Environmental perception data contributes significantly to planning and design decisions. This research samples a broad range of environmental perception variables that explore the cognitive, affective and behavioral dimensions of human relationships to the environment. These relationships are held in the mind and are reflected by evolving knowledge, attitudes, fears and expectations. Although mental images and response to the environment vary among individuals, a distinctive local character may be discerned. The goal of this research is to analyze environmental perceptions and behavior in order to identify planning and design considerations to aid regional hydro-electric development. Three critical microwatersheds of the Guanare-Masparro hydro-electric project in the Venezuelan Andes were selected as test sites. A random sampling of dwellings yielded 318 interviews. The survey instrument was administered by a team of six trained Venezuelan forestry students and the project director. Survey information was organized into the following nine categories of variables: demographic, economic, agricultural economic, agricultural, agricultural knowledge and perception, environmental knowledge and behavior, environmental perception, social and psycho-cultural. Analysis of the data focuses on four main research issues: (1) a self-defined needs analysis of inhabitants which reveals expectations for development; (2) environmental perception data concerning fauna, forest, soils, climate, and water; (3) the interrelationship of environmental quality perception and objectively measured environmental conditions; and (4) development and educational guidelines that incorporate the needs and perception of learners.

The purpose of this dissertation is twofold. First, it seeks to substantiate the inclusion of spiritual ideals within the planning and development of non-formal education programs. As such, the review of the literature will also develop a rationale. This rationale is a philosophical and historical investigation of the central premises of formal education and the development of an alternative philosophical foundation more relevant to the problems of rural development. It proposes that the central dilemma of the modern epoch is a confusion of first principles; that human affairs and the systems designed to serve them have been impoverished by the wholesale application of a reductionist paradigm. This paradigm works extremely well for the physical sciences, but is wholly inadequate when applied to human affairs. The humanitarian ideal as enunciated by Socrates and Plato is suggested as a much more appropriate paradigm for human service systems. The second purpose of the dissertation is the development of some initial educational materials and strategies that could symbolize spiritual concepts in a way which would permit dialogue with a non-literate population. A developmental project operationalizing the theoretical premises outlined in the rationale is initiated. This project involves the selection of a rural, non-literate population and develops symbolical vehicles and educational strategies designed to disseminate these concepts to this population. This will primarily involve the development of a booklet of visual analogies. The target populations are selected communities in South Carolina and Georgia comprised of members of the Baha'(')i Faith, a worldwide, independent religion. The planned methodology is described in Chapter III. However, what emerges from the project's development is something quite different from what was anticipated at the outset. The "emergent outcomes" enable the author to critique the value of empirical models of evaluation within non-formal settings. This critique and the results of the evaluation are contained within Chapter V. The dissertation concludes by suggesting possible approaches to evaluation and program structure which are more consonant with the philosophical premises enshrined in the humanitarian ideal.

This study describes an effective work/study educational model that was conducted by one urban school. This historical study is an effort to develop a framework and a process by which an effective educational option, The Boston High Program, could be regenerated and implemented within urban high schools and in the Boston Public Schools. This program was a viable approach as an intervention program for at-risk pupils. Explicitly, this study attempted to posit the notion that alternative work/study programs are working and present a viable means of strategy for at-risk prevention and intervention. Though programs that this study examined have been labeled differently and suggest some variations in structure and format, this research argues that work/study alternatives are useful and adaptable to urban high schools. Alternative work/study programs however, cannot be perceived to be a panacea for the at-risk pupil problem. The need for alternative work/study programs in urban schools exists because of the high dropout rates and the lack of prevention and crisis intervention programs. Findings of this historical account of Boston High concluded five factors that were necessary for a successful work/study program for at-risk students. These are: (1) An effective alternative work/study program must have dedicated, kind, caring professional leadership and staff. (2) The work/study component must offer career level positions, not entry level. (3) The work/study curriculum must be the collaborate effort of the private industry, the community, the mayor and the social leaders of the community. (4) The alternative program must work to restore the at-risk student's self-esteem through achievement and the work experience. (5) A successful work/study program for at-risk students must be able to retain and graduate its students. An elaboration of these factors using supportive data form the basis of this dissertation study. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)

The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the process of networking in two intentionally created social networks. It sought to describe the core characteristics associated with networking and analyze how networking functions as a social resource generation strategy for adults dealing with personal growth and/or social change. This study utilized a transformational frame of reference to focus the investigation. The literature suggests that transformationalists view networking as an action oriented change strategy which can be used to accomplish an array of personal and group goals. A theoretical rationale was presented to support the assumption that networks and networking are effective vehicles for personal and social transformation. It asserted that networks and networking emerge out of and are a reflection of a new paradigm or worldview. It demonstrated that the characteristics of networks and networking are a manifestation of the propositions inherent in the new paradigm and therefore can be appropriately viewed as vehicles for personal and social transformation. Qualitative research theories and methods were used to conduct two case studies of social networks which were intentionally created to assist adults dealing with some aspect of personal growth and/or social change. The findings indicated that networking can be typified by three core characteristics: connectedness, communication, and cooperation. Networking, in these settings, served four fundamental functions. It provided access to information and potential sources of power and influence, promoted psychological support, provided assistance with problem solving, and enhanced community effectiveness. A comparison of the findings from each of the cases also indicated important differences in the characterization and functions of networking between the two settings. One of the conclusions drawn from this study is that while generic characteristics and potential functions are identified, how and to what extent they became operationalized were effected by various contextual factors, most notably the purpose and structure of the network.

