Administered the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) (N. Entwhistle and P. Ramsden, 1983) to 573 undergraduates to analyze a Norwegian version of this inventory. Structural equation modeling techniques reveal the usefulness of this instrument as a research took for the assessment of approaches to learning among Norwegian…

Focuses on the modes of inquiry used in a study of how Norwegian headteachers frame their personal lives and explores some alternative approaches to analysis, especially of content and form. Results show how explorations of the form and structure of headteachers' life stories raise more complex juxtapositions and questions about the meanings of…

Studied how children learn to identify what is meant by what is said in communicative practices, focusing on the interplay between the adult and the child. Results for 21 Swedish children aged 3 to 5 show that whether children are able to adopt other people's perspectives is a situated affair that reflects the way in which they are brought into a…

Studied equity in education during a national recession in Finland in which the supply of special services for children decreased. Results for a sample of 906 sixth graders and their teachers show a considerable gap between need and supply. The selection process was biased against boys in remedial \instruction and internalizing children in…

Studied the effects of a university education on people's choice of residence in Iceland using data from a variety of official sources and interviews with 20 graduates in nursing and business administration from 2 universities. Results show that a university education influences various aspects of regional settlement, including choice of place and…

Describes and compares the latest models of self-regulated learning, including those developed by M. Boekaerts, J. Borkowski, P. Pintrich, P. Winne, and B. Zimmerman. The comparison shows that theoretical background is an important differentiating feature. (SLD)

Discusses the concept of schema and the role this concept plays in educational practice. Traces the historical development of the concept and how it came to be taken for granted that schemata exist. Suggests a return to a more phenomenological approach to learning and knowledge formation. (SLD)

Studied the time of day of optimal attention for 204 5th graders and 202 10th graders who varied in their aptitude for mathematics. Attention levels of fifth graders were especially high in the afternoon, but 10th graders reported increased concentration in the morning hours. Among 10th graders, there was significant interaction between…

If the year 1999 was dominated by the intense efforts of the federal government to establish guidelines for compliance with the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998, the year 2000 was dominated by the field's efforts to implement plans to meet those guidelines. In addition to engaging in this time- and labor-intensive work, the field witnessed…

In the last decade of the twentieth century nearly 40 million people enrolled in the programs of the U.S. Adult Education and Literacy System (AELS). This chapter provides a broad-brush history of the emergence of the present-day AELS in the United States over the last four hundred years. Exhibit 2.1 provides some historical signposts for keeping…

An emerging theme in professional development for adult literacy program staff over the past decade has been the topic of learning disabilities (LD). As adult educators have come to recognize that the effects of LD can play a significant role in the performance and retention of adult learners, many have sought answers to the following questions:…

Adult basic education programs, sometimes called adult basic and secondary education programs, typically serve adults over the age of sixteen who do not have a high school diploma and are no longer eligible for traditional secondary education programs. Although adult basic education (ABE) is situated apart from the elementary, secondary, and…

In their chapter on numeracy, the authors begin by exploring the many terms used to describe the learning of mathematics by adults. They discuss the relationship between the terms "mathematics" and "numeracy" and explain why numeracy--making meaning with numbers and mathematical processes--is the term they chose for their overview. Moving on to…

When Shanahan, Meehan, and Mogge (1994) reviewed the issue of professionalization, they characterized previous discussions and debates as controversial, negative, and heated, marked more by discord than unity. A key point of disagreement was whether or under what conditions certification could be considered necessary or desirable. They found only…

Family literacy has developed over the past decade into an increasingly significant--and often contested--area of research, practice, and policymaking in the fields of literacy and family studies as well as in the broader arenas of education and schooling. The purpose of this chapter is to give the reader a better understanding of the general…