Lisbeth Pike

Can sense of community inform social capital

Abstract This paper examines the theoretical linkage between social capital and sense of community through research studies within four contextual areas. Social capital (SC) can be conceptualized as all the interactions between individuals in a community, and has been examined in various groups and communities. Sense of community (SoC) is a psychological construct that we argue is a correlate of social capital. Sense of community reflects the feelings of attachment and belonging that an individual has towards a community. Through qualitative and quantitative research carried out across the lifespan in four communities in Western Australia (i.e., Perth community, adolescent Jewish community, urban and rural communities, and primary school community), this paper utilizes SoC as a framework for investigating ways in which SC may be realized in communities. The significance of this paper highlights the practical application of increasing SC within communities through targeting SoC within individuals.

The Adjustment of Australian Children Growing up in Single-Parent Families as Measured by Their Competence and Self-Esteem

This article describes a study that examined the competence and self-esteem of 136 Australian single-parent primary school-aged children growing up in different single-parent residency arrangements. It compared these children with a matched sample of two-parent children. Child competence was assessed across a range of domains (academic, physical, social, behavioural and everyday life skills). The analysis revealed that overall, the single-parent children were not significantly different from the two-parent children in competence levels and self-esteem. There were, however, subtle differences in performance on the measures between and within each parent residency group linked to the gender of the child and the gender of the residential parent.

An Exploration of the Impact of the Family Court Process on “Invisible” Stepparents

Abstract Child custody decisions on separated families seldom acknowledge the impact that such decisions have on subsequent partners of the biological parents. New partners are thus “invisible” in litigation in the Family Court. This project utilised a qualitative research methodology to explore this experience with a purposive experiential sample of 12 second partners. The primary themes identified in thematic content analysis were exclusion and invisibility in a system over which they had little control. The findings suggest that the negative psychological impact would be lessened if a policy of inclusion was adopted in the Family Court process.

A critical exploration of the school context for young adolescents completing primary education

Many schools have adopted relational approaches to attend to the social context in which learning transpires. More recently however, such approaches and their supporters have been criticized for not examining the school context in its entirety and the student experience within this context. The current research sought to critically explore young adolescents’ experiences within the context of their school. Fifteen year seven students in an Australian primary school were interviewed about their experiences of their school context. The data were analysed using a thematic analysis and a question-ordered matrix was constructed to aid the detection of themes and sub-themes from the data. Three major themes were identified as a result. These included: the people within the school context, the social roles of the adolescents’, and the values the school espouses. These findings suggest that there are a number of factors in addition to relational aspects within the school context that impact on young adolescents. This exploratory qualitative study offers a ‘counter adult-centric’ view of young adolescents’ experiences within their school. It also illustrates the potential value in transforming the school context to provide opportunities to experience influence, responsibility, self-determination, meaningful participation and community within the school.

Contact Fathers' Experience of Family Life

Contact fathers’ experience of family life has lacked attention in the divorce literature although evidence suggests that contact fathers often suffer considerably, post-separation or divorce. This study explored contact fathers’ (N= 48) perspectives of family life. Using a multimethod approach incorporating quantitative and qualitative methodologies, father-child and parental interactions were investigated in relation to family functioning in the contact father-child family. Two key aspects of family functioning identified by the Circumplex Model for Marital and Family Systems (Olsen, 1989), cohesion and adaptability, were assessed in these contact father families. Results showed that the quality of father-child interactions did predict cohesion in the contact father-child family but not adaptability. Quality of parental interaction did not predict cohesion or adaptability. Qualitative data provided insights into the ways in which aspects of cohesion and adaptability influenced contact father-child family experiences. Findings highlighted the importance of identifying attitudes that prevent contact parents from fulfilling their parental roles and the importance of early intervention for working with disrupted families.

The acquisition of social competence: An examination of factors influencing children's level of social competence

Abstract The acquisition of social competence is an important developmental task for children. This review examines how childrens characteristics and environmental factors contribute to childrens achievement of social competence. Environmental factors are addressed through Bronfenbrenners (1999) ecological systems model of the microsystem, mesosystem and exosystem. The microsystem includes the home environment with parent-parent, parent-child and sibling relationships. The mesosystem includes the school environment with peer and teacher relationships. Finally, the exosystem incorporates indirect environments such as parent work, economic status and the media. Issues of reciprocal effects are addressed and the suggestion is made that social competence is the result of a pattern of experiences rather than one or two major causes. It is recommended that future research focus on childrens experiences that have lasting effects.

A Holistic Approach to Establishing an Effective Learning Environment for Psychology

The impetus for the Enhancing Quality and Learning (EQUAL) programme evolved out of concerns held by the staff in the School of Psychology at Edith Cowan University (ECU) regarding the difficulties encountered by first year psychology students and the subsequent low retention rate of these students in the psychology course. The EQUAL programme focused on easing the transition of high school students into university studies by enhancing the social support networks of commencing students. The programme was designed to be an holistic approach to enhancing a sense of belonging to the School of Psychology and comprised seven components. These are peer mentoring, the formation of learning communities, curriculum reforms, tutor training, orientation, the development of student portfolios and school liaison. EQUAL is now an integral part of the learning experience for all psychology students at ECU. Evaluations of the EQUAL programme indicate greater student satisfaction with the psychology course and increased retention rates.

Telling all of the story: The effects of single parent residency arrangements on children whose parents separate or divorce

Abstract This study examined the effects of different parent residency arrangements on the growth of competence and self-esteem in Australian primary school-aged children. It employed a matched sample of 136 non-clinical, single parent children of both genders resident with parents of both genders matched with children from two parent families. Data measuring childrens competence and self-esteem were gathered on a range of dependent measures. Comparisons in performance of the single and two parent children were analysed in three ways: (1) family type; (2) family type and child gender, and (3) family type, child gender and parent residency group. The third analysis revealed that there were subtle but important differences in performance between and within each parent residency group not revealed by the other two analyses.