Current efforts to expand adult literacy services in the United States too often merely replicate past ineffective practices and fail to make use of alternative instructional and management approaches available to them. Learner participation practices are one such potentially useful tool. In them, learners are intentionally encouraged to take greater control of responsibility in the running of program activities. Not enough is known at present about the purposes, origins, forms, users, supportive or hindering factors, and outcomes of these practices as they have been developed to date. While there is evidence that the field has a growing interest in participatory approaches, only limited information and analysis have been developed to guide those hoping to improve and expand the use of these practices. To begin to fill in these gaps in knowledge, this study initially reviews the literature on participation and discusses three purposes for active learner participation: "efficiency," "personal development," and "social change." It then presents the results of a national survey of participatory practices in the instructional and management components of U.S. literacy programs. In instruction, learners are in some cases actively involved in planning, evaluation, peer-teaching, writing and reading practices, field trips, and artistic activities. In management, learners are taking leadership roles in public awareness and advocacy, governance, learner recruitment and intake, mutual support, conferences, community development, program staffing, income generation, and staff recruitment and training. Built on documents and interviews, the survey reveals that this interest is evident across the field, particularly within community based and volunteer programs. Next, intensive case studies describe participatory activities in two volunteer programs, two minority-language programs, and two programs for low-income women. These cases and the national survey provide the basis for an analysis of the origins, limitations, strengths, and critical conditions related to participatory efforts. Finally, the study recommends actions aimed at improving and expanding the use of these practices. These actions include building a deeper understanding of participatory literacy education, research and training, and expansion of the material and human resources needed to make these practices work.

"The primary purpose of this paper is to study the Adult Education Program in Liberty County. Since adult education in the county is confined primarily to veterans, this study will attempt to make a correlation between the present employment and the academic achievement of these adult veterans who are students. It is hoped that a better understanding of the scholastic and financial status of the veteran may be obtained by giving a fuller perspective of his potential and ultimate working objectives. Briefly, it is a study of the socio-economic status of the veterans enrolled in the Liberty County Adult School in relation to their academic standing"--Introduction. / "August, 1955." / Typescript. / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts." / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 22).

This research reports on an evaluation of conceptions of the environment held by a group of students at the University of Cape Town. This group of students were all registered for the degree of Bachelor of Education, and included in their curricula the elective in Environmental Education. The research attempts to describe the constructivist approach as implemented in the course in Environmental Education over a prescribed period, and to explore the impact of such an approach on student conceptions. The research was conducted primarily through the use of two questionnaires together with unstructured interviews. The results of the questionnaires and interviews were used to assess both qualitatively and quantitatively the development of student conceptions of the environment. The first questionnaire was administered early on in the course, while the second was administered towards the end of the course. In this way it was possible to make a comparative study of the responses. The results indicate that the course contributed to some shift in student conceptions of the environment, and that it contributed also towards the development of environmental attitudes, values and behaviour. The work concludes with suggestions for developing aspects of the course design, in the light of insights gained by this research.

This thesis sets out to explore a comparative study of four Popular Educators using Freirean pedagogical practices in Canada and South Africa and discusses how different country contexts affect their pedagogies. This study explores how critical pedagogy addresses the mobilization of theory and its application into practice in different contexts. In order to analyse and conceptualize the facilitator’s pedagogy and the mobilization of Freire’s theory into their practice; Freire’s critical pedagogical theory was drawn on as well as the theories of other critical and feminist pedagogues, some of who analyse how theory is mobilized into practice. Foley’s theory of ideology is also drawn on alongside Freire’s educational theory. Finally, theories and research examining contextualized pedagogy is employed to analyse how Freire’s critical pedagogy is applied in different social contexts. This is a qualitative comparative study and the research took place in both Cape Town, South Africa and Toronto, Canada and utilized three forms of qualitative data collection tools; interviews, observations and document analysis. The researcher observed two days of workshops for each organisation, conducted interviews with four facilitators and four participants, two facilitators and two participants from each organisation, and carried out document analysis using one organisation information brochure or website from each organisation. Key findings have suggested that the lead facilitators’ pedagogies are greatly influenced by their foundational insurgent, liberating ideologies; ideologies that have been formed over their lifetime through life experiences and engagement with influential theorists and their theories. The lead facilitators’ pedagogies in both contexts pedagogies employ aspects from the Freirean model such as guided student-centred learning. However, availability of access to resources in each context affected facilitators’ ability to engage in different forms of student-centred learning activities. The study confirmed that facilitator’s curriculums were engaging with relevant issues pertaining to students lives, but the delivery of these issues did not align with a Freirean model in both contexts. The divergence from a Freirean delivery was found to be interwoven within the power relations in the classroom. The findings revealed that is seemed difficult for lead facilitators to completely dissolve hierarchies in the classroom, even though an exchange of knowledge was greatly advocated by both facilitators and participants. This study has elucidated how important it is to consider a multitude of factors, including contextual and personal histories when attempting to appropriately contextualize pedagogical models to be conducive to different contexts.

This study extended the research of Lowe and Cuvo (1976) to investigate the effects of teaching adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and intellectual disabilities to count American silver coins in multiples of five in a café setting. Participants were first taught to count each coin and then count coin combinations from $0.01 to $0.99 using a finger-counting strategy with a visual cue. A teaching sequence of modeling by the instructor, participant imitation as the instructor modeled, and the participants independently counting was used for training. A multiple baseline across participants design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the counting strategy on the participants’ performance. The results demonstrated that the counting strategy improved two of the three participants’ ability to independently sum coin combinations after training, and the skills were generalized to giving customers change while operating a cash register. / Applied Behavioral Analysis

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