A large body of research literature connects the concept of community with schools and other educational organizations. This study: 1. Drew from that educational literature: (a) a typology of the different senses in which the term community is conceptualized; (b) guiding principles for building community. 2. Interviewed thirteen educators from Calgary (Alberta, Canada) Public Board of Education to ascertain: (a) how these educators conceptualize the concept of community; (b) their views on how the concept of community could be operationalized in schools. 3. Analyzed how (1) and (2) do and do not complement each other. 4. Drew conclusions and made recommendations for future study, policy and action which will allow the idea of community in schools to become more attainable. The concept of community, as applied to schools, identifies two types of realtionships: territorial and relational. However, an optimal sense of community will not be experienced until people within territorial stuctures begin to interact with and relate to one another. Such an enlarged notion of community would speak to the caring and trust that exists between people; individuals' faith in process; and a sense of ownership in, commitment to, and shared responsibility for, what occurs between people within lateral structures. Another element would be the valuing of all people; valuing their place in the community, their growth as learners, and the qualities they bring and contributions they make to the community. Finally,larger connections would be made which extend beyond the smaller territorial structures, into the larger school community and beyond into larger communities outside the school. This study may also serve as an heuristic springboard for future research in at least five major areas: 1. How value systems are developed by educators and educational leaders. 2. How educators and eduactional leaders come to value shared leadership and shared responsibility in lateral structures. 3. The potential for one type of community serving as a foundation for others. 4. How currently vague and abstract concepts of community may be expressed in language that is clear, precise and practical. 5. Longitudinal studies of educators and educational leaders addressing the assumptions of what learning communities and communities of leaders are and should be. / xi, 137 leaves ; 28 cm.

Tyrimo objektas – 11-13 metų Kauno ir Šakių pagrindinių mokyklų moksleivių fizinio aktyvumo, gyvensenos ir socialinių veiksnių sąsajos. Tyrimo tikslas: įvertinti Kauno ir Šakių pagrindinių mokyklų 11-13 m. moksleivių laisvalaikio fizinio aktyvumo, žalingų įpročių, subjektyvaus sveikatos vertinimo ir socialinių veiksnių sąsajas. Hipotezė: 11-13 metų moksleivių fizinis aktyvumas yra nepakankamas; pasyvaus laisvalaikio praleidimo formos bei įvairūs socialiniai bei gyvensenos aspektai turi reikšmės mokleivių fiziniam aktyvumui. Uždaviniai : 1. Nustatyti laisvalaikio moksleivių fizinį aktyvumą ir sąsajas lyties, amžiaus ir gyvenamos vietos aspektu. 2. Atskleisti moksleivių laisvalaikio fizinio aktyvumo, pasyvaus laisvalaikio praleidimo trukmės, žalingų sveikatai įpročių ir subjektyvaus sveikatos ir laimės vertinimo sąsajas. 3. Įvertinti socialinių veiksnių reikšmę moksleivių laisvalaikio fiziniam aktyvumui. 4. Išanalizuoti mokinių fizinio aktyvumo sąsajas su mokyklos aplinkos veiksniais. Tyrimo imtis ir organizavimas. Anketinė apklausa buvo vykdoma 2012m. lapkričio ir 2013m. sausio mėnesiais Kaune ir Šakiuose, kiekvienam tiriamajam taikant anketavimo metodą. Iš viso apklausta 356 moksleiviai. Iš jų 210 Kauno mieste ir 146 Šakiuose. Išvados: 1. Kaune laisvalaikiu fiziškai aktyvia veikla užsiima 71,9 proc. mokinių, o Šakiuose – 35,6 proc. Kaune gyvenantiems mokiniams galimybė būti fiziškai aktyviais buvo 1,7 (95 proc. PI 0,93 – 1,05) karto didesnė negu gyvenantiems Šakiuose... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Subject – the relationships between leisure-time physical activity, lifestyle-related habits and social factors of 11-13 year schoolchildren of Kaunas and Šakiai. Aim of the study: to assess the leisure time physical activity, self-rated health, unhealthy habits and social factors of 11-13 year schoolchildren in Kaunas and Šakiai two secondary schools. Hypothesis: physical activity of 11-13 years children is insufficient; passive leisure forms and different social aspects are associated with schoolchildren’s leisure-time physical activity. Objectives: 1. To determine leisure time physical activity of schoolchildren and its relationships with gender, age and place of residence. 2. To reveal the relationships between leisure-time physical activity, unhealthy lifestyle-related habits and self-rated health of schoolchildren. 3. To assess social factors importance to leisure-time physical activity of schoolchildren. 4. To analyze leisure-time physically activity of schoolchildren in relation to school environment. Sample and organization. Questionnaire survey was conducted in 2012 November – 2013 January in Kaunas city and Šakiai, on each trial using the questionnaire method. Total number of questionnaires was 356: 210 from Kaunas and 146 from Šakiai. Conclusions: 1. 71.9% of Kaunas city schoolchildren were physically active during leisure time whereas in Šakiai city – only 35.6%. The odds of adequate physically activity was 1.7 (95% CI 0.93-1.05) times higher for children... [to full text]

