The structure and validity of Guglielmino's Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) have been examined repeatedly. In 1979, Mourad and Torrance investigated the construct validity of the SDLRS in a study involving a random sample of 684 of the 1,500 students enrolled in the University of Georgia's Program on Gifted/Talented Education. In…

A study compared the intellectual development among 118 technical college instructors aged 35-65 who had different educational backgrounds. In a 3 x 2 factor design, 3 groups of educational experience (no baccalaureate degree, baccalaureate degree, and master's degree) were represented, with 20 subjects (10 men and 10 women) in each group. The…

The current discourse about access can be changed by using three adjectives: old, wide, and deep. Regarding the first, since the 1870s, when the professionalization and specialization of knowledge took off in so many fields, inequalities in education have actually increased where it matters most--who knows how much of what is available to be…

A study examined how developmental learning and adaptive flexibility relate to critical thinking though a survey of 119 organizational leaders (of 341) who had attended a 5-day Leadership Development Program. A questionnaire adapted from the Center for Creative Leadership's Job Challenge Profile measured developmental learning, the Adaptive Style…

To help meet the needs of adult students who find it difficult to attend classes regularly on campus, New York's Iona College developed video distance learning courses in psychology that combine independent reading, guided study, video program viewing, and faculty mentoring to provide a challenging learning experience for students. Video courses…

From October 1993 to September 1994, a project provided equipment and materials to extend literacy efforts to older adults at the Hammond Public Library, Indiana. Notebook computers containing user-friendly software, used in coordination with the local Laubach Literacy Program, as well as books, audiocassettes, videocassettes, and BiFolkal media…

The role that individual learning proficiency, individual personality characteristics, and chance occurrences in the learner's environment play in self-directed professional development was examined through semistructured interviews with a purposeful sample of eight professional men and women of high achievement with no postsecondary schooling in…

This book presents six critical commentaries on the state of the discipline and practice of adult education. "The Critical Turn in Adult Education Theory" (Michael R. Welton) takes the position that the critical theoretical tradition from Marx to Habermas can provide a foundation for an emancipatory educational practice.…

A project implemented a new tutor training model that used integrative learning strategies to teach more effectively to different intelligences and learning styles of adult learners. A 15-hour tutor training curriculum focused on designing lessons that do the following: involve several learning styles and intelligences, encourage an equal…

An adult learner task force at a small liberal arts college conducted a telephone survey of a random stratified sample of approximately 40 recent graduates from 3 college programs to identify factors perceived as contributing to the graduates' academic success. Additionally, a focus group was convened to assess faculty perceptions of institutional…

Although andragogy became an article of faith among many adult educators in the 25 years since Knowles first popularized the concept, relatively few studies have attempted to compare andragogy and pedagogy experimentally. Eighteen studies that attempted to do so included 15 dissertations and 3 journal articles. The studies were organized by…

Colleges are still designed for 18 to 22 year old students, even though that category includes only about 20% of the total population seeking degrees. Because of this fact, the term "andragogy," or how to teach adults, should become a more recognizable concept in education. A study was conducted in which 25 first-year adult women at…

This book provides an overview of program planning for adult learning from philosophical and pedagogical perspectives. It contains 19 papers and an introduction by the editor, Peter S. Cookson. The following are included: "A Conceptual Context for Program Planning" (Peter S. Cookson); "Prototypical Program Planning…

The Office of Educational Research and Improvement includes five National Education Research Institutes. This document reports on these Institutes' activities. The text opens with a discussion of the activities of the National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education, including the operations of its subsidiary, the National Center…

Through a synthesis of research and literature, this paper explores factors that motivate human learning and development, specifically in the higher education environment. After discussing andragogy (the science of adult learning), the paper highlights four differences between andragogy and pedagogy: (1) self-concept and the student-teacher…