The transition between elementary and secondary school occurs wholly as a function of grade level and not necessarily on the basis of specific developmental achievements. Researchers have found that a significant decrease in grade-point average occurs during this process, and that interpersonal changes may occur as well. The present study sought to determine (a) whether this decrease is fairly standard across students, or whether there are clear differences in student adjustment to secondary school; (b) whether changes also occur with regard to attendance and behavior; (c) whether students who make a poor academic transition continue to perform poorly in their second year of middle school; and (d) whether it is possible, based on interpersonal measures (locus of control, assertion, and popularity), teacher behavior ratings, and a family learning environment measure, to predict the pattern of students' transitions. Subjects for this study were 265 students attending one of two middle schools in southwestern Virginia. Results indicated that (a) there is a significant difference in grade-point average between the final year of elementary school and the first year of middle school, and that there are dramatic grade-point adjustment differences across students; (b) there are nonsignificant differences between elementary and middle school attendance and behavior, but differences in these areas across students; (c) in general, students who make a poor academic transition continue to perform poorly in their second year of middle school; and (d) previous level of functioning in each area is generally the best predictor of subsequent functioning, but significant differences were found between "good" and "poor" transition students when data was analyzed by gender, academic level, and previous level of functioning. These findings were viewed as a first step toward identifying students at-risk for poor transitions, and were discussed in this context. / M.S.

郭伯良. / 论文(哲学{273464}士)--香港中文大学, 2004. / 参考文献 (p. 155-181). / 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 Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts also in English. / Guo Boliang. / Lun wen (Zhe xue bo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2004. / Can kao wen xian (p. 155-181).

