Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0487
+44 1478 350008
ISSN: 2161-0487
+44 1478 350008
Tamara Blake
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, USA
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Psychol Psychother
Using formal and informal research within the classroom is a valuable aspect of education that is an underused tool in the educational setting by instructors. Self-determination is a construct, alongside motivation, that has elements of Positive Psychology deeply engrained. A formal assessment of self-determination was completed in an adult charter school in Washington, D.C. and will be the primary focus of data discussed for this presentation. It was of interest to the researcher to determine if existing instructional and programmatic strategies at the charter school would increase levels of selfdetermination in the students over a six-week period. The implications and processes can be replicated to both identify selfdetermination and increase self-determination in a variety of other educational environments. A portion of the presentation will include similar research completed by this writer in The Gambia, Africa, with school children. There is a great need to study self-determination to include broader diversity, considering self-determination is such an important characteristic in academic success. The implications and processes can be replicated to both identify self-determination and increase self-determination in a variety of other educational environments. This is significant, as self-determination is crucial in the development of empowerment, autonomy, and self-regulation for both individual successes in a professional, interpersonal, and academic realm. Questions addressed throughout the process of the Self-Determination project included growth of selfdetermination in students, correlation between self-determination and attendance, and correlation of self-determination and standardized placement scores. Strategies to increase Self-Determination, especially while students face transition, will be explored at this presentation. Using the research as forementioned, paired with empirical based Positive Psychology interventions used within the classroom in a graduate level university, participants of this presentation will be rewarded with immediate takeaways to implement within the classroom.
Dr. Tamara Blake is an Assistant Professor in the Counseling Department at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s Washington, D.C. Campus. As an Educational Psychologist and a believer in lifelong learning, she has been teaching in higher education since 2008.