The unfavorable impact of didactic teaching methods upon students' learning and attitudes toward education and the lack of research on teaching methods at the post-secondary level are the major problems addressed by this study. It was the author's intent that specific teaching alternatives be tested and analyzed as to their effectiveness in terms of both quantitative and qualitative outcomes. The study assessed student educational values and learning preferences and experimented with the creation of a classroom learning environment conducive to more meaningful learning experiences. Subjects consisted of two intact Introduction to Psychology sections with an approximate enrollment of 35 students per section. One group was arbitrarily selected as the experimental group, while the other constituted the control or contrast group. Treatment consisted of providing limited academic freedom within the confines of a traditional and conservative institution. In contrast to the control group which was taught in the traditional didactic manner, the experimental group had a series of alternate optional learning activities from which to choose or add their own. If they decided to do the alternate activities, their exams were counted as single value. In the control group exams counted double; this was also the case for experimental group section students who decided to earn their grade in the traditional manner or by exams only. Both groups were administered a Checklist of Educational Views as a pre and post dependent variable measure. Student course satisfaction was also measured. In order to appreciate the kind of climate which was to be facilitated by the instructor in the experimental section, senior psychology students observed and recorded classroom behaviors on a daily basis. Results of the statistical analyses indicated that there was no significant change in views toward education as measured by the checklist. Qualitative data, however, demonstrated a clear preference (in both groups) for permissive classroom environments. Experimental group students were quite pleased with having experienced the permissive environment and those who did alternate learning activities seemed to have had a more meaningful learning experience.

The Higher Education Equal Opportunity Act (Act 101), of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, took effect in July, 1971. The thrust of this legislation was to provide educational opportunities for economically and educationally disadvantaged students. Supportive intervention strategies such as peer counseling and professional counseling are fundamental ingredients of Act 101 programs. No particular peer counselor model is uniformly endorsed as the most effective for assisting Act 101 students. This study was a comparative, qualitative case study of the preservice and inservice training components of peer counseling programs at East Stroudsburg University, University of Pennsylvania, and Widener University. Program directors and counselors completed a questionnaire and participated in an in-depth interview in order to assess the amount of emphasis placed on various themes, skills, and attitudes during peer counseling preservice and inservice programs. The results of the study indicate there is general agreement among directors and counselors, at all three programs, about content and methodologies. It was concluded that a harmoniously blended theoretical model with the Carkhuff model (1967) as a base, is preferred. The Carkhuff model emphasises the core dimensions of helping: (1) empathic understanding; (2) positive regard; (3) genuineness; and (4) concreteness. The counselors have integrated parts of various theories, such as self-actualization theory, values clarification, skills training, and experiential learning. This eclectic approach represents the theoretical orientation preferred by the participants in this study.

In general, most women have different ways of knowing, communicating, and acting from most men. Women's characteristic modes of thought, expression, and action are complementary to, not in conflict with, those modes that are more characteristic of men. The particular qualities that women demonstrate can and do have value in the governance of modern institutions. Institutions that include women along with men in their governance, and also allow expression of their particular women's gifts, benefit from this inclusion. Centuries-old prejudice and fear prevent modern institutions from enjoying women's strengths as well as men's strengths in their administration. Organizations in our society which have historically not included women have recently opened to the participation of women in administrative roles. This change in organizations is laudable; however, researchers in the last two decades have shown that merely the presence of women is not enough. At the same time that organizations have been opening to women in administrative roles, researchers have shown that women are different from men in how they work in organizations and in how the organizations respond to women. Because of the work of scholars such as Miller (1976); Gilligan (1984); Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, and Tarule (1986); and Tannen (1990), it is now known that women are different from men in their moral and cognitive development and in communication; therefore, women are likely to be different from men as administrators in organizations such as higher education institutions. How do these factors--that organizations are including women in administrative roles, that women are different from men, and that women's differences affect their work in organizations--contribute to the impact that women have on organizations and vice versa? This research study provides insights into and analyses of the above questions based on in-depth interviews of five women administrators in higher education in the New England area. In this thesis, I draw on the research of others to demonstrate women's different, characteristic ways of knowing, communicating, and behaving. Then I show through others' research and my own with women administrators in higher education how women's ways are both expressed and thwarted in the governance of the institutions these women serve.

