International Journal of Studies in Psychology

Instructional design considerations: Cognitive development and physics comprehension in secondary education

Adeniyi Michael Adeduyigbe — 2025-06-30

This paper discusses instructional design considerations for secondary school students' learning physics concepts, framed through cognitive development theories, particularly Jean Piaget's stages. It presents the relationship between age and physics comprehension, highlighting the overlap in cognitive development and students' challenges in learning physics concepts in secondary education. In comparison, older students demonstrate improved problem-solving skills and a deeper understanding of theoretical principles, while younger students rely on concrete experiences. The implications and recommendations were discussed in this paper.

Effectiveness of teaching physical education to learners with multiple disabilities in the Highglen district in Harare, Zimbabwe

Liana Musekiwa — 2025-06-30

This study explored the effectiveness of teaching physical education to learners with multiple disabilities in two special schools in the Highglen district. The study employed a qualitative approach rooted in an interpretative research paradigm. A case study was used as a research design. Semi-structured interviews, lesson observations, and focus group discussions were used as data collection tools. Twenty participants were selected using purposive sampling from two special schools in the Highglen district, Zimbabwe. Data were analysed using content thematic analysis to identify key themes. Results showed different factors affecting the effective teaching of Physical Education to learners with multiple disabilities. These include health issues, lack of support from different stakeholders, teachers' attitudes towards learners with multiple disabilities, lack of skills and knowledge, learners' attitudes toward PE, shortage of appropriate PE equipment, and the school environment. The study gave some recommendations, including holding campaigns by respective education ministries that may help correct attitudes in school heads, teachers, parents, and learners. Schools should be assisted in acquiring resources and equipment to ease the teachers' work. Teachers ' professional development should be prioritised to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge.

Exploring teachers' perceptions of learner-aggressive behaviours in primary school at the Pinetown district in South Africa

Patrick Mweli — 2025-06-30

Aggressive behaviour can be categorised into different forms, including physical violence, verbal aggression, and disruptive conduct. This study explores teachers' perceptions of learner-aggressive behaviour in inclusive school settings. It employed a qualitative approach, which used interpretive paradigm within the phenomenological design. It used semi-interviews and collages to gather data. The data analysis was done by utilising the thematic analyses technique to arrive at the overall findings. The study revealed that teachers perceive frustration as the leading cause of learner-aggressive behaviours within the classroom. The latter statement implies that learner-aggressive behaviours disrupt the learning environment and result in low learner academic achievement and teacher stress and burnout.

A Comprehensive parenting framework for post-apartheid South Africa: Informing effective parenting practices

Phumuzani Mpofu — 2025-06-30

Parenting is a complex and demanding responsibility that requires careful execution from those involved. The study is grounded in cultural historical activity theory, which provides a lens through which to analyse the interactions and dynamics within South African parenting practices. It adopted a qualitative research approach through a transformative paradigm. Participatory Action Learning and Action Research design were employed to gather in-depth data from participants. Thirty participants identified key phases essential to a comprehensive parenting framework for South Africa. Data was generated using focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews. These phases include training parents on effective parenting practices, educating children about their constitutional rights and responsibilities, adopting a multidisciplinary approach to parenting, establishing clear standards for institutions where children are placed, creating vibrant care and aftercare centres, revising local curricula to incorporate local cultural values, and providing free, well-resourced mental health facilities in all communities, with blended approaches that include traditional practices. The study recommends the adoption of a comprehensive parenting framework for post-apartheid South Africa to strengthen parenting practices within South African communities.

Strategic steps in promoting gender diversity in South African high schools: A parental perspective on queering cisnormativity

John Chaka — 2025-06-30

It is important to note that transgender learners experienced gender discrimination, misgendering, and bullying at South African High Schools. Based on parental perspectives, this paper presents the strategies that can be used in South African high schools to promote gender diversity. This considers reconceptualisation of gender to enable parents to challenge the factors that act as barriers to the promotion of gender diversity and ensure that the schooling environment is an inclusive one for both trans and cis learners. This paper thus suggests a strategic step that can be used to queer religion and culture to promote gender diversity. This study provides strategies in a three-step guide that parents can use to transform South African high schools into more inclusive environments and to queer cisnormativity.

Exploring the influence of closed-circuit television in preventing bullying behaviour at a selected School in KwaZulu-Natal: A Case Study

Sumeshni Govender — 2025-06-30

South African schools have been experiencing an increase in bullying behaviour (BB) incidents. One school in Northern KwaZulu-Natal installed closed-circuit televisions throughout the entire school as a preventive measure. Previous studies have proved that both learner-learner and teacher-targeted bullying is a serious challenge and needs immediate intervention in schools locally and globally. This study explored how the influence of closed-circuit televisions can prevent bullying behaviour in a school in the King Cetshwayo district in KwaZulu-Natal. It applied a qualitative, descriptive research design, interpretive research paradigm, and exploratory approach. Nine participants were purposively sampled, including one principal, two deputy principals, one head of department, four teachers, and one school governing body member. Thematic findings revealed that the influence of closed-circuit televisions could prevent learner and teacher-targeted bullying behaviour and improve the effectiveness of preventative behaviour in the classroom, playground, and corridors. However, teacher participants suggested including stakeholders (parents, social workers, and SAPS) involvement in mainstream school visits. In South Africa, with the Protection of Personal Information Act (Republic of South Africa, 2013), the need for permission before data collection becomes a more fundamental issue.

