A comparative content analysis of Adult Education and the Community Education Journal from 1971 through 1980.

Abstract

The two journals selected were Adult Education and Community Education Journal. All signed articles published in each between 1971 and 1980 were read and classified according to best fit in fourteen content categories and ten methodological categories.

Findings revealed that both journals failed to adequately cover all categorical areas, with Adult Education mainly reporting "learning" articles and relying heavily on "Descriptive Research" while Community Education Journal devoted an overwhelming majority of its content to "Program Planning and Administration" articles of the "Personal Belief" and "New Program Concern" type.

Data were collected in Standard Inches, and these were converted to percentages within year groups, within periods of editor tenures, and across the entire time frame. These percentages were indicative of degree of emphasis given each category.

The researcher concluded that there was too little variety in both journals to keep readers sufficiently informed.

The purpose of this research was to examine the content of a representative journal in each of the fields of Adult Education and Community Education to ascertain trends, emphases, sophistication of research, institutional and regional affiliations of authors, and editor influence, and to compare the two journals in terms of these findings to note similarities and differences.