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The central theme of this paper is that, as practitioners, career counselors must both watch things and make things happen in their own lives, and really practice what they preach in order to truly inspire and energize their clients. This paper explores three things: the elements of Working, Learning, Playing, and Giving and the way they fit together in counselors' lives-- using life stories as the material for investigation and for role modeling; some of the practical and creative tools the authors have developed on a joint English/Irish project which has been running for the last two years; and lessons the authors have learned from working across national boundaries. (GCP)

Canadian population trends were examined from a life course perspective to identify needed social policy changes. First, the following principles underpinning the life course perspective were discussed: (1) aging involves biological, psychological, and social processes; (2) human development and aging are lifelong processes; (3) individuals' and cohorts' life courses are embedded in and shaped by historical time and place; (4) the antecedents and consequences of life transitions and events vary according to their timing in a person's life; (5) lives are lived interdependently; and (6) individuals construct their own life courses through the choices and actions they take within the opportunities and constraints of history and social circumstances. Next, the following policy domains were analyzed from the life course perspective: (1) education, the transition to employment, and lifelong learning; (2) family and the relationship between work and family; (3) work-to-retirement transitions; (4) income security in the later years; and (5) intergenerational relations and social cohesion. It was recommended that Canadian policymakers responsible for public, corporate, union, and educational policy focus on the increasing inequality that develops over the life course, avoid the error of assuming a model life course, and move toward consideration of need rather than age. (Contains 166 references.) (MN)

This paper highlights the use of analogies and metaphors in counseling sessions with a focus on the college freshman experience as a living, contemporary example of how clients may experience mythic themes in their lives. Drawing from the ideas of Joseph Campbell, characters found in classical Greek mythology, as well as contemporary myths as revealed in literature and movies, this paper explains how myth, regardless of culture of origin or temporality, can be used by counselors as a metaphor for the student's everyday challenges in living. The elements of myth, including classical and modern examples of myth, are explained. Appreciation for the applicability of myth as metaphor is explained using contemporary myth and situations in which mythic themes are readily evident, such as the college freshman experience and the graduate school experience. (GCP)

The question of where "women returners" to education are returning from was examined through an exploration of the life histories of 18 women in southern England. The study focused on the biographies of women who regarded themselves as primarily responsible for the care of others and yet whose aspirations involved some form of continuing education. Each woman participated in three 1-hour interviews, with each interview focusing on a different topic--work, education, or domestic life. The narrative of one of the women was used to illustrate some recurrent themes in the interviews and to help adult educators understand how the identities of many women are constructed through multiple, changing, and often contradictory discourses of work, education, and domestic life. Themes appearing in the narrative profiled include the following: fear of unemployment and a desire to achieve vocational goals as big motivations for learning; the pressures faced by the narrator as she attempted to balance others' expectations that she bear primary responsibility for her family's domestic life against her desire to pursue additional education and a better job; her resentment toward her husband for his lack of domestic support; and her regret for her parents' limited aspirations and her lack of academic opportunities at school. (Contains 16 references.) (MN)

The "biography of place" can be available in the objective (currently valid and predominant) history of a given region of residence or it can be created by individuals in the process of reflections on their own social identity, which is defined by their place of living. Each perspective is conditioned by an epistemological and methodological perspective. The first formulation is characterized by this traditional perspective used in social sciences: specifically, the structural and functional perspective in the context of historical analyses. The second approach to the biography of place is characterized by an interpretive approach. Both perspectives raise the issue of a "binding agent" linking the world of individuals' life in a given group, community, or local society. Whether both perspectives can be combined remains open to debate. It is suggested that they can constitute a certain point of reference for each other and serve as counterpoints for mutual descriptions of the "biography of place." The stories of inhabitants of a small town in western Poland were collected, analyzed, and interpreted. The town's "biography of place" was told in individual life histories of the inhabitants in the following dimensions: everyday life; critical events; and the feeling of sharing "the place" with others. (MN)

The relationship between well being and expectations is complicated and contingent upon many factors. Self-esteem becomes the balance between ability and ambition. To feel better about oneself entails a combination of striving in certain areas while lowering expectations in others. The three most important domains of peoples' lives are: love relationships, parenting, and work. Expectations need to be balanced among the demands of these three domains, but if there is not some failure in at least one of these areas some of the times, then the expectations may not be sufficiently challenging. In long-term love relationships, unrealistic expectations can be damaging. When it comes to parenting, the ambitions of many parents are driving themselves and their children to exhaustion. The constantly changing technology in the workplace is adding to stress and burnout. In trying to get expectations properly in balance, advocate for yourself and others. The idea is to aim high, but be flexible and ready to redefine success whenever necessary. (Contains 14 references.) (JDM)

