The study examines if African American adolescents' academic self-esteem moderates relations between negative youth experiences and academic achievement. Grounded in a PVEST perspective, the study collected responses from 364 Black adolescents (69% girls) in a southern, urban city. The primary finding in the study confirmed the hypothesis that…

One of the critical issues deliberated amongst researchers on gender and education is that of choosing and decision-making. Often, the focus of analysis is framed through the concept of agency. In this paper, the analytical focus is on educational advancement and agency. The paper is based on narratives of 10 highly educated Tanzanian women.…

The multiple and conflicting identity pressures that young women in western society face have been remarked upon in the literature. Adolescence is a time when identity development activity intensifies, and this process can present young people with challenges. In this paper a social constructionist and interpretive frame is applied to such…

The purpose of this article is to review the personal development and transformation of women earning an online degree and to what extent their goals were met through earning the degree. Eighteen adult women who earned a fully online master's degree at least one year ago from a university affiliated with the Southern Regional Education Board were…

The paper presents insights into the creation and re-creation of a narrative from the perspective of two female students, Phillipa and Eva, at Corktown Community High School. Corktown is an alternative high school which focuses on the development of the whole person--creative, intellectual, social, emotional, aesthetic and physical. The school is…

Participants (N=24) included undergraduates and nontraditional students over age 25. Of the critical events investigated, 27 percent were qualitatively different from Chickering's description of developing autonomy but were similar to his relationship task. Concluded there is no single way to develop autonomy. (Author/ABL)

A creative writing program for disadvantaged women in Chicopee, Massachusetts, is described. The program's effects in empowering the women resulted in the women making a number of specific changes in their lives. Reasons for the workshop's success are discussed, as is the power of the arts to effect social change. (DB)

Examined relationship of racial identity attitudes to psychosocial development of white and African-American traditional-age undergraduate female college students (n=320). Correlations found between racial identity attitudes and psychosocial development suggest two separate developmental processes for African-American undergraduate women and two…

Investigates whether autonomy and parental attachment in a diverse group of undergraduate women (N=325) varied by class year, as suggested by the Chickering model. Results revealed a pattern of autonomy development that differed from the model's. Although student autonomy increased with class year, students displayed no decreased attachment to…

The education of women, involving both their educational/career ambitions and their concern for intimate relationships, is discussed. As traditional undergraduates enter liberal arts colleges, two important developmental tasks arise: establishing a sense of self independent of family and developing a capacity for intimacy. While today's college…