REPRESENTAÇÕES SOCIAIS DE PROFESSORES DE DIREITO SOBRE O EXERCÍCIO DA DOCÊNCIA

O objetivo desse estudo foi investigar representações sociais de professores de Direito acerca do exercício da docência. Buscou-se compreender quais são os saberes docentes que o professor de Direito julga necessários à sua atuação, já que a legislação vigente não exige que o operador do Direito frequente um curso específico que o capacite para a docência no ensino superior. Em razão disso, geralmente, o professor de Direito se depara com inúmeras dificuldades no início de carreira e constata que, na prática, ser um bom profissional do Direito não lhe basta para a docência, pois necessita de didática e de um método pedagógico pelos quais seus alunos o compreendam. A pesquisa teve como sujeitos professores de Direito que se encontram na docência, no mínimo, há dois anos, no município de São Paulo e região do Grande ABC paulista. Os autores que possibilitaram a fundamentação teórica foram: Serge Moscovici (1978), Denise Jodelet (2005), Marília Claret Geraes Duran (2006), dentre outros estudos significativos. O estudo foi realizado mediante pesquisa quantitativa e qualitativa de dados. Para levantamento dos dados, foi utilizado um questionário que, na sua parte inicial, contava com três palavras indutoras. Em seguida, foram apresentadas quinze questões, sendo três abertas e doze fechadas. A partir das descrições das respostas dadas pelos sujeitos no questionário, foi possível realizar a análise dos dados coletados, por meio da análise de conteúdo (Laurence Bardin, 1977). A pesquisa realizada possibilitou a análise da percepção e a concepção dos sujeitos da pesquisa quanto ao ensino jurídico e à sua própria formação. Demonstrou, ainda, que o professor de Direito deve apropriar-se de saberes docentes específicos para lecionar, ultrapassando a ideia de que lhe basta o conhecimento técnico, já que a docência, assim como as demais profissões, tem especificidades importantes.

DESCRIÇÃO E ANÁLISE DOS ELEMENTOS ESTRUTURAIS DOS CÍRCULOS RESTAURATIVOS E DOS FENÔMENOS DO CAMPO GRUPAL EM PROCESSOS ENVOLVENDO A JUSTIÇA RESTAURATIVA NO AMBIENTE ESCOLAR

A população e as comunidades escolares vêm pressionando e cobrando as autoridades dos Sistemas de Justiça e da Educação por uma intervenção coerente e efetiva na resolução de conflitos que se estabelecem no ambiente escolar, uma vez que o atual modelo de Justiça, o retributivo, não tem sanado a situação. A Justiça restaurativa surge então como uma nova maneira para enfrentar esse problema e uma de suas estratégias é o círculo restaurativo, caracterizado como um grupo para restauração das relações e dos conflitos. Esta pesquisa visa: descrever e analisar os elementos estruturais dos círculos restaurativos e os fenômenos do campo grupal em processos restaurativos realizados no ambiente escolar para intervir em situações de conflito. A amostra foi composta de cinco práticas restaurativas que envolveram pré-círculo, círculo e o pós-círculo mediados por um facilitador e dois co-facilitadores. O tratamento dos dados se deu a partir da análise dos elementos estruturais da justiça restaurativa (cerimônia de abertura e fechamento, bastão de fala, e processo decisório consensual), considerando tais elementos iguais ao setting de base psicanalítica, visto que neste caso especifico, tem como objetivo deixar claro aos participantes do grupo qual é a proposta de funcionamento do mesmo; e de uma análise de conteúdo organizada a partir de categorias pré-definidas, segundo conceitos psicanalíticos (resistência, acting/atuação e insight/elaboração). Os resultados mostraram que foram estabelecidos elementos estruturais (setting) favorável ao encontro dos participantes e que predominaram no campo aspectos positivos, o que resultou no bom reestabelecimento do convívio em todos os casos analisados. Os elementos estruturais estabelecidos para a realização do círculo restaurativo criaram um espaço seguro onde os participantes se ligaram de modo positivo, mesmo com a situação de conflito. Considera-se importante creditar a figura do facilitador (Psicólogo) parte da realização da resolução do conflito. Conclui-se que a função continente; o manejo e compreensão das resistências, actings e dos insights contribuíram para que o campo grupal configurasse em coesão ao invés da desintegração. Finalmente, cabe acrescentar que a experiência demonstrou que as crianças e adolescentes respondem muito bem quando são convidados a participar de um círculo restaurativo e ali aprendem a agir de acordo com os valores vivenciados como em um processo educativo.