An analysis of anxiety in the works of Martin Heidegger, Frantz Fanon, and Sigmund Freud: Integrative literature review

Adila Ally — 2025-06-30

This paper analysed anxiety in the works of Martin Heidegger, Frantz Fanon, and Sigmund Freud from an integrative literature review perspective. Based on synthesised literature, it is established that while for Heidegger and Freud, anxiety means the natural indicator of a person living their authentic lifecycle, aware of their living and mortality towards their death with conviction and purpose, Fanon perceives anxiety as something all individuals inevitably experience as part of the actual reactions to everyday life challenges. Heidegger, Fanon, and Freud’s perspectives of anxiety define anxiety as freedom’s dizziness, that is, people learning to ultimately and correctly live with their anxieties. Heidegger, Freud, and Fanon endeavour to distinguish clearly between existential, neurotic, and normal anxiety to indicate that the misdiagnosis of “normal” anxiety as a disorder result in current concerns and irresponsibility in people’s actions and choices. Therefore, the paper recommends that psychologists in education and people with anxiety should understand that appreciating the inner stimuli as disturbing some basic and inherent equilibrium state in a person helps appreciate responses to anxiety stimuli.

Regulatory focus and deliberate ignorance: When perceived accessibility leads to the decision to ignore information

Raymond Godwin — 2025-06-30

While extensive research has focused on information seeking, the phenomenon of deliberate ignorance, where individuals choose not to know available information despite negligible acquisition costs and potentially high benefits, remains less understood. This study investigated the interplay of regulatory focus, perceived importance of learning, and perceived accessibility in predicting deliberate ignorance among young Indonesians. Employing a within-subjects, vignette-based experimental design with 114 respondents, we observed deliberate ignorance across all manipulated regulatory focus conditions. Generalised Estimating Equations revealed a significant interaction: a promotion focus, driven by the anticipation of pleasant emotions, strengthened the positive effect of perceived accessibility on deliberate ignorance. Conversely, the perceived importance of knowing consistently reduced deliberate ignorance, independent of regulatory focus. These findings highlight a nuanced relationship between cognitive factors, anticipated emotions-based regulatory focus, and the decision to remain ignorant. Consistent with regulatory focus theory, our results suggest that a promotion focus heightens sensitivity to potential emotional losses, increasing the likelihood of ignoring easily accessible information. Since most of the information offered in this research was internet-based, online communicators should be attentive to how information accessibility interacts with promotion-focused motivations. At the same time, educators can leverage these insights to empower young adults with strategies for navigating digital information overload.

Rape as a weapon of war in eastern DRC and its impact on survivors' marital satisfaction

Honnête Nyandu Kasali — 2025-06-30

Rape in armed conflict is a major issue in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where it is used as a weapon of war to dismantle social structures and inflict long-term trauma on survivors. This study examines the impact of rape on survivors' marital satisfaction, highlighting the differences between wartime rape and intimate or community-based sexual violence. The methodology employs a quantitative approach with a sample of 201 rape survivors from the South Kivu and North Kivu provinces. Data were collected using the Marital Satisfaction Inventory (MSI) and analyzed through statistical tests (ANOVA, t-tests). Contrary to initial expectations, the results indicate that rape committed by armed actors has a lesser impact on marital satisfaction than rape perpetrated by intimate partners or community members. The study also identifies key factors contributing to marital distress, such as repeated assaults, the time elapsed since the last incident, and the public disclosure of the rape. Finally, the findings highlight the importance of psychosocial support in improving survivors' resilience and strengthening post-trauma marital dynamics. These results underscore the need for targeted approaches in the care and protection of victims.

Understanding the objectives of the school counselling programme in Namibia: A descriptive study

Anna Niitembu Hako — 2025-06-30

This study's central problem is a lack of clear understanding regarding the specific objectives and functions of the school counselling programme as it is currently implemented in Namibian schools. This descriptive study aims to clarify these objectives from the perspectives of various stakeholders involved in the programme. Employing a quantitative approach rooted in the positivism paradigm, the study utilised a descriptive survey design to achieve the study's broad aim. The authors adopted a stratified random sampling technique, where a sample of 148 principals, 70 teacher-counsellors, and 382 learners from 40 schools in Eenhana, Ohakafiya, Ondobe, and Okongo circuits in the Ohangwena region of Namibia was used. The study used self-structured questionnaires to collect data. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency and percentage. The findings indicated that the principal participants viewed the career development objectives as most important, and the teacher-counsellors prioritised academic development. At the same time, the learners considered personal-social development objectives the most important for the school counselling programme. The differing priorities placed on the objectives of the school counselling programme by principals, teacher-counsellors, and learners suggest a potential misalignment in understanding and implementing the programme's goals. This discrepancy highlights the need for better communication and a more holistic approach to ensure the counselling programme effectively addresses all stakeholders' diverse needs and perspectives within the Namibian school system. This study concludes by recommending that the Namibian Ministry of Education, Arts, and Culture prioritise comprehensive training for teacher-counsellors to effectively address learners' various personal challenges and needs within the school setting.

Gas discharge visualisation technology for psychological research applications: A systematic review

Raul Valverde — 2025-06-30

Gas discharge visualisation (GDV) is a nonintrusive technique that captures a person's physiological and psychoemotional status, including stress. This is through the electro-photonic emissions of fingertips placed on the surface of an impulse analyser. This study is to systematically review the GDV for psychological research applications through the PRISMA-NMA method. For the literature search, three databases, DOAJ, Scopus, and WOS, were consulted, using keyword terms, which allowed working with 20 articles published from 2002 to Feb 2025, demonstrating empirical evidence of the impact of GDV for psychological applications.