The structure and budget for a proposed center for nontraditional learning are delineated. Establishment of sponsored and unsponsored divisions is advocated. The center would help students determine life goals, learning goals, and learning styles. Development of a credentialing procedure for unsponsored learning is described. (Author/LBH)

A major conclusion of this paper is that the schools as an institution may have the capacity to prevent and reduce delinquency, independently from other institutions in their community. The school itself may be in control of major social psychological forces that generate delinquency. (Author)

Results of exploratory research into learning contract planning at SUNY's Empire State College are described. A paradigm was designed for describing and analyzing conference between mentors and their students focusing on the functional tasks of contract planning and the decision-making process. Case materials are included. (Author/LBH)

Describes an Australian university experiment providing adult students with an alternative to high school equivalency tests as an entry route to university studies. (EM)

University managers of academic outreach need outstanding skills in communication, persuasion, and negotiation to win and maintain active faculty/administrator support for outreach activities. Failure to generate such support will make it impossible for outreach managers to deliver on the promise of the outreach concept. (Editor/LBH)

An analysis of developments at the Open University since 1973 indicates that there has been little reduction in average cost in real terms and that no improvement is likely on known developments to 1979. Reasons for this are explored, and suggestions for improving the situation are offered. (Editor/LBH)

The main kinds of difficulty experienced by disabled students and the many practical ways they have been approached are summarized. The important role played by the Open University, given necessary resources and sufficient flexibility, is meeting the needs of students who would otherwise find study almost impossible. (LBH)

Presents results of a survey of Cincinnati, OH, parents' views on alternative school programs (e.g., vocational curricula). Reports that parental approval plays a critical role in choosing particular schools and in a school's ability to retain students. Challenges the degree to which alternative schools act to resegregate school districts by…

Israeli "external" high schools prepare students for external matriculation examination, providing them with a second chance to retain the matriculation certificate necessary for higher education. A study of the degree to which these schools fulfill second chance hopes is described, focusing on the problem of goal definition in…

The continuing popularity of Buffalo's 12 year old magnet school program proves that the program is successful in the following: 1) providing equity for minority and majority - students; 2) attracting integrated student bodies; 3) offering innovative educational opportunities that meet student needs; and 4) providing parents and teachers a major…

Examines the demise of the Icelandic Social Science Curriculum Project (SSCP) as an example of progressive educational reform thwarted by neofundamentalist ideologies. States that the paper goes beyond Jerome Bruner's 1984 account of the rise and fall of "Man: A Course of Study" to provide a deeper analysis of the politics of…

This interview discusses control theory (based on humans' psychological needs for love, power, freedom, and fun) and its potential for transforming students' classroom learning experience. By adopting the teamwork approach used in extracurricular activities, teachers can help students gain satisfaction and a sense of their own importance. (MLH)

A diploma mill is described as a person or an organization selling or awarding degrees without an appropriate academic base and without requiring a sufficient degree of postsecondary-level academic achievement. The indirect victim of diploma mill activity may be nontraditional education. (MLW)

To facilitate career change among adults, Central Michigan University developed innovative means of helping learners develop skills needed for advanced course work in management. These efforts include the preparation of a reader containing basic theories and seminal writings, diagnostic instruments and self-study guides, and noncredit workshops.…

Compares attempts and outcomes in Fiji junior secondary schools and in Kiribati community high schools to provide alternative schooling of either vocational or local/practical orientation. Focuses on nature of educational decision-making process and influence of public pressures on planners and politicians. Identifies new and influential factors…