Graduate study has long been important for professional development in adult and continuing education. The use of a variety of strategies can make this a highly proactive approach to such development. (Author)

Successful grants management depends on understanding types of grants and sources of grant funding, writing multiple proposals, and managing and closing out grant projects. Ensuring renewal necessitates adhering to funder requirements, maintaining positive relations, and reporting effectively. (SK)

Flexible budgeting can help coordinate and harmonize scarce financial resources in adult education. Budgets can be used as quantitative tools to manage instructional salaries, facilities, supplies, or other program support. (SK)

Program administration can be enhanced through the use of unilateral groups (focus groups, task forces, advisory committees) and multilateral groups (coalitions, cooperatives, consortia, alliances, subcontractors, partnerships). Groups can help plan programs; share or train staff; share facilities, materials, and equipment; and reduce service…

Large numbers of part-time adult educators necessitate staff development. Effective staff development should determine needs, define audience, identify clear objectives, match content with needs, and involve participants actively. (SK)

Key adult education management functions (planning, directing personnel, organizing work, staffing, and evaluating) can be enhanced through appropriate technologies. Of particular interest to administrators are computer-based communications, management information systems, and desktop application software such as spreadsheets, groupware, and…

Methods of preparing for and conducting an adult education program evaluation are discussed: using standards and quality indicators, involving stakeholders, collecting program information, conducting a self-evaluation, and participating in the exit interview. (SK)

Adult education in such settings as higher education, workplaces, and community-based organizations demand new approaches to accountability. The process involves answering such questions as What is learning? Who are the stakeholders? When should accountability be examined? For what are program managers accountable? and What tools and strategies…

Describes seven types of administrators whose management and leadership practices are rooted in liberal, behaviorist, progressive, humanist, radical, transformationalist, and cognitivist philosophies (SK)

Racism and sexism have economic impacts in terms of pay differentials and occupational segregation. They affect educational outcomes in terms of achievement and the relationship between education and occupational outcomes. Racism and sexism are perpetuated through individual beliefs and behavior and institutional policies and practices. (SK)

Racism and sexism persist in adult education because of discrepancies between language and behavior, lack of experience of other cultures, and faith in institutional practice. Staff development to combat them includes questioning, mentoring, peer coaching, and critical self-reflection. (SK)

A personal agenda for changing racism and sexism includes awareness, acknowledgment, commitment, understanding and valuing diversity, self-awareness, reflection, affective learning, and behavior change. On the professional agenda are changes in teaching practices, clarification of goals and values, staff development, community collaboration, and…

Five indicators of failure suggest mistakes in program design or delivery: aborted planning, insufficient enrollment, negative reactions, unattained objectives, and incomplete transfer of learning. Learning from these mistakes requires deliberate reflection and systematic analysis. (SK)

Interviews with 32 adult education practitioners elicited success/failure factors. Practice-related observations included (1) reflecting on success/failure helps clarify values and assumptions; (2) new ways of perceiving, planning, and evaluating are stimulated; (3) integrating past experiences with changing demands promotes flexibility; (4)…

Adherence to program planning principles does not guarantee participation. Attention must be paid to characteristics that make a program responsive: target audience, promotion and marketing, competition, and logistics. (SK)