The use of proteomics for the assessment of clinical samples in research

Proteomics, the analysis of expressed proteins, has been an important developing area of research for the past two decades [Anderson, NG, Anderson, NL. Twenty years of two-dimensional electrophoresis: past, present and future. Electrophoresis 1996;17:443-53]. Advances in technology have led to a rapid increase in applications to a wide range of samples; from initial experiments using cell lines, more complex tissues and biological fluids are now being assessed to establish changes in protein expression. A primary aim of clinical proteomics is the identification of biomarkers for diagnosis and therapeutic intervention of disease, by comparing the proteomic profiles of control and disease, and differing physiological states. This expansion into clinical samples has not been without difficulties owing to the complexity and dynamic range in plasma and human tissues including tissue biopsies. The most widely used techniques for analysis of clinical samples are surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry (SELDI-MS) and 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) coupled to matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation [Person, MD, Monks, TJ, Lau, SS. An integrated approach to identifying chemically induced posttranslational modifications using comparative MALDI-MS and targeted HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Chem. Res. Toxicol. 2003;16:598-608]-mass spectroscopy (MALDI-MS). This review aims to summarise the findings of studies that have used proteomic research methods to analyse samples from clinical studies and to assess the impact that proteomic techniques have had in assessing clinical samples. © 2004 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. All rights reserved.

Self-attentional processes in anxiety:an experimental study

Self-attention research has demonstrated a relationship between dispositional self-focus, anxiety proneness and fear arousal. In addition, the effect of self-focus manipulations on approach-avoidance tasks involving a feared stimulus are strikingly similar to the effects obtained from manipulation of other cognitive factors such as perceived self-efficacy. A number of experiments were designed to explore the relationship between self-focused attention and ffilxiety. Data from the experiments demonstrate that self-attention influences a variety of cognitive variables which have been considered as central factors in anxiety. Concomitants of self-focus are increased awareness of physiological arousal and overestimation of such arousal, the identification of self-discrepancies, cognitive failures and performance deficits and the activation of physical threat concepts in memory. These factors are conceptualised as central in the negative evaluation of physiological arousal and coping resources in anxiety. Clinically anxious individuals typically have high scores in dispositional self-consciousness and body-consciousness. In patients suffering from generalised anxiety or panic disorders maladaptive self-focusing tendencies can be related to specific life stressors which render aspects of the self salient. An analysis of the ideational component of anxiety revealed three subcomponents; negative social ideation (worry about other people's reaction to the self), negative somatic ideation (worry about physical symptoms and health) and obsessional ideation (the experience of uncontrollable and repetitive thoughts) which were differentially associated with measures of dispositional self-focus. The frequency and content of an.xious w-orry is associated with specific self-focusing tendencies. It is proposed that the 'attentional style' of the individual is an important determinant of the nature and intensity of their affective response in a threatening situation. A self-attentional model of anxiety is proposed and the complex interaction between self-focus and other cognitive factors in anxiety such as appraisal of arousal and coping resources and perceived levels of self-efficacy is discussed. The model presents new directions for research and therapeutic intervention in anxiety.

Die Behandlung englischen Kulturgutes im Wiener fin de siècle:am Beispiel von Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Hermann Bahr und Peter Altenberg

This study explores the fascination which English culture represented in turn-of-the-century Vienna. The writers that are going to be discussed are the renowned Anglophile Hugo von Hofmannsthal, the more ambivalent Hermann Bahr and the idealizing, but Janus-faced Peter Altenberg. With the more widely known poet, prose writer and playwright, Hofmannsthal, individual aspects of his engagement with English culture have already been well researched; the same, however, cannot be said in the case of Hermann Bahr, whose extensive literary oeuvre has now largely been forgotten, and who has, instead, come to be valued as a prominent figure in the culture life of modernist Vienna, and Peter Altenberg, whose literary fame rests mainly on his prose poems and who, a legend in his life-time, has in recent years also increasingly attracted research interest as a phenomenon and ‘embodiment’ of the culture of his time: while their engagement with French literature, for example, has long received its due share of attention, their debt to English culture has, until now, been neglected. This thesis, therefore, sets out to explore Hofmannsthal’s, Bahr’s and Altenberg’s perception and portrayal of English civilization – ranging from English character and stereotypes, to what they saw as the principles of British society; it goes on to investigate the impulses they derive from Pre-Raphaelite art (Rossetti, Burne-Jones, Whistler) and the art and crafts-movement centred around William Morris, as well as their inspiration by the art criticism of John Ruskin and Walter Horatio Pater. In English literature one of the focal points will be their reading and evaluation of aestheticism as it was reflected in the life and writings of the Dubliner Oscar Wilde, who was perceived, by these Austrian authors, as a predominant figure of London’s cultural life. Similarly, they regarded his compatriot George Bernard Shaw as a key player in turn-of-the-century English (and European) culture. Hermann Bhar largely identified with him. Hofmannsthal, on the other hand, while having some reservations, acknowledged his importance and achievements, whereas Peter Altenberg saw in Shaw a model to reassure him, as his writings were becoming more openly didactic and even more miniaturistic than they had already been. He turned to Shaw, too, to explain and justify his new goal of making his texts more intelligent to a wider circle of readers.