The current study explored the association between sexual minorities’ experiences in schools and relationships. Socio-political-psychological theory provided a framework for the exploration of how retrospective reports of sexual orientation violence in school (SOVS) and school environment predicted the experience and perpetration of sexual minority intimate partner violence (SMIPV). Because of its relation to both school and interpersonal violence, alcohol was also hypothesized to predict rates of experiencing and perpetrating SMIPV. Group differences for all scales were explored on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, race/ethnicity, and education. Chi-square and analysis of variance analyses revealed several significant differences. Logistic regressions revealed that the experience of SOVS was not found to significantly affect the risk of experiencing or perpetrating SMIPV. However, a negative school environment was found to affect the risk of experiencing and perpetrating SMIPV differentially by gender and race, respectively. Results also revealed that alcohol significantly predicted the perpetration of SMIPV.

Two primary purposes were attendant to the study. The first purpose was to identify(from a list of support elements for black student retention deemed important from a study of the literature) the support elements present at 400 predominantly white colleges as perceived by the directors of their minority affairs/student affairs departments. The population for the study was colleges and universities with at least 1000 students and at least a 2% and no more than a 12% black student population. From the population a random sample of 400 colleges were selected from the 48 states in the continental United States. The minority/student affairs personnel from this sample were polled.A secondary purpose was to have these same personnel give their opinions as to the effectiveness of each support element and to rank them as to their effectiveness. The following findings were noted:1.Eleven of the elements listed were represented as part of the retention program for black students at 50% or more of the respondent colleges and universities.2. Those retention elements which numbered in the top five in importance to black student retention, that received the most responses were presidential commitment, black faculty members at all levels, committment to multiculturalism, increased financial aid, faculty/peer counselling and deal quickly with racism. Presidential committment was listed as among the five most important elements 9ltimes or 55.4% of the returns.3.When the percentages of weight that these respondents gave to cultural vs academic support was averaged, academic support was considered more important (63.0272) thancultural support (36.1967).4. There was a significant correlation at the .003 level between the number of retention support elements utilized by each respondent college and the retention rate of black students at the end of the student's first year. / Department of Educational Leadership

The purpose of this study was to illustrate how professionals, who work with psychosocialproblems among children, look at the impact of social factors on behavior that causes ADHDdiagnosis and at the relationship between social factors and the increased diagnosis that hasoccurred in recent years. To answer our purpose, we chose a qualitative approach byinterviewing six professionals who had different professional affiliations. We analyzed theresults using systems theory and attachment theory. The results showed that the professionalssaw various social factors that influenced the behaviors that cause ADHD diagnosis, particularlytroublesome growing environment and the school environment that requires greater cognitiveability and social skills of children today. They also saw that social factors could have an impacton the increase of diagnoses, particularly that the diagnosis can result in that the understandingchanges and that it is considered easier to get extra support at school with a diagnosis. / Syftet med denna studie var att belysa hur professionella som arbetar med psykosocialaproblem hos barn, ser på sociala faktorers inverkan på beteenden som föranleder ADHD-diagnos samt på relationen mellan sociala faktorer och den ökade diagnossättning som skett på senare år. För att besvara vårt syfte så valde vi en kvalitativ metod genom att intervjua sex professionella som hade olika yrkestillhörigheter. Vi analyserade resultatet med hjälp av systemteori och anknytningsteorin. Resultatet visade att de professionella såg olika sociala faktorer som inverkade på beteenden som föranleder ADHD-diagnos, framförallt orolig uppväxtmiljö samt skolmiljön som kräver större kognitiv och social förmåga hos barn idag. De upplevde även att det fanns en relation mellan sociala faktorer och den ökade diagnossättningen, framförallt genom att en diagnos kan medföra att bemötandet och förståelsen förändras samt att det anses enklare att få extra stöd i skolan med en diagnos.

