Abstract
D. Ed. (Adolescent Guidance)
An excessive amount of literature is currently available in the field of selfdevelopment.
The sale of books, self-help courses, and the attendance
of programmes in this regard have reached higher levels than ever
before. It is impossible for the average person to assimilate all the
available information, and unfortunately most of these learning materials
were never verified to prove their results.
It is undeniable that a need for self-development and enhancement
programmes does exist - it is however necessary that they are
evaluated to establish whether they do indeed work, and that they
integrate some of the information to cover as broad an area as possible
of the intrapersonal sphere of influence, without overloading the
individual learner.
In this study, a wide-ranging literature study lead to the researcher
concluding that most information in the domain of intrapersonal
enhancement can be divided into three primary categories. The first
category, the Life Script, which is primarily formed during the childhood
years and strengthened or altered by adult experiences, includes all the
issues, events and endeavors of the individual's life that made him/her
what he/she is today. The second category is the Life Plan, which is
future-oriented and represents the dreams, desires and ambitions of the
person. The final category is the Strategies, and contains the
techniques and skills the individual needs to move from category one,
the "as is"/Life Script-scenario, to the second category, the "to be"/Life
Plan-scenario.
Roughly guided by the 80/20 principle the researcher separated the "vital
few'' from the "trivial many" and through the reasoning processes of
analysis, derivation and synthesis, supplemented by personal
experience in the field, generated a new conceptual framework for
intrapersonal enhancement. A cyclical model, based on this conceptual
framework, is postulated and described in detail, and showed the way for
the development and compilation of the "Du Toit Self-Enhancement
Programme."
This programme is evaluated through research methodology that is
qualitative, explorative, descriptive, and contextual in nature. Ten
respondents within a corporate environment attended the programme,
and their experiences in this regard explored through phenomenological
interviews, reflective diaries, and field notes. The data was analysed,
coded and categorized, and the results discussed in detail.
The results suggested the existence of two main themes regarding the
experiences of the respondents. The first theme is the experiences of
change initiated by the programme, including all alterations to the
established way of doing, thinking or feeling. The second theme is the
experience of the utility value of the programme, including all
experiences regarding the usefulness and profitability of the programme.
From the discussion of the research results it is evident that the
programme had a major effect on the individual learners. It can be
concluded that the programme achieved its goal, which is, based on a
new conceptual framework on intrapersonal development, to teach and
facilitate optimal intrapersonal enhancement.
The study's ultimate goal has also been achieved, which is the creation
of an integrated and unique conceptual framework on intrapersonal
behaviour, and the verification of the programme based on it.