Thesis (Ph. D. in Teaching and Learning)--Vanderbilt University, Aug. 2007. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

M.Ed. / The dramatic increase in adult-learners coupled with pragmatic factors such as increasingly more expensive contact time, the rationalization of lecturers at a tertiary level, rapid expansion of knowledge as well as technological, economic and socia-political factors, have made the variant of distance-learning programmes a more preferable and popular option. However, it would seem that there is a shortage of lecturers who can succesfully integrate the combination of contact and distance education in their educational approach. It is therefore essential to train lecturers involved in adult-learning in the practice of adult-training by means of distance education. In this research, selfstudy modules were investigated. The aim of this study which forms part of a team project of six papers, was focused on the development of lecturers in compiling purposeful study guides for adult-learners. The changing role of the lecturer, which entails that he/she is expected to act as the manager of the learning activities of his/her learners, was examined. The characteristics of the adult-learner were subsequently discussed. In this regard, learning ability, experience, learning-readiness and self-concept were considered most important. The method of designing purposeful study guides was set out on the basis of a literature study. It became evident that the study guide should be designed in such a way that it would promote a problem-solving approach in adult-learners. It was also emphasized that the aim of a self-study module is not to expect adultlearners to cope on their own, but rather to create an opportunity for these learners to develop their potential. Consequently, the importance of the formulation of learning objectives for each module was discussed since well formulated learning objectives direct the study activities of learners and motivate them with regard to selfdirected learning. Attention was paid to self-study modules which consist of various components, including an introduction, aims, learning objectives, a rationale, learning content and self-evaluation tests with answers. Together, these components form an integrated unit of a self-study module, it is of crucial importance that the lecturer should know his/her target group in order to plan the learning activities effectively. It was also pointed out that the lecturer should evaluate the modules on a continuous basis. The formative evaluation process was indicated as an effective method of evaluating a self-study module. Subsequently, a self-study module was devised in order to guide lecturers to design purposeful study guides. Relevant examples which could be used as a framework for self-evaluation answers, were offered to lecturers on a continuous basis to enable them to constantly monitor their progress. In conclusion, the study was summarized and the primary findings were recorded. The most significant finding was that purposeful, structured study guides are an essential component of any training programme. The importance of training lecturers to design self-study modules to ensure that meaningful self-directed learning can take place, was emphasized.

No description available.

M.Ed. / A number of studies has shown that adult education is a matter of great concern in South Africa, and the Northern Province has been earmarked as one of the regions with which needs thorough redressing and restitution of equality. This is because this region is constituted of rural areas characterised by poverty, unemployment and lack of proper housing and infrastructure. Many adults, most of hem middle-aged, and teenagers are illiterate because they either missed out on school or dropped out of school. It therefore becomes important that, given the situation in the province, ABET centres and relevant programmes be established and provided in order to fight against illiteracy. The literature shows that good provision in adult education should go hand in hand with the identification and assessment of the needs of adult learners. Whatever investigation is made on the needs of adult learners, the social and cultural background of the learner should be considered because it is the context which guides and influences expression of their needs. This suggests that appropriate methods for conducting ABET needs assessment should be selected and used - methods which will adapt to the background of the adult learners. The aim of this study, therefore, is to describe the process of conducting a needs assessment for the development of a programme for adult learners using the hermeneutic-dialectic methodology, and simultaneously assessing the viability of this methodology for developing appropriate needs assessment instruments in rural areas of South Africa. This study was approached from a constructivist (interpretive) perspective. This perspective is one which asserts that there exists multiple realities which are socially constructed. Within this perspective, the hermeneutic-dialectic methodology is suggested as a way of conducting research. Using this methodology as a framework, the open interview method was used in order to elicit constructions of participants. It became evident that the hermeneutic-dialectic methodology may be one of the appropriate methodologies which can be used for conducting needs assessment in rural areas. This is because the methodology adapts to the social and cultural background of the adult learners.

D.Ed. / The training and development opportunities available in Human Resources in a country play an important role regarding the growth and progress of such a country and its people. The parameters wherein training and development is conducted determine to a large extend the direction the country takes towards the efficient productivity of individuals. In South Africa, in the past, the political system of apartheid, which created unequal opportunities between different races, played a major adverse role in the education and training facilities of its employable population. As a result common education standards became a victim of political expediency, and the school system created a forum of unequal education. After research conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council in 1980 to investigate the education system in South Africa it was concluded that it is impossible to implement a system focussed on equal quality education overnight. It is not until after the first multi-cultural election in the history of South Africa in 1994 that this situation started changing. The National Qualifications Framework and The South African Qualifications Authority was established. That brought about major change in the education and training system in the country, and it also shifted the emphasis to lifelong learning. It became apparent that for the quickest beneficial results a program of adult education had to be initiated to work hand in hand with the more gradual development of equal education at undergraduate levels. The shift that needs to be made from the traditional school system to the training of adults is however a difficult one. Adult education is not yet established in South Africa.

