Academic advisors must understand the needs and motivations of adult learners and develop advising skills and programs in response to these needs. Models of theories of Heddesheimer, Campbell, Gottfredson, Bridges, and Schlossberg are described. (Author/MLW)

Ascertains what 59 male and 40 female Alberta teachers (average age 50) think about career changes, early and partial retirement. Indicates reasons for career change (personal challenge, additional salary, frustration) and lack of interest in partial retirement. Concludes options for career change should be investigated with younger age group.…

The theory of perspective transformation was used as a framework for a study of volunteerism among older adults, examining whether volunteering in community organizations in late adulthood brings about transformation in meaning structures in later life development, and if and how it affects aging at both the individual and societal levels. Two…

Examined the impact of the loss of a parent on middle-aged children. A lifelong process of anticipatory orphanhood is suggested as helping to prepare for the impact of a parent's death. Reaction involves the dialectic between the persistence and breaking of the bond and between finitude and personal growth. (JAC)

Examines the midlife career/crisis transition period of academic staff surveyed in four Australian Universities. Supports a generalized career stage model and a specific career stage model of academic staff, who are shown to be particularly susceptible to the midlife crisis/transition phenomenon. (Author/JAC)

Attempts to clarify counselor's attitudes about adult learning styles, role change, and attitude change. Suggests that recent developments in adult psychology and adult education should result in different perspectives of mid-life career change. Techniques are presented to help individuals assess their readiness for career changes. (Author/JAC)

Outlines and critiques four general models for providing career development experiences to persons at midlife. The four models are: self-help, informational, developmental, and structured group. Suggests close scrutiny exposes flaws in each model but that the developmental model offers most promise. (RC)

Challenges librarians to create midlife leaves that will inspire professional growth and renewal and help define future career directions. Presents a framework for developing a successful leave based on experiences at Concordia University (Montreal) and offers examples of specific options, including internships, exchanges, conferences, community…

The home economics profession must respond to demographic changes and recognize midlife persons as a large portion of potential consumers of research, academic instruction, and continuing education, including cooperative extension programs. (JOW)

This paper adopts a narrative perspective on the study of mid-life experiences in sport. Different types of stories about sporting mid-life are identified and discussed. Drawing upon the concept of narrative mapping, the potential of these stories to serve as narrative maps for those approaching mid-life is considered. Data from an interview study…

In 1986, responding to the nation's teacher shortage, especially in the fields of mathematics and science, Chevron USA funded the ENCORE Program to facilitate the entrance of nontraditional recruits into the profession with alternative credentialing. Chevron also funded this study of mid-life career change to teaching in order to enable…

This study examined the questions of what alterations to teacher preparation programs are needed to better accommodate the older, second career person. Focus of the study was on a group of students who had been recruited from industry into a special science/mathematics teacher preparation program. Recommendations for teacher education program…

Integrating one's career as an adult educator with the other parts of one's life is not an easy task for many adult educators. One reason for the difficulty is that there are many facets to this integration process: time, emotionality, conflict, complexity, change, and situational factors. Individuals need to decide what faces or roles are…

The federal government must undertake action to direct and speed the transitions of dislocated workers to new employment. Dislocated workers comprise only 1 or 2 percent of the nation's 11 million currently unemployed workers. Cyclical macroeconomic factors are responsible for the high unemployment rate, not structural factors such as new…

Retirement has been the subject of increasing interest in the popular as well as professional literature, but the psychosocial consequences of the transition have received little systematic attention. To study variatons in adaptation to retirement, 80 female educators and educational specialists were interviewed. The majority were rated as…