Part of a special issue on organizational research utilization, this article reviews 27 empirical studies on the utilization of social science research. Its conceptual framework for utilization includes action generation, information processing, affective bonding, and strategy formulation and control. The authors identify 3 types of utilization…

Twenty elementary school principals and 191 teachers took part in the study. Results of regression analysis indicated the principal's knowledge of the change and clarity of role was significantly related to teacher attitude, while teacher participation in the change process had a major effect on attitude and implementation. (Author/BRR)

States the hypothesis that a second language learner's motives for choosing a particular language for study are rooted in the depths of one's personality and that there is an effective relationship between the learner and the language being studied. Outlines the consequences for teaching methods of development of this hypothesis. (AMH)

Explores the impact of Minnesota's Open Birth Record Law. Studied adoptees in search of information and contact with their birth parents. Caseworkers were relatively successful in the searches, but personal contacts were achieved for only 35 percent of the adoptees. Supports the value of the Open Birth Record law. (Author)

Develops an information transfer model which relates information products to the user's innovation decision-making process and highlights the linkage between specific products and user needs at each decision point. Specific applications to environmental technology are discussed. Three figures, five tables, and a reference list accompany the text.…

An annotated bibliography lists journal articles and ERIC documents dealing with the use of educational research in teacher education. (CJ)

A brief questionnaire, sent to the adoption specialist in the state public child welfare agency in every state and the District of Columbia, posed the question: "In general, are foster parents given preference to adopt a child who has been in their care as a foster child and who is free for adoption?" (Author/RH)

Encourages adult educators to use a creative approach to solving problems and making decisions, defining creative thinking as a complex process of discovery. States that adult educators should find ways to change how they look at problems and offers some suggestions. (MF)

The author argues that college educators will have failed if they do not teach today's conservative students to entertain new ideas and question cherished notions--however painful that process may be. Condensed from "The Chronicle of Higher Education," March 23, 1981, p64. (Editor/SJL)

Defines competency-based adult education; provides a brief history of the Adult Performance Level (APL) Curriculum and Competency-Based High School Diploma program; explains the National Diffusion Network; examines how the APL staff offers training and technical assistance; and focuses on nontraditional APL program implementation. (CT)

Maintains that adoption in and of itself puts the family at some degree of risk and suggests a conceptual framework of prevention with adoption workers acting as mental health counselors working with the families. (CM)

Briefly outlines the provisions of P. L. 94-142, some obstacles to the law's implementation, and the approaches some districts are taking to implement its provisions. (IRT)

Presents an adoptive parent's anecdotal report of an unhappy and unsuccessful adoption of an older child. (RH)

One characteristic of adult education as a field is its readiness to accept certain instructional innovations more than other areas of education. (Author/CMV)

Discusses the development and use of an implementation scale and describes basic characteristics of the instrument. Data seem to indicate that instructional systems are not implemented fully in many schools. (Author/IRT)