Suggestions are provided for mental retardation service providers interested in closer cooperation with the self-advocacy movement. Tips emphasize sharing information, establishing local self-advocacy groups, encouraging convention participation, encouraging staff involvement, listening to consumers, and listening to the voices of the…

Reports a study of mathematical interactions and developing attitudes of children in transition from preschool to school. Two episodes of construction play were analyzed to suggest a model of autonomous learning. Access to self-regulatory social relations was closely linked to accessibility of mathematical meanings. Contains 59 references. (FDR)

Tests a model of motivation and achievement with data from 50 teachers and 806 Grade 4-6 students in Taiwan. Autonomy as a construct was shown to have ecological validity in Chinese children. The proposed model fit the data well, showing that maternal involvement and autonomy support, as well as teachers' autonomy support, are important for…

Examines the conception of autonomy promoted by four educational philosophers to justify education prescriptions, focusing on the extent to which they succumb to the charge that they describe persons free of any social connections and encumbrances. The paper suggests that to the extent that these conceptions are vulnerable to this charge, they are…

A series of four studies identified the conative factors associated with the constructs of desire, resourcefulness, initiative, and persistence through the development of a conceptual model that provides a framework for understanding autonomous learning. The studies ultimately produced a single instrument, the Learner Autonomy Profile, that…

Call center staff answered calls in 4 treatments: alignment job design (n=35), autonomous work teams (n=35), high-involvement work processes (n=43), and controls (n=36). Job satisfaction improved in alignment job design and high-involvement treatments, most significantly in the latter. Skill level and attitude toward autonomous work might have…

Studied the links between secrecy and psychosocial well-being and emotional autonomy among 227 younger (12-13 years) and older (16-18 years) adolescents. Results show that keeping secrets from parents is associated with physical and psychological disadvantages in adolescence. Secrecy, however, was also related to adolescents' emotional autonomy.…

English-speaking Turkish translation students (n=90) were taught to apply Internet searches to translation tasks. Pre/post program data indicate that student learned to reflect critically on their learning and to shift from teacher-dependent to autonomous approaches. They recognized that translation required more personal responsibility from the…

The paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of allowing mentally retarded clients to exercise personal liberties, such as the right to choose and refuse daily activities. Recommendations are offered to protect both the right to habilitation and the freedom to choose. (Author/DB)

Examined autonomy in male college students with (n=33) and without (n=28) Greek affiliation who completed Iowa Developing Autonomy Inventory. Results were nonsignificant for total autonomy scale and for five of six subscales: interdependence, emotional independence-parents, time management, money management, and mobility. Fraternity men were found…

Long-term care of the elderly raises conflicts between personal autonomy and well-being. Assessments of decision-making capacity and definitions of negative and positive autonomy pose value-laden dilemmas for caregivers. (SK)

The historical focus of home economics is on the well-being of the individual and the family. The promotion of individual autonomy is, therefore, an appropriate mission for home economics education. (SK)

Explores the directiveness/nondirectiveness dilemma as experienced by community development practitioners. Discusses strategies used in attempts to deal with this dilemma and concludes with implications for practice. (Author)

The structure of adaptive behavior as a function of age and handicap status was investigated with 288 mentally retarded persons and nonretarded controls. Exploratory analysis of the subscale scores from the Scales of Independent Behavior revealed a large Adaptive or Personal Independence dimension and smaller Academic, Personal Responsibility, and…

Refutes the idea that autonomy in work is necessary for efficient coordination or to enable the organization to develop a learning structure. Suggests that autonomy is an important element for internal incentive; if training is to become an incentive factor, autonomy is essential. (SK)