Responses of students in an adult development course who wrote five chapters of their life stories suggest that autobiographical writing leads adults through a process of self-exploration and meaning making. The result is a transformed view of themselves and their world. (SK)

Summarizes four theoretical perspectives on transformative learning as consciousness raising, critical reflection, development, and individuation. (SK)

Transformative adult development involves a qualitative change in world view with resulting tension and struggles of the production of new consciousness. Change occurs through a dialectic process of reconstructing meaning in new ways. (SK)

Examines theoretical underpinnings of educational gerontology that serve as the foundation of programming, including developmental perspectives, longitudinal research into the lifespan, gender roles, reminiscence, cognition, and need-based learning. (SK)

Proposes a model of adult development as the foundation for instruction and training of adults with learning disabilities. Presents the interrelationships and application of Malcolm Knowles' model to adults with learning disabilities along with specific examples applicable to special and vocational educators. (Contains 43 references.) (JOW)

Reviews concepts of meaning making in classical and contemporary writing. Examines models of cognitive and ego development linked with meaning making and draws a model of the relationship of meaning making to adult learning and development. (SK)

Adult development and aging content via compressed video was presented in an opening class lecture, inservice training session, and standalone unit on elder abuse. Participants suggested that instructors needed to become more comfortable with the medium and participants needed guidance on taking advantage of multimedia presentations. (SK)

Focuses on concepts and theories of human aging. Discusses new perspectives: interactions of psychosocial influences, state of mind and well-being, and the alternative medicine movement. (SK)

Men's and women's sociocultural experiences typically led them to develop as adults via different pathways. Adult education provides the opportunity for new life choices that can lead to becoming a fully integrated person. (SK)

Describes psychological perspectives on spiritual development within cultural contexts. Recommends that adult educators acknowledge the search for meaning, recognize adult learning is intended to nurture the soul, and become aware of how humans construct knowledge through images and symbols. (SK)

The article adopts a developmental approach to successful human aging by exploring the concept of generativity in relation to a study of older Australians' lived experiences of involvement in the family and community. Qualitative data, collected through focus group interviews, were analyzed interpretively using recent developments in Erikson's…

Objective: The authors examine the development of the psychiatrist from an adult developmental perspective, focusing on the early development and consolidation of highly adaptive clinical and other professional habits. They place special emphasis on the professional development of the academic psychiatrist. Method: The authors review and use…

This article provides the rationale for doing research on childlessness and parenthood in late life. Childless older adults have been rendered invisible in the social scientific literature. A central goal of this issue is to make them visible and to expose unstated assumptions about normal adult life. Parenthood emerges as a key organizer of the…

This theme issue on the role of networking in improving services for gifted individuals presents two feature articles and several regular columns. "A Network of Scholars" by Jerry Flack describes efforts of a group of professional educators and researchers of gifted persons in Colorado who worked cooperatively to create the Colorado…

Although aging is a process that affects everyone, individuals can choose how they will behave as they become older. Some persons choose to focus on the negative, becoming more and more self-centered and driving away those around them, becoming a burden to themselves and to society. Others, often prompted by a midlife crisis or period of…