on individual mental resources (Study I). The next phase involved studies of sick leave statistics obtained from the Swedish Social Insurance Office, for the study population two years before and two years after the start of the research project. The material from the sick leave statistics was analysed together with responses from the questionnaire study with Partial Least Square (PLS). This was done to search for connections between the participants and factors of concern for sick leave and returning to work in different subgroups (Study II). In-depth interviews also were conducted to explore what the participants experienced as important in their sick leave process as they progressed back to work, or to long term sick leave or disability pension (Study III). Another study investigated client files in the Swedish Social Insurance Office to describe what information that was possible to find: in terms of medical and vocational rehabilitation including assessments, predictors for the outcome of the sick leave process, and the quality of the information in the files (Study IV). The findings showed significantly lower life satisfaction and psychosocial resources in the study-group compared to the healthy controls. The PLS analysis showed that it was the impact of multiple factors that influenced the study group, and the PLS analysis could help with early prediction of the outcome. Important factors were: personal belief in an ability to work in the future, number of sick leave days in the past, diagnosis, self-evaluated symptoms, life satisfaction and sense of coherence, length of education and sector of employment, and many different consequences in daily life caused by activity limitations. The interview study confirmed these results and added the following important resources: confirmation and support, structural and contextual factors, and participation in the sick leave process. Ideal-types were crystallized that can be identified in the early phases of the sick leave process. The client file study showed that some information was possible to find but a majority of the wanted information was limited why an improvement on the quality of documentation is suggested to give better basis for the files.

With rising demand for a workforce that can work cross-culturally (Mangan, 2011; Orahood, Woolf, & Kruze, 2008), it is not surprising that study abroad numbers continue to increase to a range of countries, destinations, and program types (Open Doors, 2012). However, while study abroad is often touted as the ideal means to incite linguistic and cultural competence, the reality of student learning is not a given (Alred & Byram, 2002; de Nooy & Hanna, 2003; Einbeck, 2002; Freed, 1995; Kearney, 2010; Kinginger, 2008; Kinginger, 2009; Rivers, 1998; Wilkinson, 2000). If higher education wishes to endorse study abroad as a means to acquire the crucial knowledge, skills, and attitudes of a globalized workforce (Miller, 2009), it is imperative that colleges and universities promote and integrate study abroad into the curriculum to foster the development of 21st century global citizens. In order to examine what businesses actually valued in hiring, Trooboff, Vande Berg, and Rayman (2007) surveyed employers and found not only that they valued study abroad as a form of international education, but also that they specifically valued many intercultural skills. However, on average, the respondents did not believe that studying abroad led to the enhancement of these skills, echoing the dominant discourse of study abroad being a frivolous endeavor for wealthy white women (Gore, 2005). Trooboff et al. (2007) noted that students need to be better trained to translate their experiences for their potential employers. In a similar vein, Root and Ngampornchai (2012) recommended that students be trained in intercultural communication to better help them articulate their learning. Nevertheless, Deardorff (2008) noted that intercultural training should not be limited to pre-departure orientation, but that a series of workshops or even a course could help address intercultural learning needs. While a number of courses of this nature have been offered either before departure or upon return (eg. With rising demand for a workforce that can work cross-culturally (Mangan, 2011; Orahood, Woolf, & Kruze, 2008), it is not surprising that study abroad numbers continue to increase to a range of countries, destinations, and program types (Open Doors, 2012). However, while study abroad is often touted as the ideal means to incite linguistic and cultural competence, the reality of student learning is not a given (Alred & Byram, 2002; de Nooy & Hanna, 2003; Einbeck, 2002; Freed, 1995; Kearney, 2010; Kinginger, 2008; Kinginger, 2009; Rivers, 1998; Wilkinson, 2000). If higher education wishes to endorse study abroad as a means to acquire the crucial knowledge, skills, and attitudes of a globalized workforce (Miller, 2009), it is imperative that colleges and universities promote and integrate study abroad into the curriculum to foster the development of 21st century global citizens. In order to examine what businesses actually valued in hiring, Trooboff, Vande Berg, and Rayman (2007) surveyed employers and found not only that they valued study abroad as a form of international education, but also that they specifically valued many intercultural skills. However, on average, the respondents did not believe that studying abroad led to the enhancement of these skills, echoing the dominant discourse of study abroad being a frivolous endeavor for wealthy white women (Gore, 2005). Trooboff et al. (2007) noted that students need to be better trained to translate their experiences for their potential employers. In a similar vein, Root and Ngampornchai (2012) recommended that students be trained in intercultural communication to better help them articulate their learning. Nevertheless, Deardorff (2008) noted that intercultural training should not be limited to pre-departure