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Despite having been endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) almost a decade ago, and its widespread adoption as a model of "best practice" for school health promotion throughout the world, the Health Promoting Schools framework has not been subjected to widespread evaluation in a way that fully recognises its core tenets. Most evaluations have focused on individual targeted interventions addressing students' health behaviours, or implementation issues such as school health policies or access to services. No evaluations of this approach could be found which investigated the impact of the HPS model on teachers, as a critical factor influencing the school climate, or on organisational processes associated with employee wellbeing within the school setting. There is a vast literature pertaining to conditions of the work environment that affect employee health, including work-related stress. Teaching is considered a highly stressful occupation, and as social pressure continues to place teachers and schools in the role of "in loco parentis" for the socialisation of children, it seems timely to identify those characteristics of the school environment that promote positive health and wellbeing for all. In theory, the HPS model provides a set of principles and procedures that aim to promote health and wellbeing for all members of the school community, yet the impact on school staff has yet to be demonstrated. This thesis reports on research investigating the extent to which adoption of the HPS approach creates a positive work environment for teachers, through enhanced organisational and social capital, and whether selected work environment variables impact on teachers' physical and mental wellbeing, health risk behaviours, job stress, and job commitment. After conducting a statewide audit of health promotion activities in Queensland primary schools, two samples of schools that differed significantly in the extent to which they were implementing organisational strategies consistent with the HPS approach were selected, one sample of 20 schools actively implementing HPS strategies, and a comparison sample of 19 schools not implementing the approach. Schools were matched on geographic location (rural/urban), school size (number of student enrolments), and socio-economic rank (IRSED). A cross-sectional design using a mail-out survey to 1,280 teachers was conducted, and statistical comparisons of the two groups were conducted. Apart from providing the samples of schools for the main research, the statewide audit provided a profile of health promotion activity in Queensland primary schools. Urban, rather than rural schools, and those with higher student enrolments, were most frequently implementing HPS strategies. Socio-economic ranking did not have any statistical bearing on adoption of these strategies. Implementation of school health policies was the most common strategy, although the social and physical environments were also addressed to some extent. The instrument designed for the study, the HPS Audit Checklist, proved effective in distinguishing a continuum of HPS "total scores" and demonstrated good psychometric properties. With respect to differences in measures of the school environment, mean scores for all 11 dimensions of school organisational health, and all 4 dimensions of school social capital, were statistically higher in High HPS, although differences between the two groups were not outstanding. Trends in the results did, however, confirm that schools actively adopting a HPS approach provide a more positive work environment than non-health promoting schools. Effect size was most significant for School Morale, Decision Authority, and Co-worker Support. Both organisational and occupational commitment was higher for teachers in High HPS, and Turnover Intention (plans to leave the workforce/workplace) was lower for teachers in High HPS. Teachers in High HPS reported less job strain and higher skill discretion, despite slightly greater job demands (work pressure) in these schools. They also reported significantly less general psychological distress on 5 measures, and significantly better self-rated mental and physical health. Job strain was most strongly associated with co-worker support, appreciation, and school morale in High HPS, but in Low HPS strain was most strongly associated with leadership style, school morale, and role clarity, suggesting more subtle differences between the two sets of schools. No statistically significant differences were found between teachers in High and Low HPS on self-reported weight, daily dietary habits, dental check-ups, preventive health screenings, alcohol consumption, smoking, cholesterol, BP and exercise. Although this research was limited by its dependence on self-report measures, the high response rate suggests that the results provide a valid profile of the health and psychological wellbeing of teachers in Health Promoting Schools in Queensland. These results also suggest that the HPS approach creates a more positive school environment through building social and organisational capital, and this is reflected in better mental health and stronger job commitment of the teaching workforce. Implications of these results for human resource management within the education sector are discussed. In addition, the implications of a healthier "learning environment", including less stressed and more connected teaching staff, for children's psychosocial and educational outcomes are considered in light of potential future directions for this research.

Thesis (PhD.(Educational psychology))-University of Pretoria, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Texas State University-San Marcos, 2007. / Vita. Appendices: leaves 126-137. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-145).