The main focus of this research was to determine the functional relationship that exists when mental ability and language competence are separately and simultaneously measured with regard to their influence on the effective treatment of verbal information. The subject sample comprised 100 men and women, aged 20-60 years, who were chosen to be representative of the employable population of the Greater Vancouver area. The assessment of language in these subjects included skill in .syntax, exemplified by verb-form competence, the variety of clausal structures employed, and the presence of other modifying devices common to adult language. The procedures for assessing these competencies were originally developed by the author from raw data supplied by Koopman (1985). Comprehension was measured by means of a standard reading comprehension test, which comprised a series of graded paragraphs. Multiple-choice questions were posed on specific information regarding the characters and events, inferences and implications of the content, and recall of the actions and settings presented in the paragraphs. Intelligence was measured by a non-verbal intelligence test, which called for the identification of geometrical patterns and learned skills in matching, analogies, classifications, intersections, and progressions. Skill in processing verbal information was assessed from the subjects' written productions. Six controversial topics were presented to the subjects by means of questions and related collages. The subjects were asked to present, in writing, a solution to one of the issues. The time suggested for this task was approximately fifteen minutes. The compositions were scored for quality of argument and maturity of judgment. All scores were analyzed by regression and multiple regression procedures. Demographic data were investigated by canonical correlation analysis. The main finding of this present research was that skill in syntax is the major component in English composition, particularly in exercises which call for critical analysis and the making of sound judgments. This finding suggests that the assessment procedures used in this research may be a feasible means of judging the quality of adults' written language. The results also indicated that skill in the use of language is of greater significance than is mental ability in the treatment of verbal information. The demographic variables of the subjects do not serve to differentiate between high and low performance in language in any reliable way, although level of education has some bearing on ability in language and category of occupation among the middle and upper age-groups. Finally, practical application of these assessment procedures in education and suggestions for further research directly concerned with this study and with issues in related fields are discussed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Current literature on adult education indicates that educators’ teaching orientations are informed by their beliefs, assumptions and views (also called personal teaching theories) about teaching. Educators normally hold two sets of theories, viz; those that they espouse and those that inform their actual behaviour, daily actions and classroom practices. In this study I make a distinction between espoused personal theories and espoused teaching orientations. In the context of the study, I use the latter to refer to methods or approaches educators believe could be used to achieve the objectives of adult education. On the other hand, espoused personal teaching theories refer to the educators’ personal beliefs and assumptions about teaching that influence their teaching orientations. Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) educators are increasingly espousing learning-centred teaching orientations. These are orientations that emphasize cooperative and participative teaching methods or approaches. Though educators generally espouse learning-centred teaching orientations, they in reality use teacher-centred orientations, these being orientations characterized by a one-way transmission of information from the educator to the learner. The educator dominates the learning experience to the detriment of the learners. Espousing a learning-centred orientation to teaching and implementing a teacher-centred one inevitably creates a discrepancy between the educators’ espoused and actual teaching orientations. This study sought to develop a substantive grounded theory to explain this discrepancy. In doing so I used a qualitative approach grounded in a constructivist paradigm, with semi-structured interviews. I analyzed the data through the constant comparative method. I eventually came up with the “Theory of ABET educators’ espoused and actual teaching orientations: explaining the discrepancy between the two.” It stated thus, ABET educators’ interpretation of teaching and learning inform their espoused teaching orientations. However interplay between a number of factors and conditions that include poorly structured lessons, inability to effect learning-centred curriculums and de-motivated learners negate the implementation of the espoused teaching orientations, and re-enforce the use of traditional teaching orientations that are epitomized by information transfer. This creates a discrepancy between the educators’ espoused and actual teaching orientations. / Prof. S.J. Gravett

This study identified definitions of adult education appearing in three major adult education journals (Journal of Adult Education, Adult Education Journal, Adult Education) and three handbooks of adult education (1948, 1960, and 1970) over a period of 40 years, 1939 to 1979, and concluded there is no one universally accepted definition of adult education.

This thesis discusses the formation of the Arkadelphia adult education project in Boston, Bowie County, Texas, and assesses its usefulness in the realm of adult education.

<p> Corrective experiences (CEs) in psychotherapy are important curative factors and clients who experience transformation post rapid gains and thrive as a result. Although transformations are important indicators of growth, less than half of clients experience them. This qualitative study explored the experience of transformation in graduates of a comprehensive, experiential training in Hakomi psychotherapy (HT): a mindful, body centered psychology. Ten graduates of a 2-year comprehensive training in the Hakomi Method of mindful, body-centered psychotherapy who experienced transformation were interviewed. Phenomenological Interpretive Analysis (IPA) was used to interpret participant accounts of the effects of transformation on the body/mind. Analyses yielded 7 categories of transformative experience: Transformation, Deepened Expanded Sense of Self, Mindfulness, Body Wisdom, Relationships, Community, and Integration. The essence of transformation in HT was considered and the interaction effect of mindfulness was explored. HT is a mindfulness based, body-centered psychology and mindfulness was found to have effects on the experience of transformation. Transformation in somatic psychology provides a comprehensive whole body mind experience that results in a sense of self expansion that positively affects relationships and communities. Transformation in HT graduates extended into multiple areas of experience and fits into Wilber&rsquo;s all quadrants all levels (AQAL) integral model of transformation. Implications, limitations and clinical applications of the embodied experience of transformation in Hakomi psychotherapy are considered.</p>