Test anxiety: contributions of gender,age, parent's occupation and self-esteem among secondary school students in Nigeria

Most of the previous studies on test anxiety have focused on students in higher institutions with little research on test anxiety in secondary school students. The present study examined the contributions of gender, age, parent's occupation and self-esteem on test anxiety among secondary school students. Participants were 281 students (males?=?156, females?=?125; mean age?=?17.05, SD?=?1.87) who were candidates for centralised, high-stakes examinations in two randomly selected secondary schools in Onitsha, Anambra state, Nigeria. Data were collected using questionnaires comprising the State Self-esteem Scale, the Test Anxiety Inventory and spaces for the provision of relevant socio-demographic information. Results of a hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that age and gender did not significantly contribute to test anxiety. Parent's occupation explained 2% of the variance in test anxiety and self-esteem contributed 10% in explaining test anxiety. Based on the findings, personal predispositions explain test anxiety among school students more than do their demographics.     

Gender Identity Development and Career Decision-Making Process among High School Learners

Previous studies reveal an inconsistent picture of identity formation for both genders. This study investigated gender differences in identity formation (identity statuses) and career decision-making process among Black South African high school learners. A sample of 156 Grade 12 learners (males = 60, females = 96; mean age = 17.7) participated in the study. Participants completed the Revised Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (Bennion & Adams, 1986) and the Study Choice Task Inventory (Germeijs & Verschueren, 2006). Males and females were similar in identity formation and career decision-making process. Given that nowadays females are encouraged to consider both stereotypically female plus male paths of career development, gender appears to play less influential role in career decision making.     

Women,men and Christ crucified

Abstract

Despite frequent claims to the contrary, Passion piety maintained a significant presence within English devotion throughout the sixteenth century. This article centres on several female contributors to evangelical Passion devotion, including Katherine Parr and Elizabeth Tyrwhit. Moving beyond essentialized notions of gendered authorship, the study offers a comparative, historicizing perspective on women's Passion writings, situating female-authored works within their wider contemporary devotional contexts. An argument is advanced for the fluidity and open-endedness of the early landscape of reform, uncovering the surprising continuities which shaped reformed spirituality and revealing a level of confessional interplay at variance with polarized models of Catholic and Protestant devotion.     

The identity of Guanyin: Religion,convention and subversion

This paper explores the visual representation of Guanyin (Avalokiteshvara) and argues that this, understood in relation to the traditions and devotion to him/her, allows her to be read as a figure of subversive religiosity. Indeed, it is argued that, rather than being a symbol of tradition and convention, a subversive reading of her is not only more potent, but also inherent within her portrayals. To begin, the transformation of him/her from a figure of mainstream Mahayana tradition, in the Pure Land School and texts such as the Lotus Sutra, to the ‘Chinese Goddess of Compassion’ is explored, paying particular attention to the legends of Miaoshan. This is then extended to consider both why he/she may be considered a conventional figure, but also how and why he/she offers the potential for subversive readings centred around ideas of gender, identity, patriarchy and morality.     

The Challenges of Multiculturalism

Although the term multiculturalism is often understood on the public level as an ideology or as a social programme (to be ‘for’ or ‘against’), I argue in this paper that the term should also be understood to refer to the complex range of issues associated with cultural and religious diversity in society, and the social management of the challenges and opportunities such diversity offers. Understood in this sense, multiculturalism is not an optional extra, it is not something that a society can choose to have or avoid. For any country without closed borders then multiculturalism is a fact of today—it is present within the society. What is important are the social and political responses to the cultural and religious diversity that results from transnational flows and settlement of people. This introduction to the collection of papers highlights the need to understand multiculturalism as a process which is always contextual, and the role that state management of difference in the successful development of diversity plays.     

Introduction

No abstract available for this article.     

Communication Questions for Couples

ABSTRACT

In this article, I share a series of questions to help couples, either in therapy or as a homework assignment, reflect upon various aspects of their relationship. The questions also provide the less articulate, less emotionally available partner a structured platform to share and connect. This activity gives many couples a sense of hope since it provides opportunities to practice relating more intimately and to experience the closeness that often results.     

Feminist Issues in Couple Therapy

Abstract

The authors reviewed the feminist couple therapy literature from 1995 to 2006. They summarized this large body of work into several key themes. The first revealed that feminist couples therapists are continuing to discuss and deconstruct gender issues in couple therapy. The second showed that feminists believe that therapists should be educated both academically and personally about culture and diversity so as to support couples in their therapy around their own issues of diversity as well as learning to deal with issues of social justice as a couple. In the third theme, the authors introduced readers to feminists' emphasis on connection and empathy within couple and sex therapy. And, in the fourth, the authors explored feminists' work with power in couple therapy as they applied to couple therapy in general as well as around the specific topics of: balancing family and work and therapy for familial violence.     

Power Differentials in Relationships

Abstract

The issue of sharing power affects many relationships. Many couple theorists and therapists believe that most marital distress is the result of power imbalances between the partners yet the influence of perceived power differentials in relationships is largely ignored in the therapy journals. The focus of this paper is on power differentials in couples. Different types of power are explored and assessment issues are examined. Therapeutic considerations are then presented and illustrated by case material. These issues are explored against a backdrop of gender sensitivity.     

An Interpersonal and Intercultural Embrace

SUMMARY

Using Ono's (1997) “letter” format to share one's multiplicity of “voices,” I discuss the negotiation of interpersonal and intercultural factors of a gay, transcontinental, HIV serodiscordant relational connection with my late partner and a multicultural relational connection with my current partner. In this letter, I work to open paths of inquiry and understanding of our connections by intersecting relational “differences” (e.g., ethnicity, nations of birth, social class, HIV status, and religion/spirituality) with relational “similarities” (e.g., attraction and love, age status, shared gay identity, shared languages, and educational privilege). Finally, I address our learned and practiced skills for sustaining relational healthiness.