In this exploratory study, pursuit of personal excellence was viewed in terms of the individual's perception of his/her goal of achieving academic competence, as well as self-confidence, and a sense of empowerment, control and choice.

This paper targets educators who wish to grapple with the problem of violence and aggression in the classroom. Its focus is geared to helping them to acquire basic skills and knowledge necessary to design and implement effective instructional and classroom management practices which will address the needs of the student in an holistic manner, socially, morally and academically. The pro-social aspects of the students' training must be the subject of considerable attention and the humanistic aspect must be meaningfully dealt with.

This article attempts to illustrate the use of the Constant Comparative Method (CCM) for organizing as well as analysing qualitative research in a way that the beginning qualitative researcher can understand. The significance of the CCM is that it is not only useful as a method of analysis but is also a critical component of the entire research process. It includes initial categorization, comparison, inductive analysis and finally refinement of data and categories.

The aim of this study was to ascertain the root causes of absenteeism among children of the rural poor in one hundred Jamaican primary schools in which absenteeism was most problematic. The research utilized a mixed methods approach and involved transforming qualitative data into quantitative data and generating descriptive statistics. Focus group interviews were utilized to collect data from school and community members and involved 165 children, ranging in age from 7 to 12.

The research sought to determine the relationship between adolescent aggression, parenting style and family union. The sample consisted of 200 students attending technical high, newly upgraded high and traditional high schools within an urban inner city community located in the Kingston Metropolitan Region. The participants responded to a questionnaire that addressed their behaviour, behaviour directed towards them, their relationship with their parents, their parents show of affection towards them, the parenting style of their parents and the family structure in which they lived.