Andragogy: Teaching adults
ADULTS LEARN DIFFERENTLY than young people. But more importantly, their reasons for learning are very different. Andragogy (Knowles, 1984), the theory of adult learning, attempts to explain why adults learn differently than other types of learners.
Who is and who is not an adult learner?
Adult learners are volunteers. There is no compulsion involved when teaching adults and therefore motivation is not usually a problem. Adults tend to seek out learning opportunities. Often life changes, such as marriage, divorce, a job change, termination, retirement or a geographical change, serve as the motivation for the adult to seek new learning opportunities (Cross,1981).
Adults often seek out learning opportunities in order to cope with life changes. They usually want to learn something that they can use to better their position or make a change for the better. They are not always interested in knowledge for it's own sake. Learning is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
These adults bring a wealth of information and experiences to the learning situation. They generally want to be treated as equals who are free to direct themselves in the education process (Zemke,1984).
What are the differences between andragogy and pedagogy?