A blend of quantitative and qualitative field-based research, this participatory study explores the state of Adult Basic Education mathematics, identifying and examining factors that influence math instruction in ABE classrooms across Massachusetts. Referencing literature on current reform movements in formal mathematics education and literature on adult learning theory and research, patterns in the existing ABE mathematics instructional context that might support or oppose future reform are identified. To create an accurate and detailed picture of the adult basic education learning environment this study explores five key aspects of the mathematics instructional context: the program context, the instructional environment, the ABE math instructor, the adult learner, and the content, curriculum and support materials used in math instruction. Practitioners within Massachusetts and across the United States contributed to the design of the study and analysis of the data. Information was gathered in two phases. The first involved a survey of the programs and instructors involved in math instruction. In the second, a representative case sample of 15 programs was selected and interviews were conducted with 17 individual instructors and 13 focus groups of learners (49). In addition, classes were observed and materials were collected from each program. Selected themes that emerge include: (1) the general lack of support for math instruction in ABE programs; (2) the need for flexible staff development and curriculum support options to accommodate the diversity existing in the ABE math community; (3) instructor and learner initial anxiety concerning math (and its effect on learning/instruction); (4) learners increased self-confidence is triggered by mastering math activities; (5) the perceived effectiveness of reality-based, hands-on, and collaborative activities in learning math; (6) the prevalence of multi-level math classes poses serious challenges for instructors; (7) the discrepancy between use (high) and perceived usefulness (low) of standardized assessment tools; (8) information gathered from those within the learning environment proves to be most accurate; (9) given information, opportunity, and support, ABE math instructors gravitate towards change; (10) recommendations for instruction emerging from adult learning theory support reform and existing structures. The study concludes by providing recommendations for reform efforts, staff development and training, and development of math curricula, materials and approaches to assessment.

In the present context of increasing unemployment and budgetary constraints, providing targeted assistance and quality adult education is of paramount importance. Survey data collected over the years indicate the pressing need for quality adult education programs in the District of Columbia. According to the National Adult Literacy Survey of 1996 and the 1999 Statistical Report from the D.C. Department of Employment Services, the District of Columbia had the lowest literacy proficiency (61%) in the nation when compared to the 50 states of the United States. In a similar manner, the National Adult Literacy Survey of 1999 reported that over 50% of the District's public high school students had dropped out. For those students who stayed in school and graduated, many tested below high school reading levels. Also in terms of unemployment, the District of Columbia reported the highest unemployment rate (8.8%) in the nation (1999 Statistical Report, Department of Employment Services). Based on these complexities, concerns were raised among adult education practitioners concerning the capacity of existing adult education programs in the District to provide employment-focused adult education training. This dissertation focuses on the role of adult education program managers in order to strengthen programs and proposes that monitoring has the potential to serve as a management tool to identify management training needs. Monitoring can also ensure that these needs are met through the identification and provision of on-going technical assistance. The dissertation utilizes a case study approach to examine ways in which adult education program managers can build on strengths and address areas of weaknesses with the help of an effective monitoring strategy. Data was collected through structured and unstructured interviews, direct observations, site visits and an analysis of documents and reports in order to provide a full understanding of the potential of monitoring to improve management skills. In addition, theories of formative evaluation, decentralization and social capital were examined and relationships were established. The study found that monitoring has the potential to build local capacities by helping managers identify their areas of weakness and facilitating a process through which these managers identify appropriate types of technical assistance. The study also found that managers developed areas of strengths as a result of targeted monitoring. Changes in attitudes, perceptions and behaviors were observed during the monitoring process. Managers began to communicate with each other more and share information. The study concludes that monitoring has the potential to increase social networking among managers, which enhances management's performance. In the final chapter, the study describes the impact of communication and participation issues on the monitoring process and closes with a discussion of future trends and suggestions for further research.

The growing number of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) warrants better understanding of how clinicians and families work together following a child's diagnosis. Individuals with ASD share pronounced differences in communication and styles of social interaction along with the presence of repetitive behaviors and restricted interests when compared with people who are neurotypical (NT). Separately, or combined, these differences account for a significant degree of challenging behavior among children with ASD. Challenging behavior can often interfere with a child's participation in learning experiences at home and at school and may lead to placements in more restrictive educational settings, or a lower quality of life at home. This study examined the extent to which parental involvement in their child's behavioral support planning and the utilization of social support networks influenced parental well-being, levels of advocacy, and satisfaction with service providers. Thirty parents of young children with ASD between two and eleven years old (n= 30) were surveyed using the Collaborative Behavioral Support Parent Questionnaire (CBSPQ), a 30-item, 7 point Likert type scale. Social support was found to be positively related parental well-being. Additionally, there was a correlation between collaborative behavioral support and the degree to which parents advocated for themselves and their child. Parents who worked closely with their child's treatment team were also more satisfied with services for their children. Follow-up interviews with a subset of the broader sample enlarged understanding of these relationships.