orientation, but that a series of workshops or even a course could help address intercultural learning needs. While a number of courses of this nature have been offered either before departure or upon return (eg. Brewer & Solberg, 2009; Downey, 2005), it appears that only one study to date examined the process of intercultural learning as it relates to study abroad (Anderson & Cunningham, 2009). The current study attempts to fill the gap in research by examining the effectiveness of a three-credit general education course in intercultural communication on the process of becoming interculturally competent. Additionally, it also examined the ability of post-study abroad students who enrolled in this course to articulate what they had learned while abroad in comparison with post-study abroad students who had not enrolled in the course. While most of the students (n = 33) participating in this study had enrolled in the course in intercultural communication were preparing to study abroad, there were also a number of participating students (n = 6) who had previously studied abroad. In this mixed-methods research, whose findings are reported in three separate, yet related, articles, answers to the following research questions were sought: 1. How does intercultural competence develop in post-study abroad students over the span of a semester-long course focused on the development of intercultural communication skills through critical reflection? The first article of this dissertation examines the process of unpacking the study abroad experience two students went through upon return to the home campus through the lens of experiential learning (Kolb, 1984), transformative learning (Mezirow, 2000), and ethnocentric versus ethnorelative worldviews (Bennett, 1993). The second article uses these same frameworks to investigate the learning process for four pre-study abroad students enrolled in this same course to answer the question: 2. Are there noticeable differences in the development of intercultural competence in pre-study abroad students who are enrolled in a semester-long course focused on the development of intercultural competence? Lastly, the third article examines how post-study abroad students articulated their learning abroad differently by answering the question: 3. Are post-study abroad

The purpose of this study was to determine the induction problems of temporary teachers in secondary schools in the Northern Cape Province. This aim was achieved by firstly embarking upon a literature study on the nature of induction and secondly on the induction problems of temporary teachers. Thirdly an empirical investigation was conducted on the induction problems of temporary teachers. Finally, recommendations were made through which temporary teachers' problems can be resolved. Findings from the literature study indicate that the temporary teacher encounters numerous induction problems that include administrative problems, problems with teaching and learning, management problems, interpersonal and other problems. Administrative problems include aspects such as late notice of a post, that no floor plan is presented, that school rules and departmental regulations are not conveyed to the temporary teacher, problems with internal administrative issues and a lack of an information brochure. Problems with the learning and teaching situation relate to issues such as poor lesson planning, a poor culture of learning and teaching as well as strikes by teachers. Management problems relate to issues such as in service training, classroom management, school environment, service contract, unfamiliarity with management style and a lack of acknowledgement Interpersonal issues include problems with collegial and learner relationships as well as problems with parent teacher contact. Other problems include aspects such as personal problems, privacy, versatility, future planning and continuity. Findings based on the empirical study indicate that the respondents encounter less (none too few) problems within the school as was reported in the literature study. However, there are issues such as redeployment of teachers, service contract, uncertainty about a teaching post, lack of parental involvement and a lack of writing and textbooks which pose problems for the temporary teacher. These issues do not lie within the sphere of the school itself but need the attention of the Department of Education. The recommendations of this study therefore emphasise the need for the Department of Education to take an in depth look into the last mentioned factors that are causing problems for temporary teachers. Furthermore it is to be recommended that temporary teachers can be part of the induction programme of permanent teaching staff seeing that their induction problems within the school are not of a serious nature. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2000

The purpose of this study was to determine the induction problems of temporary teachers in secondary schools in the Northern Cape Province. This aim was achieved by firstly embarking upon a literature study on the nature of induction and secondly on the induction problems of temporary teachers. Thirdly an empirical investigation was conducted on the induction problems of temporary teachers. Finally, recommendations were made through which temporary teachers' problems can be resolved. Findings from the literature study indicate that the temporary teacher encounters numerous induction problems that include administrative problems, problems with teaching and learning, management problems, interpersonal and other problems. Administrative problems include aspects such as late notice of a post, that no floor plan is presented, that school rules and departmental regulations are not conveyed to the temporary teacher, problems with internal administrative issues and a lack of an information brochure. Problems with the learning and teaching situation relate to issues such as poor lesson planning, a poor culture of