The Theory of Androgogy: Assumptions, developments and trends
Androgogy is a word derived from Greek word “Andros” which means “adult man” and the word “ago” which means “I guide”. According to Zmeyov androgogy is “ a new field of human science sciences, one of the new sciences of education that is now in full evolution” (Zmeyov:1998). One has to question this assertion as the origins of androgogy has its roots in the 1950’s and now 65 years later its difficult to see this as a new science, however the importance of this science may have reached a new place of importance due to a rapid changing and competitive society in the 21st century.
Malcolm Knowles in the 1970’s popularised the androgogy as a concept through his book, The Modern Practice of Adult Education. The term was already in use in Europe and referred to both the practical aspects of adult teaching and learning and also referred to the academic study of adult education.
According to Malcolm Knowles andragogy is based on assumptions about the characteristics of adult learners that is different to the assumptions about child learners which presents the adult learner as autonomous, free and growth orientated (Knowles:1980).
These assumptions are:
• Adults are internally motivated and self-directed. As adults mature, they move from being a dependant personality to increased self-directedness where they will resist learning when they feel others are imposing information, ideas or actions on them (Fidishun:2000).
• Adults bring life experiences and knowledge to learning experiences. As adults mature they grow a vast base of experiences that could create a foundation of knowledge. People attach more meaning to learning they gain from experience than those they acquire ...
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...and values to be acquired by the learner (learning objectives), (2) how these objectives are to be accomplished (learning resources and strategies), (3) the target date for their accomplishment, (4) what evidence will be presented to demonstrate that the objectives have been accomplished, and (5) how this evidence will be judged or validated.
1.3.2 Constructivism as a theoretical framework
Professor George Hein from the Lesley College in Massachusetts, USA states that the term “constructivism” refers to the idea that learners construct knowledge for themselves as well as meaning as he or she learns. Constructing meaning is learning (Hein 1991).
According to Spigner-Littles and Anderson new information must be related to the learners “goal, experiences, previous knowledge, values, beliefs and socio-cultural factors where learners then construct their own schemas.
Pedagogy is the passive trends from transfer of information from teachers to students, Andragogy is about active information seeking by the learner. Pedagogy assumes that students comes into the classroom with no life experiences to build on. Andragogy assumes that students have prior experiences that they can apply to the learning process. In Pedagogy teaching structure is subject-oriented, In Andragogy learning is less instructed and more relevant, relevance to real life issues are usually more essential using Andragogy as compared to Pedagogy. Pedagogy assumes that students have few internal motivations to learn and must rely on rewards and punishments. Andragogy assumes students have more internal motivations to learn. In Pedagogy students are dependent on teachers, In Andragogy students are more independent and responsible for their own learning. Pedagogy is more authoritarian model and Andragogy is more collaboratively learning model. In summary Pedagogy is more suitable for children in most cases and Andragogy is more suitable for adults in most
Adults are self-motivated. They learn best by building on what they already know and when they are actively engaged (Lindeman, 2010). The approach of adult education revolves around non-vocational ideals and is based on experience rather than subjects (Lindeman, 2010). It helps adults gain knowledge about their powers, capacities, and limitations (Funnell et al, 2012).
Mirriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A
Knowles collected ideas about a theory of adult education from the end of World War 2, when he was introduced to the term “androgogy”. In 1966, Knowles meet Dusan Savicevic in Boston, U.S.A. Savicevic shared the term androgogy with Knowles and explained how it was used in the European context. .In 1967, Knowles made use of the term “Androgogy” to explain his theory of adult education. Then after consulting Merriam-Webster he converted the spelling of the term androgoy to andragogy and continued to make use of the term to explain his collection of ideas about adult learning. (Sopher 2003).
Hiemstra, R., & Sisco, B. (1990). Moving from pedagogy to andragogy. Foundations of Adult Education: Critical and Contemporary Issues, Retrieved from http://www-distance.syr.edu/literature.html
One theorist that is relevant to this study is Malcolm Knowles’s theory of adult learning. Though Malcom Knowles may not be the first one to introduce adult learning, he was the one that introduced andragogy in North America. (McEwen and Wills 2014). Andragogy means adult learning. The core concept of Knowles’s Adult learning theory is to create a learning environment or awareness for adults to understand why they learn .Knowles developed six main assumptions of adult learners. Those assumptions are the need to know, self- concept, experience, readiness to learn, orientation to learning and motivation. (McEwen and Wills, 2014)
Andragogy, made famous in the United States by Malcom Knowles in 1967, is the art and science of teaching adult learners as opposed to pedagogy which is the art and science of teaching but not distinguishing what age group (Rachel, 2002). Knowles implemented andragogy through the use of a learning contract, in which learning objectives, strategies and resources, achievement, and methods for evaluation are all determined by both the learner and instructor (2002).
Merriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Merriam, S., Caffarella, R., & Baumgartner, L. (2006). Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
The need to structure learning situations in which learners can develop new knowledge that are appropriate for their own future use.
Teaching the adult student is a great and unique responsibility; Andragogy preaches that teaching the adult learner takes a certain skill set and approach in order to be highly effective. The adult teaching theory and approach is based off the characteristics of the adult student. Andragogy views the adult learner as a very highly motivated student, a student ready and prepared to learn, and a student that comes to class with expectations of learning (Knowles 1984, pg12). With such a capable learner in the classroom the teacher must make the necessary adjustments. When teaching the adult learner, the teacher will have respect for their students and respect the fact that each student will have their own individual learning style. The teacher will also allow the adult student to experie...
The knowledge of adult education is limited. Further investigation is required to fully understand how adults acquire knowledge and learn most effectively. Based on my knowledge as program planner and educator I have developed some beliefs on adult learning. These beliefs are based on my observations in the classroom and through introspection as an adult learner as to how adults learn. I believe that adult learning behaviors are characteristically different from children. By understanding how adults learn we can better formulate learning programs. There should be a focus on how information is being shared and in what kind of environment.
Prior Experience- Adults have a lot of previous experiments which may help them understand situations better, or it may make them biased toward learning new material, ideals or strategies.
There are different theories or approaches of how an adult learn that have been discuss by educators. One of these theories is Andragogy, introduced by Alexander Kapp and developed later by Malcolm Knowles. According to Knowles andragogy is a learning theory that is developed on the specific need of adults, because they are self directed individuals who expect to take responsibility for decisions (Blondy, 2007, pp. 116-130). The adult learner needs to know why they need to learn a specific subject and they will learn it if the topic has an immediate value. Andragogy differs from pedagogy because in pedagogy learners bring no experience to the school and as Knowles stated, the motivation to learn is external, coming from parents and teachers (Blondy, 2007, pp. 116-130). Another approach to adult learning is multiple intelligences, theory developed by Dr. Howard Gardner in 1983. This theory argue that “ reason, intelligence, logic are not synonymous…” (Gardner, 1983) and stated that every person h...
Constructivism is a method that says students learn by building their schema by adding to their prior knowledge by the use of scaffolding (Rhinehart Neas). Because the students are basically teaching themselves new information, the teacher is there mainly for support and guidance for the students.