Andragogy
Encyclopedia
Andragogy consists of learning strategies focused on adults. It is often interpreted as the process of engaging adult learner
s with the structure of learning experience. The term ‘andragogy’ has been used in different times and countries with various connotations. Nowadays there exist mainly three understandings:
1. In many countries there is a growing conception of ‘andragogy’ as the scholarly approach to the learning of adults. In this connotation andragogy is the science of understanding (= theory) and supporting (= practice) lifelong and lifewide education of adults.
2. Especially in the USA, ‘andragogy’ in the tradition of Malcolm Knowles
, labels a specific theoretical and practical approach, based on a humanistic conception of self-directed and autonomous learners and teachers as facilitators of learning.
3. Widely, an unclear use of andragogy can be found, with its meaning changing (even in the same publication) from ‘adult education practice’ or ‘desirable values’ or ‘specific teaching methods,’ to ‘reflections’ or ‘academic discipline’ and/or ‘opposite to childish pedagogy’, claiming to be ‘something better’ than just ‘Adult Education’.
Originally used by Alexander Kapp
(a German educator) in 1833, andragogy was developed into a theory of adult education
by the American
educator Malcolm Knowles
.
Knowles asserted that andragogy (Greek: "man-leading") should be distinguished from the more commonly used pedagogy
(Greek: "child-leading").
Knowles' theory can be stated with six assumptions related to motivation
of adult learning:
The term has been used by some to allow discussion of contrast between self-directed and 'taught' education.
On this formal level ‘above practice’ and specific approaches, the term andragogy could be used relating to all types of theories, for reflection, analysis, training, in person-oriented programs as well as human resource development.
| title=The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development |edition=6th
| publisher=Elsevier
| location=Burlington, MA
| url=http://books.google.com/books?id=J6qGsHBj7nQC
}}} |isbn=0695814729
| title=The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy
|location=Wilton, Connecticut
|publisher=Association Press
}} |edition=3rd
| title=Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide
| publisher=Jossey-Bass | location=San Francisco
}}
Adult learner
Adult learner or mature learner is a term used to describe any person socially accepted as an adult who is in a learning process, whether it is formal education, informal learning, or corporate-sponsored learning.Adult learners are considered distinct from child learners due...
s with the structure of learning experience. The term ‘andragogy’ has been used in different times and countries with various connotations. Nowadays there exist mainly three understandings:
1. In many countries there is a growing conception of ‘andragogy’ as the scholarly approach to the learning of adults. In this connotation andragogy is the science of understanding (= theory) and supporting (= practice) lifelong and lifewide education of adults.
2. Especially in the USA, ‘andragogy’ in the tradition of Malcolm Knowles
Malcolm Knowles
Malcolm Shepherd Knowles was an American Adult Educator, famous for the adoption of the theory of Andragogy—initially a term coined by the German teacher Alexander Kapp...
, labels a specific theoretical and practical approach, based on a humanistic conception of self-directed and autonomous learners and teachers as facilitators of learning.
3. Widely, an unclear use of andragogy can be found, with its meaning changing (even in the same publication) from ‘adult education practice’ or ‘desirable values’ or ‘specific teaching methods,’ to ‘reflections’ or ‘academic discipline’ and/or ‘opposite to childish pedagogy’, claiming to be ‘something better’ than just ‘Adult Education’.
Originally used by Alexander Kapp
Alexander Kapp
Alexander Kapp in 1833, originally introduced the term andragogy. Andragogy consists of learning strategies focused on adults. It is often interpreted as the process of engaging adult learners in the structure of the learning experience. Later, the term andragogy developed into a theory of adult...
(a German educator) in 1833, andragogy was developed into a theory of adult education
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
by the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
educator Malcolm Knowles
Malcolm Knowles
Malcolm Shepherd Knowles was an American Adult Educator, famous for the adoption of the theory of Andragogy—initially a term coined by the German teacher Alexander Kapp...
.
Knowles asserted that andragogy (Greek: "man-leading") should be distinguished from the more commonly used pedagogy
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
(Greek: "child-leading").
Knowles' theory can be stated with six assumptions related to motivation
Motivation
Motivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation...
of adult learning:
- Adults need to know the reason for learning something (Need to Know)
- ExperienceExperienceExperience as a general concept comprises knowledge of or skill in or observation of some thing or some event gained through involvement in or exposure to that thing or event....
(including errorErrorThe word error entails different meanings and usages relative to how it is conceptually applied. The concrete meaning of the Latin word "error" is "wandering" or "straying". Unlike an illusion, an error or a mistake can sometimes be dispelled through knowledge...
) provides the basis for learning activities (Foundation). - Adults need to be responsible for their decisions on education; involvement in the planningPlanningPlanning in organizations and public policy is both the organizational process of creating and maintaining a plan; and the psychological process of thinking about the activities required to create a desired goal on some scale. As such, it is a fundamental property of intelligent behavior...
and evaluationEvaluationEvaluation is systematic determination of merit, worth, and significance of something or someone using criteria against a set of standards.Evaluation often is used to characterize and appraise subjects of interest in a wide range of human enterprises, including the arts, criminal justice,...
of their instruction (Self-concept). - Adults are most interested in learning subjects having immediate relevanceRelevance-Introduction:The concept of relevance is studied in many different fields, including cognitive sciences, logic and library and information science. Most fundamentally, however, it is studied in epistemology...
to their work and/or personal lives (Readiness). - Adult learning is problemProblemA problem is an obstacle, impediment, difficulty or challenge, or any situation that invites resolution; the resolution of which is recognized as a solution or contribution toward a known purpose or goal...
