Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Adjustment (Psychology) – Ghana – Case studies'

This thesis details the lived experiences of ten first-generation Latino students at a large public university in the Pacific Northwest. Their experience and adjustment reveal that they relied on their friends and family, especially their parents for the male participants, for support and encouragement. The help these students received in the form of caring and social capital from faculty and staff during their freshman year ensured that they made a successful adjustment to college. Participants cite influential people and programs that motivated them to succeed and become comfortable in the college student role.

Since the birth of the United States in 1776, Greek-letter societies have been an integral part of American higher education. Research on the impact of Greek membership varies at best, and often is in conflict from study to study. This study surveyed students affiliated with Greek-letter organizations at the University of North Texas. The research examined the college adaptability of Greek students by gender in five areas: Overall adjustment, academic adjustment, personal-emotional adjustment, social adjustment, and attachment to the institution. The study, conducted in the spring of 2006 at the University of North Texas had 80 respondents. The Student Adaptability to College Questionnaire (SACQ) consisted of 67 items on a 9-point scale. The SACQ is designed to assess how well students adapt to the demands of the college experience. Raw scores and percentile rankings were determined by t-test calculations. Test scores were expressed through t-scores in relation to the standardized sample. Data show no statistical significance in any of the five areas studied: Overall adjustment, academic adjustment, personal-emotional adjustment, social adjustment, or attachment to the institution. Female participants scored higher on all scales than male participants, indicating a slightly higher level of adjustment, though not enough to be significant. Both males and females scored highest in attachment to the institution and social adjustment, while both scored lowest in personal-emotional adjustment.

The purpose of this study was to identify common themes which contribute to the subjective well-being of college students with disabilities. Four students with varying disabilities were recruited for participation in the study based on their well-adjusted behavior patterns and sense of well-being. Participants completed a series of quantitative instruments and three one-hour interviews. The data were analyzed and interpreted, resulting in eleven common themes. The emergent themes included: a perception of normality, a close family network, a perception of strong parental work ethic, valuing family and social support, personal independence, self-acceptance, a multidimensional view of health and wellness, a positive attitude, an emphasis on ability, being a campus leader and possessing a positive self-rating of wellness. The results of this study support the literature on adjustment for persons with disabilities and provide themes which may be useful for further study on larger groups.
Institute for Wellness

The phenomenon of students traversing the globe in search of higher education has increased over the past decade. They travel from every region of the world to institutions of higher learning - to colleges and universities - that accept them. Altogether, countries in Africa welcome thousands of students into their various colleges and universities. Ghana, where this study is based, boasts of well over 140 state-run and privately - run universities. Over the past two decades, these institutions have experienced significant increases in their admission numbers in their international student population. Some of the research on the academic experiences of international undergraduate students shows that they do not perform well during their first years on campus and that they experience what is defined as adjustment issues. The thesis research uncovers and examines adjustment issues experienced by international students (between ages 17-29) pursuing undergraduate degrees at a small, co-educational, private university college (XUC) in Ghana. Located within Ghana’s capital city, Accra, this four-year college annually admits thirty to forty international students and accommodates nearly three thousand students who are at various stages of their study. During the academic year 2017-2018, the college had enrolled 126 international students. In this study, the researcher focuses on the effect of adjustment issues on the academic performance of international students. The researcher posits that there is a correlation between adjustment levels and Grade Point Averages (GPAs). Therefore, international students who have high adjustment levels to student life and life at XUC, Ghana experience average to high Grade Point averages. Conversely, international students who experience low adjustment levels to student life and life in XUC, also experience low Grade Point Averages.
Educational Management and Leadership
Ph. D. (Education Management)

This study explored the lived experiences of foreign academics’ wellbeing and adjustment and the impact thereof on their job performance in a South African higher education (HE) institution. The qualitative interpretive study reviewed the literature on wellbeing, adjustment and job performance. It explored the impact of wellbeing and adjustment factors on performance, both personally and professionally. The job demands-resources (JD-R) model was applied in the study to demonstrate that when job resources are high, employee wellbeing, adjustment and job performance is enhanced. Purposive sampling was used to draw a sample of five foreign academics who were employed at the HE institution for more than one year and originated from different countries. Online video calling was used to gather data from the participants using semi-structured interviews. Content analysis was used to create themes and sub-themes from which the study findings were derived and conclusions, as well as recommendations, were made. The study revealed that the wellbeing and adjustment of foreign academics have a significant impact on their job performance. Recommendations were made to the HR managers, I/O psychologists, foreign academics as well as line managers on how to improve the wellbeing and adjustment of foreign academics at the HE institution.
Centre for Industrial and Organisational Psychology
M. Comm. ((Industrial and Organisational Psychology)
M. Comm. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