Medicines management strategies to improve antibiotic prescribing

A systematic review was conducted to explicitly identify interventions that alone, or in combination, were effective in improving antibiotic prescribing. The citation search strategy used in the present review provided a database of 365077 studies, of which only twenty-five were included in the final review (“review studies”). Analysis of the interventions used within the review studies indicated that a combination of “guidelines” and “pharmacy” interventions have the greatest potential to improve antibiotic prescribing. Two types of qualitative research were conducted, semi-structured interviews and the collection of naturally occurring data. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in order to determine NHS managers? perceptions of current policies used to improve antibiotic prescribing within selected Primary Care Trusts and highlighted the importance of pharmacy intervention, formularies or guidelines and improved prescribing analysis (IT based intervention) on improving antibiotic prescribing. This was supported by the collection of naturally occurring data, which was used to provide further insight into interventions used to improve antibiotic prescribing. The Specialist Antibiotic Pharmacist (HD) produced and implemented an innovative electronic antibiotic prescribing analysis tool (the Antibiotic Database) to analyse and improve antibiotic prescribing in a consistent manner. The key advantage of the Antibiotic Database was the time and money saved on producing visual electronic outputs containing an inaccurate outcome measure or time period for analysis. The results concluded that an IT based intervention, such as the Antibiotic Database should be used, in addition to the use of antibiotic guidelines and pharmacy intervention, within all sectors of the NHS in order to improve antibiotic prescribing and its analysis.

Levonorgestrel intrauterine system versus medical therapy for menorrhagia

Background - Menorrhagia is a common problem, yet evidence to inform decisions about therapy is limited. In a pragmatic, multicenter, randomized trial, we compared the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (levonorgestrel-IUS) with usual medical treatment in women with menorrhagia who presented to their primary care providers. Methods - We randomly assigned 571 women with menorrhagia to treatment with levonorgestrel-IUS or usual medical treatment (tranexamic acid, mefenamic acid, combined estrogen–progestogen, or progesterone alone). The primary outcome was the patient-reported score on the Menorrhagia Multi-Attribute Scale (MMAS) (ranging from 0 to 100, with lower scores indicating greater severity), assessed over a 2-year period. Secondary outcomes included general quality-of-life and sexual-activity scores and surgical intervention. Results - MMAS scores improved from baseline to 6 months in both the levonorgestrel-IUS group and the usual-treatment group (mean increase, 32.7 and 21.4 points, respectively; P<0.001 for both comparisons). The improvements were maintained over a 2-year period but were significantly greater in the levonorgestrel-IUS group than in the usual-treatment group (mean between-group difference, 13.4 points; 95% confidence interval, 9.9 to 16.9; P<0.001). Improvements in all MMAS domains (practical difficulties, social life, family life, work and daily routine, psychological well-being, and physical health) were significantly greater in the levonorgestrel-IUS group than in the usual-treatment group, and this was also true for seven of the eight quality-of-life domains. At 2 years, more of the women were still using the levonorgestrel-IUS than were undergoing the usual medical treatment (64% vs. 38%, P<0.001). There were no significant between-group differences in the rates of surgical intervention or sexual-activity scores. There were no significant differences in serious adverse events between groups. Conclusions - In women with menorrhagia who presented to primary care providers, the levonorgestrel-IUS was more effective than usual medical treatment in reducing the effect of heavy menstrual bleeding on quality of life. (Funded by the National Institute of Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme; ECLIPSE Controlled-Trials.com number, ISRCTN86566246.)

