When adult learners come to the learning program, they bring the individual "baggage" that they carry around--such as home problems, time constraints, employment problems, and positive or negative feelings about self. The baggage of an adult's life contains all that adults are, have been, and hope to be, as well as all that life means to them.…

Data from the 1986 Current Population Survey (March Supplement) indentified characteristics of working heads of poor families that might assist policymakers involved in alleviating nonmetro poverty (in 1985, 18.3% of persons living in nonmetro areas were poor compared to 12.7% of persons living in metro areas). Comparing the South (a 17-state…

This report provides background information on Polish refugees that may be of use to sponsors involved in Polish refugee resettlement in the United States. The report discusses economic and social conditions in Poland; the social values and political attitudes of modern Polish refugees as opposed to those of Poles who settled in the United States…

The revelation that three-quarters of a million adolescents leave home without permission each year has received national attention. Yet most lay persons and many professionals know little about the problem. A review of the professional literature on runaways shows an almost equal division between males and females who are more likely to be from…

A joint research project between an office of institutional research and the education department at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) is described. The study focuses on factors that might affect the scores of NCCU students on the National Teacher's Examination (NTE). The project enabled the education department to begin counseling NCCU…

A study of small-scale farmers in Polk County, Oregon, examined characteristics of, and variations among, small-scale farmers and developed some guidelines for assistance programs targeted for such a group. During the months of May, June, and July of 1978 an average of 4 days a week was spent locating and interviewing 44 small farm operators in…

This report consists of excerpts from nine papers presented at a conference on managing an aging workforce. The first excerpt deals with the nature and impact of age-related changes. Discussed next is the need to better identify the changes that come with age and to develop improved methods to assess human capability without respect to age. The…

A study examined the occupational differences between Hispanics and non-Hispanics. The study focused on the determinants of Hispanic occupational achievement; differences in the process of occupational achievement among different Hispanic ethnic subgroups; variations in the process of occupational achievement across geographic areas; and…

This descriptive study reported personal and professional characteristics of a sample of women educators in Illinois who constitute the certificated pool from which new public school administrators are likely to be selected. Data were also gathered on the following variables generally associated with the low incidence of women administrators:…

This study examined relationships between level of teacher burnout and professional variables (grade level taught, class size, years of teaching experience, highest degree earned) and personal variables (sex, age, income, health status, marital status). Level of burnout was measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), which produces data on…

In 1981, a study was conducted at Kirkwood Community College (KCC) to assess community attitudes towards delivery systems and programs, such as community education centers and course offerings via telephone and television. A telephone survey was conducted of 500 residents in non-metropolitan areas of the college's service district requesting…

Perspectives on testing and affirmative action are considered. The following issue areas are addressed: the validity and fairness of admission tests; information relevant to the admission of students that is not readily scored or quantified and that may be obtained through interviews, recommendations, accomplishments, and other information…

A study examined the reliability and predictive validity of a number of measures designed for the vocational assessment of schizophrenic persons. Also examined in the longitudinal study were the relationships of these measures to each other and to employment status. Eighty-nine of the subjects who had participated in an earlier vocational…

Personal interviews with 344 randomly selected farm operators in three Tennessee counties revealed differences in the characteristics, aspirations, and attitudes of large, small, part time, and retired farmers. These differences are important in understanding agricultural potentials, the impact of agricultural programs, and the future structure of…

The Community College Motivation Inventory (CCMI), devised to have special relevance to college educational and counseling objectives, is based on the interaction of three areas of motivation: intrinsic versus practical, action-oriented needs; status-seeking motives; and group versus one-to-one interpersonal relations. The three factors--Intrinsic…