The question of how to theorize the subjective side of work within a life history perspective was explored. The findings of a study on engineers' subjective recognition of their lives, their education and jobs, and their life perspectives and the findings of a study of continuing education within a number of white-collar and semiprofessional work domains were cited as supporting the existence of a close interrelationship between professional learning and personal development. It was argued that, within the theory of modernization, professionalization appears as a moment in rationalization of society. The ongoing professionalization within public human services in the Nordic countries and elsewhere was used to illustrate how professional learning leads to personal development. The evolution of various human service occupations from "craft-like" occupations to professions was shown to parallel the process of development of a new identity during which individuals who had viewed themselves as individuals performing labor for a wage began viewing themselves as individuals in a career or "position." The concept of identity was discussed in relation to Ute Volmerg's conception of basic socialization as a production of identity, Erikson's cultural psychology theory, and Lorenzer's theory of socialization, as well as in relation to the concepts of contradiction and ambivalence. (Contains 27 references.) (MN)

The Life History Project at Denmark's Roskilde University is a 5-year research project that was initiated in 1998 to examine learning and participation in adult and continuing education from a life history perspective. The project was designed to build on a broad range of qualitative interview studies and case studies into learning processes. The research methodology designed for the project was grounded in the critical theory tradition and in the following premises: (1) the need to adopt a "holistic" approach that takes the learner's perspective; (2) the notion of experience and the specificity of the learning subject; (3) the need to move beyond conventional hermeneutics to "in-depth hermeneutics," which involves looking for meanings and implications going beyond the knowledge or intent of the acting, knowing, or speaking subject; and (4) the notion that a learning subject is a historical product of modernity and the need to relate it to a dynamic-utopian concept of a learning individual. (Contains 12 references.) (MN)

This manuscript presents a chronological interview recently conducted with Dr. C.H. Patterson, a pioneer in the area of person-centered counseling and counselor education. It details many of the serendipitous events that led him from a child of poverty to a life rich in academic achievements and social rewards. This interview details many of his contributions to the counseling and educational literature, as well as his early life influences, including that of Carl Rogers. Dr. Patterson's views on person-centered counseling and psychotherapy, based on Rogers' philosophy, are still widely debated. This chronicle of the life experiences of C.H. Patterson provides a context for understanding his support of the person-centered approach, as well as an insight into his significant life events. (JDM)

In Annie Proulx's novel "The Shipping News," the anti-hero undertakes a journey of change that transforms the way he sees himself and his ways of acting and relating. This novel about the complexity of life and difficulty of change mirrors the course of wilderness-enhanced narrative therapy. Narrative therapy suggests that the sum of one's life experiences and the way one acts on that information make up the "dominant narrative" in one's interpretive structure, which molds future perceptions, beliefs, goals, and actions. Narrative therapy can help a client to deconstruct a negative dominant narrative and discover "subplots" that offer alternative interpretations of life events. In the wilderness-enhanced model of narrative therapy, students are referred to the program by the school, based on a long-term history of negative behavior and failure. Students' dominant narrative--negative self-assessment and behavior patterns--are reinforced in school and possibly at home. In the first part of the program, 10 days of wilderness experience produce extreme stresses and challenges to students in an attempt to deconstruct the dominant narrative. Participants are told that they are responsible for the way they get through the experience and are encouraged to reflect on the consequences (good and bad) of their decisions. Over the following 2 years, consistent guided reflection on an alternative self-narrative enables the students to act and interact in more positive ways. (SV)

The importance of personal experiences of a researcher that are "outside" of the research domain in dealing with the researcher's object of study is explored. It is equally true that research questions can also affect how one understands or experiences topical issues in a later personal experience. The researcher's personal experience dealing with a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder became a factor in her reaction to the suggestion that she herself was dyslexic. Reflecting on the labeling of people with "deficit" conditions resulted in increased understanding of her own situation and an altered perception of research objects. No matter how hard the researcher tries to be objective, he or she cannot escape the personal components of the interpretive framework being applied. Research is furthered when those personal constructions are acknowledged and examined. The dialectic between research and researcher cannot be ignored. (Contains 17 references.) (SLD)

