A STUDY WAS MADE TO DETERMINE THE POSSIBILITY OF DIFFERENCE IN VERBAL INTEREST EXPRESSION BETWEEN THOSE WHO ATTEND ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND THOSE WHO DO NOT ATTEND. A RANDOM SAMPLE OF ADULTS WHO HAD ATTENDED THE LAST SESSION OF EVENING SCHOOL IN FIVE IOWA COMMUNITIES WERE COMPARED TO NONPARTICIPANTS. THE 338 INTERVIEWEES RESPONDED TO EACH OF TEN INTERESTS ON A FIVE-DEGREE SCALE AND ALSO RANKED THE INTERESTS. NEITHER BETWEEN PARTICIPANTS AND NONPARTICIPANTS NOR BETWEEN ONE COMMUNITY AND ANOTHER WERE THERE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN VERBAL EXPRESSION OF EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OR SELECTED ATTITUDES BUT THE SUBJECT AREAS OF FAMILY RELATIONS, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, AND RELIGIOUS UNDERSTANDING SEEMED TO HOLD PROMISE FOR ATTRACTING NONPARTICIPANTS. GROUP ANALYSIS BY AGE, EDUCATION, OCCUPATION, AND INCOME PROVIDED DATA FOR PROGRAM PLANNING. RECOMMENDATIONS WERE FOR STUDIES TO CLARIFY THE ROLE OF MOTIVES AND THE RELATIVE VALUE OF THE VARIOUS TYPES OF INTEREST RESPONSES. (QUESTIONNAIRE FORMS AND AN ELEVEN-PAGE BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE APPENDED.) THIS DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE FROM UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS, INC., ANN ARBOR, MICH., ORDER NO. MIC 61-1940. MICROFILM $5.95. XEROX $21.20. 468 PAGES. (RT)