One hundred and four black adults, randomly selected from the rosters of the black churches in Havana, Florida, were interviewed to determine the extent to which they engaged in self-directed learning. Data revealed that home/family life subject matter accounted for most of the self-directed learning projects engaged in by the respondents followed by vocation, hobbies/recreation, current events/public affairs/citizenship, religion/morals/ethics, and general education. The duration of projects engaged in by the respondents ranged from 1 to 11 months with a median of four months. The respondents used acquaintances more than any other single type of helpers. Librarians were used only by two percent of the respondents. / A descriptive analysis of the 12 tasks performed by the respondents indicated that the task, deciding where to learn, was performed the least, and the task, obtaining resources, was performed the most. The respondents devoted a considerable number of hours performing the 12 tasks. / Sex, age, marital status, education, employment status, and occupation were significantly associated with the dependent variable, areas of subject matter. Education and family income were significantly associated with the types of helpers the respondents used with their self-directed learning projects. / It was recommended that an informational center be established in Havana, Florida for self-directed learners, and a replication of this study, utilizing a larger sample population of blacks, be undertaken. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-03, Section: A, page: 0647. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

This study tested four hypotheses to determine the relationship between attitude of nurses toward professionalization (Houle, 1981) and participation in continuing education activities. Certain constraints, behavioral situations, and sociodemographic characteristics were hypothesized to modify the relationship between the independent and dependent variables (Brannon, 1976). A stratified random sample of 388 nurses responded by mail to the Survey on Nursing and Continuing Education, an instrument designed for this study. There was no significant relationship between attitude toward professionalization and participation. Of the 19 moderator variables measured, family responsibilities was found to have a significant negative relationship with participation (p < .01), and cost and habit strength were positively and negatively related, respectively (p < .05). Participation in continuing education activities may be maximized by the provision of support systems which address family responsibilities as a deterrent to participation. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-07, Section: A, page: 2012. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

This study resulted in a valid and reliable instrument that identifies an individual's personal philosophy of adult education. The Philosophy of Adult Education Inventory yields scores which categorize an individual's personal philosophy of adult education with respect to five prevailing adult education philosophies: Liberal, Behaviorist, Progressive, Humanistic, and Radical. Support for the need for adult educators to identify their personal education philosophy was offered from literature which included adult education, educational philosophy, values clarification, organizational development, and human resource development and training. / The Inventory was field-tested by 78 individuals over a period of ten months. After revision, it was tested for content and construct validity, internal consistency, and stability. Content validity was establiched by a jury of six individuals; construct validity was established through factor analysis. Data for factor analysis and reliability testing were obtained from 86 individuals from six states and the District of Columbia. Internal consistency and test retest stability were determined based on Pearson product moment correlations for individual response options, items, and overall scales. The instrument was judged to have a fairly high degree of validity, based on jury mean scores of > .50 (on a 7-point scale) on 93% of the response options and communality coefficients of > .50 on 87% of the response options. Reliability coefficients of > .40 on 87% of the response options and alpha coefficients ranging from .75 to .86 on the five scales were considered measures of moderate to high reliability. Test-retest data were judged unreliable due to the small size of the sample (n = 8); however, retest data did show a tendency toward moderate to high reliability (r of .48 to .83) for the five scales. / The Philosophy of Adult Education Inventory was designed to assist the adult educator to begin a process of philosophical inquiry which will potentially result in greater effectiveness in selecting instructional content; establishing teaching and learning objectives; selecting and/or developing instructional materials; interacting with learners; and evaluating educational outcomes. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-06, Section: A, page: 1667. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the development of the staff training activities in human service organizations to determine whether the level of development of the training functions is related to the organization's meeting specific external accreditation standards. The population for this study was the 21 largest jail systems in the United States, each with an inmate population of approximately 1000 or more inmates. / The data collection instrument was a mailed questionnaire which elicited data giving two types of information. These types of information included: (1) the level of development of each of the jails' training functions and (2) information concerning the level of the jails' compliance with selected standards of the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections for adult local detention facilities. The data were analyzed using the Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient (r(,s)) to determine the association between level of development of the training function and compliance with accreditation standards. The Median and Fisher Exact Probability Test and the Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient (r(,s)) tests were used to determine the association between the existence of external training mandates and level of development of training functions of each jail. / The major findings were as follows: (1) there is a significant association between the level of development of the training function and the meeting of accreditation standards; (2) some external training mandates are associated with the level of development while others are not. It was found that state minimum standards and state policies for training are associated with the level of development of training. County minimum standards and training policies as well as court decisions mandating training are not associated with the level of development of the training function. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-06, Section: A, page: 1667. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