-centered rather than content-oriented (Orientation). - Adults respond better to internal versus external motivators (Motivation).
The term has been used by some to allow discussion of contrast between self-directed and 'taught' education.
Diversity and generalization
Adults learners are a very diverse group and draw upon a variety of experiences. Graduate students in medicine or physics may respond differently from executive MBA students or adults returning to complete their high school diplomas. Knowles' theory may not hold for many groups of adult students.Critique
Knowles himself changed his position on whether andragogy really applied only to adults and came to believe that "pedagogy-andragogy represents a continuum ranging from teacher-directed to student-directed learning and that both approaches are appropriate with children and adults, depending on the situation."The European development: towards Professionalisation
In most countries of Europe the Knowles-discussion played no or at best a marginal role. ‘Andragogy’ was, from 1970 on, connected with the in existence coming academic and professional institutions, publications, programs, triggered by a similar growth of adult education in practice and theory as in the USA. ‘Andragogy’ functioned here as a header for (places of) systematic reflections, parallel to other academic headers like ‘biology’, ‘medicine’, ‘physics’. Examples of this use of andragogy are the Yugoslavian (scholarly) journal for adult education, named ‘Andragogija’ in 1969; and the ‘Yugoslavian Society for Andragogy’; at Palacky University in Olomouc (Czech republic) in 1990 the “Katedra sociologie a andragogiky” was established. Also Prague University has a ‘Katedra Andragogiky’; in 1993, Slovenia’s ‘Andragoski Center Republike Slovenije’ was founded with the journal ‘Andragoska Spoznanja’; in 1995, Bamberg University (Germany) named a ‘Lehrstuhl Andragogik’; the Internet address of the Estonian adult education society is ‘andras.ee’.On this formal level ‘above practice’ and specific approaches, the term andragogy could be used relating to all types of theories, for reflection, analysis, training, in person-oriented programs as well as human resource development.
Andragogy: Academic discipline
The field of adult education worldwide went in the last decades through a process of growth and differentiation, in which a scholarly, scientific approach emerged. An academic discipline with university programs, professors, students, focusing on the education of adults, exists today in many countries (CPAE in the USA, Kommission Erwachsenenbildung, Germany). And a new type of ‘adult educators’ was born, which was not qualified by missions and visions, but by academic studies: reflection, critique, analysis, historical knowledge qualifies this new type of academic professionals. Dusan Savicevic, who provided Knowles with the term andragogy, explicitly claim ‘andragogy as a discipline, the subject of which is the study of education and learning of adults in all its forms of expression’ (Savicevic, 1999, p. 97, similarly Henschke, 2003, Reischmann, 2003).Further reading
|isbn=0750678372| title=The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development |edition=6th
| publisher=Elsevier
Elsevier
Elsevier is a publishing company which publishes medical and scientific literature. It is a part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has operations in the United Kingdom, USA and elsewhere....
| location=Burlington, MA
| url=http://books.google.com/books?id=J6qGsHBj7nQC
}}} |isbn=0695814729
| title=The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy
|location=Wilton, Connecticut
Wilton, Connecticut
Wilton is a town nestled in the Norwalk River Valley in southwestern Connecticut in the United States. It is located in Fairfield County. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 18,062. In 2007, it was voted as one of CNN Money's "Best Places to Live" in the United States.Located along...
|publisher=Association Press
}} |edition=3rd
| title=Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide
| publisher=Jossey-Bass | location=San Francisco
}}
- Reischmann, Jost (2005): Andragogy. In: English, Leona (ed): International Encyclopedia of Adult Education. London: Palgrave Macmillan. S. 58-63. (.pdf-download)
- Smith, M. K. (1996; 1999) 'Andragogy', in the Encyclopaedia of Informal Education.
External links
- Moving From Pedagogy To Andragogy
- Jost Reischmann: Andragogy.net
- John Henschke: Andragogy Website
- American Society of Training and Development
- National Association of State Judicial Educators
See also
- Cooperative Education: Andragogy
- Adult educationAdult educationAdult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
- Andragogical learning theoryAndragogical learning theoryAndragogical learning theoryBeginning in the 1950s Malcolm Knowles developed a new theory - which he called "Andragogy" - in the context of adult learners. This is often contrasted with the child's learning methods - pedagogical learning....
- The Learning PlanLearning PlanA Learning Plan is a document that is used to plan learning, usually over an extended period of time....
and the ePortfolio are emerging as important tools that adults can use to manage their own learning. - MotivationMotivationMotivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation...
- Situated learningSituated learningSituated learning was first proposed by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger as a model of learning in a Community of practice. At its simplest, situated learning is learning that takes place in the same context in which it is applied...
a model of learning often associated with adult learners. - HeutagogyHeutagogyIn education, heutagogy, a concept coined by Stewart Hase of Southern Cross University in Australia, is the study of self-determined learning. The notion is an expansion and reinterpretation of andragogy, and it is possible to mistake it for the same...