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Today's enrollment situation is uncertain, especially in comparison with recent past. Some institutions experience growth in student numbers, while in others enrollments plateau or decline. Nontraditional students challenge a variety of institutional arrangements. Many past assumptions for predicting enrollments are inadequate. Projection studies have utilized techniques and produced results that have constructively shaped thinking about the enrollment picture of the future. This analysis of projection models is directed along two dimensions: first, a description of the studies in terms of strategies employed and the intended purpose of the study, and second, a comparison of the studies that identify problems with definitions, methodological limitations, and key assumptions. Strategies employed are grouped into 3 categories: trend extrapolation, policy alternatives, and futurist approaches. Projection studies analyzed were developed for purposes that include demographic description, planning information, resource needs, manpower supply and demand, and policy recommendations. The comparison of projection studies utilizes categories that are congruent with the information needs of leaders in educational systems and institutions. (Author/PG)

This Institute was based upon the premise that existing efforts to eliminate illiteracy must be dramatically increased across the country and this increase in effort and activity could be substantially achieved with existing resources through the creative and dynamic efforts of the State Directors of Adult Education. Consequently, the Institute was designed to provide as many human and material resources as possible for use by the State Directors in analyzing the magnitude of their tasks, their individual and collective roles, and in developing imaginative "plans of action" to maximize the effective use of resources in adult basic education. The participants in the Institute were involved in a variety of pre-conference planning activities prior to their involvement in a human relations-problem solving 2-week residential workshop. The major objectives of the workshop were to enhance the creative capabilities of the participants, to perfect their communication, perceptual and problem solving skills, and to put into action innovative ideas to help overcome certain problems which inhibit the impact and effectiveness of adult basic education. (Author)

The strategies whereby relevant findings and implications of empirical research could become known to and employed by adult basic education practitioners in solving their problems are demonstrated. Efforts were made to: (1) Identify significant problems in the practice of adult basic education; (2) Conduct a thorough search of the research literature in the social sciences relevant to such problems; and (3) Develop and disseminate a series of monographs which would translate the findings of research and suggest solutions to problems in a manner which is meaningful to practitioners. To accomplish these tasks, job descriptions were developed, a nine-member staff employed, a project task analysis performed, criteria for selecting writers devised, and a conceptual system to facilitate a uniform approach to the definition and analysis of problems developed. The staff read 3,000 reports and made a survey of all members of the Commission of Professors of Adult Education and the Special Project Directors to detect research recently conducted. Findings include: (1) Ten monographs which relate research to practice can be produced in a twelve-month period with the resources made available in this project; (2) Problems reported by practitioners and researchers are often imprecisely defined and analyzed; (3) Practitioners tend to attribute problems to lack of financial and physical resources or to some uncontrollable conditions rather than to a lack of capability or knowledge on their part. (Author/CK)

The principal objective of this research was to analyze the question of the kinds or types of teachers who have the most influence on students' aspirations and achievements. The study included a sample of students from 4 high schools in which Indian and non-Indian students were enrolled. A questionnaire was administered to and analyzed for 451 respondents. Students indicated that English more than non-English teachers had had a strong influence on their educational aspirations and expectations. Of all students who identified English teachers as persons with whom they had discussed their educational plans, 47% were Indian and 40% were non-Indian. The author concluded from this analysis that English teachers are more likely than other teachers to have discussed educational plans with students. It was further concluded that those Indian students who contacted English teachers appeared to be least academically oriented, or conversely, were more likely candidates for drop-out status. It was suggested that future research on this question should be undertaken with designs which separate the effects of teachers' characteristics from the effects of student-teacher interaction and the content of the subjects taught. (HBC)

Purpose of the study was to investigate the relative impact of family income on the level of educational aspirations and expectations of high school students. Information on educational aspirations and expectations of 119 Native Americans and 304 non-Indian youth attending 4 small rural high schools in Montana was obtained by questionnaire. It was found that 9% fewer Indians than non-Indians aspired to attend 4 years of college, and 10% fewer Indians than non-Indians expected to attend 4 years of college. When grouped by family income, 48% of the high-income Indian students held aspirations for a college degree, but only 33% held the same expectations. Comparable percentages for high-income non-Indian students were 61% and 54%, indicating greater goal deflection among Indian students. There was little difference between the educational aspirations and expectations of low-income Indian and non-Indian students. A related document is RC005683. (LS)

The major objective of this study was to ascertain which of the eligible persons most influenced students' educational aspirations, expectations, and potential performance. Information on educational aspirations and expectations of 119 Native Americans and 304 non-Indian youth attending 4 small rural high schools in Montana was obtained by questionnaire. Findings showed that parents are perceived to have the most influence on students' school work and that siblings are next important. Data also indicated variations in choice of most influential parent in terms of ethnicity, residence, sex, and level of family income. Differences between Indian students and non-Indian students are not as great as differences between low- and high-income students in either ethnic group. A related document is RC005684. (LS)

The purpose of this study of rural youth, initiated in 1964, was to determine if low family income tends to depress students' aspirations, achievements, and expectations. The sample for the study consisted of 601 students from 30 Washington high schools. The data were obtained by questionnaires and interviews administered to students, and through mail questionnaires to the parents. Analysis of the data revealed that students from low income families, when compared to students from high income families, were less likely to: (1) be interested in school or be in curricula designed for college-bound students, (2) report high grades in course work, (3) receive encouragement from teachers to attend college, (4) discuss their occupational and educational plans with teachers, (5) hold leadership positions in school organizations, (6) indicate that they belong to "leading crowds" in their schools, (7) report high scores on self evaluation scales indicating physical, social, academic, and emotional self concepts, (8) report high levels of educational and occupational aspirations and expectations, and (9) report that their parents can support them financially in several educational and occupational pursuits. (TL)

