Kazimierz Dabrowski's five-level theory of personality development, the Theory of Positive Disintegration, is one in which the experience of all emotions is essential for the process of individual growth toward the personality ideal. In this article, we synthesize Dabrowski's conception of syntony and the development of empathy. We discuss the…

This study aimed to describe the implementation of the spiritual leadership of the monks in Catholic schools. The research method used is a descriptive qualitative approach. The research design used a multi-site study conducted at three Catholic Junior High Schools in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. Results show that in developing spiritual…

Some terms of Dabrowski's theory are misleading. The construct of level and the concepts of integration and disintegration mean different things. The concept of primary integration as a starting point for personality development is untenable in light of research on child development. In its place, Level I as a type of development that is…

A theory paper that gives a universal portrait of the "noble adolescent" directly quotes from Montessori. Pat Ludick defines the adolescent as they search for their future roles in a changing world, seek a happy life, form a compatible and collaborative personality, learn humility, and become aware of the head-heart duality. The…

Compassion may be directed at a broad range of targets. The present study investigated interrelations among other-directed compassion, self-compassion, and environmental compassion in early adolescence (age = 12-14; n = 256) and examined how the different manifestations of compassion related to age and sex during this age period. Dispositional…

These essays provide richer set of writings on the philosophical, empirical and practical issues raised by a focus on character, and in particular its relationship to questions of opportunity. Each one is an intellectual pemmican: sharp and to the point. Two scholars draw attention to the gendered nature of character formation (Segal and Lexmond);…

The purpose of this research paper is to explain or to show that there is a link between a child's temperament and the different parenting styles. The study explores and describes the different ways parents use to get their child to behave as they want. Some of these ways include power assertion and induction. Furthermore, it will demonstrate that…

In this article, we present vignettes from two projects--one in Cyprus and the other in South Africa--to show how some classrooms enact "heterotopic" affective spaces that oppose normal/ized identities, that is, identities grounded in polarized trauma narratives. The notion of heterotopia is a spatial concept developed by Foucault to…