This career planning handbook is designed to help high school students to set goals and plan their lives. Its 11 sections cover the following: personal data, personality type, skills, discovering values, the world of work, goal setting, life plans, preparing for college, basic necessities, meeting college costs, and job prospects. Each section…

This module discusses the theory and practice of school improvement and outlines a nine-step systematic problem-solving process for developing an action plan addressing school improvement goals. The first section describes a general model for the study of the school as a social system, as developed by Getzels and Thelen (1960). The second section…

Data from 1961, 1971, and 1973 surveys of households and community "knowledgeables" focused on the subjective assesssments of the quality of life (QOL) of residents of Harlan, Perry, Whitley, and Wolfe counties in Eastern Kentucky, and assessed policy implications. Overall, residents assessed their counties favorably. They rated wages…

This study assessed three factors in adult education participation by industrial employees: (1) perceived need deficiency on the job; (2) importance of need fulfillment; (3) perception of education as a means of advancement. A measure of perceived need deficiency was applied to 177 participants and 149 nonparticipants in classes at Purdue…

A modified iterative factor analytic method was applied to item responses of 346 male students in four community colleges in order to construct three experimental scales for the measure of motivation. A fourth scale, which appears to be a measure of goal-deficiency, was also developed. The four scales--tentatively identified as Intrinsic…

Recent studies investigating need theory and the extent to which money can buy happiness have called for more research within culturally homogeneous samples from developing countries to explore this relationship. We examine wealth as a measure of possessions and savings and relate this to subjective well-being (SWB) among poor indigenous farmers…

This publication is part of a package of three booklets that synthesize current knowledge about the preconditions for learning in children and discuss ways of fostering these conditions. (The other two booklets are an executive summary of this report and a collection of five vignettes on services for infants, toddlers, and families). This report…

Between 1972 and 1973, 183 white and 148 black household heads and/or homemakers living in 6 low income, open country, Mississippi counties were interviewed for purposes of identifying and comparing family fears/worries and wishes/hopes. About 40% of the respondents were retired or disabled, and the majority were: female; over 50 years old;…

A literature review and discussion the effect of school administrators on staff morale is presented in this paper. Four factors for improving staff morale include: a supportive workplace; meaningful incentives; a good working environment; and personal display of high morale by the administrator. Ten recommendations for improving staff relations…

A study examined the long-term adjustment of spinal cord-injured vocational rehabilitation clients by isolating major dimensions of postservice adjustment, correlating preservice status with adjustment followup, and by measuring client pre- to postservice psychological change. Three self-report instruments (a needs satisfaction inventory, a goal…

The mattering scales are designed to assess the perceptions of adult learners about their educational environment. They answer these questions: Do I feel I matter to the institution? and Do I feel noticed, appreciated, welcomed? To determine the extent to which adult learners feel they matter, five scales are designed to assess their perceptions…

A test was developed to predict job satisfaction on the basis of psychological needs satisfaction. A short questionnaire consisting of six multiple choice questions was designed to measure (1) expressed degree of need satisfaction among 14 pre-selected psychological needs (job security, outdoor work, good pay, competition, esteem, leadership,…

The paper describes a research project to determine fertility-related family decision making processes. Fertility-related decisions are interpreted as all ultimate choices made by spouses concerning the number and spacing of children they will have. Specifically, the research investigated how factors such as the desire for more or less egalitarian…

The relationship between education and job satisfaction is investigated and defined in social-psychological terms in this report. The objective of the research was to test the assumption that the better an individual's education, the greater his chances of securing a desired and satisfying job. The authors found a general scarcity of specific…

This instructional packet is one of a series of five modules that emphasize a systematic decision-making model for common problematic situations. The steps of the model are identifying the problem, gathering information, developing and assessing alternatives, implementing a solution, and evaluating and modifying the solution. Aimed at adult basic…