Deux filieres d'education fonctionnent parallelement dans tout systeme educatif. La filiere formelle ou l'education dispensee dans les institutions scolaires publiques et privees et la filiere non formelle qui est l'education dispensee hors des institutions scolaires. Pour connai tre ce que chacune des deux filieres offre, une etude a ete menee aupres de 47 travailleurs et 43 chomeurs ayant suivi une formation technique professionnelle en filieres formelle et/ou non formelle d'education a l'aide d'un questionnaire ecrit destine a recueillir des informations sur le jugement que portent ces repondants sur leur situation professionnelle, le facon dont ils evaluent leur formation technique professionnelle et les ameliorations qu'ils souhaiteraient voir survenir dans chacune des filieres. 15 chefs d'enterprises privees ont aussi ete sollicites pour avoir une idee du jugement que les employeurs portent sur la formation de leurs employes, sur les problemes d'emploi et les suggestions qu'ils font quant a une eventuelle amelioration de la formation technique professionnelle. Au vu des resultats de cette enquete effectuee a Douala au Cameroun, l'appui massif de l'Etat donne a l'education formelle un certain nombre d'advantages par rapport a la non formelle privee qui ne beneficie d'aucun soutien. Mais la persistance (pour ne pas dire l'aggravation) des problemes economiques de l'Etat vont a long terme faire de l'education non formelle la filiere de l'avenir dans le domaine de la formation technique professionnelle pour le plus grand nombre de citoyens. Pour y arriver il faut une articulation entre l'education formelle et l'education non formelle, pour faire de tout le systeme educatif camerounais une entite formant des personnes capables d'inventer, de creer, de transformer. Cela se ferait par le biais de reformes radicales et une planification coordonnee. Cependent, toute tentative d'evolution sociale par le biais du developpement de l'education doit etre precedee de reformes politiques, economiques et sociales a long terme. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

In Canada, many undereducated Native adults have not experienced positive educational climates in formal education systems. In fact, a high percentage of Native people have dropped out of the educational process prior to the completion of grade twelve to join the ranks of the undereducated and unemployed. This has created a pressing need to focus on Native literacy and the creation of positive learning environments which encourage Native adults to excel in educational settings. The purpose of this exploratory, qualitative research was to describe and analyze the salient factors in a Native literacy program which created an optimal educational climate for Native adult learners. As a research construct, educational climate relates to the total environmental quality in a learning facility as perceived by the participants. To focus and guide the data collection and analysis processes, a conceptual framework of educational climate was developed. Operationally defined, educational climate includes five major dimensions: learner milieu, instructional environment, social environment, cultural environment, and learner outcomes. The Employment Preparation Program, which was delivered by staff of the Grand River Polytechnical Institute and located on the Six Nations Reserve in Canada, was the research site selected for the study. The program was community based and administered by Native staff for Native adult learners. Data were collected at the site over a continuous nine week period which started in September 1994 and ended in November 1994. Eight program learners participated in level one and eleven learners participated in level three; level one was six weeks in length while level three was seven and a half weeks long. A data reduction analysis approach was used as a means to process research findings. Miles and Huberman (1994) indicated that this approach "refers to the process of selecting, focusing, simplifying, abstracting, and transforming the data that appear in written-up field notes or transcriptions" (p.10). Data were analyzed individually and then across participant perspectives. Research findings were compared to the basic tenets of three alternative adult learning frameworks: andragogy, proficiency, and whole language. The findings of the study indicated that the cultural environment of educational climate was the key dimension which contributed to an optimal learning environment for Native literacy learners. The cultural environment components which emerged as influential included values, cooperation, and supportiveness. The findings relating to the learner milieu and learner outcomes are presented in the form of rich, narrative descriptions using the words of the Native adult learners. When the results were compared to the humanistic, holistic, and learner-centred frameworks of andragogy, proficiency, and whole language, research findings confirmed many of the tenets of these frameworks. Furthermore, the findings indicated that the program participants perceived the Employment Preparation Program to be one which was characterized as humanistic, learner-centred, holistic, and empowering. Future research needs to replicate the study to examine educational climate in different settings with participants from the same ethnic group to confirm the findings. Furthermore, the study may be replicated using different ethnic groups in order to generate comparative findings. There is also a need to refine the focus of educational climate to determine how the different components and elements of the social, instructional, and cultural environments interact to create a quality environment. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

This study examined how certain mental training techniques affected skill acquisition and performance of a sports skill (overhand volleyball serve). The uniqueness of the study was the particular population - twelve recreational athletes (versus elite athletes) with mean age of 43.8. The subjects were divided into two groups with measures taken on three different occasions - pre-test, mid-test and post-test. Group 1 received the Mental Training Program (MT) and engaged in physical practice during the first half of the experiment, while Group 2 engaged in physical practice only. Group 2 then added the M.T. Program while Group 1 continued to practice physically. The M.T. Program focussed on relaxation, mental modelling of elite olympic volleyball players, and imagery. At the pre-test, subjects were given an Imagery Ability Questionnaire to assess whether they were high or low imagers. Five different tasks were performed to obtain both qualitative and quantitative data for analysis. Quantitative and qualitative analyses demonstrated both statistical and practical significance for an increase in knowledge, in addition to a performance increase in the skill. This was a positive beginning to new and exciting research involving recreational rather than elite athletes, and the impact mental training techniques have on this population (mean age = 43.8). Results are discussed with relevance to the effect on research that these findings have in terms of adults learning a new sport skill, improving performance of that newly acquired skill and the positive impact that mental training techniques have on them.

This study investigated the effect of variables that may influence the decision of seniors over the age of 60 not to participate in adult learning activities and literacy skills. Three research questions were of interest to the researcher. First, which of five socio-economic status (SES) variables (age, income, gender, employment status, education) are the best predictors of deterrents to participation in adult learning activities by seniors 60 years of age and over? Second, which of six deterrents to participation (lack of confidence, lack of course relevance, time constraints, low personal priority, cost, and personal problems) are the best predictors of participation in adult learning activities by seniors 60 years of age and over? Finally, is participation in adult learning activities by seniors 60 years of age and over a predictor of seniors' literacy skills? To measure seniors' reasons for not participating in adult learning activities, the Deterrents to Participation Scale-General was administered. Literacy skills were measured by the Tests of Applied Literacy Skills document literacy domain. To test the factors that were expected to affect non-participation, a survey questionnaire was administered to two groups, those who were currently participating in an organized adult learning activity and those who were not. Multiple regression estimates demonstrated that none of the regression lines could be plotted against any of the six deterrents to participation as criterion variables on the five SES variables as predictors. However, when the SES variables were held constant, only the effect of the variable employment status using the deterrents to participation lack of course relevance and low personal priority had a tendency to deliver the strongest explanatory power among all other predictor variables. Furthermore, regression estimates demonstrated that none of the six deterrents to participation had any effect on participation and that document literacy skills could not be predicted as a function of participation. In addition, the DPS-G showed low reliability estimates suggesting that the instrument needs to be revised taking into consideration other dimensions of deterrents to participation that are more relevant to seniors' lives.

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