learning and teaching as well as strikes by teachers. Management problems relate to issues such as in service training, classroom management, school environment, service contract, unfamiliarity with management style and a lack of acknowledgement Interpersonal issues include problems with collegial and learner relationships as well as problems with parent teacher contact. Other problems include aspects such as personal problems, privacy, versatility, future planning and continuity. Findings based on the empirical study indicate that the respondents encounter less (none too few) problems within the school as was reported in the literature study. However, there are issues such as redeployment of teachers, service contract, uncertainty about a teaching post, lack of parental involvement and a lack of writing and textbooks which pose problems for the temporary teacher. These issues do not lie within the sphere of the school itself but need the attention of the Department of Education. The recommendations of this study therefore emphasise the need for the Department of Education to take an in depth look into the last mentioned factors that are causing problems for temporary teachers. Furthermore it is to be recommended that temporary teachers can be part of the induction programme of permanent teaching staff seeing that their induction problems within the school are not of a serious nature. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2000

Disability advocates in the twenty-first century have frowned upon the practice of institutionalization in disability services, yet many people with intellectual disability continue to be institutionalized in other settings such as correctional facilities. The prison system is a difficult environment for people with intellectual disability to negotiate, and they may find themselves victimized, segregated and isolated with very few resources to survive the experience. Incarceration may present a temporary solution to preventing anti-social behaviour in society. However, for offenders with intellectual disability, it often fails to address their criminal behaviour or the social context from which the behaviour emanates. Policy and practice in the disability service sector needs to develop further awareness of the needs of people with intellectual disability who come into contact with the criminal justice system as offenders. Similarly, correctional systems need to expand their knowledge base on the habilitative and rehabilitative needs of prisoners with intellectual disability in order to better address the issues that may arise from their incarceration. This exploratory qualitative study gathers the life stories of ten ex-prisoners from Queensland correctional facilities who have been labelled as having an intellectual disability by the service systems they have accessed. It utilizes an interpretive, social constructionist framework to understand people’s experiences. Life stories were gathered from in-depth interviews with participants over a prolonged period of time and supplemented by contextual information provided by six practitioners from disability, mental health and ex-prisoner services. The stories of three participants with intellectual disability were analysed through the holistic lens of a narrative approach and all ten stories were analysed thematically, providing an aggregate picture of all participants’ experiences. The findings of this thesis indicate that participants in this study had personal needs to belong, to feel competent and for others to see their criminal activity as an unfortunate but very human response to difficult circumstances. These needs were not always met within the prison environment and many participants struggled to feel safe in such a context. There were many pre-prison characteristics of participants that influenced their adaptation to prison, and they were also subjected to a series of degradations such as enforced isolation, frequent strip-searching, verbal and physical assault. However, these factors were not always constructed as negative or significant experiences by participants, and were often counterbalanced by perceived benefits to prison life such as friendship, food and reprieve from community living. These constructions of their experience highlight the vulnerability of this group within the prison environment and the failure of 2 the system and broader society to address core issues for people when they returned to the community. Significant disparities were also found between the philosophies of disability service support and the correctional enterprise. This study has indicated the urgent need for cross-agency collaboration in addressing the needs of people with intellectual disability. The thesis makes a contribution to both doing research with people with intellectual disability and to understanding their experiences of incarceration. The voices of people with intellectual disability have long been overlooked in research because it was assumed they could not express their views or because researchers did not have appropriate research approaches. It is only recently that some writers have captured the viewpoints of people with intellectual disability in academic discourse, but there has been little work done with prisoners and ex-prisoners with intellectual disability. Researching the experience of imprisonment with people with intellectual disabilities also presented unique ethical and methodological challenges. This thesis covers ethical issues such as informed consent, incriminating disclosure, self-determination and veracity and bias in life story research. It also develops knowledge in this area regarding recruitment, communication practices, and dissemination of findings. Overall, the study provides a nuanced account of life inside prison for people with intellectual disability. It makes a valuable contribution to the field of inclusive research with people with impaired capacity and to criminological research in this area.

