Adult Learning Theory and Andragogy Essay Example

adults returning to education has also gained a lot of momentum in the past two decades. It is however not surprising to find people still equating the term ‘education’ to children. What they do not understand is that education is a lifelong process, that continues all the way through to adulthood. This paper discusses the rationale behind the provision of education for adults.

Whenever a discussion concerning the nature of the society is brought up, it always has to be accompanied by theoretical perspectives that place the society under the social systems driven by continuous change. With the same regard, the educational institution is recognized as a recipient of pressures that try to exert the change, so that the pressures are either technological or economic in nature (Driscoll, 2005). The fact that these forces mold these individuals to a larger extent should be appreciated because they serve a greater purpose of helping individuals to discover their places in the society. Also as people’s knowledge gets outdated, they should strive to get more new knowledge if they want to remain at par with their culture. This is very true for in the case of technology, where individuals have to keep up with the constant evolutions to avoid being alienated and also to help them in adapting to the changes in the society. Continuing education has also become a reality for professionals who need regular updating to maintain their relevancy across the ever-growing population of people seeking employment.

Pedagogy to Andragogy

For many years, there had only been a single model of assumption concerning learning and the characteristics of learners, one which the educators infer their curricula as well as

teaching practices. This kind of model was known as pedagogy; which refers to the art of teaching children. The model, however, faced some major setbacks in the 19th Century when adult education was conceptualized mainly because education had earlier been interpreted as a vessel through which knowledge and skills could be transmitted. Teachers also found themselves in total disarray because pedagogy prescribed fact-filled lectures, quizzes, memorizations, and examinations; things that did not sit quite well with adult students. The model gave teachers a full responsibility of deciding on what would be learned, how it would be learned and also when certain subjects would be learned. The learners at this point had no choice but to submit to whatever instructions their teachers gave them. It was such kinds of discomfort that finally led to the adoption of the andragogy model.

The reasons for proposal of the andragogy or adult learning is because adults differ a lot from children, more so in the case of intellectual development. Also, adults in this case are characterized as voluntary learners unlike pedagogy where the children are considered a captive audience for the teachers. One of the factors influencing adult learners lies on whether the learning is being undertaken voluntarily or involuntarily. Literature also states that whenever adults are directed to take a certain subject, the two major factors that come into play are motivation and participation. The environment around learners in the andragogy model is mostly learner-centered, meaning that it majorly revolves around the self-motivation of the adult learners.

Andragogy

Before embarking on the andragogical model, it is important to understand the meaning of the word ‘adult,' more so from a psychological view.

According to Jarvis (1995), people become adults when they attain a self-concept of not only being responsible for their lives but also having a sense of self-direction. Before coming up with the model, Knowles had discovered through his work that there was a need to attend to the actual interests of the learners instead of only focusing on what the educator’s thought to be the learner’s interests. Knowles based his observations on five assumptions that he thought captured his concept of andragogy.

The first was the need for the learners to have an understanding of what exactly it was that they wanted before undertaking the learning process. This assumption is supported by Tough (1979), who through research came to learn that adults tend to invest more energy in uncovering the gains they have made in learning and also the negative consequences that would have befallen them if they chose not to learn it. The second assumption touched on the wealth of experience that adult learners would have accumulated throughout their childhood.

The past experiences that a person acquires all through to their adult life serves as a valuable resource in a classroom set-up. The third was that the adults were self-directed learners. This reasoning was based on the fact that adults were more problem-centered, unlike children who in most cases were subject centered. The adults also tend to devote more of their time and energy to causes they feel will be of benefit to them by helping them deal with problems or even confront tough situations in the future. There was also the assumption that adult learners have a self-concept that instills some sense of responsibility in

them. Knowles, also based his model on the assumption that adults are always ready to learn the things they need to know not only for purposes of being competitive but also so that they are in a position to cope effectively with situations in their everyday life.

Adult learners are a unique set of learners because of the ways in which they take responsibility for their learning (Illeris, 2009). They do not have to rely solely on the instructor to provide them resources, but they take the responsibility of finding the remote information and using it to learn new information, which in the end transforms into knowledge. Mature learners also have more control over the learning process since they are in a position of evaluating their progress on the individual goals with which they hope to attain. In fact, motivation; whether internal or external, can be described as a sole factor underlying all assumptions of the andragogical model. External motivators serve as a push factor that drives the learners in the realm of education again. They include the desire to solidify or better their jobs or even higher pay. Internal motivators, on the other hand, tend to propel learners towards progressing themselves as human beings. The shortcomings of the andragogy model lie on its practicality, more so on the fact that its implementation is not entirely restricted to the sphere of adult learning.

Self-directed learning

This is another model that was proposed by Mezirow and Knowles to help define the adult learners as being different from children. Though its framing at first was based on the assumption that the learners become more self-directed as they mature, it was

Tough (1971) who provided a conclusive description that it was more of a form of study. The goals of this model vary depending on the philosophical orientation of the write. For example, those who take the humanistic approach tend to place the final goal to be the development of the learner’s capacity to be self-directed. The other goal is that of fostering transformational learning; which this case is the learner’s critical reflection on the process.

The critical reflection in this regard is based on the understanding of the cultural, biographical and historical reasons for an individual’s wants, interests, and needs. The totality of such self-knowledge is a prerequisite for autonomy in self-directed learning. The adult educators, in this case, have the job of ensuring that they provide the necessary assistance to adult learners as a way of enhancing their capability to function as self-directed learners. Self-directed learning is also aimed at promoting the emancipatory learning as well as social action. Most critiques want to see this model being positioned more for social and political action rather than just individual learning. The benefits of the self-directed learning model are drawn from the fact that adult learning can now be undertaken through distance learning, that does not require the presence of certified instructors. This model is also practical and convenient hence more preferable that the andragogical model.

References

• Driscoll, M. P., & Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction.
• Illeris, K. (Ed.). (2009). Contemporary theories of learning: learning theorists... in their own words. Routledge.
• Jarvis, P. (1995). Adult and continuing education: Theory and practice. Psychology Press.
• Tough, A. M. (1971). Adults' learning projects: A fresh approach to
  

theory and practice in adult education. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education..