Levonorgestrel intrauterine system versus medical therapy for menorrhagia

ABSTRACT: Menorrhagia is a common problem that interferes with a woman’s physical, emotional, and social life. Evidence to guide physicians for decision about therapy for heavy menstrual bleeding is lacking. One treatment option, the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (levonorgestrel-IUS), has been available in the United States since 2009. Updated meta-analyses comparing the levonorgestrel-IUS with nonhormonal and hormonal treatments showed that the levonorgestrel-IUS produced a greater reduction in menstrual blood loss at 3 to 12 months of follow-up. It is not clear whether these short-term benefits persist. Moreover, the rates of discontinuation of the levonorgestrel-IUS at 2 years are as high as 28%, and effects on bleeding-related quality of life are not known. This pragmatic, multicenter, randomized trial compared the effectiveness of the levonorgestrel-IUS with that of usual medical treatment among women with menorrhagia in a primary care setting. A total of 571 women with menorrhagia were randomized to treatment with levonorgestrel-IUS (n = 285) or usual medical treatment (n = 286). Usual treatment was tranexamic acid, mefenamic acid, combined estrogen-progestogen, or progesterone alone. The primary study outcome measure was the patient-reported score on the condition-specific Menorrhagia Multi-Attribute Scale (MMAS) assessed over a 2-year period. The MMAS scores range from 0 to 100, with lower scores indicating greater severity. Summary MMAS scores were assessed at 6, 12, and 24 months. Secondary outcome measures included general health-related quality of life, sexual-activity scores, and surgical intervention. There was a significant improvement in total MMAS scores from baseline to 6 months in both the levonorgestrel-IUS group and the usual-treatment group; the mean increase was 32.7 and 21.4 points, respectively; P < 0.001 for both comparisons. Over the 2-year follow-up, improvements were maintained in both groups but were significantly greater in the levonorgestrel-IUS group (mean between-group difference, 13.4 points; 95% confidence interval, 9.9–16.9; P < 0.001). Significantly greater improvements in all MMAS domains (practical difficulties, social life, psychological health, physical health, work and daily routine, and family life and relationships) occurred with the levonorgestrel-IUS than with the usual treatment (P < 0.001 with the use of a test for trend). This was also found for 7 of the 8 quality-of-life domains. At the 2-year end point, almost twice as many women were still using the levonorgestrel-IUS than were those receiving the usual medical treatment (64% vs 38%, P < 0.001). No significant between-group differences were noted in the rates of surgical intervention or sexual-activity scores as well as in the frequency of serious adverse events. These data show that levonorgestrel-IUS is more effective than usual medical treatment in improving the quality of life of women with menorrhagia in a primary care setting.

'Why don't you try it again?' A comparison of parent led, home based interventions aimed at increasing children's consumption of a disliked vegetable

Previous research suggests that the use of modelling and non-food rewards may be effective at increasing tasting, and consequential liking and acceptance, of a previously disliked food. Although successful school-based interventions have been developed, there is a lack of research into home-based interventions using these methods. This study aimed to develop and investigate the efficacy of a parent led home-based intervention for increasing children's acceptance of a disliked vegetable. A total of 115 children aged 2-4 years were allocated to one of four intervention groups or to a no-treatment control. The four intervention conditions were: repeated exposure; modelling and repeated exposure; rewards and repeated exposure; or modelling, rewards and repeated exposure. Children in all of the intervention conditions were exposed by a parent to daily offerings of a disliked vegetable for 14 days. Liking and consumption of the vegetable were measured pre and post-intervention. Significant increases in post-intervention consumption were seen in the modelling, rewards and repeated exposure condition and the rewards and repeated exposure condition, compared to the control group. Significant post-intervention differences in liking were also found between the experimental groups. Liking was highest (>60%) in the modelling, rewards and repeated exposure group and the rewards and repeated exposure group, intermediate (>26%) in the modelling and repeated exposure and repeated exposure groups, and lowest in the control group (10%). Parent led interventions based around modelling and offering incentives may present cost efficient ways to increase children's vegetable consumption.

