"Autonomy" is an ambiguous term that can denote either the right of adults to manage their own affairs or their actual or potential ability to do so. These various senses of the word are regularly, and often indiscriminately, employed by adult educators. Personal autonomy is probably developed most effectively in a traditional kind of…

Independence and the related concepts of freedom and autonomy are key terms in philosophy of education. Teacher educators are keen on independence, but seem to hold different definitions of the concept, and these various definitions do not co-exist happily. The relative autonomy that one may be able to achieve is not to be had unless one…

Findings of a series of sociological studies on American men indicate that job conditions facilitating occupational self-direction increase men's intellectual flexibility and promote a self-directed orientation to self and society. In addition, jobs that limit occupational self-direction decrease men's intellectual flexibility and promote a…

The second of three manuals on attendant care for disabled persons is intended for parents of severely handicapped youth. An initial message reviews typcial reactions of parents to their child's quest for independence while subsequent sections address the basic principles of independent living and parents' responsibility for structuring learning…

Research has indicated that increasing autonomy to incarcerated youths results in greater acceptance of institutional treatment goals and less support for an inmate counterculture. To examine different processes by which autonomy might affect individual outcomes, 430 youths in four Michigan boys' training schools were surveyed. The questionnaire…

Reviews Caple's article on organizational change as applied to student development. Discusses Caple's ideas of self organization, autonomy and planning as management. Poses questions for personnel workers on implementing Caple's ideas. (Author/ABB)

Classroom observation of 48 staff members and 37 severely disabled students indicated that, regardless of age level or setting, classroom staff responded at very low rates to student-initiated expressions of choice or preference. (Author/DB)

Faculty development programs reflect an underlying distinction between a faculty member's professional roles as teacher and scholar, and have limited impact. If rethought, they could empower college faculties and vitalize their institutions by addressing the mixed nature, multiple features, and necessary complexity of the college teacher's role.…

Explored ways elderly people (N=30) manage urinary incontinence. Subjects tended to dismiss their urinary incontinence as a normal part of aging and used various behavioral and psychological strategies to maintain their independence, usually without any assistance from the health professions. Management strategies commonly involved some degree of…

Proposes that operating from an ecosystemic epistemology does not preclude family therapists from focusing on individual responsibility of each family member. Suggests examining the family's pattern of distributing responsibility and mapping how this perpetuates the presenting problem. Presents examples from therapy illustrating interventions to…

Discusses the dilemma faced by constitutionalism today: limited, constitutional government requires that people and society be independent and distrustful of the state, but if the people are too independent and capable of ruling, they may wish to extend their powers and attempt to rule over others. (PS)

The role of schools in promoting social reproduction is the focus of unproductive debate among proponents and between adherents and others. This essay is concerned with how this body of theory may become a force for progressive, practical transformation. (MT)

Discusses the ethics of health communications campaigns, including compatibility with the principle of respect for autonomy. Reviews five potential justifications: (1) public health as an independent value, (2) collective efficiency or preference, (3) third-party interests, (4) harm to health of others, and (5) countering short-term market…

Conceptually defining power and identifying the personal traits required for its exercise, this article provides a review of recent research on the sex-role socialization and personality characteristics of United States women. Concludes that as women gain more political power, issues such as sex discrimination, reproductive control, and child care…

The problem of balancing personal and professional aspirations is a principal source of stress in faculty lives, but it has not been addressed by academia. (Author/MSE)