Accountability—try fishing!

STOPPING OUT by Judi R. Kesselman. New York: M. Evans and Company, Inc., 1976. viii + 218 pp. Appendix, bibliography, index. $8.95.

LIBRARIES FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW by Virginia H. Mathews. Garden City, New York: Doubleday &; Company, Inc., 1976. xii + 228 pp. $3.95.

EVALUATION AND REFORM: THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965/Title 1 by Milbery Wallin McLaughlin. Cambridge, Mass.: Ballinger Publishing Co., 1975. xiii + 139 pp. $7.95.

ADVENTURE, MYSTERY, AND ROMANCE by John G. Cawelti. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976. viii + 336 pp. $15.00     

The Effects of Learning on Economic and Social Well-Being: A Comparative Analysis

Drawing on the changing view and attitude toward the concept of human capital in recent years, this article empirically investigates the broad effects of learning. Using the structural model presented in Desjardins (in press), hypotheses are comparatively examined using the International Adult Literacy Survey data for Canada, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The model acknowledges all potential sources of knowledge and skills relevant to economic as well as social well being by constructing indicators spanning the entire spectrum of life-wide learning. Moreover, learning undertaken for job-related reasons and personal interest reasons are examined separately to identify heterogeneity in the effects of learning for different reasons. The model is constructed on the premise that initial schooling has profound effects on adults' readiness to learn in their productive years and that this is the mechanism that will affect their well-being. Only the adult populations aged 25 to 55 are considered, in which initial schooling is taken as a stock measure of initial formal learning that has already occurred. The extent of how the stock of initial formal learning affects the flow of subsequent learning and in turn the flow of well-being is examined.     

U3As in Australia and New Zealand: their value to the wider community,and new directions for future developments

Population ageing and growing competition for limited resources are likely to increase the onus on older adults to maximize their own well‐being. Recent literature speculates that it may be possible for older people to improve, or at least maintain, aspects of their health by engaging in stimulating mental activity. If that is the case, self‐funding adult education organizations like the University of the Third Age (U3A) are contributing, not only to the well‐being of members, but also to the national economy. U3A has grown strongly in Australia and New Zealand in recent years, and the value of its voluntary services to the community is calculated to be more than A$3 million annually. Despite their present rapid growth, the independent U3A groups may need to develop a more outward‐looking focus if they are to continue to meet the needs of existing members, and to provide different kinds of intellectually challenging programmes for newer ageing cohorts. One practical way of doing this would be through electronic networking between the U3A groups and similar adult education organizations, as well as by using the limitless resources on the World Wide Web. However, the hardware for electronic communication is expensive and purchases of this nature would be beyond the immediate resources of most U3A groups. A mechanism is outlined by which U3As may be able to attract one‐off funding for the purchase of computers or other resources which could help them to meet their educational objectives.     

The motivations of mentors: promoting relationships,supporting pupils,engaging with communities

Mentoring as a means of supporting young people perceived as having difficulties or being at risk of disaffection has become an important feature of pastoral support approaches in and around schools in recent years. The provision of support that is based upon a highly personalised relationship and founded upon principles of unconditional positive regard has been a feature of many schools and has been endorsed at government and local authority levels. Drawing upon two recently conducted research projects, this paper considers the motivations of mentors, the definition and development of the mentoring role and the ways in which it is being developed in respect of young people. The authors suggest that a certain ambiguity and fluidity of definition of the role of the mentor may be a strength rather than a weakness when developing supportive pastoral systems. The paper considers the motivations of mentors and how these may impact upon the success of mentoring schemes.     

The Role of Sex of Peers and Gender‐Typed Activities in Young Children's Peer Affiliative Networks: A Longitudinal Analysis of Selection and Influence

A stochastic actor‐based model was used to investigate the origins of sex segregation by examining how similarity in sex of peers and time spent in gender‐typed activities affected affiliation network selection and how peers influenced children's (N = 292; M_age = 4.3 years) activity involvement. Gender had powerful effects on interactions through direct and indirect pathways. Children selected playmates of the same sex and with similar levels of gender‐typed activities. Selection based on gender‐typed activities partially mediated selection based on sex of peers. Children influenced one another's engagement in gender‐typed activities. When mechanisms producing sex segregation were compared, the largest contributor was selection based on sex of peers; less was due to activity‐based selection and peer influence. Implications for sex segregation and gender development are discussed.