Preparing for retirement can sometimes be problematic since it means that one is aging and moving into another life cycle change. This paper will review some factors to consider in making the transition a more positive experience. The impact of retirement on older citizens is frequently neglected in the counseling arena. In the current youth oriented society it is hard to get people to discuss the need for providing counseling services for the millions of people who are considering retirement. A pre-retirement counselor needs to know counseling plus understand what a retiree will face in retirement. The current economic trend is to retire older employees early instead of letting them phase into retirement. The financial incentives to retire at or before 65 are found in Social Security and pension plans. Limited counseling is given to retirees by most employers and is usually only about pensions. The trend now for many firms is to downsize, eliminate retirement plans and put the burden on the employee to make their own financial retirement decisions. All other aspects of retirement are up to the individual. With retirement being more accepted in the last 15-20 years there is more information and people available for guidance. The elderly have now become a political force and are pushing for better medical and financial treatment in retirement. Contains 17 references. (BF)

Although it may be so subtle that it is not noticed or sudden and life altering, adult development occurs in a cycle of four inherent processes: transaction, transition, transformation, and transcendence. These processes exist in a cycle characterized by growth and development. The processes can be defined as follows: (1) transaction--personal, social, biological or a combination of internal and external elements causing a change in one's meaning perspective; (2) transition--an inner disturbance characterized by a time of reflectivity or personal reckoning in which repair and reconstruction efforts are contemplated; (3) transformation--a revision of one's belief system; and (4) transcendence--accepting the past as finished, recognizing the possibilities of building upon changes incurred, and the development of a sense of fulfillment in life. Conceptualizing the life span in terms of these four stages of development and seeing the stages as occurring in a cycle can benefit adult educators. They can better understand the patterns of change and development and can identify the efforts adult students are making to reframe their lives. Additionally, this view gives educators an existential base for understanding adults and how adults change through time. Such knowledge can help adult educators support adults' development and facilitate the integration of new learning. (Contains 21 references.) (KC)

This paper suggests strategies for helping children understand death. The early experiences of childhood build the foundation on which the child establishes a healthy orientation towards life and living. Grieving parents are often so upset by their own loss that they do not carefully explain death to their children. Parents may feel that the child is too young or that they are protecting the child from grief, but the child ends up confused and unsure about death and dying. Although children frequently see people and animals dying in the movies and television, death is not an easy thing for a child to understand. Parents or guardians should be honest and open about death and receptive to a child's questions. Children should know that it is okay to cry and parents must realize that children of different ages interpret death in various ways. The death of a sibling is presented here as especially difficult for children to understand. They may resent their parents for not preventing the death or they may feel guilt themselves and that they somehow contributed to their brother's or sister's dying. A parent's death may also instill great anxiety about who will take care of the child. Death is often associated with the elderly. Unexpected deaths particularly leave children confused and angry. Therefore, open discussions rather than attempts to hide reality are necessary to help children cope with death. (RJM)

This paper focuses on pre-adolescent children and how they cope with parental divorce. It considers the case of split custody, more common among older children than younger ones, in which one parent has custody of one or more of the children and the other parent has custody of one or more of the siblings. It focuses on the sibling relationship and the role of siblings in helping a child cope with his/her parents' divorce. The importance of the child's having access to all family members during and after the divorce process is emphasized. Other sections of the paper focus on anticipating the child's needs, the child's reaction to environmental changes that accompany divorce, and changes in how the child sees his/her parents and him/herself. The tendency for children to blame themselves for their parents' divorce is explored. Physical problems, caused by psychological stresses, that children may experience during a divorce are discussed and the child's feeling of being torn between the parents is addressed. It is noted that the child's schoolwork may suffer and that the child may feel insecure about the future. Regression, denial, and repression are discussed as possible defense mechanisms that the child may employ to cope with the stresses of divorce. Finally, ways to help children cope with divorce and the counseling needs of some children are discussed. (NB)

While most studies on the effects violence has on children concentrate on exposure to warfare or single cases of trauma, this document focuses on the effects of chronic violent events on the well-being of Palestinian youth. Information in this paper was attained from discussions with Palestinian youth ages 5-16 in Israel. The purpose of these discussions was to gain insight into the children's perceptions of the ongoing events, during the Intifada. Conclusions are that the Intifada represents more to Palestinian youth than a conflict with Israeli soldiers. To the children of the Intifada, it is a mechanism for seeking and securing their national identity. Most of the children reported happiness that the Intifada had arrived even though they have been subjected to beatings, school closure, shooting and imprisonment during this period of time. (SR)

