In today's workforce, individuals are staying in their respective professions longer and retiring at ages past 67, resulting in a generationally diverse workforce. Currently, teachers range from 21-80 years of age, working in the same profession and receiving the same professional development. Considering adult learning and the dynamics associated…

According to the instructors and administrators at a local adult education (AE) program in Houston, Texas, retaining and graduating general education development (GED) students has been a constant challenge. Locating GED attendance barriers could enable AE programs to develop techniques that increase student retention and graduation rates. The…

How does professional learning look and feel in high-poverty schools where every student makes at least one year's worth of progress every year? How do schools and leaders put all the varied components of professional learning together so that they support all students learning every day? What professional learning grounds and sustains educators…

Research has shown that teachers have the greatest impact on student learning more than any other factor (Haycock, 1998). Thus, highly qualified and effective teachers are the most important resource for schools and districts in order to educate all students. In a time of increased accountability and alternatively certified teachers, effective and…

This dissertation study focused on three aspects of staff development in North Texas: (1) funding sources, (2) types of professional learning programs, and (3) teachers' views of the effectiveness of the funded programs. Qualitative data came from interviews with nine district administrators concerning funding sources and how those resources…

"As educators, we have to make the commitment to a very simple proposition: if we admit students to college, we should do everything possible to make sure they succeed. These remarks are not an indictment but a rallying call. We can do much better." With these words, Dr. Raymund Paredes, Texas commissioner of higher education, opened the…

The Texas Education Agency initiated the Adult Education Professional Development and Curriculum Consortium in 1994. The nine members involved in the consortium are postsecondary institutions, including a community college, an education service center, and a community-based organization. The focus of the consortium's professional development…

These proceedings included the following papers: "The Language of Interdisciplinary Programs or 'What Do You Mean By That?'" (Ezzell, Turner); "When Mothers Become Students: Impact on Children and the Family System" (Burns, Gabrick); "Multi-Discipline Theorizing Meets the Blackboard: The Evolving Discourse Community"…

This document chronicles the events that took place and materials that were developed to assist the Texas Agricultural Extension Service faculty in its literacy program. Section I on program development includes minutes of the literacy task force and the literacy initiative team that describe how the literacy program was conceived and evolved; a…

This paper reports results of a research study linked to the effort of preparing teachers involved in literacy programs for a large adult population of non-native speakers of English in the state of Texas. Because of a state-initiated plan in Texas, the "Indicators of Program Quality for Adult Education and Literacy," extensive…

This guide is designed as an aid for the adult education administrator in the pursuit of continuous excellence and quality improvement in adult education programs in Texas. The Acknowledgments section provides an introduction, background, history, and overview of the adult education National Reporting System (NRS); overview of the NRS measures and…

These proceedings contain 48 presentations and 15 poster abstracts. Papers include "Computer Tasks Required in Selected Undergraduate Agriculture Courses" (Johnson, Ferguson, Vokinnns, Lester); "College of Agriculture Faculty Perceptions of Electronic Technologies in Teaching" (Dooley, Murphy); "Steering Through Turbulent…