The purpose of this study was to investigate concepts of experiential learning theory in Lesotho. Common practice in the Certificate Program in Adult Education reflected a gap between theory and practice in teaching and learning with too much reliance on the lecture method. This study's aims were (a) to find out how people in Lesotho understand experiential learning principles like experience, freedom, democracy, and equality; (b) to explore how people would support implementation of experiential learning approaches like collaborative learning, cooperative learning, service learning, role plays, drama, simulations, and credit for prior learning assessment; (c) to find out what would be the barriers and the possibilities in integrating or implementing experiential learning approaches. Qualitative research methods such as intensive interviews, class observation, focus group, and a literature review were used to collect data. Structured open-ended grand tour questions guided the interviews. The population in the study consisted of twenty-two participants: four administrators from the Institute of Extra Mural Studies, six lecturers who taught the Certificate Program, six students, and six employers. The analysis and interpretation followed a thematic approach. There were three findings. First, the concept of experiential learning as used by Dewey and his followers in higher education was new to most people that were interviewed. The meanings that Dewey gave to the concepts of democracy, freedom, and equality are different from the meanings Basotho people give to these concepts because, to them, authority and responsibility are attached to the concepts. Second, experiential learning techniques like collaborative learning, role-play, and drama can be more fully developed in the learning and teaching process in Lesotho. Third, barriers to implementing experiential learning practices include the rigid structure of the current Certificate Program, the bureaucracy of the University, and the working relations between the University and the Basotho Community. In conclusion, the study recommended that needs assessment be undertaken; service learning be tried out first; and the Credit for Prior Learning Assessment be piloted on an experimental basis.

The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning participants made of a two and half year long participatory action research and adult education project, the Changes Project. Participating partners in the project were five adult basic education programs including a literacy program, two ESOL programs, a workplace education program and a college transition program. Project participants researched key issues impacting their learning needs and goals, and these included: Welfare Reform, Immigration Reform and the changing workplace. Participants in this study were ten adults from four of the adult basic education programs, and four adult educators who coordinated the program-based research teams. This was a qualitative study and the primary method used for data collection was phenomenological in-depth interviews. In order to be positive, contributing members of their communities and of society, adults must be active participants in making the decisions that affect their lives. A healthy and just society, a rich plurality, is one in which all of its members are participants in its creation. Many adults enrolled in adult basic education programs, however, feel outside, on the margins, and that they are not a part of these decisions. How can educational programs that serve adults support them in becoming more active participants? How can we create educational spaces that will help people who have historically been silenced or marginalized to develop their feelings of confidence, power and ability? This study explores these questions. In addition, this dissertation explores the tensions inherent in implementing and facilitating a participatory process. What does participatory mean? What does it look like? How do you facilitate a participatory process? This study also looks at the experience of the adult educators who participated in this project, believing that we cannot talk about educational change without also looking at teacher change. The results and recommendations emerging from this study are relevant for adult educators, participatory researchers, policy makers and activists engaged in legislation and action related to Welfare Reform, Immigration Reform, the changing workplace, and adult education.

Correctional education came from the belief that criminals lack the academic, vocational and social skills needed to be successful in society. Lacking these skills, individuals tam to crime in order to survive. By meeting the criminals basic education and social needs, we should be able to correct the criminal behavior by opening up employment and social opportunities which allow them to achieve these goals legally (Davidson, 1995). The second school of thought is that criminal acts are committed because criminals lack the cognitive and moral maturity needed to make proper decisions. Law abiding citizens have developed the ability to rationalize the cost of the punishment against the social cost of committing the crime. The goal of education is to develop cognitive thinking. By developing cognitive thinking, it is believed criminals will make socially normal and law abiding decisions. The philosophy of educating inmates to reduce recidivism has been in practice for more than a century. Since these early attempts at providing treatment programming to the inmate population, many programs throughout the world have been developed to better address the lack of education and cognitive skill development of criminals. In addition to expanding new treatment programs, many new correctional facilities throughout the United States have been built to accommodate the rising number of criminals. Many of these new correctional facilities have been built during the past decade. Today, more than ever, we are experiencing a rapid growth in our inmate population. We must begin to document what we are doing and report on its successes and failures. We are building institutions and implementing programs without all the necessary data to support what works. This dissertation will first review the findings of research conducted on various education treatment programs and the effects they had on individuals cognitive skills, employability and ability to maintain a normal crime-free life style. I will provide research analysis of data collected on inmates who participated in GED programming while incarcerated in Connecticut prisons from 1992–1996 and evaluate and report findings on the positive effect these programs had on recidivism.

