This article makes the case that Christian school counselors should be more directly engaged in student spiritual formation. To accomplish this aim, the historical context for the discussion is first explored, followed by a review of contemporary medical and psychological research associating a positive spirituality with healthy functioning across…

Introduction: This study sought to determine the combined and relative efficacy of self-efficacy, risk-taking behaviour and mental health on personal growth initiative of university undergraduates. Method: The expo-facto research design was used to conduct the study. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 425 participants from 6…

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…

The intention of this article is to consider the use of narrative and rhetorical inquiry as research methods. I construct a mathematical biography of one elementary teacher trainee, Sirpa, who had performed well in her advanced mathematics course in upper secondary school. I describe her development as a mathematics teacher during teacher…

This chapter explores how incorporating the possible selves construct within a supportive and challenging mentoring relationship can assist in personal and professional growth. (Contains 1 figure.)

While research indicates that humans tend potentially to develop towards wisdom in later years, a review of mainly participant-determined groups and courses in 338 lifelong learning centers for older people shows little interest in wisdom or personal development activities. With the suggestion that this apparent lack of interest may be partially…

The dominant model of posttraumatic growth (PTG) suggests that growth is precipitated by significant challenges to one's identity or to core assumptions that give one's life meaning, and develops as one goes through meaning-making or schema reconstruction processes. Other perspectives suggest, however, that such growth occurs by other means. We…

Because service-learning challenges participants to widen perspectives on social issues, we designed and assessed a multi-semester, multidisciplinary project with both academic and service objectives. In this project, undergraduate students developed a script and video centered on a board game designed to educate high-school students about their…

This article highlights the perspectives of young women who have participated in dance for many years. Their viewpoints reveal the unique multimodal nature of embodied learning; in dance classes, teachers and learners communicate through a variety of modes: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, spatial, musical, tactile, gestural, and linguistic. The…

Childhood is the crucial period for early children's reading ability building. Former research (Hanson & Farrell, 1995) found that early reading experience had a positive and long-term effect on reading competence for high school seniors in the future. Therefore, it is of great importance for researchers to understand children's initial reading…

Wisdom is considered one ideal endpoint of human development across cultures. Studies have provided evidence for certain facilitating conditions such as challenging and stressful life events because they increase differentiation through accommodative changes, resulting in greater tolerance for uncertainty, and less projection tendencies and…

Background/Context: As the economy grows ever more tight, the school (K-16) is increasingly important in relation to life choices and outcomes, and researchers who focus on youth culture, often in and out of school contexts, can no longer afford to ignore such traditional educational institutions. If school credentials do not "guarantee" social…

Despite the prevalence of professional development in schools and the variability in its implementation, little research has been conducted on how professional development makes its way into the classroom. Even when teachers participate in high-quality professional development, there remains a large and often undocumented variability in how…

Teacher identity has been defined in different ways through different methodologies. In this paper, the author uses autobiographical information, based on his life as an urban teacher and teacher educator, to depict his journey, insights and experiences. In doing so, he synthesizes the personal, pedagogical, and political aspects of his identity…

Background: This study investigated the perceived benefits and negative impact associated with stressful events and chronic caregiving demands encountered by parents caring for young adults with an intellectual disability in the period of transition to adulthood. Methods: A sample of 119 parents of young adults described these outcomes in a…