Thesis (Ph.D.)--Oklahoma State University, 2010. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

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The purpose of this review is to organize the findings of studies on adult education methods according to the Verner conceptual scheme, defining adult education processes according to their inherent characteristics, and to extend or clarify any parts of that scheme. The material reviewed, mainly empirical research conducted with adult subjects, is used to describe the method, the effects of the learning and the characteristics of the participants. The learning goals are classified as information giving, skill developing and knowledge supplying. As the majority of methods had been studied for their uses, little research was available on their maximum learning potential. Prom the description of the methods the key element emerged as the amount of overt participation built into the method, ranging from lowest in methods whose goal is to impart information to greatest in those where learning is conducted on-the-job. The participant studies revealed that the structure of some methods must be modified for more efficient learning. The research showed that the learning goal became more concrete as the amount of overt participation Increases. Therefore a two-dimensional classification scheme has been developed with the amount of overt participation occupying one dimension and the degree of abstraction of the learning goal the other. Areas requiring further research have been indicated. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to determine whether one form of non-formal adult education, collective investigation (C.I.), significantly increased an individual's ability to formulate problems. Collective investigation is an adult, non-formal, group educative process. Through C.I., participants identify, isolate and critically question their "social reality." Learning occurs through self-reflection and shared experience. The concept of individual experience was used as the basis for the framework which guided this study. C.I. provided a vehicle to identify and transform everyday problems facing the participants. A hypothesized model was developed to describe the process of problem formulation. This model draws upon the literature regarding C.I. and "practice knowledge," an application of adult learning in the work environment, to describe potential learning through a collective educational process. The study used a quasi-experimental research design to examine the affect of an intensive C.I. workshop experience on individual's problem formulation abilities. The experimental group was compared with two control groups: 1) a more traditional approach to adult education (pre-readings and didactic lecture), and 2) a non-treatment control group. The lecture method was not seen as an alternative method to teach problem formulation but was used as another type of control group. The data source was representative samples of child welfare personnel employed in British Columbia. All groups were pre and posttested, using a semi-structured instrument. Nine research hypotheses centered around learner information-production and problem formulation strategies were tested by ANCOVA. The results were significant in several instances, allowing for the rejection of four of the original nine null hypotheses. However, in all nine instances the C.I. group scored the highest, suggesting a general trend. The results showed the collective investigation workshop experience significantly increased participant production of information. The workshop group also demonstrated a significant increase in specific, occupational information which was used for individual problem formulation. Workshop training for other applications of the production of information, (identification of contextual variables and problem solving) was not provided. The scores in these applications did not significantly increase. In addition, the findings showed that a significant difference exists between the perceptions of the C.I. group and the Lecture group. The individuals in the C.I. group perceived the activities and structured interaction of collective investigation to be beneficial to their learning. However, this study showed no impact on qualitative aspects of learning. Based on these findings, it was concluded that collective investigation affected group communication and encouraged the development of supportive networks. Furthermore, collective investigation promoted individual confirmation and enhanced "personal power" providing effective motivation for learning. The opportunity to practice new skills during the collective investigation process also developed performance strategies. Since such outcomes affect instructional design and the practice of non-formal adult education, they merit consideration among the range of adult education methods available to adult educators. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

Adult education is a field of practice which has given rise to an emerging discipline concerned with the creation of its own body of knowledge. The field and the discipline exist in a reciprocal relationship where information is diffused both ways. One method for disseminating information is the Adult Education Research Conference (A.E.R.C.) which promotes research in the discipline and encourages professional collaboration among adult educators. Information dissemination processes are vital to the discipline and field, and are studied through meta-research. In the present study, abstracts submitted to Steering Committees for the Adult Education Research Conference in 1978, 1979, and 1980 were examined to clarify variables associated with acceptance or rejection. The study was grounded in social science literature focusing on variables associated with the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts submitted for publication. A 41-item instrument was developed to assess the characteristics of A.E.R.C. abstracts. As A.E.R.C. abstracts are judged "blind" (i.e., authors are unknown to judges), the study examined "internal" abstract variables. These concerned the content (adult education focus and methodological orientation), the research processes employed, and the composition of the abstract. Procedures aimed at measuring the reliability and validity of the instrument were executed. Expert judges (the 1981 A.E.R.C. Steering Committee) attested to the content validity of the instrument. For test- retest purposes, 97 abstracts were coded twice and 20 were coded three times to yield a mean item stability-across-time coefficient of r=.68. Inter-judge reliability was established by having five judges code nine randomly selected abstracts. A repeated measures analysis of variance showed that the five judges made consistent decisions concerning 37 of the 39 variables. During a second procedure, the coding decisions of the researcher were compared with those of the judges. "Researcher-judges" data were subject to analysis of variance which revealed acceptable levels of agreement on 37 variables; the two "unreliable" results stemmed from the non-conforming decisions of a judge, not the researcher. During pilot procedures, scales and coding criteria were systematically refined. It was concluded that the final form of the instrument was content valid and reliable. Using this instrument, 329 accepted and rejected A.E.R.C. abstracts were coded on 39 variables. Item means of abstracts accepted and rejected in 1978, 1979, and 1980 differed significantly on nine, six, and nine variables respectively. Variables differentiating between accepted and rejected abstracts were entered into discriminant function equations for 1978, 1979, and 1980. Profiles for accepted abstracts differed by year. In 1978, accepted abstracts were primarily written in an active voice, had a clear and logical argument, were oriented towards use of a particular research methodology, had "clearly identified" instrumentation and implications for the field, and did not focus on agency sponsorship of adult education programmes. In 1979, accepted abstracts were methodologically oriented, focused on programme planning issues but not agencies, had a clearly defined inductive theoretical development, and were not well anchored in the literature. The 1980 "profile" showed that accepted abstracts focused on foundations of adult education or characteristics of adults and learning, had "clearly identified" data collection procedures, used higher-order (e.g., multivariate) data analysis, and only moderate amounts of dysfunctional jargon. Separate discriminant function equations for each year successfully classified 81 percent of abstracts in 1978, 71 percent in 1979, and 78 percent in 1980. It was significant that, in general, variables associated with acceptance did not have the same, or even a similar, effect in each of the years studied. Judges appeared to weight variables differently by year. This raises questions concerning the abstract selection process and the election of Steering Committee members. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