Naturalistic inquiry was used in this study to explore a case of autochthonous community development in an urban, black community in North Florida. The focus of the study was an exploration and analysis of the actions and events which comprised the process whereby community members moved from the identification of unsatisfactory community conditions to the formulation and implementation of plans to change them. For a period of ten months, field research was conducted using ethnographic methods of participant-observation, informant interviewing, document analysis and collection of life histories for the purpose of discovering concepts and hypotheses about the process. Hypotheses and ethnographic conclusions were explored for their implications for community development practice and research. The distinguishing features of the research are that concepts and hypotheses were generated without a priori assumptions and the phenomenon was investigated within its natural context. A seven-stage model which summarizes the change movement is presented, and from it are drawn and analyzed the concepts of community participation, community leadership, and community power. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-06, Section: A, page: 1661. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

The purpose of the study was to determine relationships between membership satisfaction and selected factors potentially associated with membership satisfaction in Extension Home Economics advisory committees (Home Councils). Three main questions were: (1) Are there relationships between Home Council member characteristics and membership satisfaction? (2) Are there relationships between Home Council meeting structure and membership satisfaction? (3) Is there a relationship between degree of similarity of official role task rank order and member's perception of relative importance of role tasks and membership satisfaction? / A conceptual model, describing membership satisfaction in advisory committees, was developed which included nine attributes reflecting the meeting situation (members, meeting function, and procedures) and member orientations (social, educational, and advisory). An instrument was developed to measure member's perceptions of an ideal meeting (importance scores) and of the real meeting (observation scores). / Composite membership satisfaction scores were calculated by subtracting nine observation and importance scores. A paired comparison technique was used to obtain the members' perceptions of the relative importance of the Home Council members' role tasks. Role task rank order congruity scores were calculated from the role task paired comparison congruity scores. / Data were gathered on 270 Extension Home Council members in Minnesota. Statistical procedures used to analyze the quantitative data included: correlation analysis of variance and multiple comparison, simple and multiple regression analysis, and a rank order correlation coefficient. A .05 statistical criteria was used in all analyses. / The findings indicated that interaction existed among the nine observation and importance scores enabling the analysis of the satisfaction scores at the meeting object attribute level. / Several of the member and meeting structural characteristics were found to be related to membership satisfaction. No relationship was found between role task rank order congruity and membership satisfaction. / It was concluded that the conceptual model did allow for specific examination of the phenomenon of membership satisfaction and that Home Council meetings were not advisory in nature but that members did expect the meetings to be advisory. Both member characteristic and meeting structure variables did explain membership satisfaction. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-03, Section: A, page: 0642. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between readiness of people to engage in self-directed learning activities, and feelings of life satisfaction among the elderly. A questionnaire survey was conducted with a random sample of 103 persons aged 60 or over who reside in a retirement village in South Central Florida. / A statistically significant relationship was found between scores on measurement of readiness for self-directed learning and life satisfaction. The indication of this data analysis was that persons who have a high score in readiness for self-directed learning tend to have a higher score in life satisfaction than those who have low scores in readiness for self-directed learning. Multiple regression analysis showed two factors of readiness for self-directed learning mostly responsible for the effect on life satisfaction: Acceptance of responsibility for one's own learning; and Love of learning. / Recommendations made for practice or further research include the suggestions that readiness for self-direction in learning be a goal of lifetime education, and that gerontologists or others who wish to promote life satisfaction in the elderly consider adult education, especially self-directed activity, as an important resource. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-08, Section: A, page: 2848. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

