This section analyzes the assumptions, criticisms, and applications of three prominent adult learning models: Andragogy adult learning models, Andragogy experiential learning, and self-directed learning.

Andragogy: The science of teaching adults

In 1968, Malcolm Knowles introduced the “concept and philosophy of Andragogy” [2, p. 231], which focused on adults as learners. Defining an adult as an individual who takes responsibility for self and fills the roles society typically associated with adults, Knowles [3] argued that adults are simply different from children and proposed that adult education should be differentiated from child education. Knowles defined Andragogy as “the art and science of helping adults learn” and proposed a set of assumptions to serve as a model for designing adult education programs. Andragogy was the antithesis of “pedagogy”, the science of teaching children, which is the model that dominates American education today.

Assumptions

Knowles proposed the following assumptions about adult learners [2, pp. 64-68]:

Learners need to know. Adults need to know why learning is important before engaging in learning activities. This suggests that adult educators should do the following:

• Help learners recognize gaps between where they are and where they want to be.
• Understand how the material and study are relevant to helping them achieve goals.

Self-directed learning. Adults perceive themselves as being responsible for their own decisions and lives. A strong need to be seen as autonomous and self-directed causes adults to be resentful when they perceive others imposing their will or disrespecting their autonomy. This implies that adult educators should create an environment where adults can move from dependent to self-directed learners.

Prior experience of the learner. Adults enter learning situations with a quantity and quality of experience children do not have. This results in a broader range of individual differences in groups and requires greater emphasis on individualized learning strategies. Proposing that “the richest resources for learning reside in the adult learners themselves” [2, p. 66], Knowles emphasized that adult educators should do the following:

• Avoid the pedagogical approach of transmitting knowledge to passive learners.
• Encourage collaborative, experiential techniques like group discussions, simulations, problem-based learning, and case studies.

Readiness to learn. Adults become ready to learn when faced with life situations. This implies that educators should

• Align learning experiences with the developmental needs of the learner
• “Induce readiness” by exposing the learner to models that motivate the learner to develop proactive coping skills for addressing life challenges.

For example, career counseling can motivate the learner to engage in learning to prepare for the future.

Orientation to learning and problem-solving. Adult learning is oriented around solving problems and completing tasks. Adults are motivated to learn when they confront life situations. They will learn when they understand how the material or activity is relevant. This implies that educators should design learning programs around helping adult learners acquire knowledge and skills necessary for coping with life situations at work, home, and school.

Motivation to learn. Internal motivators like self-esteem and satisfaction tend to be more potent than external motivators like money and promotions. While personal growth is inherent in adults, factors like a negative self-concept, lack of resources, and time constraints can block progress. This implies that adult learning programs should foster a supportive environment that reduces barriers to success.

Critical perspectives on Andragogy

Critics argue that Andragogy is not a fully developed theory. Knowles’ assumptions seem to be more situational than universal [6]. Also, andragogical practices can be applied to children as well as adults. Following are summaries of each of these criticisms:

Incompleteness. Preempting criticisms about the incompleteness of the theory, Knowles, [2] himself pointed out that Andragogy is a “conceptual framework that serves as a basis for an emergent theory.” Andragogy is not a complete theory. He also said that Andragogy needs further research [2, p. 231].

Knowles proposed that researchers should establish a clear theoretical definition and a measurement tool to empirically demonstrate the validity of Andragogy. However, given the challenges of measuring interactively dynamic processes like environment, learners, and learning, empirical validation will likely remain elusive.

Universality. Rather than being universal, each assumption of Andragogy seemingly depends on situational factors. None seems to serve as a universal state of adulthood. For example, considering self-direction as a characteristic of adult learners, even the most mature adults may need hands-on remedial training if they lack experience in a given area. Also, Piagetian practitioners may quickly point out that even children engage in self-directed learning tasks [12].

Need to know. While some adults may engage in needs-based learning, they are also likely to engage in learning activities because they want to fulfill their wants or others. For example, the adult may just like to learn for the sake of learning, or may learn something to satisfy a partner’s wishes or requirements at work.

