A study explored how young adults experience control and exercise personal agency (self-determination) as they pass through periods of transition in education and training, work, unemployment, and in their personal lives. Data were gathered through structured questionnaires administered to at least 100 young adults from universities and companies,…

Findings from a study of Kentucky elementary school principals are presented in this paper, with attention to their demographic characteristics and roles in educational reform. Questionnaires mailed to all 1,122 elementary principles (including both public and private schools) in Kentucky yielded 570 returns, an approximate 51 percent response…

This paper presents findings of a survey of 500 elementary, middle, and senior high school principals. The survey focused on four areas of the principalship: (1) principals' perceived roles as building administrators; (2) time spent in those roles; (3) graduate school preparation for the roles; and (4) levels of job satisfaction. Findings indicate…

Although women are a crucial element in national rural development, their role continues to be neglected in plans and programs for change--especially in Third World countries. In addition to the burden faced by rural people generally in developing countries, women carry a double burden because of their low social status, high illiteracy rate, lack…

An assessment model was developed to produce change in adult basic education (ABE) programs and thereby improve learning for adult students. During the development of the model, 89 ABE programs were analyzed. To determine the effect that ABE has on the quality of life of its students, researchers observed 77 of the 89 programs included in the…

Although the role of women in the American economy has come a long way in the years since 1950, women have made relatively little progress in quite a number of areas. In the years during and after World War II, women's employment has increased significantly, with married women being the ones who have entered the work force most rapidly. Despite…

The major objectives of a project initiated by the Canada Council in 1976 were to develop measures of subjective social indicators and to examine factors responsible for variation in those indicators across Canada and over time. Subjective social indicators are interpreted as measures of personal perceptions, preferences, attitudes, and values.…

The way that the concept of culture has been used in the higher education literature to account for certain aspects of faculty life is examined. Culture is defined as the collective, mutually shaping patterns of norms, values, practices, beliefs, and assumptions that guide the behavior of individual faculty and groups and provide a frame of…

Three issues are of particular interest to adult educators: literacy, the ability to use technology, and the ability to access information. These three areas are significant in terms of individual self-fulfillment, human resource development, and individual and societal development at both national and international levels. One questions whether,…

The paper reviews major issues in population education. It offers suggestions for clarifying objectives of population education courses so they will be consistent with both the interests and needs of a society and individuals and groups within the society. Population education is defined as an educational process which assists the individual in…

A comparative, interpretive analysis of the social organization of contrasting groups of rural youth from New Mexico ad Ohio was approached from an ethnomethodological perspective, relying on direct observation, intensive personal interviews, and key informants to produce a broader understanding of particular youth coping with their social…

Eleven Iowa towns in 11 counties and 11 Area Education Agencies (AEAs), having both elementary and high schools in 1960, were chosen via a rural-urban continuum to ascertain evidence of creativity in providing community services after losing the high school between 1960 and 1980. The study compared: community services in 1955-56 and 1980-81 (a…

To investigate the social context of education for low-income Southerners, a study concentrating on white Anglo-Saxon Protestants in a rural Southern mill village in general, and on 22 white 10th grade children and their parents in particular, used a combination of ethnographic techniques and standardized interview questions. Responses concerning…

Rural school and human service administrators' professional development needs can be categorized as technical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal in nature. Vermont surveys have indicated that the technical skills most needed are in the areas of public relations, career education, teacher effectiveness training, community involvement, administrative…

Findings from a study that described the responsibilities and characteristics of Kentucky school district instructional supervisors are presented in this paper. Instructional supervisors are those district personnel who are responsible for the professional development of teachers. Questionnaires mailed to 184 Kentucky instructional supervisors…