“Why are the students at the College of Micronesia having problems understanding their academic texts and materials?” That is the question that this study explores through extensive interviews with professors and students, and more than 400 reading proficiency tests. This study finds that Micronesian students have difficulties with several aspects of reading, and that there are a multitude of factors that contribute to the problem. Those factors fall into the following areas: language, educational background, culture, motivation, learning and reading strategies of the students; and the teaching methodologies, institutional policies and sociopolitical conditions of the school. The study concludes by recommending to the faculty to directly teach metacognitive reading strategies in all areas of instruction, to adapt the content, language and level of the materials to the educational and cultural characteristics of the students, and to adapt methodologies to the Micronesian learning style. The new role of college instructors should not be to impart a list of foreign facts, but to serve as a bridge between the culture and academic background of the students and the culture and content of their textbooks. Seen from this perspective reading for Micronesians will become an active interaction between their world and the world of the writer, and no longer an oppressive memorization of meaningless facts.

Most research efforts have focused on the assessment of a limited number of dimensions of student growth across entire student bodies or representative samples of all students. One group that has not been sufficiently studied are the Resident Assistants who staff residence halls. The purpose of this study is to provide outcomes-related information on Resident Assistants. Three research questions have been formulated: (1) Will Resident Assistant alumni attribute their post-graduate choices to the R.A. role? (2) Will Resident Assistant alumni as a group demonstrate high involvement with activities similar to those with which they were engaged as R.A.s? (3) Will Resident Assistant alumni recall their R.A. experiences and be able to cite specific experiences which demonstrate how the role affects life choices? The literature for this study is divided into four parts. The first will trace the development of the Resident Assistant from proctor to peer helper. The second unit of the literature review focuses on the theories associated with student development. A third section outlines the literature available on outcomes assessment. The final part of the literature review consists of a brief discussion of survey research principles. The study findings are presented in six sections. The first section focuses on satisfaction with the R.A. experience. The following three sections address the three major variables of this study. The fifth section presents additional findings concerning influence on academic performance. The sixth section provides a discussion of research question 2. Several questionnaire items allowed for open-ended responses. This study shows that students appear to have migrated to the Residents Assistant role for various reasons. Many chose to pursue educationally-related careers and reported that they perceived this role as appropriate grounding to their future vocational interests. Another half sought this role for other reasons including financial, authoritarian and altruistic reasons. Further, the results reveal that a small subset of the R.As were influenced to alter their career interests as a result of the experience but that most were not. Regardless of influence on career decisions, most reported having been affected personally by the experience.

Research in the area of undergraduate college student retention has shown that faculty-student interaction contributes significantly to traditional age student retention. The scant research that exists on the effect of faculty-student interaction on the retention of adult students (age 25 and older) is ambiguous. This study investigated factors that contribute to adult undergraduate student success, especially the role that faculty-student interaction plays in adult undergraduate retention at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were used. A survey was sent to 339 adult undergraduate students who were within 12 credits of graduation, and 138 responses were received. Of those, eight students were interviewed. A basic research approach was utilized in this study, with the theoretical base being that of phenomenology. The study explored in more general ways the larger number of students surveyed and more in-depth the individual experiences of the smaller number of students who were interviewed. Two themes emerged from the data as factors which most contributed to adult undergraduate success: commitment to the goal and support from others. Commitment was linked to two distinct reward sets, internal rewards and external rewards. Support from others came from individuals and groups both inside and outside of the university community. Faculty-student interaction was found to be both a support and, in some cases, an obstacle to adult student success. There was also evidence of a sense of certainty or confidence of degree completion on the part of the students studied.