This paper focuses on freshman-level students expecting to major in teacher education. In their long apprenticeship of observation as students, preservice teachers have acquired both a mass of information about schoolteaching and a subjective warrant to teach. In the introductory teacher education course, "Exploring Teaching," the students' experiences appear as conceptions of school lessons which complicate their learning. In an attempt to cope with the situation, students have been assigned to write "conversations" about school lessons shown on videotape. In those conversations, the students cultivate several distinct voices: themselves as inexperienced teachers, as experienced students, and as each of several authors of their required readings. The writing assignments both organize and reveal interaction between students' prior conceptions of teaching, the videotaped teaching that they analyze and the arguments they encountered in their readings. Several ways are described in which the conversational procedure helps cope with the students' subjective warrant to teach. (LL)

This study explores how women make decisions about educational transitions, focusing on the complex interaction of personal, social, cultural, economic, and institutional factors that influence women as they move from high school to work, from high school to college, and from the workforce back to school. It also compares men's and women's experiences of transitions, and seeks to clarify how institutions create obstacles or opportunities for women making educational transitions. In a telephone survey of 1,070 respondents conducted between December 1998 and January 1999, three groups were identified: those moving from high school to full-time work; those moving from high school to college, and those moving from full-time work back to college. The study found that many women-by choice or necessity-travel not on a track but in a circuitous path as their education interacts with other life changes such as marriage, divorce, and parenthood. In separate sections, the report profiles several individual transitions, exploring the contexts of respondents' decision-making, noting goals, aspirations, and rationales for respondents' decisions, and the obstacles and barriers they faced, shows the impact of life transitions on educational decisions, and suggests some solutions. An appendix provides a demographic profile of respondents. (Contains 24 references.) (CH)

These 11 essays explore the promise and limitations of current models of lifelong learning. "The Sociology of Lifelong Learning" discusses the relevance of various movements to understanding learning in modern society. "Knowledge, Power, and Ignorance" suggests that a new kind of society--the expert society--is emerging. "Knowing, Understanding, and Feeling" explores the thesis that understanding is best conceived as a social process nurtured most effectively through dialogue and, when adults are helped to approach understanding this way, they learn quickly and effectively. "Lifeworlds and Learning" highlights the critical importance of the value people place on their own education and learning needs, of the ways in which they arrive at interpretations of the social changes taking place in their lives. "Class, Culture, and Adult Education" presents a sense of history and theoretical view of ways in which personal attitudes, identities, and motives challenge and reflect the society in which they are nurtured. "Education and Community Regeneration" sets forth the view that the idea of community must be at the center of all political debate. "Institutions and Power: The Archaeology of Educational Organisations" focuses on one aspect of the problem in higher education: the past, and on ways to move institutions beyond its grip to define a new future for themselves. "Learning and Creativity" explores the proposition that we have an impoverished sense of the creative possibilities in every human life and its implications. "Moral Learning in the Moral Maze" charts the moral contours of adulthood and explores how adults adjust to changes in life circumstances. "Personal Change in Adulthood" explores the idea of lifelong learning as also embracing self-knowledge. "Dialogue and Learning: Towards a New Model of Citizenship" argues that people learn through dialogue with one another and in the process transform their understanding of themselves and their world. (Contains 166 references and an index.) (YLB)

Explores some of the junctures at which the study of social stress might benefit from life course perspectives and, conversely, those at which life course research might profitably employ the vantage points of stress research. (SNR)

Argues that an understanding of the dynamics of life transitions is crucial to effective adult education programs. Examines the "stage/phase" theory of transitions, maintaining that transitions occur in predictable sequences, and the "life event" theory, which views transitions as the result of social processes. (22 citations) (MAB)

Provides a personal account of an African American community college president's educational and career experiences. Describes his experiences from elementary school to the university, highlighting obstacles faced in general by minority students. Discusses the career positions held by the president from teaching and administrative positions to two college presidencies. (10 citations) (AJL)

Interviews author Gloria Jean Pinkney and illustrator Jerry Pinkney, who portray the ordinary lives of African Americans in their books for children, which highlight universal themes of home, family, and the pursuit of dreams. As artists, they are aware of the difference multicultural books can make to children. (SLD)

Interviews 10 Asian American high school and college students about living in 2 cultures. The interviews are designed to be read aloud and discussed in class, exploring the difficulties these students, from diverse Asian backgrounds, face in the dominant culture and the stereotypes they encounter. (SLD)