Over the 1980s secondary schools and Technical and Further Education (TAFE) colleges in South Australia had increasing numbers of adults returning to formal secondary education mainly in search of better jobs or to qualify for tertiary studies. The teaching of such students required an appreciation of the difficulties they faced with the competing demands of family and work, and the anxieties they had in meeting the requirements of formalised study. In 1989 the South Australian Government made a policy decision, to transfer all the year 11 and 12 classes which TAFE colleges had specially established for adult students to the public secondary school system. Funds were allocated for the establishment of a secondary school system wide structure of nine Adult Re-entry sites, eight of which are still successfully operating within the Department of Education and Children’s Services. Whilst adult educational sites existed elsewhere, no other Australian state had a comparable systemic secondary school structure designed for adults returning to study. As a teacher of adult re-entry students, I sought to investigate the historical factors behind the policy decision to establish of adult re-entry sites within the secondary school system, to research the development of adult programs at a particular site and to study the experiences of adult students, analysing in particular why they returned to formal studies. Overseas studies indicated that to understand the personal worlds of adult students two sets of factors needed to be taken into account. External social and cultural factors influenced their current situation and their life experiences. Internal psychological factors helped to determine how they responded to the new demands of study. Four different educational responses to adult students could be identified. Direct and structured teaching could be seen in many vocational training models. Programs based on andrological principles put the emphasis on the individual’s self – directed learning. A third approach was focussed on critical pedagogy which sought to change society. There was also evidence of a holistic approach, which was centred on the adult learners but provided sympathetic educators to support their learning. The researcher’s underlying perspective in carrying out this study was that associated with Weber’s social action theory, because of the way it enabled emphasis to be placed on the actions of individuals and their interpretations of their actions in their social and cultural contexts. In this research portfolio the individuals concerned were politicians and educational administrators making policy decisions (Part 1); teachers developing appropriate programs (Part 2); and adult students deciding to return to studies and participating in adult programs (Part 3). Part 1 of Portfolio Two main sources of data were used to investigate the reasons for the 1989 policy decision to establish a system of adult re-entry colleges and schools within the Education Department of South Australia. The first was the official Hansard record of debates in the South Australian Parliament during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The second was a series of interviews with the Minister of Education involved and key officials in the Departments of Education and TAFE. The debates were focussed on the ideal educational location for adult re-entry students. Arguments based on the perspective of social justice and the special needs of adult students led to the establishment of a formal network of sites and programs to cater for the needs of adults within the secondary school sector. Despite the closure of one site in 1996 and funding readjustments in 1998, by 2005 adult re-entry colleges and schools had a well established role in South Australian public education system. Part 2 of Portfolio The investigation into the development of adult re-entry programs on one site was based on documents available in the Research School chosen – annual statistics, reports, curriculum, administration and journals. In addition, key members of staff involved in the adult program were interviewed. There was evidence of the way the adult program had changed over the period 1990 - 2005 in response to changing demography in the surrounding area and to changing needs and interests of those returning to study, as well as satisfying Departmental requirements. In recent years there has been a trend for more students to study part – time and to seek vocational rather than pre – university education. The provision of appropriate courses, resources and support was regarded by staff as important in the ongoing success of the adult re-entry program. Part 3 of Portfolio The investigation of adult students’ motivations and experiences in returning to study was based on the memoirs and personal statements of 40 adult re-entry students from the Research School. Their comments provided a unique understanding of the diverse personal worlds of adult re-entry students, their expectations, goals and aspirations, their difficulties and problems and their learning experiences. The formation of adult campuses in the secondary sector in South Australia was influenced by both pragmatic factors and by principles of social justice which sought to promote educational opportunities and offer those who had left school without recognised qualifications a second chance. Adult re-entry sites have continued to provide for the needs of adult learners in the communities they serve. They have made an important contribution both to the individual’s right to life – long learning and to society’s need for skilled workers and well educated professionals. During the twenty first century adult sites in South Australia within the Department of Education and Children’s Services have faced two challenges. The learning interests of adult students have changed, with more looking to the acquisition of technical and vocational skills. Furthermore, in order to remain viable, adult sites have had to maintain a high profile in relation to innovative policy development, student numbers, funding and resource allocation. Their successes have been due in large measure to their recognition that adult re-entry students were not big kids, but required specific educational structure and programs catering for their diverse learning needs. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1415385 / Thesis (D.Ed.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Education, 2009

abstract: Women who are incarcerated are viewed as having departed from the hegemonic standard of motherhood, and become questionable in their roles as mothers, and are often perceived as "bad" mothers. While the challenges of parenting behind bars has been widely researched, there is a paucity of research that centers the experiences and challenges of mothers post-incarceration or probation and a void in the literature that attempts to view this population outside of the confines of the good/bad mother dichotomy. This dissertation explores how mothers who are formerly incarcerated or convicted describe their experiences navigating and negotiating their roles not as good or bad mothers but as fierce mothers. The concept of fierce mother exists outside of the good/bad mother binary; it is based on themes that emerged from the stories women told during our conversations about the practice of mothering. The energy of hard-won survival is what they bring to their mother roles and for many it drives their activism around prison abolition issues. Their stories challenge the normative discourse on good/bad mothers, justice, rights, freedom and dignity. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Justice Studies 2015