Principals need to be alert to the needs of older teachers. They should offer support, preretirement education programs, or time off for teacher reflection and self-renewal. This alleviates preretirement worries, improving the transition period from work to retirement. (MD)

Presents a workshop focusing on increasing: self-knowledge of participants and their environment, and decision making skills for occupational midlife reassessment and change. Concludes that these workshops should be pursued by counselors in other settings to assist clients in transition. Personal sharing among participants led to self-insight and…

In two major articles a model is introduced for analyzing human adaptation to transition, and intervention strategies are presented for coping with transitions. Includes four reactions of other authors to the articles. Suggests adaptation to transition is influenced by characteristics of the transition, its supports, and by individual…

Mid-career change programs have the potential to open faculty positions during these times of decline. Most current programs are intended to shift faculty to a different specialty or discipline, but data indicate that academics would be receptive to opportunities to move out of academe. Specific options are identified. (Author/LB)

Various ways of financing career change are discussed: student financial aid through state and federal programs, college and university programs, alumni groups, minority programs, religious groups, etc. A list of sources of aid for women, organizations that aid minorities, and a list of publications on financial aid are also included. (CT)

Explains how keeping a work journal can be useful in exploring one's thoughts and feelings about work challenges and work decisions by facilitating self-renewal, change, and job satisfaction. Includes an example that discusses issues of interest to middle career librarians including the challenge of technology, further education, professional…

Interviews with 33 midlife college professors identified as seriously disillusioned revealed that the turning points behind their career derailments fit a pattern of events, usually in early career. Successful renewal programs for such faculty members involve them as mentors for new faculty or partners in contracts for change with departmental…

Discusses the importance of rites of passage to traditional cultures, especially the vision quest of Native Americans. Suggests that the absence of such rites in materialistic cultures has led to a separation from nature, which underlies many modern problems. Describes Wendl-Berry's vision quest and a center that offers vision quests of various…

This document is one of three monographs resulting from a three-year study of adult counseling programs and practices in the United States. The first section of this monograph describes issues and potential problems associated with four frequently-experienced adult life transitions, i.e., divorce, midlife career change, preretirement planning, and…

Adult development theorists believe that the changes that occur during the adult years are predictable and age linked. Their theories explain how change is resolved by the majority of the adult population. Three persons whose research has been influential in the field of adult development during the 1970s are Erik Erikson, Daniel Levinson, and…

The King Pre-Retirement Checklist (KPRC) was used to assess and compare pre-retirement planning of White to Native American respondents in 10 areas: financial, social, family cohesion, mobility/health, safety/security, productivity, time management, recreation/entertainment, ego integrity, and cognitive processing. Utilizing stratified random…

This project examined the careers of a one percent sample of federal civil servants for the years 1963 through 1977. The areas of employment investigated included economic returns to schooling and experience, factors affecting promotion and turnover, and occupational career ladders. A series of hypotheses and objectives specified at the outset…

The recent literature concerning mid-life transitions of men and the impact upon their personal and interpersonal lives is reviewed. Areas of concern addressed by these materials include adult development, issues and tasks of mid-life, and life phases. A framework for evaluation and therapeutic intervention is provided for counselors and helping…

There is increasing popular interest in the phenomenon of the successful professional or businessman who switches careers in middle age. There is little hard data available about the phenomenon although there is a great amount of psychological conjecture. This paper briefly reviews the various theories that attempt to explain midlife career…

This research deals with the phenomenon of the successful middle-aged careerist who drops out of his occupation into an alternate life style. These people are considered a subset of the growing numbers who change occupations in midlife, despite continuing success in their chosen career. There is some exploration of the philosophical and practical…