The Partnership for Reading (PFR) in the United States has recently thrown its hat into the ring of adult literacy research and practice. Its information about adult literacy comes, almost entirely, from the National Reading Panel's (NRP) data on children. Building its case from the NRP data, the PFR advocates for a narrow, school-based conception…

This study addresses the issue of illusion of incompetence among elementary school children. The first objective is to examine whether teachers are able to recognize children with an illusion of incompetence. The second objective is to see whether teachers' appraisal of the behaviours and psychological characteristics of these children differ from…

Numerous theories have attempted to explain possible factors relating to an individual's propensity for engaging or failing to engage in preventative health behaviors. The Health Locus of Control (HLOC) is now considered to be an important variable for understanding an individual's likelihood for following health promoting behaviors. This paper…

This paper examines the effect of faculty rank, satisfaction with salary, working conditions, institutional reputation, perceived influence on institutional policies, participation in meetings, and perceived governance on organizational commitment (at both the departmental and institutional level) using a representative sample of 4,925 faculty.…

This paper describes a national 3-year project, the Empowered School District Project, which was implemented in nine school districts to empower school participants. This paper focuses on the efforts to empower students by helping them become independent, lifelong learners. The project was implemented in nine schools--five elementary and four high…

Researchers are finding that high demands plus low control over how the job is done make a job stressful. According to Professor Robert Karasek of Columbia University, the statistics on heart disease and high blood pressure prove that nonprofessional workers such as typists are under more stress than professional workers such as teachers. Dr.…

Ten predictors of academic performance and persistence for adult college students were studied with 100 college juniors and seniors at Mercy College. The 10 variables are: time spent at work/employment, ability to pay for education, time spent at study, place of study, ability to get to school, ability to get course of choice, ability to get a…

An attributional model that conceptualizes the pressures that reduce professors' personal and career vitality is presented. The model is based primarily on the locus of control literature and especially the reformulated model of learned helplessness by Lynn Abramson, Martin Seligman, and John Teasdale. The analysis deals only with the cognitive…

The entire population of teachers (N=132) in 10 small schools (fewer than 350 students grades 7-12) and 17 other secondary teachers involved in innovative projects were surveyed by questionnaire to examine personal and organizational factors that might explain teachers' receptivity to change. Both groups responded to scales of receptivity to…

Research on the cognitive activity of clinicians during the initial interview has revealed that mental health professionals are often guided by social stereotypes of attractiveness in their choice of patients for intensive individual or group psychotherapy. Specifically, YAVIS patients (young, attractive, verbal, intelligent, successful) are…

Several psychological theories are viable when examining the victims of intimate violence, specifically battered women. Although cognitive consistency models view individuals as striving toward balanced cognitive states, battered women can exist with the cognitive inconsistency of being harmed by men who love them. The theory of cognitive arousal…

The paper presents an innovative approach to the future by examining the concept of time in the 20th century, the development of a sense of chronology, and the role of futures history through the process of "invention." The model is based on the Einsteinian theory of the relativity of time. The author suggests that learning a sense of chronology…

School decision making opportunities available to teachers were identified, and possible reasons for the existence of so little teacher decision making authority in the public schools were explored. While there was some evidence that many teachers may not desire increased involvement, the question was raised of whether or not such involvement…

This guide, designed for use with secondary school students, attempts to prevent drug and alcohol abuse among students. The Key Competencies program targets several characteristics which have been identified in addicted children: poor self image, improper sense of values, and lack of identity. For grades seven through nine, strategies are…

Through a chronological review of the writings of Howard Y. McClusky, this paper examines the concept of the community council, an integrating agency which unites community resources and organizations for the provision of adult education. After introductory material discussing McClusky's pioneering work in the field of community education, the…