Randomised trial of levonorgestrel intrauterine system compared to usual medical treatment for heavy menstrual bleeding:the ECLIPSE Trial

Objective: Heavy menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia) is a common problem, yet evidence is limited to inform therapeutic decisions.We compared the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system(LNG-IUS) to usual medical treatment in a pragmatic randomised trial in primary care. Methods: We randomly assigned 571 women consulting their primary care providers with menorrhagia to LNG-IUS or to usual medical treatment as clinically appropriate (tranexamic acid, mefenamic acid, combined estrogen/progestogen or progestogen only). The primary outcome was a patient-reported measure ofimpact of menorrhagia, the validated Menorrhagia Multi-Attribute Scale (MMAS), assessed over 2 years. Secondary measures included generic quality of life (SF-36), sexual activity and surgical intervention.Results MMAS scores improved from baseline in both the LNG-IUS and usual medical treatment groups by 6 months (mean increases 32.7 points versus 21.4 points, respectively; P < 0.001for both) and were maintained over 2 years, but improvements were significantly greater with LNG-IUS (mean between-group difference 13.4 points, 95%CI, 9.9–16.9; P < 0.001).All domains of MMAS (practical difficulties, social life, family life,work/daily routine, psychological well being and physical health)improved significantly more with LNG-IUS, as were seven of the eight domains of SF-36. More women were still using LNG-IUSthan usual medical treatment at 2 years (64% versus 38%,P < 0.001). There were no significant between-group differences in surgical intervention rates or sexual activity scores. There were no serious adverse events in either group.Conclusions Among women presenting to primary care providers with menorrhagia, LNG-IUS was more effective than usual medical treatment at reducing the impact of this problem on their quality of life. In practice therefore, conventional treatments, such as tranexamic and mefenamic acid, remain helpful choices in women for whom LNG-IUS is considered unsuitable, or due to individual preference. For other women, LNG-IUS can be confidently recommended as an effective initial medical therapy for menorrhagia. Funding: This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) Programme (project number 02/06/02)

Occupy! A global movement

This book is an urgent and compelling account of the Occupy movements: from the M15 movement in Spain, to the wave of Occupations flooding across cities in American, Europe and Australia, to the harsh reality of evictions as corporations and governments attempted to reassert exclusive control over public space. Across a vast range of international examples over twenty authors analyse, explain and helps us understand the movement. These movements were a novel and noisy intervention into the recent capitalist crisis in developed economies, developing an exceptionally broad identity through a call to arms addressed to 'the 99%', and emphasizing the importance of public space in the creation and maintenance of opposition. The novelties of these movements, along with their radical positioning and the urgency of their claims all demand analysis. This book investigates the crucial questions of how and why this form of action spread so rapidly and so widely, how the inclusive discourse of 'the 99%' matched up to the reality of the practice. It is vital to understand not just the choice of tactics and the vitality of protest camps in public spaces, but also how the myriad of challenges and problems were negotiated. This book was published as a special issue of Social Movement Studies.

Rainbow Diet: A new nutrition education tool

The purpose of this study was to develop a developmentally appropriate new nutrition education tool, the Rainbow Diet for Children (RDFC), to encourage and aid parents in feeding their children according to current national recommendations. In phase I of the study, the RDFC was developed. Foods were grouped based on color. ^ Phase II of the study consisted of actual testing of the RDFC with children. ^ A pre and post intervention comparison revealed three significant differences. For the FGP group cholesterol intake was significantly (p < 0.006) increased and thiamin intake was significantly (p < 0.022) decreased. For the control group there was a significant increase (p < 0.005) in the vitamin A intake. ^ For the inter group mean change scores (posttest-pretest) two significant differences were found. First, cholesterol intake in the RDFC was significantly (p < 0.045) decreased while for the other two groups it increased significantly. Furthermore, the mean monounsaturated fat intake for the RDFC group significantly decreased (p < 0.047) from pre to post, whereas in the other two groups it was increased. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) ^

The use of a computer graphic organizer for persuasive composition writing by Hispanic students with specific learning disabilities

Many culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) struggle with the writing process. Particularly, they have difficulties developing and expanding ideas, organizing and elaborating sentences, and revising and editing their compositions (Graham, Harris, & Larsen, 2001; Myles, 2002). Computer graphic organizers offer a possible solution to assist them in their writing. This study investigated the effects of a computer graphic organizer on the persuasive writing compositions of Hispanic middle school students with SLD. A multiple baseline design across subjects was used to examine its effects on six dependent variables: number of arguments and supporting details, number and percentage of transferred arguments and supporting details, planning time, writing fluency, syntactical maturity (measured by T-units, the shortest grammatical sentence without fragments), and overall organization. Data were collected and analyzed throughout baseline and intervention. Participants were taught persuasive writing and the writing process prior to baseline. During baseline, participants were given a prompt and asked to use paper and pencil to plan their compositions. A computer was used for typing and editing. Intervention required participants to use a computer graphic organizer for planning and then a computer for typing and editing. The planning sheets and written composition were printed and analyzed daily along with the time each participant spent on planning. The use of computer graphic organizers had a positive effect on the planning and persuasive writing compositions. Increases were noted in the number of supporting details planned, percentage of supporting details transferred, planning time, writing fluency, syntactical maturity in number of T-units, and overall organization of the composition. Minimal to negligible increases were noted in the mean number of arguments planned and written. Varying effects were noted in the percent of transferred arguments and there was a decrease in the T-unit mean length. This study extends the limited literature on the effects of computer graphic organizers as a prewriting strategy for Hispanic students with SLD. In order to fully gauge the potential of this intervention, future research should investigate the use of different features of computer graphic organizer programs, its effects with other writing genres, and different populations.