To assess the effects of wide aptitude differences on the acquisition of military knowledges and skills, a sample of 183 Army recruits was divided into three maximally distant aptitude groups on the basis of Armed Forces Qualifying Test (AFQT) scores: high aptitude (AFQT 90-99); middle aptitude (AFQT 45-55); low aptitude (AFQT 10-21). Recruits were individually trained to a performance criterion in differing combinations of eight tasks (simple and choice monitoring, M-14 rifle assembly and disassembly, missile preparation, military symbols, the international phonetic alphabet, combat plotting) representative of Army training. Various supplementary psychometric, scholastic achievement, and basic combat training attainment data were analyzed. Results were consistent in demonstrating large differences related to aptitude. As groups, high aptitude individuals excelled, low aptitude individuals did poorly, and middle aptitude groups fell in an intermediate range on all measures. (The document includes seven references and 29 tables and figures.) (LY)

The frustrations of researchers confronted with uncooperative personnel, subjects who leave town, carefully planned controls which collapse, ets. are mentioned. Specifically, the paper is concerned with problems which the author and his colleagues encountered while providing psychological services to rural schools. They included: (1) achieving and maintaining good public relations; (2) the resistance to research activity frequently found in rural areas; (3) distance and consequent need for careful organization and sequencing of events; and (4) problems of data analysis. The use of subjects in rural areas is discussed. The second part of the paper describes the author's research which was concentrated in two areas: (1) the development of a behavior rating scale for identification of problems and assessment of changes; and (2) the comparison of behavior modification peer group counseling and family counseling in the treatment of aggressive elementary school children. The procedure is explained and data presented. Limitations of the research prevented the drawing of any firm conclusions. Difficulties peculiar to the rural setting are viewed as partly responsible for the research's shortcomings. (TL)

A questionnaire to study company education programs was devised and sent to Florida companies employing at least 200 people. Training programs were conducted in 55% of the firms, with an additional 12% expecting to develop such programs within three years. Training directors were employed in more than half of the firms but they were more often prepared in subject matter than in teaching adults. All employee levels were included in 71% of the firms having programs. Attendance was compulsory for 11% and voluntary in 34%, while 45% had a mixture of voluntary and compulsory attendance. Promotional opportunity and tuition refunds were used to encourage education outside the company, but company programs were free to employees in 79% of the firms. Chief purposes of programs were to orient new employees, and to upgrade or retrain old employees, although content of courses was managerial and supervisory oriented in 77% of the firms. On the job training, classes, and conferences were the favorite methods of instruction. In general, business seemed more active than industry. Appendixes include tables of response data, the questionnaire, and a bibliography. (jf)

A national survey (1961-62) revealed that only one adult out of five participates annually in educative activities; the graduate's negative attitude toward education needs to be replaced by an appreciation for life-long learning. Some weaknesses might be overcome through introduction of adult education programs in universities, as well as off-campus inservice training and degree programs and establishment of community councils for coordinating the various aspects of adult education activities. New fast-reacting systems of leadership training can be developed and the quality of the personnel in the field improved. At present, the efforts of adult education agencies are fragmented and no one seems willing to assume a leadership role. Public agencies of adult education should have a system for continuous and reliable data collection, and broader and more balanced programs. The relationship between non-profit and profit-making organizations needs examination to ensure that public funds are not used in the interest of the few. Relationships among national, state, and local agencies must be examined with a view to curtailing overlapping and duplication and to facilitating coordination, consolidation, and decentralization. (nl)

IN A NATIONWIDE STUDY OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES, CHARACTERISTICS, AND BACKGROUND OF ADULT EDUCATION ADMINISTRATORS IN PUBLIC JUNIOR COLLEGES, QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES FROM 126 ADMINISTRATORS (OF A POPULATION OF 127) WERE ANALYZED. THE TYPICAL POSITION WAS LOCATED IN ONE OF FIVE STATES, HAD BEEN CREATED SINCE 1960, WAS EXCLUSIVELY ADMINISTRATIVE, AND WAS IN A "DIRECT LINE" RELATIONSHIP TO THE INSTITUTION'S CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR. THE TYPICAL ADMINISTRATOR (1) WAS A MALE, (2) WAS FROM 40 TO 59 YEARS OF AGE, (3) WAS AS LIKELY TO HAVE BEEN A TEACHER AS A COLLEGE ADMINISTRATOR IMMEDIATELY BEFORE HIS PRESENT POSITION, (4) HAD AT LEAST A MASTER'S DEGREE, AND (5) WAS APPOINTED FROM WITHIN THE INSTITUTION OR FROM A PUBLIC SCHOOL. WHILE EDUCATION AND ADMINISTRATION ACCOUNTED FOR ALMOST HALF OF THE RESPONDENTS' DEGREES, JUNIOR COLLEGE AND ADULT EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION WERE NOT COMMON FIELDS OF PREPARATION. THE FINDINGS RAISE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ADEQUACY OF CURRENT EDUCATIONAL AND EXPERIENTIAL TRAINING FOR SUCH POSITIONS, AND ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP OF AN ADMINISTRATOR'S BACKGROUND TO THE QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF THE PROGRAM HE ADMINISTERS. (WO)