Deconversion is a biographical change in which one goes from claiming adherence to a religion to departing from it. A meaning system model can help us understand the processes through which deconversion occurs. Drawing on that framework, we explored how perceiving hypocrisy in one's religious setting influences adolescent deconversion. Irrational…

Higher education lecturers who have moved into teaching on professional education programmes from careers in professional practice are an under-researched group. Questions related to self-concept combined with wider social and sectoral issues relating to perceptions about the nature and purpose of higher education can affect the development of…

Transformative social and emotional learning (Jagers et al., 2019), a form of social-emotional learning (SEL) specifically focused on equity, is an important part of student overall well-being and success. However, there is limited research on how to effectively prepare teachers to bring SEL to their classrooms, especially SEL grounded in social…

This research project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a cognitive behavioral therapeutic (CBT) group in reducing self-stigma for people with mental illness in Chinese society. In this study, a quasi-experimental research method was adopted involving 71 people with mental illness receiving community-based mental health services. In total, 33…

Building up the personal identity is a lifelong process, as identity can change, according with the groups of belonging, with new knowledge and changes of beliefs and contexts. There are more stable components of identity, like the values and attitudes, but there are contexts and experiences that sharpen different aspects of the identity. The…

This study examines the changes that occur in multidimensional self-concept of adolescents with a diagnosis of intellectual disabilities, across gender and category of intellectual disability (borderline, mild, moderate) groups. A sample of 54 young people completed the Harter Self-Perception Profile. Using a three-wave longitudinal study…

Social stigma is widely recognized as a major barrier to recovery from mental illness. In Poland, as in other countries, the society perceives mental illnesses as an intimidating problem, while the people affected are often treated with reservation and a sense of distance. One of the first Polish organizations addressing stigmatization and social…

In this article, I employ a structural symbolic interaction framework to examine the processes by which persons can exit a stigmatized identity. Using the empirical example of weight loss, I analyze how individuals evolve from an identity as "fat" and stigmatized to one that is "normal" with respect to weight and free from identification with…

The purpose of this action research study was to better understand and improve my efforts as a Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) instructor to transform the attitudes, beliefs, and understandings of preservice teachers (PSTs) with regard to issues of social justice, specifically by achieving equality by providing opportunities and…

In this article, the author shares how "encounter experiences" help pre-service and practicing teachers confront their attitudes about race and privilege. Multicultural understanding and proficiency have never been more important to teachers than they are right now. In their work as teacher educators over the years, they have carefully watched and…

Background: Drug use has been noted among students in Taiwan during the past decade and schools have a role in preventing or delaying students' drug use. We developed and evaluated a school-based, drug-use prevention program integrating the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and life skills for junior high school students. Methods: We recruited 441…

When people hear the term "urban", they immediately associate it with negative attributes such as poverty stricken students and families, ill-prepared students, run down facilities, and an inconsistency in teachers. When compared to any kind of school whether its' private or public, urban school districts have the worst label of all. Why is there…

Evidence of various but unitary shifts to political liberalization, greater intraceptiveness and self-determination, greater detachment from parents, and increased incidence of principled moral reason suggests that Peace Corps volunteers had undergone substantial self-redefinition. (Author/RC)

The results demonstrated that self concept was significently associated with vocational maturity and indicated self-concept and feminine role concept of own self are useful in predicting vocational maturity. The more the girl viewed her role as being liberal, the higher was her level of vocational maturity. (Author)

The paper focuses on the relationship between changing societal norms and actual, emotional acceptance of them for oneself, with regard to changing norms toward women's roles as they relate to the areas of abortion and sexual behavior. Elective abortion still is regarded by many as a "deviant" activity. Such a view has sprung from an uncritical…