Participatory research is the subject of much discussion, and many reported applications from over the globe reveal the need for more percision in defining functions and attributes. This case study, on balance with the literature, determined the construction of the paradigm at the end of this dissertation. / After an intensive search of the literature the investigator concluded that a need existed for a functional, more precise paradigm. Definition, descriptive accounts and ideologically based claims are interesting to both academics and practitioners, yet the literature, as it is, does not help one perform operations essential to participatory research. Even the question, "What difference exists between community development and participatory research?" is not answered clearly by advocates of this approach. / When John Lowe was Director, Adult Education Section, Literacy, Adult Education and Rural Development Division, UNESCO, he said, "Adult education should realize that much valuable research may be confined to fact-finding and assessing the merits of minor programs. Thus any attempt to test new theories or to classify knowledge and experience deserves to be acknowledged as a contribution to research." / This is a small study of a small project on a small island. / The method of the study was to construct an analog model of participatory research from the descriptions, explanations and claims revealed in the literature. The model was employed to plan, implement and observe activities of a community development nature on the island of Virgin Gorda, British West Indies. A systematic record of the observations made over a period of ten weeks allowed the investigator to construct an alternative, yet similar model. When the two models were compared, a modified system paradigm resulted. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-01, Section: A, page: 0056. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

This study was a comparative analysis of adult education activities in three Asian countries--Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, and Japan. The three countries were selected on the basis of their progress through the three stages of demographic transition. / In order to describe the background against which the adult education activities occurred, national conditions in each country were described by selected elements adapted from Background Notes of the U.S. Department of State and the Factbook of the U.S. Government Printing Office; the development of each country was analyzed with indicators developed by Harbison and his associates. / Existing and typical adult education programs in each country were described and compared in terms of the appropriate demographic transition stage of each country--traditional, transitional and advanced. / This comparison covered such areas as subjects, opportunities, methods and techniques, institutions, and organizations of adult education. / Based on the results of the comparison, recommendations were made for shaping adult education activities to aid in assisting the national development of each society. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-01, Section: A, page: 0056. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-09, Section: A, page: 4848. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-09, Section: A, page: 4848. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

The purposes of this investigation were to determine if there is: (1) a difference between the self-concepts of students in adult basic education (ABE) programs and the self-concepts of students in general educational development (GED) programs, (2) a relationship between the self-concepts and the levels of career aspiration of ABE students, (3) a relationship between the self-concepts and levels of career aspiration of GED students, (4) a difference between the self-concepts of ABE-GED students and the length of time spent in the programs, and (5) a difference between the self-concepts of males and females. / The two samples used consisted of 212 subjects (106 ABE; 106 GED) enrolled in adult education programs operated by a community college. The instruments used included the Basic Information Sheet, the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, and the Occupational Aspiration Scale. Twenty teachers of ABE and GED students volunteered to participate in the study. Data were obtained from the volunteer students of these teachers through their instrument responses. / Five hypotheses were tested using the .05 alpha level of significance. The t-test was used to test the hypotheses which stated there were no differences between the self-concepts of ABE and GED students, males and females, and the length of time in the programs. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used for the hypotheses which stated there was no relationship between the self-concepts and ABE and GED students' levels of career aspiration. The hypothesis which stated there was no difference between the self-concepts of the two groups was rejected. The others failed to be rejected. / The findings indicated: (1) a difference in the self-concepts of ABE and GED students with the GED group reporting lower scores, (2) no relationship between self-concepts and levels of career aspiration, (3) no difference between the self-concepts of males and females, and (4) no difference between the self-concepts and time in programs. Both groups had low self-concepts and appeared to be in need of career education. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-10, Section: A, page: 4249. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

The major purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of Southern Baptist ministers of education concerning the competencies needed for work in adult religious education. The three objectives were: to determine perceptions of ministers of education about knowledge and skill competencies useful in their professional educational activities with adults; to determine perceptions of ministers of education about the adequacy of their preparation to perform competencies needed in professional educational activities for adults; and to determine if ministers of education who have had prior preparation in adult education differ in their perceptions from those who had no prior preparation. / Data were sought from a twenty percent sample of Southern Baptist ministers of education that elicited their perceptions of the usefulness of selected adult education competencies in knowledge and skill areas as well as perception of the adequacy of their prior preparation for their competencies. / Analyses of the data indicated the following: (1) prior preparation in adult education exerted an influence, however modest, on the perception of ministers of education about the usefulness of skill competencies and little or no influence on knowledge competencies; (2) prior preparation in adult education exerts an influence, however modest, on the perception of ministers of education about the adequacy of preparation for the performance of skill competencies and no influence on knowledge competencies; (3) ministers of education with prior preparation percevie very significant differences in usefulness and adequacy of learning experiences for knowledge and skill competencies; and (4) ministers of education without prior preparation perceive significant differences in usefulness and adequacy of learning experiences for knowledge competencies and a very significant difference for skill competencies. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-06, Section: A, page: 2434. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

