Grade retention is one of the most discussed and controversial educational measures, and yet, it is still widely applied in many countries. Research investigating the effects of grade retention on students' psychosocial variables presents mixed findings, partly due to the variables assessed, methodological issues, and the length of the studies.…

A growing number of studies have demonstrated that purpose in life is associated with positive outcomes among adolescents and young adults. The college years represent an important period of both personal and professional growth, including purpose in life. Supportive relationships may play a critical role in the identification and pursuit of…

Today's youth face multifaceted challenges in a time when society is more aware of the consequences of unhealthy decision-making. In this study, we tested the effectiveness of an emerging intervention, GPS for SUCCESS, a classroom-based 5-week program that helps students build their purpose in life while securing a commitment to achieve it. We…

Psychological and spiritual effects of music on people have been revealed by various studies and still continue to be investigated. The sound which has existed since the first formation of the universe; and music and music therapy which are as old as the history of mankind have constituted one of the treatment methods widely investigated at…

Meaningful societal change begins with individual change. One cannot do for a community what one cannot do for one's self. The topic of Individual Sustainability is a controversial one, as students often appear to be unable to align their demonstrated behaviors with their admirable values related to sustainability. Individual behavior creates the…

Framed by self-determination and identity development theories, this study examined the process through which participating in a community-based service-learning project supported high school students' feelings of autonomy, competence and relatedness, and how these feelings were related to students' intentions for doing more service in the future.…

While there is a wealth of literature on radical adult "popular" education for change, most of it looks forward and speculates on the educational processes best able to help "the oppressed", "excluded" or "disadvantaged" become critically-aware "subjects" of social change. Within a critical…

The primary purpose of this study lies in the evaluation of what students acquire from studies abroad in the context of credit mobility, in terms of competence development and personal growth, compared with that gained by students completing their study or internship in their home country. A pre-post test design, with both an experimental group…

In Canada, cultural diversity has always been a contested cornerstone of citizenship and of citizenship education. In the last decade, a number of provinces, including Alberta and Ontario, have published citizenship and character education documents and social studies curricula in which ideas of cultural diversity are central and shape dominant…

The paper is based on a comparative and qualitative case study of "friluftsliv" in Denmark and outdoor education in New Zealand. Cultural analysis with a comparative cultural perspective informed the research approach. Configurational analysis was used as an important supplement to focus on cultural patterns linked to bodily movement. It…

A broad array of research findings suggest that older adults, as compared with younger adults, have a more positive sense of self and possibly a clearer and more consistent sense of self. Further, older adults report lower motivation to construct or maintain a sense of self. In the present study, we examined whether such differences in self-views…

In this study, the psychological well-being of college students with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was analyzed. A survey was administered to a convenience sample of undergraduates aged 18-25 at a Southern university (N = 317). Well-being was measured using Ryff's (1989) 6 likert scales of psychological well-being. Students with…

This research involved an exploratory intervention to determine the effectiveness of using a deliberate psychological education (DPE) approach that incorporated issues of ethics, multicultural competence, oppression and diversity. The study attempted to discern if the DPE model used could make a difference in the promotion of ego development…

This study used a narrative approach to understand how emerging adults experience ethnicity in their everyday lives and to link ethnic identity processes with the content of how ethnic identity is experienced. Participants were 191 ethnically diverse emerging adults who completed the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) and provided a written…

Group counseling has been highlighted as one effective intervention for at-risk students, yet debate remains as to the comparable efficacy of traditional interventions versus thematic interventions. This study compared two psychosocial educational programs, the PEGS and ARK Programs, designed to help elementary school students with social skills…