This study examines how teaching about the law complements the work of legal services programs for the poor, how Community Legal Education (CLE) has been designed and implemented, what problems have programs faced implementing CLE, and what solutions have been proposed to overcome those problems. This study traces the historical foundations and development of CLE within the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). It also examines organizational characteristics of 62 legal services programs with identifiable CLE components and describes how three programs have successfully integrated CLE into their work. Finally, it sets forth a series of recommendations for the LSC and local programs to research and develop CLE as a complementary service component. This study indicates that CLE is not well understood by many persons employed in legal services and that such misunderstanding may be attributed to the plurality of CLE functions. The study also found that CLE functions include eradicating legal illiteracy, providing alternatives to individual case aid, acting as a complementary strategy to law reform work, insuring that the program remains accountable to clients, and promoting client involvement to insure the program's political survival. This study reveals that while CLE was one of the original service modalities for legal services programs, it has not been considered important enough to develop on a large scale. Four major obstacles to the implementation of CLE have been identified: (a) inadequate criteria to test CLE effectiveness, (b) LSC dependence on clients for political protection, (c) reliance on attorneys to design and implement CLE, and (d) the limitations inherent in assisting large numbers of clients on an individual basis. The study concludes that CLE can be an effective service if integrated into the LSC structure and made a part of other LSC activities.

Abstract not available

A descriptive study which examines the contextual environment of the indigenous entrepreneur in Botswana, the formal small-scale business community and the training and non-training needs of this subgroup of adults needing assistance in business promotion. Data was collected on a sample of 158 businesses situated in six towns and villages throughout Botswana. Several kinds of data were used including information from questionnaires, interviews, government statistics and published secondary sources. The study is divided into four parts. Part I includes a review of literature pertaining to the concept of the "entrepreneur," theories of entrepreneurial supply and demand, and the relevance of these theories to entrepreneurial development in Botswana. Part II includes a description of the changing social, political and economic context in which the study takes place, and a discussion of the development of trade and entrepreneurial activity in Botswana. Part III consists of a discussion of the theoretical context of the study, methodology, characteristics of the sample population, and the findings of the study at the group and individual levels. Part IV includes the conclusions and policy recommendations of the study. The findings of the study indicate that indigenous entrepreneurs have higher than average educational levels and have had previous work experiences which have facilitated their business activity. Indigenous entrepreneurs have underutilized business management training and technical assistance opportunities made available by government and are generally hampered in the development and promotion of their business activities due to variables unrelated to training.

For human beings, consciousness has both an illusory function and a critical function. The illusory function allows us to see rocks, trees, sky, animals, other humans instead of a constantly changing fluctuation of subatomic particles. While important in helping us adapt to our environment (and in evolution), the illusory function causes us to see what we expect to see, to think what we are used to thinking, to be habitually reactive rather than creative. The critical function, on the other hand, can help us to break out of habit, to be aware of the whole picture by looking for the unexpected and thinking in new ways. For most of us the critical function is overwhelmed by the illusory function as a result of living in social systems which are not self-conscious. The underdevelopment of critical consciousness in today's societies, both industrialized and industrializing, has led to the atrophy of the individual's self-conscious capacity to choose and, subsequently, to the relinquishing of decision-making power at both the personal and political levels. The study proposes that the development of critical consciousness requires the self-conscious capacity to choose, and that self-consciousness depends upon the training and use of our innate intuitive capacity. Further, the study presents physiological evidence for the role of intuition in developing the critical function of consciousness. Chapter II describes the need for a new paradigm within which to understand this aspect of consciousness which has remained "hidden." Chapter III emphasizes those aspects of brain physiology which underlie our intuitive capacity. Chapter IV describes how it is possible for us to become more self-conscious about our thought and action through training this capacity. Finally, specific skills in introspection are described for use in educational settings.