As part of the School Action Effectiveness Study, 406 Milwaukee inner-city, unemployed dropout youths were surveyed seven months after intake into an employment counseling and placement center. Personality characteristics were assessed at intake. At follow-up, personality characteristics, employment and schooling status, and self-reported police…

A 2-year project designed to identify and meet the needs of America's independent scholars is described. Project objectives were to: increase visibility and support for independent scholarship; learn more about independent scholars and their activities and organizations; identify the main problems and needs of independent scholars; stimulate…

Adolescent determination of behavior can be viewed as the result of perceived locus of control. To investigate adolescent perceptions of control in terms of age, loci of control (internal or external), situations (community and home), and direction of control (from or over the environment), 909 adolescents (345 males, 564 females), aged 11-19,…

The evolution of the University of Minnesota's program of student volunteers in the college union is described. The program draws on developmental theories, and suggest ways of integrating union program production and specific educational goals for the volunteers engaged in that production: individual autonomy, commitment of values, integration of…

This study investigated two questions concerning the empowerment of teachers: (1) What meanings do teachers associate with the social practices and social knowledge that inform the social actions of teacher empowerment? and (2) What kinds of events seem to account for, or explicate, the accomplishment of teacher empowerment? Participants in the…

A study of repair in conversations between students of English as a second language (ESL) focused on: (1) strategies of negotiation for meaning used by students with a common language background (Spanish) when speaking English; and (2) the dynamics of repair during pair work, a frequently used technique for eliciting conversation. Verbal…

Noting that loss of control is a major concern confronting patients experiencing an illness, this paper critically analyzes the research literature on control and clarifies the implications of this research for provider-patient communication. The paper first defines control, noting that the most frequently cited definition is the "locus of…

Because social studies lacks the cognitive elegance of mathematics, the facilities and resources accorded to science, and the cadres of experts attending the language arts, it does not receive the recognition it deserves. The wide variety of academic disciplines included in the realm of social studies makes it very difficult for today's proponents…

This paper discusses the concept and definitions of adult education, the assumptions made about adults and their educational abilities and motives, the aims and objects of adult education, and the means and methods in adult education. The paper concludes that there is a close relationship between the aims and methods of adult education and the…

In recent years, Web-based distance learning (WBDL) systems have become a popular learning environment for many western learners. While it has been established as an effective learning alternative, WBDL is not flourishing in Hong Kong as expected. This paper proposes that this is because Hong Kong students are not trained to learn independently…

This description of computer conferencing in its educational context as a tool for encouraging greater autonomy in the learner highlights programs in Britain's Open University and at Bath University. Topics discussed include teaching and learning trends in higher education and the role of conferencing in education in the future. (Author/LRW)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the organization of associations among college-aged women's perceptions of individual and family-level separation-individuation difficulties and two subtypes of depressive vulnerability proposed by Blatt. One type is focused on achievement and issues of self-worth; the other type is focused on…

The purpose of this study was to analyze and induce change to lessen the achievement gap in heterogeneously grouped high school Latin classes where some students may be at academic risk, due to insufficient knowledge, inability to connect with the subject, and poor performances. The researcher engaged in action research, a branch of qualitative…

This paper examines how helpful it is to treat, at the theoretical level, the four language skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) separately from one another. It is commonly asserted that this is not the best approach, and that these four skills really have a great deal in common and it makes more sense to treat them holistically.…

This paper focuses on learner autonomy, noting that learner autonomy is not a matter of institutional mode but of learners' internal attitudes, and that learner autonomy entails an awareness of both self-direction and collaboration between the teacher and students and between students and students. The paper suggests that a teacher's attitude…