Education Commons^™

Developing Students' Leadership Potential (Why I'M Optimistic About Today's High School Seniors), Ben Sells

Press Releases

Why leadership matters.

I’m 60 years old, but I clearly remember the spring of my senior year in high school. I grew up in a small town in Missouri. After spending a week in Washington D.C., I returned home dreaming about a career in politics and government. I thought it could be a meaningful way to make a difference. (I also had decided to give up my dream of being an NBA basketball player given I’m five foot five.)

To help me take the next step in that dream, I spent the summer volunteering full-time for a little-known state-wide candidate. …

Enhancing The Likelihood Of Success For New Leaders, David Bartz, William Kritsonis, Cliff Karnes

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Educators who are appointed to formal leadership positions for the first time are likely to experience a variety of psychological reactions before assuming these positions. The transition to leadership model systematically guides new leaders through the psychological maze by building their confidence for success through planned forethoughts for their first-time formal leadership position.Two attributes of positive psychology—optimism and mindset—are presented that supplement the content of the transition to leadership model and help new leaders to experience successful beginnings in their first leadership positions.

Measuring Optimism In Organizations: Development Of A Workplace Explanatory Style Questionnaire, Paul Smith, Peter Caputi, Nadia Crittenden

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Some researchers measure optimism by analysing explanations for hypotheti- cal scenarios in explanatory style questionnaires. The most commonly used instrument, the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ), has been shown to predict success in business, education and sport. However, these predictions were achieved by using composite scores of subscales. Our analysis of 15 measures revealed the ASQ and many other explanatory style questionnaires have low internal consistency. Furthermore, the majority of these measures use situations that have poor face validity for corporate applications, while some work-specific scenarios are only relevant to narrow domains such as selling insurance. To fulfil the need for …

Resilience: The Role Of Optimism, Perceived Parental Autonomy Support And Perceived Social Support In First Year University Students, Michelle Dawson, Julie Ann Pooley

Research outputs 2013

Throughout our lifespan we face many challenges which are often referred to as transitions. The move to university is one such transition which may place individuals at risk of suffering ongoing significant life stress, anxiety and uncertainty. Optimism, promotion of independent functioning (PIF), promotion of volitional functioning (PVF) and perceived social support (PSS) appear to be beneficial in coping with university transition and positive adaptation to adversity as well as being associated both directly and indirectly with resilience. This study was conducted in two stages which examined the mechanisms of optimism, PIF, PVF and PSS and their predictive relationship with …

Comparison Of Quality Of Life Perceptions Of Caregivers Of Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities In The United States And The Czech Republic, Sharon A. Raver, Anne M. Michalek, Jan Michalik, Milan Valenta

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

Caregivers of individuals with disabilities in the United States have been reported to experience additional hardships than families with typical children as they attempt to balance family and work (Parish, Rose, Grinstein-Weiss, Richman, & Andrews, 2008). In this study, 31 caregivers of individuals with intellectual disabilities from the United States and 225 from the Czech Republic completed a qualitative quality of life survey. Similarities in the two groups were found in reported gains and losses from caregiving responsibilities. Differences in perceived spirituality, personal sense of peace and serenity, life optimism, ability to rejoice in life, personal life perspective, health, financial …