Dusan M. Savicevic has been a towering figure working, researching and publishing in andragogy for more than a half-century. Dusan's prism of world-wide experience has been connected very vitally with helping establish it as a science, self-directed learning, work, and has inspired others to develop their own andragogical perspective, including,…

A selected review of the effects of various grading systems on student motivation at the university level has been summarized and interpreted. Particular emphasis is devoted to contract grading and the identification of student characteristics, both personal and intellectual, that appear to interact favorably with this relatively new grading…

Three criteria for an effective school incentive program that enhances motivation and improves student learning are as follows: perception of program fairness; worthwhileness of rewards; and communicability of program components. Factors that contribute to these criteria are discussed in this paper based upon the South Carolina experience. Five…

At the higher education level, some educators saw individualization of the college curriculum as a means for personal development and a method for empowering the students and the faculty. Notions of adult education appeared to reinforce the strong movement to individualize the college curriculum. The development of contract learning pulled…

Academic work carried out through learning contracts at Empire State College is described. Learning contracts are defined and examples are given. Faculty roles, educational advantages, and implementation methods are discussed. (MLH)

The effects of two types of contingency contracts and self-pacing on student performance in a personalized system of instruction (PSI) class were examined. Forty-seven college students in a principles of educational psychology class were randomly assigned to either a short contract, long contract or self-pacing group. One group of students signed…

The paper discusses the expansion of the Individual Education Plan (IEP) to include home and community-based training activities by active two-party service contracting with handicapped students. Specific topics include a justification of homework, current status of the IEP process, current instructional problems, the viability of homework as a…

After discussing the need for second-order (or structural) reform and Tennessee's leadership in "first wave" legislation, this paper describes selected aspects of Tennessee reform activities and recent events leading to client-centered control. Tennessee's Better Schools Program, consistent with "first-wave" proposals,…

Reading achievement of students in second to sixth grade in three school districts participating in a performance-contracting program was tested, using the Stanford Achievement Test and the Metropolitan Achievement Test, at the beginning and the end of the school year. The performance contract for each of the districts included a…

The library skills design for elementary schools which is described utilizes specific objectives and a teacher/library media specialist contract to reach objectives. Steps described in this instructional approach include (1) the determination of themes; (2) the performance of skills/task analysis of themes to provide objectives; (3) interviews…

At Clackamas Community College, a system of contract learning has been adapted for use in a technical writing class. The course focuses on teaching the essentials of technical writing (i.e., clarity and organization in report writing); the basic employment attitudes that local businesses and industries expect; and the form of writing that the…

Independent learning, supported by a learning contract, is a viable option for college English courses. The learning contract states the student's general educational purposes, specific purposes of the contract, learning activities to be undertaken, and evaluation criteria. Each student meets with the instructor individually to set time goals and…

The concept of accountability, or fixing responsibility for outcomes in education, is not new. As far back as 1912, administrators were responding enthusiastically to the idea of assessing teacher performance by objective criteria. Currently, the focus of the accountability movement is on evaluation. An evaluation procedure that would assist in…

Until recently, the use of contingency contracting has been largely an issue of theory and discussion with little experimental research evidence gathered to support efficacy. Two major reasons for this problem are suggested and discussed: (1) the concept of contingency contracting has not been adequately defined nor its minimal requirements…

The use of reciprocal behavior contracts with families of behavior-problem adolescents was investigated. Most family contracting to date has involved one-way contracts; that is, the child agrees to certain responsibilities for which he will be reinforced by the parents. A reciprocal contract requires the parents, in addition to the child, to agree…