While educators have recognized that students from other countries often face traumatic experiences in their initial period of adaptation to the receiving country's schools and society, little attention has been devoted to understanding the nature or educational significance of these experiences. Traditionally, educators have equated adaptation difficulties with host language deficits, while other, possibly more consequential dimensions of the adaptation experience have gone unrecognized, and have not been represented in educational policy and funding decisions. Accordingly, this study is directed toward providing a more comprehensive understanding of the adaptation experiences of adolescent students who have recently arrived in Canada from other countries, and addresses a critical need for understanding these experiences from the perspectives of the students themselves. Inquiry is advanced within a descriptive, exploratory, and explanatory study which predominantly utilizes a phenomenological, qualitative methodology. The study's principal methodology builds upon Edmund Husserl's philosophical foundation by incorporating the existential perspectives of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, the life-world social dimensions of Alfred Schutz, and the historical-contextual and interpretive elements of Max van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenology. Fieldwork occurred over a six month period in a suburban Canadian secondary school. Study findings and recommendations derive from analysis of interviews, observations, and self-reports of three male and three female grade 10 students who arrived in Canada not more than 20 months prior to the outset of the study. Initial adaptation experiences of study participants point to three principal findings. The study's finding that despite adaptation challenges, students from abroad often achieve at or above receiving society norms within a short period after arrival, suggests that educators should consider how successful academic patterns of newcomers might be adopted by receiving society members. Participant experience indicates that host language acquisition is but one dimension of a multidimensional adaptation experience, and that it is seldom the student's most critical adaptation concern, even in terms of host communication skills. Participants experienced establishing friendships as their most critical and difficult adaptation concern, and looked to friendship to provide uncertainty reduction, access to and inclusion in the receiving society.

Cui, Jiaying.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 410-426).
Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Abstract also in Chinese.

M.Ed.
The study under discussion followed on a request to develop a programme which would fill the existing gap between general formative preparatory academic education and general formative preparatory vocational education. The background of the precarious beginnings of education in South Africa was reviewed with specific reference to technical education. A study of the available literature confirmed that there is a need for more technically trained people, technically trainable people, students who have completed their technical vocational studies, an orientation programme and lecturers with management skills. The purpose of the study is, therefore, to investigate how lecturers managed the orientation programme at technical colleges. Technical colleges which acted as facilitators of the orientation programme, was introduced. This post-school institution with its general functions of continuing vocational education, must fulfil the needs of the community and the requirements of the industry it wishes to serve. The function and place of technical colleges were discussed as well as the management functions of education institutions, lecturers and students. The development of the orientation programme was also discussed. A suitable programme had to be developed to orientate students at a technical college. After making a few alterations, Jansen's model for curriculum development was used. Curriculum developers firstly, had to determine what the students had already achieved and secondly, what was expected from students at the end of the orientation programme. After this gap between the achieved and the expected had been clearly identified, the orientation programme could be developed. This programme was tested as a pilot programme, declared as general policy; and then implemented at technical colleges and private training institutions on a national level. The successful implementation of such an orientation programme depends, inter alia, on the classroom management skills of the lecturer. In an attempt to evaluate the success of the lecturers' management skills, a questionnaire was developed as an measuring instrument. The questionnaire was completed by orientation students to determine the management skills of the lecturer. The design of the above questionnaire covered five management aspects, namely, classroom activities, student activities, interpersonal relationships, activities during lesson presentation and administrative duties. Forty four questions were designed and approximately eight questions for each management aspect were included in the questionnaire. An experimental group selected from sixteen technical colleges, was requested to complete the questionnaire voluntarily. These colleges are situated in rural districts, semi-urban and typically urban areas. The students originated from all levels of the community and no preference was given to race, sex, language or background. A total of 177 students participated in this survey. The questionnaire was completed under examination conditions but there was no specific time restriction. All participants were enrolled for all five orientation subjects, namely, engineering technology, engineering drawing, engineering science, industrial communication and mathematics. The performance ability of the students covered the whole spectrum. For admission to the programme, the lowest and highest standard the repondents had obtained, were restricted to Stds 6 to 10 for statistical reasons. To increase the validity and usefulness of the questionnaire, the items in the measuring instrument were checked to ensure that they were based on the managerial competency of the lecturer. The content validity of the measuring instrument was improved in this manner. The Department of Education gave its approval that technical colleges be used for this investigation. On the basis of the empirical investigation, it was discovered that during the first order (PFA) factor analysis, nine factors were identified from the 44 items which appeared in the questionnaire. A second order factor analysis indicated that the 44 items could be reduced to one factor with a reliability coefficient of 0,948. When only 39 items are considered the reliability increases to 0,950 and this factor was named "efficient management." In conclusion, the 39 items can be considered to be one scale and it represents the lecturers' efficient management of the various classroom activities. This factor was also tested by means of multiple statistical techniques in an attempt to find significant differences between the various independent groups. No significant statistical differences were discovered between the scale averages of the various groups. This was an indication that the groups held the same opinion about the management of the orientation programme. With the high average scale marks obtained by the various participating colleges, this investigation proved that lecturers had succeeded to manage the orientation programme successfully. The research results showed that, according to the opinion of the students, no significant statistical differences existed in the lecturers' management of the orientation programme to orientate students towards vocational education. There are however a few deficiencies noticeable in the competency of lecturers in certain management aspects. This research gives an indication of some problems which currently exist with the presentation of the orientation programme. Clear solutions cannot be provided. However the research does indicate that an orientation programme can be successfully presented at technical colleges with the necessary awareness, adaptation, training and positive attitudes as needed by the community , the world of work and the country.

