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Educational Psychology

University of South Carolina

Theses/Dissertations

2015

Grounded Theory

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Decision-Making Processes Of Judges In Family Court: An Investigation Of Salient Features Relating To Termination Of Parental Rights Hearings, Jennifer G. May Jan 2015

Decision-Making Processes Of Judges In Family Court: An Investigation Of Salient Features Relating To Termination Of Parental Rights Hearings, Jennifer G. May

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study uses Corbin and Strauss’ approach to the Grounded Theory method of analysis to determine the salient features of decision-making in termination of parental rights (TPR) hearings. Specifically this study addresses: what information is used to make decisions in a TPR case; what training or systemic improvements are needed; the role of intuition, prior experience or other stores of knowledge; how judges prioritize sources of information; and how “best interest of the child” is interpreted by family court judges. A theory of judicial decision-making relating specifically to TPR hearings is proposed.