What's Andragogy

Educators who work with adults in public education centers are expected to know principles and methods, also referred to as “andragogy” in terminology, that have different qualities than principles of child learning. These principles and methods have 6 main components.

1.Need to Know: Adults need to know why they should learn before starting to learn something. Adults put a significant effort into researching the benefits of learning and the negative consequences of not learning before beginning the learning on their own (Tough, 1979).

2.The Learners’ Self-Concept: Adults, in accordance with the attitudes and behaviours expected from an adult and the self-concept they constructed in line with these expectations, take the responsibility of their own decisions and lives.When they reach this self-concept, they feel the profound psychological need to be seen and treated as people who have the ability to guide themselves (Knowles, Holton and Swenson, 2014).

3.Role of the Experience: Adults participate in a learning environment with more and different life experiences than children and adolescents. The most valuable resource in adult education is the pupil’s own experience. Experience is the alive textbook of the adult learner (Lindeman, 1969).

4.Readiness to Learn: Adults are ready to learn things they need to know and execute to effectively handle real life situations (Knowles, 1990).

5.Orientation to Learning: Children’s and adolescents’ learning is subject based, adults’ orientation to learning is problem and life based (Knowles, Holton, Swenson, 2014). Adults do not put effort into learning information that does not help with them solving the real-life problems.

6.Motivation: Adults, in addition to being responsive to external motivators such as better jobs, higher salaries, have a high potential to respond to internal motivator such as better job satisfaction, self-respect and a better life quality (Knowles,1990).

References

Knowles, M. (1990). Yetişkin Öğrenenler Göz Ardı Edilen Bir Kesim. [The adult learner: a neglected species]. (Serap Ayhan, Trans.). Ankara: Ankara University, Turkey.

Knowles, M., Holton, E., F., Swanson, R. A. (2014). Yetişkin Eğitimi [The Adult Learner: The Definitive Classic in Adult Education and Human Resource Development]. (Okhan Gündüz, Trans.). İstanbul: Kaknüs Press.

Lindeman E. C. (1969). Halk Eğitiminin Anlamı. [The Meaning of Adult Education]. Ankara: General Directorate of Public Education Press.

Tough, A. (1979). The Adult’s Learning Project. Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education