The prevalence of divorce within society is reflected in the rising divorce rate worldwide. Consequently, divorce has become more accepted, although adolescents from divorced families are considered at risk for maladjustment. The aim of this study is to give a voice to adolescents who have experienced their parents' divorce and to highlight their resilience despite the challenges they faced. The epistemological framework is social constructionism. In-depth interviews with two adolescents who have experienced the divorce of their parents were undertaken. The method of analysis used was `Thematic content analysis'. The participants' stories were recounted through the lens of the researcher in the form of themes. Recurring themes in these stories were elucidated and linked with the literature. This study allowed rich and detailed descriptions about adolescents' experiences to emerge, which the researcher hopes will broaden the therapeutic understanding of the complexities of divorce for the adolescents who survive it.
Psychology
MA (Clinical Psychology)

This study aimed at exploring chronic illness from both the perspectives of the patient, living with the illness and the professional, treating the illness. The epistemological framework is social constructionism. Qualitative research was selected as the research approach. Three in-depth interviews with three patients, suffering with a chronic illness were conducted, as well as three interviews with professionals, who had experience with patients diagnosed with chronic illnesses. Thematic analysis was the method used for the analysis of data. The stories of the participants were reconstructed in terms of themes. A comparative analysis for both participants groups was done, and linked to the relevant literature This study created an understanding of the complexity of chronic illness. The themes identified, highlighted the importance of the patient-professional relationship, specifically in the context of chronic illness.
Psychology
M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

M.A.
The present study explores experiences of loss, disconnection, truth, hurting, healing, non-forgiveness and forgiveness associated with the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Using a social constructionist perspective, the concepts of truth and forgiveness are explored through a theoretical background to psychology and subsequently in the stories and reflections of individuals who participated in the Commission. The issue of truth has been central to debates across the broader intellectual landscape, as well as to the theory and practice of psychology. In the following study, the historical shift from more modernist conceptions of truth to postmodern views is explored through a brief overview of the philosophy of science. These perspectives are explored further in the epistemological shifts underlying therapeutic endeavours and methodology in the field of psychology. Approaches to therapy in South Africa are subsequently reviewed, focusing particularly on positions of truth adopted by the profession in this context. The themes of truth, reconciliation, healing and hurting in the discourse surrounding the Commission are subsequently explored further. This discussion includes some of the literature regarding experiences of people who have been involved with the Commission. Following this, the narratives from interviews held with a group of mothers who attended the Truth Commission and one of the journalists working with the Commission are included. These narratives are related to participants' experiences in having attended/been involved with the Truth Commission and their experiences around truth and forgiveness. A qualitative, reflexive approach to the interviews and analysis thereof, is used. In conclusion, reflections on the process are included. These reflections present a dialectic between the importance of the ongoing nature of the journey in this multi-dimensional context, as well as the author's perspective on the need for the notion of absolute truth in this journeying.

The present study explored the interaction between paediatric asthma and family functioning, within the context of family systems theory. Eight families, each with an asthmatic child between the ages of 8 and 15, were included in this study. In each case, the parents were interviewed and completed a quantitative measure, the Family Assessment Device, The results indicated that each family has a unique way of functioning and of integrating the child's asthma into its lifestyle. Factors found to be involved in the mutual impact of paediatric asthma and family functioning were the size of the family, the severity of the child's condition, the ways in which the family copes with the stress of asthma, communication patterns between parents, compliance with family rules and boundaries, and the affective responsiveness and involvement of family members.
Psychology
M.A. (Psychology)