ABSTRACT
Goals and preconditions. The primary goal of this theory is to foster children's emotional development. At a more detailed level, goals include: (1) legitimizing self-knowledge as valuable subject matter, (2) developing a trusting attitude toward members of one's class, (3) becoming more aware of the multiple and layered feelings one has, (4) developing communication skills for affective states, (5) disclosing one's thoughts and feelings, (6) enhancing self-esteem, (7) accepting responsibility for one's attitudes and actions, (8) becoming aware of one's major concerns/worries/anxieties, (9) recognizing one's present behavioral patterns and learning styles, and (10) experimenting with alternative behavioral patterns, such as choosing optimism and hope. This theory was developed for a school with grades 1-8 and requires support from the administration, teachers, and parents for a Self-Science course to succeed.
