Adult Learning Theory: Andragogy

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When discussing the adult learning theory, andragogy is the best model for higher learning in adult education. Andragogy comes from the Greek word aner which means man and agogus which means leading (Knowles, 1980). The full translation means learning of adults. Andragogy was first used in the 1800s by a German teacher named Alex Kapp (Wang, 2011). It would not be until the late 1960s that a professor by the name of Malcolm S. Knowles would introduce andragogy to North America in a published article. The article shows that andragogy gives adults control over their learning and takes them out of the traditional teacher directed learning (Knowles, 1980). This adult theory is supported in three ways starting with the differences between andragogy and traditional learning, why adults favor andragogy, and how the andragogy program works better for adult education.

The traditional learning theory in use today in our educational system is called pedragogy. The term has become known as child learning after translation. Upon the founding of adult learning, the traditional pedragogy model has been less beneficial than the Andragogy model. During the initial setup of the system around the 1920s, adult learners rejected the strategies of learning like a child (Knowles, 1980). The main problem is that the pedragogy model suppress the feeling of independence and control. Within the andragogy model adults gain independence and control over what they learn. Its is known that adults are responsible enough to manage their lives so they are more than capable of managing their education (Marriam, 2001). These differences have led to the idea of an educational system in which the students starts in the pedragogy model and move to the...

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... education system today and andragogy is the best answer to providing adults with the level of satisfaction that they desire.

References

Knowles, M.S. (1980). The Modern Practice of Adult Education from Pedagogy to Andragogy.

Revised and updated. Cambridge: The Adult Education Company.

Merriam, S.B. (2001). Andragogy and Self-Directed Learning: Pillars of Adult Learning Theory. New Direction for Adult & Continuing Education, 89, 3-13.

Pew, S. (2007). Andragogy and Pedagogy as Foundational Theory for Student Motivation in Higher Education. Insight: A Journal Of Scholarly Teaching, 2, 14-25.

Reischmann, Jost (2004): Andragogy. History, Meaning, Context, Function. Retrieved from http://www.andragogy.net.

Wang, V. X. (2011). Pedagogical and Andragogical Teaching and Learning with Information Communication Technologies. IGI Global. Retrieved from

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