The purpose of the study was to identify the perceptions of the international participants in the graduate programs of adult education regarding the appropriateness and adequacy of their graduate programs as these related to their needs. The specific purposes were: (1) To identify perceptions of international students in graduate programs of adult education regarding the adequacy and appropriateness of their programs. (2) To analyze comparatively the perceptions of international graduate students with prior work experience in adult education in their native countries, and students without experience, to detect significant differences in perceptions of the two groups. / Data were sought from 120 international students in adult education graduate programs in selected U.S. institutions; 82 responded (68 percent). Respondents rated a set of competencies according to the extent they felt they had developed their skills and knowledge concerning each competency through their adult education programs. They also rated each according to their perceptions of the effectiveness of their graduate studies in developing their skills in and knowledge of that competency. / Analysis of the data indicated the following: (1) Prior adult education work experience exerted little or no influence on the perceptions of international students about the adequacy and appropriateness of their graduate programs. (2) Lack of prior work experience in adult education exerted no detectable influence on the perceptions of international students in adult education regarding the adequacy and appropriateness of their graduate programs. / In general, the two groups rated their knowledge and skill in the competencies very similarly. According to the results of the rating, development of knowledge and skills in 86.6 percent of the competencies was perceived as appropriate, and in 93.3 percent was perceived as adequate. Furthermore, no significant differences were found between the two groups--that is, those with work experience in adult education and those lacking such work experience--in their perceptions regarding the adequacy and appropriateness of their adult education graduate programs. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-11, Section: A, page: 4686. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

The study examined the relationship between selected variables within adult educational environments. Instruments used to gather data from teachers and students in the two adult high schools of the DeKalb County (Georgia) school system included the Student Estimate of Teacher Concern-Form B, the Acceptance of Self and Others scale, and a data sheet. / The findings present relationships between teacher self acceptance and acceptance of others; student self acceptance and acceptance of others; student self acceptance and acceptance of others controlling for teacher self acceptance and acceptance of others; student estimate of teacher concern and teacher's student continuation rate; and student age, sex and race and student estimate of teacher concern and teacher's student continuation rate controlling for teacher age, sex and race. / Chi Square tests of association were used. Student estimates of teacher concern were found to have significant associations beyond the .05 level with teacher self acceptance, student self acceptance, student acceptance of others, and student sex when controlling for teacher sex. / Discussion and conclusions focused, in part, on the importance of these findings to teacher selection, student assignments to teachers, and adult educator training programs. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-03, Section: A, page: 0901. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

The purpose of this study was to determine if the adult high school program in the U.S. Virgin Islands effectively prepared participants to become fully employed, productive, and responsible citizens. Information used in the survey addressed the associations that might exist between selected demographic, educational, employment, and social economic characteristics of students and selected measures of career success which included present employment status, job category, level of income, job satisfaction, and plans for continuing education. / Methodology. One hundred ninety-seven graduates were interviewed out of a total population of 272 or a total of 72% of the graduates. Each characteristic of career success was associated with the characteristics of the graduates to determine if any associations existed. The data were collected by means of a questionnaire developed by the investigator and tested by using a Chi square analysis. The alpha .05 level was considered appropriate for determining if any significant associations existed between variables. The data were presented as percentages. / Findings. The findings indicated that the employment characteristics and career success were more likely to be associated than demographic, educational or social economic factors. Graduates who were skilled, employed, or worked in the higher paying jobs before entering ACE were more likely to be presently employed, satisfied with their jobs, earn over $150 weekly, or have plans to continue their education than others. / Conclusions. Most of the graduates of the ACE program in the USVI are females who are employed before entering ACE and continue this employment after graduation. Generally, participants expressed no plans for continuing their education beyond the high school level. Men and women tend to occupy low scale occupations assigned by sex stereotypes. Personal characteristics of graduates most often had no associations with career success. According to the data, the existing program of ACE appear to have little if any impact on career success. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-07, Section: A, page: 2884. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

The purpose of this research was to develop and test an explicit procedure for determining the relative importance of community-wide needs in adult education. Two dimensions of meaning of the term importance were conceptualized: qualitative which refers to the values placed on certain broad goals and needs relating to those goals, and quantitative which refers to the amount of actual need in the community. Priority is delegated to those needs reflecting the highest estimates on both qualitative and quantitative dimensions. The developmental process began with an initial design which was formatively developed and redesigned following two workshops held under a Title I Higher Education Act in the State of Florida. The model uses a paired comparison technique to provide each need indicator with a qualitative estimate equal to its portion of total value expressed in a goal framework. Each need is given a quantitative estimate based on present and future discrepancy sizes. Both dimensions of importance are integrated on a matrix, providing the practitioners with four need clusters of similar importance. The model was tested in a workshop comprised of graduate students in adult education at Florida State University. Results revealed a .80 Spearman level of agreement among samples using the procedure (.01 significance level). The data suggest that the model may offer a reliable and clearly delineated procedure which adequately integrates both the empirical and the underlying value bases for judging importance of needs. Additionally, the model may serve as a useful tool in participatory decision-making. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-11, Section: A, page: 4578. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.