This report examines the importance of learning communities within institutions of higher education. It identifies two important dimensions of learning communities: (1) primary membership, which differentiates based on the characteristic that group members hold in common; these include learning organizations, faculty learning communities, and…

Pressures that have negatively affected the work environments of colleges are identified, and research concerning the work experience of faculty and administrators is reviewed. The effect of the extrinsic and intrinsic elements on faculty members' work is considered, including their power and autonomy, their relationships to the institution, and…

This paper discusses the stresses our society places on parents, the influence of fathers on their children's development, how parents can actively influence development, individual differences in temperament among children, and environmental as well as ecological factors that affect the development of children. Concluding remarks focus on the…

Chapter 7 of a volume on school leadership, this chapter defines, describes, and suggests ways to improve climate at the school building level. After citing a number of definitions of school climate, the authors conclude that school climate is the feel an individual gets from experiences within a school system, or the global summation of the…

This digest argues that whole language theorists and adult education theorists have much in common, much to say to one another, and much to learn from one another. The digest first defines and discusses "whole language," then defines and discusses "andragogy," (the learning of adults) and finally asks educators to recognize…

This paper utilizes knowledge gained from work on future issues related to families, the work of futurists on social trends and technological development, and recent studies in home economics to draw conclusions regarding what people will need to know in the 1980s and beyond to be intelligent consumers and effective homemakers. The first of six…

Theoretical propositions and research findings concerning children's motivation to learn are discussed and implications for early childhood education are indicated. The discussion begins by defining and illustrating the motivational states of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation. Problems of structuring interaction between…

Small schools (with enrollments of 300 or less) are being rediscovered as models for effective schools. Currently 26.9% of America's school systems enroll over 500,000 students in more than 26,000 small schools staffed by 50,000 teachers. Small schools have pioneered many educational "innovations": non-graded classrooms, individualized…

In education, the term restructuring is as notable for its ambiguity as for its meaning. This book draws from more than 600 sources across a wide spectrum of perspectives regarding restructuring. It provides a picture of many of the trends and issues in school restructuring and attempts to place these issues into a context that helps explain where…

The evolving role of work in society and the factors driving emerging trends in work were examined to assist career development practitioners in helping individuals deal with life-role balance. Donald Super's life-space theory was presented as a framework for adult career development and used as a backdrop for discussing how adults can crystallize…

This paper examines adult vocational education in the context of the current vocational education system. The first of four major sections defines and discusses the background of adult vocational education. In section 2, a typology of vocational education is presented, followed by a discussion of three funding categories as they relate to adult…

This document contains six major presentations from the 1984 summer workshop, "The C3 Experience: Counseling, Computers, and Creative Change," sponsored by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Counseling and Personnel Services. The first presentation, "Exponential Counseling: Computers as a Multiplier" by JoAnn Harris-Bowlsbey, reviews…

Institutional vitality in higher education and measures of vitality are considered. Vitality may be viewed as the capacity of a college or university to incorporate organizational strategies that support the continuing investment of energy by faculty and staff both in their own careers and in the realization of the institution's mission.…

This discussion explores some of the emotional factors affecting teachers and children in the educational process and their relationship to early childhood education. One major area of emotional experience in the classroom is related to the child's response to the content of what is being taught. Any novel situation and, in particular, a situation…

This monograph reviews research and educational reports to examine the state of the art in preservice and inservice teacher education in the urban community in the United States. A review of urban areas in the last thirty years reveals major social and environmental changes, such as population increases, shifts in racial composition, the…