title: Effectiveness of a low‐dose mindfulness‐based intervention for alleviating distress in young unemployed adults

authors: Roemer, Anja

abstract: While the effectiveness of mindfulness‐based interventions (MBIs) with respect to distress has been widely researched, unemployed individuals, who often suffer from high levels of distress, have largely been neglected in MBI research. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of a low‐dose MBI on distress in a sample of young unemployed adults. The sample included 239 young unemployed adults enrolled for a 6‐week long employability‐related training camp. Participants were allocated into an intervention group that received weekly 1‐hour mindfulness training over 4 weeks, and a control group. Dispositional mindfulness, distress and well‐being were assessed in the entire sample prior to the start and upon completion of the mindfulness training. A mixed model ANCOVA showed that distress was inversely and significantly predicted by baseline levels of mindfulness and well‐being. After accounting for the baseline levels of mindfulness and well‐being, a significant effect of the mindfulness intervention was evident. This result shows that a low‐dose MBI can decrease distress in a sample of young unemployed adults and its effectiveness is positively associated with initial levels of dispositional mindfulness and well‐being.

text: Effectiveness of a low‐dose mindfulness‐based intervention for alleviating distress in young unemployed adults While the effectiveness of mindfulness‐based interventions (MBIs) with respect to distress has been widely researched, unemployed individuals, who often suffer from high levels of distress, have largely been neglected in MBI research. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of a low‐dose MBI on distress in a sample of young unemployed adults. The sample included 239 young unemployed adults enrolled for a 6‐week long employability‐related training camp. Participants were allocated into an intervention group that received weekly 1‐hour mindfulness training over 4 weeks, and a control group. Dispositional mindfulness, distress and well‐being were assessed in the entire sample prior to the start and upon completion of the mindfulness training. A mixed model ANCOVA showed that distress was inversely and significantly predicted by baseline levels of mindfulness and well‐being. After accounting for the baseline levels of mindfulness and well‐being, a significant effect of the mindfulness intervention was evident. This result shows that a low‐dose MBI can decrease distress in a sample of young unemployed adults and its effectiveness is positively associated with initial levels of dispositional mindfulness and well‐being.

year: 2020

title: English language learning in New Caledonia: A report on the proficiency achievements and motivation of students at or near the point of entry to tertiary study

authors: Poret, Anne

subjects: New Caledonia

abstract: In the context of an introduction to New Caledonia and its languages, this paper reports on a research project whose aims were to provide a snapshot of the English language proficiency achievements of New Caledonian students at the point of entry to tertiary study and to investigate possible relationships between proficiency achievements, learning context and motivation. In 2006, a sample of students (274) took a C-test (one that was initially used in a major European language proficiency survey) and completed a questionnaire relating to motivation and attitudes towards the English language. The overall mean C-test score was considerably lower than that of students who did the same C-test at a similar educational stage in the European study. Some schooling contexts appear to have had a positive impact on proficiency development, as did some factors relating to motivation. On the basis of this study, it is suggested that educational authorities in New Caledonia should consider looking carefully at the factors that affect to the teaching and learning of English in schools.

text: English language learning in New Caledonia: A report on the proficiency achievements and motivation of students at or near the point of entry to tertiary study In the context of an introduction to New Caledonia and its languages, this paper reports on a research project whose aims were to provide a snapshot of the English language proficiency achievements of New Caledonian students at the point of entry to tertiary study and to investigate possible relationships between proficiency achievements, learning context and motivation. In 2006, a sample of students (274) took a C-test (one that was initially used in a major European language proficiency survey) and completed a questionnaire relating to motivation and attitudes towards the English language. The overall mean C-test score was considerably lower than that of students who did the same C-test at a similar educational stage in the European study. Some schooling contexts appear to have had a positive impact on proficiency development, as did some factors relating to motivation. On the basis of this study, it is suggested that educational authorities in New Caledonia should consider looking carefully at the factors that affect to the teaching and learning of English in schools.

year: 2007-02

title: Relational Responsive Pedagogy, Teachers and Māori students Listening and Learning from each other

authors: Joyce, Chrisandra Itirana

subjects: Relational Pedagogy

abstract: This thesis examines the culturally responsive and relational pedagogical practices of a group of teachers in one Phase four Te Kotahitanga school. It then considers the influences of these pedagogies on four Māori students.
The thesis begins by seeking to understand the two different worldviews in Aotearoa/New Zealand (a Western worldview and a Māori worldview) and some of the discourses that have emerged in the shared Māori and colonial history of this country. It examines kaupapa Māori as both a movement of resistance to the dominant Western worldview that came with colonisation; and a movement of revitalisation to Māori ways of knowing and understanding the world that began to be lost at the same time. It focuses on Te Kotahitanga as a kaupapa Māori response in secondary schools.
The collaborative storying of teachers and Māori students in a Te Kotahitanga school alongside their data of practice and achievement are discussed and examined. Shifts across three levels of the school are identified and understood alongside the Te Kotahitanga professional development cycle. These understandings are discussed in relation to Māori metaphors.  The overall implications of Māori metaphors in relation to the research questions are then considered.
This thesis concludes with considerations and implications for others in addressing the on-going educational disparities of Māori students in mainstream educational settings in New Zealand.

text: Relational Responsive Pedagogy, Teachers and Māori students Listening and Learning from each other This thesis examines the culturally responsive and relational pedagogical practices of a group of teachers in one Phase four Te Kotahitanga school. It then considers the influences of these pedagogies on four Māori students.
The thesis begins by seeking to understand the two different worldviews in Aotearoa/New Zealand (a Western worldview and a Māori worldview) and some of the discourses that have emerged in the shared Māori and colonial history of this country. It examines kaupapa Māori as both a movement of resistance to the dominant Western worldview that came with colonisation; and a movement of revitalisation to Māori ways of knowing and understanding the world that began to be lost at the same time. It focuses on Te Kotahitanga as a kaupapa Māori response in secondary schools.
The collaborative storying of teachers and Māori students in a Te Kotahitanga school alongside their data of practice and achievement are discussed and examined. Shifts across three levels of the school are identified and understood alongside the Te Kotahitanga professional development cycle. These understandings are discussed in relation to Māori metaphors.  The overall implications of Māori metaphors in relation to the research questions are then considered.
This thesis concludes with considerations and implications for others in addressing the on-going educational disparities of Māori students in mainstream educational settings in New Zealand.

year: 2012