In democratizing states around the world, civic education programs have long formed a critical component of government and donor strategy to support the development of civil society and strengthen citizens' democratic competencies, encompassing the knowledge, attitudes and skills required for them to become informed and actively engaged participants in the economic and social development of their country. Such programs, however, have had limited success. Despite research that has identified critical components of successful democratic civic education programs, including the use of learner-centered methods and experiential civic learning opportunities rooted in real-world contexts, these programs continue to produce weak results. This study targets an under-examined link in the policy-to-practice chain: the teachers themselves. By applying a qualitative, grounded theory approach to analyze interview and observation data collected from public primary schools, teacher training institutes and other key sites in Madagascar where best practices in civic education have recently been adopted, this research presents original insight into the ways in which teachers conceptualize and execute their role as civic educator in a democratizing state. The impact of training and the diverse obstacles emerging from political and economic underdevelopment are examined and analyzed. Emerging from this analysis, a new approach to conceptualizing civic education programs is proposed in which a direct ('front-door') and an indirect ('back-door') approach to the development of democracy through civic education are assigned equal credence as legitimate, situationally-appropriate alternatives to utilize in the effort to strengthen political institutions, civil society and citizen participation in developing democracies around the world. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2010. / October 27, 2010. / Democracy, Civic Education, Citizenship, Teacher Training, Madagascar, Learner-Centered Pedagogy, Active Methods, Democratization, Sub-Saharan Africa / Includes bibliographical references. / Peter Easton, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jim Cobbe, University Representative; Sande Milton, Committee Member; Jeff Milligan, Committee Member.

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The development of graduate students in the sciences preparing for careers in academia has long included elements to advance students as science researchers, but recent emphasis is being placed on developing students as instructors and education researchers as well. As such, objectives of this study included assessments of seedling responses to hydrology typical of floods in urban settings, the role of created microtopography in community development of a bottomland hardwood forest, and the influence of geographic information systems (GIS) on student motivation and conceptual knowledge. Substantial losses of bottomlands in Texas necessitate restoration to regain the ecosystem services that they provide. Restoration of proper hydrology is the most important aspect of wetland restoration, but this can prove difficult in urbanizing environments where hydrology has been irreversibly altered. Microtopography has been shown to be an important component of bottomland hardwood forests, and its restoration may aid in hydrologic restoration as gradients are created that support a diverse community. Tree seedlings were subjected to experimental flooding regimes typical of floodplain forests in rural and urban settings. Growth rates of seedlings varied over time and differed depending on species and treatment. Created microtopography resulted in a spatially heterogeneous system similar to that of natural bottomlands and strongly influenced hydrology, soil properties, survival of planted seedlings, and abundance and distribution of colonizing species. Proper bottomland restoration in urbanizing environments should include species selection based on current and potential future hydrologic conditions. In addition, restoring microtopography may improve survival of a variety of species introduced during restoration, as well as enhance colonization of a diverse plant community under changing hydrologic regimes. Trends indicated a slight improvement in attitude and performance for students that used GIS. More important, the authenticity of the experience appeared to affect student attitude. The effective use of GIS in teaching may be scale-dependent. Smallscale phenomena may be assessed as easily in a field exercise as with GIS. Using GIS to assess large-scale, complex patterns may have a substantial impact on student understanding. Further studies are needed to determine direct benefits of teaching with GIS in undergraduate ecology classrooms.