A food‐processing corporation hosted on‐site General Educational Development (GED) programs. Despite a monetary reward for completing the time‐and‐achievement criteria established by the host corporation, student retention was low. This study suggests that on‐site program planners should address the social environment of the workplace as a factor influencing student retention in GED programs conducted in workplace locations. The research examined the workplace socialization factors that affected whether 151 former students became program finishers or dropouts. Sixty‐eight former students participated in the study. Thirty‐one of the respondents were classified as program finishers, and 37 were classified as dropouts. The respondents completed a sociometric instrument that delineated their previous educational levels, their in‐plant networks' educational levels, and their in‐class clique status. A chi‐square test found a relationship between clique‐membership status and retention ([1, N = 68] = 10.83, p < .001). An analysis‐of‐variance (ANOVA) test found that the educational levels of the finishers' networks differed from those of the other groups, (F[3, 218] = 10.17, p < .01).

This article reviews eclectic research on how adults learn self-direction in a social and experiential context. The literature review synthesizes research from various social sciences with adult education. A cognitive-behaviorist model of learning, delineated in the article, suggests ways to help learners develop this orientation.By the year 2000, three-fourths of those entering the work force will have limited verbal and computational skills (Dole, 1989). The proportion of undereducated adults in the workplace could be even higher if certain misguided welfare reform policies are developed and implemented. Community adult educators and those working in human resource development (HRD) will increasingly have to wrestle with the question of how to meet society's need for an educated and self-directing employee pool (Kozol, 1985;Rosenberg, 1992). For the undereducated, who are also likely to be poor, the future will be bleak unless they can develop a self-directing orientation through careerenhancing socialization (Gilbert and Kahl, 1993;Kohn, 1969 Kohn, /1993. In light of contemplated welfare reform policies and the planned enactment of training and education programs for this population of adults, it is reasonable to speculate on the effectiveness of current professional adult education and HRD programs. PurposeThe purpose of this article is to review an eclectic body of research on the relationship between socialization, conditioning, and self-direction. The review identifies weaknesses in adult education researchers' explanations on how selfdirection is learned; moreover, a theoretical model is developed that shows how social and task experiences, especially those that take place in the workplace, serve as catalysts in a conditioning process that facilitates the development of a self-directing orientation. Using the principles established in that

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This study examined perceptions of deterrents to completion of an on‐site high school completion program among dropouts, with particular focus on their status as dropouts and isolates and on their gender. Thirty‐seven food processing workers who had dropped out of the program participated in the study. Quantitative methods were used in the analyses. By examining Likert‐type responses from a questionnaire designed for the study, it was found that for the entire sample of dropouts, time constraints was the highest‐rated factor (M = 2.20) F(4, 180) = 3.44, p <.01. Comparisons of responses from clique members and isolates showed that clique members were more affected by time constraints (M = 2.70) than their isolated counterparts were (M = 1.99) t(35) = 2.457, p < .02. Between‐group comparisons were made with respect to gender because males had a higher dropout rate than females. Males rated the low personal priority factor (M = 2.20) higher than females (M = 1.23), t(37) = −4.22, p <.01. The article concludes with suggestions on ways to lessen the deterrents.

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