The peer self-help group approach used by Alcoholics Anonymous can be a model for other types of adult learning. The group's power, solidarity, experience sharing, and values clarification can provide positive social and educational experiences to others such as the chronically unemployed, illiterate adults, and high school dropouts. (SK)

Addressed are questions raised during seminars designed to bring television station and college personnel into closer working relationships, including, among others, the nature of telecourses, formation and operation of a consortium, and use of cable to deliver telecourses. (Author/JN)

A review of research on obstacles to participation in adult education in Finland reveals that the chief hindrances are attitudes toward learning, time, geographic location, and family and work situations. The effects of these hindrances upon participants and nonparticipants vary according to employment status, age, and sex. (SK)

The editor of "Convergence" sets the stage for this special issue on women and adult education by discussing the Women's Programme of the International Council for Adult Education. ICAE's agenda includes research on women's participation in adult education and on a new kind of learning which reflects women's situations and viewpoints.…

The author maintains that traditional knowledge and curriculum has been male-centered. Work in women's studies fills in the absence of women's perspectives to create a more fully human knowledge. Adult education's emphasis on learner control can contribute to the construction of woman-centered learning. (SK)

Discusses a teaching/learning tool which combines a personal interview in which teacher and student share information and plan ways to meet mutual goals with a learning history guide which identifies learning needs and styles. (JOW)

Describes a continuing education program in mental health for practitioners working for and with aging individuals. The program aims at improving the care of residents in long-term care facilities and strengthening the relationships between the mental health centers, the state hospital, and long-term care facilities in Southeast Indiana. (CT)

Recounts the special needs and capabilities of adult learners that one teacher observed in her extension course on business communication. (RL)

Origins, traditions, and advantages of the "special delivery" schools are described. Home study schools offer individual instruction, relatively modest tuition fees, easy accessibility, and practical specialization. Increasingly, traditional schools and colleges are looking to learn from them. A resource guide is provided. (Author/MLW)

Participants aged 17-26, 39-51 and 59-76 solved concept problems to investigate intellectual correlates of concept identification as a function of stage of learning in adulthood. Differential ability-performance relations as a function of stage of learning were considerably less potent in the elderly v the young and middle aged. (Author)

Author states that learning is behavior modification and discusses several principles of adult education and training which he has found useful in adult training programs. These include planning, organizing, a variety of activities and methods, involvement of the learner, and followup. (MF)

Through the use of two propositions, the author presents his perceptions of how effective teaching/learning transactions in the adult learning process can be effected. Discussion also covers the job of the developer and trainer, and certainties about the learning process. (SH)

The former Deputy Secretary at the Department of Education and Science in Great Britain discusses a fundamental question for those concerned with all forms of postsecondary education. Focus is on the value of education for adults and the quality of that education. (LBH)

After summarizing the findings of laboratory experimental geropsychological research pertinent to the instruction of older adults, this review focused on delineating the explicit implications of the research for adult education. Thirty-six implications were culled from the literature and categorized under 10 instructional variables. (Author/LAS)

Effective professional development is a faculty-directed process that encourages modification of behaviors based on critical self-reflection and evaluation of one's assumptions and beliefs about targeted development areas (such as teaching, curriculum, or school environment). This article presents a comprehensive faculty-development model that…