Andragogy

: An emerging technology for adult learning. Knowles, Malcolm. (1996). In Richard Edwards, Ann Hanson, & Peter Raggatt (Eds.), Boundaries of adult learning (pp. 82-98). This edited chapter originally appeared in M. Tight (Ed.), Adult learning and education, London: Croom Helm, 1983. Original first published in 1970.

Knowles proposed the term andragogy to better formulate technology for adult education as opposed to pedagogy. He argued pedagogy means, specifically, the art and science of teaching children; andragogy means adult learning. At the heart of angragogy, he contented, lies the principle of ego-involvement. He put it:

"The important implication for adult education practice of the fact that learning is an internal process is that those methods and techniques which involve the individual most deeply in self-directed inquiry will produce the greatest learning. This principle of ego-involvement lies at the heart of the adult educator's art. In fact, the main thrust of modern adult educational technology is in the direction of inventing techniques for involving adults in ever deeper processes of self-diagnosis of their own needs for continued learning, in formulating their own objectives for learning, in sharing responsibility for designing and carrying out their learning activities, and in evaluating their progress toward their objectives." (p. 96)

Centered on the view on individuals as autonomous and self-directed entities (Ann Hanson, 1996), Knowles proposed four assumptions.

1. Self-concept=self-directivity
Adults see themselves as a self-directing producer or doer. Thus, adult should be treated with respect, be involved in mutual inquiry with the teacher, and are given responsibility of their learning. To do so, Knowles proposed students' participation in planning their learning. He stated:

"Every individual tends to feel committed to a decision (or an activity) to the extent that he has participated in making it (or planning it). Teachers of adults who do all the planning for their students, who come into the classroom and impose preplanned activities on them, typically experience apathy, resentment, and probably withdrawal. For this imposition of the will of the teacher is incongruent with the adults' self-concept of self-directivity. [To an extent, it is true to education for children.]
Accordingly, a basic element in the technology of andragogy is the involvement of the learners in the process of planning their own learning, with the teacher serving as a procedural guide and content resource." (p. 87)

Thus, Knowles wrote, "The teacher's role is redefined as that of a procedural technician, resource person, and co-inquirer; he is more a catalyst than an instructor, more a guide than a wizard." (p. 88) [It is not irrelevant in participatory environment. Yet, the teacher's role should not be diminished to a catalyst. As Gramsci mentioned, teachers as organic intellectuals should be directive. In a sense, they cannot be indirective, as they bring their own socioeconomic and cultural background.]

2. Experience
Emphasizing adults' experience, Knowles stated, "An adult is [sic] what he has done [sic]" (p. 89). According to Knowles, adults are distinct from children in that they have more and different kinds of experience; adult education, therefore, should respect their experience and built upon it. In this regard, he wrote: "Adults have acquired a larger number of fixed habits and patterns of thought, and therefore tend to be less open-minded" (p. 90). [I do not agree on this]

Therefore, Knowles emphasized participatory experiential techniques, writing: "Indeed, 'participation' and 'ego-involvement' are boldfaced words in the lexicon of the adult education, with the assumption often being made that the more active the learner's role in the process, the more he is probably learning." (p. 90)

3. Adults' readiness to learn is parallel to their social roles.

4. Adults' orientation toward learning is more on problem-centeredness.

Knowles defined as the central dynamic of learning the learner's experience of interacting between him or her as an individual and the environment. Thus, the critical function of the teacher is "to create a rich environment from which students can extract learning and then to guide their interaction with it so as to maximize their learning from it" (p. 96)

[Does Knowles indicate any concrete adults or general adults? Do all the adults involve in their learning in the same way? Here, there is only abstract adults, which is critical oversight.]