The possible selves method in evaluating youth development interventions: The use of Integrated Qualitative /Quantitative Data Analytic Strategies (IQ -DAS)

This study investigated the feasibility of using qualitative methods to provide empirical documentation of the long-term qualitative change in the life course trajectories of “at risk” youth in a school based positive youth development program (the Changing Lives Program—CLP). This work draws from life course theory for a developmental framework and from recent advances in the use of qualitative methods in general and a grounded theory approach in particular. Grounded theory provided a methodological framework for conceptualizing the use of qualitative methods for assessing qualitative life change. The study investigated the feasibility of using the Possible Selves Questionnaire-Qualitative Extension (PSQ-QE) for evaluating the impact of the program on qualitative change in participants' life trajectory relative to a non-intervention control group. Integrated Qualitative/Quantitative Data Analytic Strategies (IQ-DAS) that we have been developing a part of our program of research provided the data analytic framework for the study. ^ Change was evaluated in 85 at risk high school students in CLP high school counseling groups over three assessment periods (pre, post, and follow-up), and a non-intervention control group of 23 students over two assessment periods (pre and post). Intervention gains and maintenance and the extent to which these patterns of change were moderated by gender and ethnicity were evaluated using a mixed design Repeated Measures Multivariate Analysis of Variance (RMANOVA) in which Time (pre, post) was the within (repeated) factor and Condition, Gender, and Ethnicity the between group factors. The trends for the direction of qualitative change were positive from pre to post and maintained at the year-end follow-up. More important, the 3-way interaction for Time x Gender x Ethnicity was significant, Roy's Θ =. 205, F(2, 37) = 3.80, p <.032, indicating that the overall pattern of positive change was significantly moderated by gender and ethnicity. Thus, the findings also provided preliminary evidence for a positive impact of the youth development program on long-term change in life course trajectory, and were suggestive with respect to the issue of amenability to treatment, i.e., the identification of subgroups of individuals in a target population who are likely to be the most amenable or responsive to a treatment. ^

The utility of an Integrated Qualitative /Quantitative Data Analytic Strategy (IQ -DAS) to evaluate the impact of youth development interventions to positive qualitative change in the life course

This study reports one of the first controlled studies to examine the impact of a school based positive youth development program (Lerner, Fisher, & Weinberg, 2000) on promoting qualitative change in life course experiences as a positive intervention outcome. The study built on a recently proposed relational developmental methodological metanarrative (Overton, 1998) and advances in use of qualitative research methods (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000). The study investigated the use the Life Course Interview (Clausen, 1998) and an integrated qualitative and quantitative data analytic strategy (IQ-DAS) to provide empirical documentation of the impact the Changing Lives Program on qualitative change in positive identity in a multicultural population of troubled youth in an alternative public high school. The psychosocial life course intervention approach used in this study draws its developmental framework from both psychosocial developmental theory (Erikson, 1968) and life course theory (Elder, 1998) and its intervention strategies from the transformative pedagogy of Freire's (1983/1970). ^ Using the 22 participants in the Intervention Condition and the 10 participants in the Control Condition, RMANOVAs found significantly more positive qualitative change in personal identity for program participants relative to the non-intervention control condition. In addition, the 2X2X2X3 mixed design RMANOVA in which Time (pre, post) was the repeated factor and Condition (Intervention versus Control), Gender, and Ethnicity the between group factors, also found significant interactions for the Time by Gender and Time by Ethnicity. ^ Moreover, the directionality of the basic pattern of change was positive for participants of both genders and all three ethnic groups. The pattern of the moderation effects also indicated a marked tendency for participants in the intervention group to characterize their sense of self as more secure and less negative at the end of the their first semester in the intervention, that was stable across both genders and all three ethnicities. The basic differential pattern of an increase in the intervention condition of a positive characterization of sense of self relative to both pre test and relative to the directionality of the movement of the non-intervention controls, was stable across both genders and all three ethnic groups. ^