Contextual and individual factors and the use of influencing tactics in adult eduction program planning

Abstract

Understanding the political nature of adult education program planning is important for practitioners and researchers. This multivariate study clarified the relationships between contextual factors (nature of the power relationship and degree of situational conflict), individual planner's characteristics (perceived problem solving effectiveness, years of experience program planning), and the use of different power and influencing tactics in adult education program planning. Based on theoretical models specified by Cervero and Wilson (1994) and later Yang (1996), the Problem Solving Inventory (Heppner, 1988) and the Power and Influencing Tactics Scale (Yang, 1996) provided instrumentation.A sample of 245 graduate students and faculty in Adult and/or Continuing Education programs completed the informed consent and all the self-report study instruments. Participants were middle-aged (M = 40.84), female (65.1%), and white (82.0%). Most held master's degrees (50.8%) or bachelor's degrees (41.1%) and worked in a public organization (57.1%) of moderate size. Most participants reported low conflict situations and strong perceived problem solving ability.Two significant canonical correlations were initially identified, though only the first held practical importance. In the first canonical correlation (Rc = 0.524; Rc ² = 0.275; p>0.01), high conflict was the singular meaningful predictor variable and there were several moderately strong criterion variables: high counteracting, low reasoning, and low consulting. This canonical correlation was named "When reasoning and consulting fail: counteracting in the face of conflict." Furthermore, in consensual planning situations, reasoning and consulting were favored, while counteracting was not. Three of the hypotheses that were generated to specifically test different uses of influencing tactics under different individual and contextual conditions were partially accepted. Being an early attempt to characterize complex constructs quantitatively, this study suggests that further work is needed to identify and measure the factors that are most critical. Future qualitative research should clarify the nature of power and conflict, and focus on describing the actual use of different influencing tactics in the field. Quantitative research should focus on reliability of instruments and theoretical model clarification with a broader range of adult education program planners.

Department of Educational Leadership

Thesis (D. Ed.)