Juxtaposes different contexts in a teacher educator's life as kindergarten teacher, doctoral student, and beginning teacher educator, illuminating how these elements shaped her understandings of learning to teach within different contexts and noting how this story can help educators integrate narrative and paradigmatic ways of understanding teaching and learning. (SM)

Examines the central place of pedagogy in teacher educators' lives, discussing resulting contradictions and coherence as they struggle with current institutional contexts. A life- history narrative of a tenure track teacher educator emphasizes the importance of pedagogy. Implications for teacher educators, institutional contexts, and the profession are examined. (SM)

Using life-history interviews with three tenure track teacher educators, this article examines teacher socialization experiences, investigating how life histories can highlight the process of becoming faculty, noting change efforts that may lead to radical reforms, and discussing whether schools of education merely perpetuate traditional norms and values. (SM)

Donald Secreast, author of two collections of stories about life in Appalachia, discusses how his experiences growing up in Lenoir, North Carolina; his parents' lives as factory workers; and his escape into academia influenced his writing. His work presents "place" as a far more complex and conflicted reality of Appalachia than do other works of Appalachian and Southern fiction. (LP)

Describes how the author's experiences, especially the writing of his novels, have served as mirrors of himself and to himself. (RS)

Draws upon an interview with Louise Williamson, Director of the Children's Division of the Refugee Council, to examine care and welfare issues that should be dealt with separate from the legal process of seeking asylum, although in concert with legal procedures. Includes suggestions for improving existing practices, and a list of countries of origin of unaccompanied child refugees. (AA)

This book, part autobiography and part manual for teaching dyslexics to read, argues that dyslexia can be more a gift than a handicap. It recounts the life of a dyslexic reader who became an educator, i.e., how "luck" enabled him to learn to read, and how "ignorance" and "stubbornness" enabled him to teach other dyslexics to read and write. Part I describes the "why" of dyslexia and how it was personally overcome; Part II recounts the twists and turns of fate that led a dyslexic into teaching other dyslexics; Part III discusses educational research; Part IV offers suggestions to school systems and home-schoolers; and Part V presents ideas for future examination and writing. An appendix contains miscellaneous items, including a list of resource organizations for information on dyslexia. (NKA)

Examines the effects of job displacement on older workers, and presents a conceptual rationale for addressing older workers' needs for appropriate social timing, external and internal continuity, and life coherence in their work lives. Urges further qualitative research to explore the empirical parameters of the effect of these notions on older workers involved in vocational change. (JPS)

Explores some of the possible distinctive traits of midlife suicides, which include: loss of spouse, years of heavy drinking, reaching the age of high depression risk, and occupational problems. Midlife suicides tend to be highest among white males, although female suicide rates peak in midlife. The paper concludes with a review of assessment and treatment issues related to a half-dozen midlife suicide types. (JPS)

Narrative authority is presented as an alternative to positivism in teacher education research and curricula, emphasizing the personal practical knowledge of everyone involved in teacher education. After describing Dewey's conception of experience, the paper discusses the construction of knowledge from experience and the influence of authority, noting implications for teacher education. (SM)

Fenton Johnson, an award-winning writer living in San Francisco, reflects on growing up in a large Catholic family in Appalachian Kentucky and the stigma associated with being gay. His latest novel, "Scissors, Papers, Rock," relates the story of a young man leaving the gay urban culture of San Francisco to return to the straight rural culture of Kentucky. (LP)

Marshall reviews four types of social models of aging: allocation, construction of life course, personality and socialization, and negotiation, concluding that the life course perspective dominates. Haldemann comments (in French) that broader research is needed to question this dominance; Marshall responds that his goal was to describe, not to explain. (SK)

Reflective journal writing helps individuals garner information about themselves and construct larger meanings. Techniques include freewriting; list making; describing one-minute in-depth, writing dialogues; and envisioning the future. (SK)

Distinguishes between unchosen transitions (children maturing and leaving, parents aging, companies downsizing) and chosen ones (moving, divorce, marriage, career changes). Describes the steps one goes through: uneasiness, renewed energy, complaining, exploration, partial transition, and the completed transition. (JOW)

Discusses the author's novels in relation to her life, and how her childhood and adult memories found their way into her writing. Maintains that writing out of her experience means writing as a woman, to understand her connections to the women in her life and to explore through fiction the human condition. (SR)