Readiness. Regarding readiness to learn, relating learning only to immediate and relevant needs can lead to a myopic view that misses vital context. A myopic perspective can limit learning to symptoms that do not address the complexity of a situation.

Experience. More experience does not necessarily translate into a better experience. Too much experience or bad experience can serve as learning barriers. Adults may need to unlearn habits, behaviors, and attitudes before they can experience new learning. For example, someone who holds racial prejudices against people of a certain race might have difficulty learning from and with people of that race until they overcome their prejudice.

Motivation. While some adults are intrinsically motivated in some situations, research generally finds that adults can meet learning goals and achieve satisfaction whether they are motivated by intrinsic or extrinsic factors [13]. For example, few adults are likely to lack intrinsic motivation to participate in driving school, sexual harassment training, and prison reform. However, effective learning can still occur in these mandated environments.

Likewise, adults can be intrinsically motivated but still unable to learn if they lack the ability or resources to learn. Further, while educators generally hold that motivation is an essential ingredient of learning, researchers at Université Paris X Nanterre were surprised when their research into motivation in adult education seemed to point to a negative correlation between initial motivation and performance. “The very few links established were mostly negative as if the more motivated one was at the onset of training, the worse training results tended to be” [14]. This suggests that the motivations for starting an adult learning program are less important than the motivations an adult discovers in the pursuit of learning.

Finally, diminishing external motivators may be shortsighted. When asked their primary motivation for returning to school, adult management students in introductory courses that I have taught almost unanimously cite extrinsic factors. For example, money and career advancement. Concluding that extrinsic factors, like money, are not important motivators is a “misconception,” according to Jex [15]. “To the contrary, few people would work for no salary” or other extrinsic motivators. Both intrinsic and extrinsic factors seem to dynamically interact to motivate the individual learner.

Applicability to children. In response to criticisms that andrological assumptions could also apply to children, Knowles [2] adjusted Andragogy from a model to differentiate adult learning from child learning to practice on a continuum between teacher-directed and self-directed learning depending on the situation. In other words, Andragogy became situation-specific, not unique to adults [6].

For example, a child who is naturally curious about bees may become entirely self-directed in exploring learning outside of school. The child may even be able to direct the learning of classmates when the subject arises in school. On the other end, experienced adults who enter a university-level statistics course after a 20-year absence from school may need careful guidance to learn math basics before diving into an advanced statistics course.

Radical perspectives. More recent criticisms of Andragogy come from the radical adult education perspective. Arguments from a radical perspective align with individualist versus collectivist debates. Looking through critical, feminist, and Africentric philosophical lenses, Sandlin [16] identified five criticisms of Andragogy:

• It is value-neutral and apolitical.
• As a value-neutral framework, it sees all people as equals and does not differentiate among race, class, and culture.
• Does not promote alternative ways of learning like those under the radical or progressive education perspectives.
• Puts individual development above societal development, supporting established “systems of privilege and oppression” [16, p. 28].
• Supports the status quo by centering learning activities on the needs of the individual learners rather than on the collective needs.

Extrapolating the positions from the criticisms seems to be asserting that adult education programs should do the following:

• Impose values and politics of the institution or educator on the learner.
• Evaluate and judge learners and situations by the race, class, and culture of the participants.
• Suppress the interests of the individual for the interests of the group.
• Work to tear down existing societal structures that are not aligned with the objectives of the educators, institutions, or special interest groups.

A helpful rubric

Criticisms aside, Merriam et al [6] asserted that the assumptions of Andragogy provide adult educators with “a helpful rubric for better understanding adults as learners.” Also, Andragogy offers best practices for effectively developing learners of all ages.

Andragogy offers a set of assumptions that differentiate adult learners from child learners. This laid a foundation for emerging adult education programs in the United States in the latter part of the 20th century. However, under the scrutiny of critical perspectives and the challenges of validating interactively dynamic processes, the assumptions of Andragogy seem to be more situational than prescriptive.

Like all other developmental philosophies, Andragogy is by no means the definitive framework for adult education. Still, it does seem to provide a set of tools for facilitating adult learners toward autonomy in perpetual learning. Also, it offers best practices for actively engaging capable learners of all ages in self-directed learning.