A study was conducted to determine if more frequent adult basic education (ABE) teacher participation in inservice programs is related to greater job satisfaction or if such factors as age, sex, years of experience, or degree attainment and coursework in adult education play a greater role. A random sample of 150 ABE teachers in Pennsylvania was…

Though academic research has shown retirement to be viewed by retirees as a satisfying time in life, popular opinion holds that retirement is a difficult adjustment for a couple. This study was undertaken to find out more about one source of popular opinion, the popular press. All popular books and magazine articles on the topic of marriage and…

This study concentrates on the development and estimation of measurement properties of the College Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (CASES). Three university faculties in education and psychology developed a pool of routine, frequent academic behaviors of college students. The pool was examined by seven graduate teaching assistants and trimmed and…

In order to attract people to the teaching profession and to motivate the more capable teachers to remain in the profession, a career structure is needed that will promote excellence, reward commitment, and encourage growth. This study explores the relationships between characteristics of teaching as an occupation and the internal work motivation…

The internationally accepted definition of gifted children includes a range of factors that contribute to giftedness, but makes no mention of the child's motivation, capacity for self-initiation, or ability to work independently. Using the current definition, schools and teachers remain bound to gifted identification based on academic achievement…

The philosophy of phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty, who views the individual and society as contributors to a dynamic, ambiguous process, is applicable to educational philosophy. Merleau-Ponty's concern with free men and their relationship to the world centers on his concept of self, others, intersubjectivity, and morality. The self's contact…

Previous research has found that outside events seem to have little effect on happiness. Three studies in New Zealand were conducted to identify mental processes that give circumstances their favorable and unfavorable meanings. The first study examined the gap between aspiration and achievement in terms of income, education, physical fitness,…

Psychological androgyny is becoming the new standard of mental health at a time when social, political, and economic realities enable women to expand career options. To examine the influence of client sex on the treatment planning of clients, therapists responded to two hypothetical cases of male and female clients whose presenting problem was…

The standard assertion training package includes a selection of techniques from behavior therapy such as modeling, behavior rehearsal, and role-playing along with lectures and discussion, bibliotherapy, and audiovisual feedback. The effects of a standard assertion training package with and without videotape feedback on self-report measures of…

Teachers' understandings and interpretations of their own development can be a positive influence on their further professional development. Research on teacher career development has revealed certain atypical stages of development experienced over a teacher's long-term career. Three developmental phases occur. The first phase lasts from about age…

A multimethod model of educating gifted and talented students was based on graduate students' study of 14 eminent self actualized individuals. Common environmental elements of these individuals were found in parent background, birth order, relationship with family, education, task commitment, personality traits, and interests. The model was…

Writing labs should have substantive rather than merely cosmetic effects on student writing. Through a 30-minute writing conference, students can improve the assignment at hand and obtain insight into their own development as writers. The writing instructor has three tasks during a conference: (1) to establish focus, (2) to make a diagnosis, and…

An approach to teaching and learning in which students assess their own strengths and weaknesses and apply the concept of interdisciplinary study to improve their academic performance is described. An example is given of developing mathematics skills along with the companionship tools of reading effectiveness and comprehension of math problems,…

Do women go through identifiable developmental stages? Can generalizable patterns of transition be found, and if so, do these patterns differ according to the age of the respondent? What are women's most difficult and most satisfying times of life? To provide some exploratory quantitative data on these questions, a sample of 120 women completed a…

The reconciliation of federal purposes (to bring change to those who do and those who don't welcome it) with a user-driven system (a system that maximizes user self-determination) is the basic paradox analyzed in this speech. One of the principles of organizational development is that unless the individual's perceived self-interest can be engaged,…