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Introduction: Literature shows that the transition from high school to university is fraught with challenges and that there is need to appreciate these challenges from the students’ perspectives and devise ways of assisting the students navigate them smoothly. - Aim: To explore the perspectives of first year students at the University of Zimbabwe, College of Health Sciences (UZCHS) regarding their transition from high school to the UZCHS and propose possible ways to manage the transition phase based on the students’ perspectives. - Objectives : The objectives of this study were to determine the students’ perspectives with regards to various factors that are known to affect the transition from high school to university. - Design: An evaluative research study design was adopted using a mixed method research approach sequentially applying a quantitative and qualitative method. - Method: Four hundred and eighty six (486) self-administered survey questionnaires with 23 closeended questions were distributed to all first year students in the UZCHS. Only 16 questions were analysed for purposes of this research project. A total of 49 interviews were conducted for the in-depth structured questions interview on a randomly selected group of students from each of the programmes. - Results : The response rate was 51% (246/486) ; 81.4% of students were in the 19 to 20 years age group; 52% males and 48% females; 44.4% of the students were enrolled in the MBChB programme. The major challenges faced by the students were the heavy workload; poor counselling services; sticking to timetables; using the library; poor teacher-student relationships; poor sense of belonging; living with a diverse population Frustrations at the UZCHS were identified as arising from academic issues: examinations marks; poor facilities; inadequate high school preparation for university grades and poor feedback. Students’ financing at university was also of concern to the students. The students found the orientation week most useful. The motivation for joining the UZCHS was for career prospects, personal desires and parental influence. Preparatory information given by the UZCHS was considered adequate but not sufficiently detailed. Factors that helped students settle in were the initial reception, orientation week, and the relationships between students, staff and lecturers. The role of parents, peers and friends in settling in was also highlighted as important. - Conclusions : The students’ perspectives on transition are similar to those reported in the literature:need for pre-university information, better accommodation, improved library facilities, improved counselling services, lengthening the orientation week, more detailed information about UZCHS before admission, improve pre-university contact with students ,reduced workload in order to accommodate extra-curricular social life. Students’ preparation for life and learning at university should start during high school. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Inleiding: Uit die literatuur is ditbaieduidelikdat die oorgang van studentevanaf die skoolnauniversiteitbaieuitdagend is. Daar is derhalwe ‘n behoeftedathierdieuitdagingsvanuit die perspektiewe van die studentebeskou word in ‘n poging om hulle op die meeseffektiewemanierteondersteunentebegelei. - Doelstelling: Die doel van hierdie studie is om die perspektiewe van eerstejaarstudente aan die Universiteit van Zimbabwe se Fakulteit Gesondheidswetenskappe (UZCHS) te ondersoek wat betref die oorgang van hoërskool na die UZCHS, en wyses voor te stel om die oorgangsfase te bestuur, gebaseer op die studente se perspektiewe. - Doelwit: Die doelwitte van hierdie studie was om te bepaal wat die studente se perspektiewe was oor die verskeie welbekende problematiese faktore teenwoordig in die oorgang van skool na universiteit. - Ontwerp: ʼn Evaluerende navorsingsontwerp is onderneem deur ʼn gemengde navorsingsmetode te volg. Dit is opeenvolgend deur ʼn kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe metode toegepas. - Metode: ʼn Self-administrerende vraelysopname met 23 geslote vrae is ewekansig toegepas en versprei aan vierhonderd ses- en tagtig (486) studente van die UZCHS. Slegs 16 vrae is vir die doeleindes van hierdie studie geanaliseer. ʼn Onderhoud met in-diepte gestruktureerde vrae is ook gevoer met ʼn ewekansig geselekteerde groep studente (49) van elk van die programme wat aangebied word by die UZCHS. - Resultate: Die responskoers was 51% (246/486); 81.4% van die studente was in die ouderdomsgroep 19 tot 20 jaar; 52% was manlik en 48% vroulik; 44.4% van die studente was geregistreer vir die MBChB program. Die uitdagings deur die studente ervaar was onder andere die swaar werklading, swak studente-ondersteuningsdienste, om by te bly by die rooster, die gebruik van die biblioteek, swak dosent-student verhouding, ʼn swak gevoel van behoort aan, en om deel te wees van ʼn diverse samelewing. Frustrasies by die UZCHS het hul oorsprong gehad by akademiese kwessies: eksamenpunte; uitslae en swak terugvoering. Studente-finansiering aan die universiteit was ook ʼn bron van kommer by studente. Studente het die oriëntasieweek die nuttigste gevind. Die motivering om aan te sluit by die UZCHS het verband gehou met loopbaanvooruitsigte, persoonlike behoeftes en ouer-invloed. Voorbereidende inligting verskaf deur die UZCHS is beskou is voldoende maar sonder genoeg besonderhede. Faktore wat studente gehelp het om tuis te voel was die aanvanklike ontvangs, oriëntasieweek, en die verhoudings tussen studente, personeel en lektore. Die rol van ouers, portuurgroep en vriende om hulle te laat tuis voel, is aangedui as belangrik. - Gevolgtrekkings: Die studente se perspektiewe op oorgang is soortgelyk aan dié wat in die literatuur gerapporteer word. Daar is ʼn behoefte aan beter studentebehuising en biblioteekfasiliteite en studente-ondersteuningsdienste, en meer gedetailleerde informasie oor die UZCHS voor toelating. Studente glo ook dat die oriëntasie week verleng moet word en dat die werklading verminder moet word om hul buitemuurse sosiale lewe te akkommodeer. Studente se voorbereiding vir die studentelewe en universiteitstudies behoort reeds op hoërskool te begin.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

