This study sought to describe three groups of adult educators (Cooperative Extension Service, public schools, State University of New York system); find differences between groups on professional attitudes; identify relevant background factors; determine whether associations between attitudes and predictor variables vary in different organizations; discover differences in adult educator orientations; and examine effects of organizational policies and practices on orientations. Usable questionnaire responses from 202 (58%) of the study population yielded data on such characteristics as education and training, work experience, organizational practices (including inservice training), professional affiliations, and career flexibility versus organizational flexibility. Regardless of affiliation, three distinct types of adult educators--free-wheeling entrepreneurs, "bureaucrats" (organization builders), and scientists or specialists--emerged in the findings. A major conclusion was that, without a legitimate claim to exclusive expertise (as opposed to a general knowledge base drawn from many disciplines) an occupation aspiring to professional status cannot expect its practitioners to believe in self-regulation or the regulation of colleagues. (LY)