The decision to return to a formal educational setting as an adult arises from a complex interaction of past experiences and present circumstances. This study sought an answer to the question: What happenings throughout the lives of three mid-life women guided their decisions to return to school? The researcher explored the life courses of these women, particularly focusing on their perceptions of their own educational experiences. The participants were full-time, degree-seeking, undergraduate students at The Florida State University. Four common influences were identified which prompted each woman's educational reentry decision: support for education from others; importance of educational experiences; disposition toward education; and image of self as a student. In addition, certain enabling factors in each woman's present life appeared to have facilitated her return to school: a sense of control over her life; a feeling she would be successful; financial resources; and older children. The researcher traced those common influences through the life of each woman, weaving them together to show the development of individual patterns of reentry. The participants indicated that the desire for a career change precipitated their decision to return to school. At the same time, each one identified personal fulfillment as an important consequence of reentry. / The study was intended as a process of exploration and discovery. As such, open-ended interviews conducted on a weekly basis over a period of five months were used to gather each participant's life story. A series of seventeen working propositions was presented in the last chapter to stimulate further exploration in this area of adult reentry women. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-12, Section: A, page: 4266. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

Although teachers are a key factor in the quality of education, there have been few, if any, follow-up studies in Venezuela to determine the extent to which inservice training for teachers has been effective, or whether present approaches to inservice teacher training result in desired changes in teachers' knowledge, attitudes, and skills. There is reason to believe that as presently structured, inservice training has, at best, a moderate impact on teacher performance. / The purpose of this study was to determine the relative effectiveness of two different approaches for inservice teacher training: a traditional approach with little active participation by the teachers in planning; and an andragogical approach with a high degree of participation by the teachers in the planning of their training activities. / For the purpose of this study, a two-day workshop on "Writing Worthwhile Objectives" was delivered to 90 primary school teachers randomly selected from four schools. This sample was divided into two groups: the andragogical group (45 teachers) and the traditional group (45 teachers). The same content was introduced in both groups. An achievement test was administered at the beginning of the workshop and immediately following it. The teachers' level of satisfaction instrument was administered immediately following the instructional activity. An application level questionnaire was given to the participants two months after the completion of the workshop. / T-test analysis of the pre- and posttests showed that the average achievement score was higher for teachers in the andragogical approach group than that of the teachers in the traditional group. / Use of several two-way analyses of variance showed that there is no interaction between the andragogical and traditional approach and selected personal teachers' characteristics (age, years of experience, and educational level). / The t-test results showed that participants' satisfaction level toward the learning activity and application level of the newly acquired knowledge was higher for the andragogical group than for the traditional group. / The researcher concluded that using an andragogical approach in inservice teacher training will increase the effectiveness of teacher training activities. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-03, Section: A, page: 0539. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

A descriptive study of adult literacy was carried out in a small rural community in north Florida utilizing an ethnographic methodology. The objectives were (1) to describe literacy use by a small-scale farm family and (2) to explore the meaning of literacy in this rural context. / After a description of the community context, data on the case study family are presented as typical activities over the course of a year, and the purposes and extent of literacy use are described in relation to those activities. Literacy was found to be a useful tool but also a source of frustration. The frustration was related to the written materials themselves as well as to the reading and writing requirements imposed by agencies and other people. / Rather than being passive targets of information dissemination, the farm families were information seekers and actively controlled the ways in which they went about getting farming information. Several factors affected the extent to which written materials were used in getting information including (1) the opportunities for information exchange via other media, (2) their accessibility both in terms of physical access and readability, (3) the credibility of information sources, and (4) the relevance of the content. / It was suggested that such context-specific descriptions of functional literacy could be used: (1) to design relevant literacy education programs, (2) to evaluate the literateness of a person in relation to the literacy skills of others in that context, (3) to design curricula utilizing written materials from that context, (4) to design information dissemination media to be congruent with literacy use and meaning in that context, and (5) as a comparative baseline for further explorations of functional literacy. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-02, Section: A, page: 0286. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.