This study utilized a quality of life framework of psychosocial adaptation to explore relationships among college stress, functional limitations, coping strategies, and perceived social support in adjustment to college among first-year and second-year undergraduate students with disabilities, based on specific hypothesized relations. College adjustment outcomes included: life satisfaction, academic performance, and psychosocial-emotional adjustment to college. A nonprobability sample of 103 first-year and second-year undergraduate college students with disabilities participated in the study. Respondents were registered with an office of support services for students with disabilities at a public, four-year university, located in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Respondents were recruited by responding to an e-mail requesting participation in an online, web-based survey. Eight self-report measures included: (a) Participant Survey (developed by the researcher to collect socio-demographic information, (b) College Stress Inventory (CSI; Solberg, Hale, Villarreal, & Kavanagh, 1993), (c) Disability Functional Limitations Scale (DFLS) (developed by the researcher), (d) Brief COPE; Carver, 1997, (e) Social Support Appraisals-Revised (SSA-R) scale; Vaux et al., 1986), (f) Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985), (g) Grade Point Average-Scale (GPA-S; adapted by the researcher from a self-reported grading scale), and (h) Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ; Baker & Siryk, 1999). Data were analyzed using descriptive and correlational procedures. Bivariate analysis suggested that all predictor variables (i.e., college stress, functional limitations, engagement coping, and perceived social support) were significantly associated with student adjustment to college. Hierarchical multiple regression suggested mostly direct (i.e., main) effects for engagement coping and perceived social support. No interacting role for either engagement-type coping or perceived social support was suggested, except for the following: Engagement-type coping moderated the relationship between disability-related functional limitations (as measured by increased restrictions in the ability to perform daily routines, activities, and life roles) and adaptation to college, as measured by life satisfaction. Analyses of socio-demographic variables revealed significant associations between chronological age, gender, hours employed, and adjustment to college. Lastly, hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed disengagement coping accounting for as much as 53% of the variance in adjustment scores. This result suggested disengagement coping adding significant predictive utility for adaptation-associated college adjustment. In light of these findings, counseling professionals may wish to consider the beneficial role of engagement coping in promoting optimal adjustment to college for lower-division undergraduate students with disabilities.

The three basic purposes of this study were (1) to determine relationships existing between academic achievement in middle schools and academic achievement in traditional junior high schools, (2) to determine the relationships existing between personal adjustment in middle schools and personal adjustment in traditional junior high schools, and (3) to determine the relationships between academic achievement and personal adjustment in both middle schools and traditional junior high schools.

"For several years the seemingly inevitable difficulties experienced by seventh grade youngsters in making personality adjustments when coming from the elementary school to the junior high school has been a personal challenge. Having been rather closely associated during their sixth year with approximately half of the seventh grade pupils studied, the writer is particularly interested in the personality adjustments evidenced by the groups considered in this paper. The problem was to discover both the personality adjustments of the seventh graders who came from an adjacent elementary school which provided a special program for all sixth graders, and the personality adjustments of the seventh graders who did not attend that particular elementary school"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "August, 1954." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts." / Advisor: Virgil E. Strickland, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references.

This study measured the impact of a gender-specific school counseling curriculum, “Girl Talk” on: relational aggressive behaviors, pro-social behaviors, student connectedness, cohesiveness, and social self-efficacy. The “Girl Talk” program consists of five sessions and was delivered as part of a comprehensive school counseling program. Fifth grade girls in four elementary schools (N=151) from one large, Southeastern school district participated in the study. Girls at two elementary schools received the “Girl Talk” program (treatment group; n=85) and their peer counterparts (comparison group; n=66) at the two remaining schools received their regular school counseling program. A series analysis of variance and an analysis of covariance test, using an alpha level of .05, was conducted to determine if statistically significant differences existed between participants' posttest scores by group condition on the Peer Relations Questionnaire (Rigby & Slee, 1993b), My Class Inventory–Short Form Revised (Sink & Spencer, 2005), the Peers and Friends subscales of the Hemingway Measure of Pre-Adolescent Connectedness (Karcher, 2005), and the Social self-efficacy subscale of the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (Muris, 2001). Statistically significant differences were found in the areas of relational aggressive behaviors, pro-social behaviors, student connectedness, cohesiveness, and social self-efficacy. Partial eta square effect sizes were reported for each measure. The results support the positive impact that school counselors can have when using a systemic, gender-specific classroom guidance curriculum for reducing relational aggression among pre-adolescent girls. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

by Emily Ma Fung Wai Yung. / Bibliography : leaves 145-162 / Thesis (M.A.Ed.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1982