This document is one of a series by the Youth Development Center at the University of Minnesota dedicated to the discussion of youth. Thirteen participants from various social science fields were asked to present a perspective on youth from the viewpoints of their profession or discipline. This dialogue, an edited and restructured version of the…

This study investigated congruence in ego stage and group relevant aspects of teachers' and learners' personalities, and between their preferences for and perceptions of group work and emotionality behaviors, as related to learners' learning achievement and to teacher and student satisfaction with learning group membership. Subjects (130 learners…

Re-socialization as renewed social assimilation and accomodation, with emphasis on the possibility of such renewed stress to bring out self-redefinition, is discussed. The discussion is centered around (1) a tenative typology of forces for re-socialization, (2) a view of adults as having three basic attitudinal strategies toward life, and (3) a…

Surveyed unemployed people to determine whether the interpretation of a life event such as job loss, is a function of life stage. No significant differences were found for sources of informal support, blame and worry, and physical and mental health. Age and gender proved significant in consideration of factors affecting success in finding a job.…

Reviews the findings of Lehman's study of age and outstanding occupational achievement along with the explanations of why major contributions most likely occur in young adulthood. Proposes an alternative explanation based on the central developmental tasks facing individuals in young adulthood and middle age. (JAC)

Explores how families who care for their elderly relatives view their situations, in semistructured interviews with 10 Indian and 10 White caretakers of ill elderly relatives in the rural northwest. Results implied that cultural background influences the meaning of caretaking and that both affect the coping strategies selected. (JAC)

The main reasons that adults participate in education are as follows: achieve personal goals/satisfaction, prepare to change careers, or advance in a current career. Adults in the 25-34 and 35-44 age groups constitute 59% of all adult learners. Of those groups, the 25-34 age group is more degree-oriented because of concern with earning the…

This paper considers how establishing and maintaining the student-teacher relationship can be epistemologically transforming for both college students and faculty. The paper draws on a constructivist-developmental theory of self and cognitive development, knowledge construction, and the author's own teaching experiences. First, underlying…

Intended for adult educators, this book is a comprehensive overview and synthesis of what is known about adult learning. Part 1 describes the context of learning. Chapters 1-4 describe the following: the sociocultural context; the range of settings and ways they influence learners and the learning process; literature on who participates in formal…

These three papers are from a symposium on individual learning issues. "A Quantitative Examination of the Feelings and Cognitive Processes of a Group of Adults Undertaking a Tertiary HRD [Human Resource Development] Program" (Bryan W. Smith) examines mental and emotional states of adults in a tertiary HRD learning situation by using stimulated…

Proposes an interdisciplinary conceptual foundation for studying parental heritage. Defines parental heritage as the intentional transmission of valued psychological and material assets from parent to child. Suggests advances in the realm of parental heritage are dependent on clarification of the complex interactions among such sociohistorical,…

Explores sex differences and life span patterns in interpersonal relationships in people (N=62) from the United States and India. Found females, especially between ages 19 and 31, mentioned a higher number of relationships. American subjects mentioned parents and immediate family most often, while subjects from India mentioned extended kin.…

Suggests that learning is a process undergoing change from infancy to adulthood and that the more consciously aware the learner is of the process, the more the learner can be in control. Presents the Performance Pathfinder Plan as a model of appropriate adult learning. (Author/DC)

Former Berkeley Free Speech Movement activists' sociopolitical status, self constructions, perceptions of parents' child-rearing practices, and moral reasoning were compared with assessments made 11 years earlier. An argument was made for their continued political and psychosocial distinctiveness as a generational cohort although some important…

Analyzes the evolutionary development of interest, knowledge, and professional involvement in educational gerontology. Discusses Howard McCluskey's many valuable contributions to the field, including his theory of margin which has clarified the need to balance in the aging stresses and demands (load) on a person with coping resources (power).…