Andragogical precepts provide rich opportunities for building cultural bridges, particularly among people in times of strife. Encouraging adults to share their experiences and insights in a learning community of unconditional positive regard can build understanding, hope, and peace among people experiencing conflict and marginalization. An…

This article aims to continue the conversation initiated by Denis O'Sullivan in the 2008 issue of the "Adult Learner". O'Sullivan raises several important points about the nature of Irish adult education and the need to develop a rigorous theoretical basis for the authors' work. The authors wish to engage with O'Sullivan's observations…

The author provides a brief overview of the history and assumptions of andragogy. He reviews the literature base detailing the nature of the andragogy debate and advances a revised definition of andragogy aimed at moving adult education from the morass to a higher conceptual ground. (CH)

A discussion of the concept of andragogy argues that closer examination of it could contribute to research and development of learning design in distance education and to the convergence of classroom and distance instruction. Original meanings are explored and related to learner centeredness. Related issues and design/facilitation guidelines are…

Suggests that andragogy is ill defined and the nature of sociological theory in nursing education is too undeveloped to produce a "knowledgeable doer," a qualitatively different kind of nurse practitioner. Proposes a critical health curriculum using student-centered learning and critical theory. (SK)

Kurt Lewin's epigrammatic paradox is particularly true for action learning. Marquardt and Waddill (2004), and previously Yorks O'Neil and Marsick (1999) have approached the issue of the relationship between theory and action learning by looking at a variety of theories which they have placed in "schools". This provides an interesting analysis, but…

There is a need for instructional models in English as a second language (ESL) and adult basic education (ABE). However, before adequate models can be built, a unifying theory of learning for this unique instructional category must be advanced. Existing learning theories, particularly for adult learners, are helpful but need to be refined to fit…

Whole language, a theory of language instruction that was developed primarily in terms of helping children learn to read, has now been extended to middle- and secondary-school levels. Andragogy, the learning of adults, is a specific theory of adult education, conceived in contradistinction to pedagogy, the teaching of children. When these two…

This book seeks to locate the essence of adult experiential learning, a central phenomenon in adult education. Chapter 1, The Theme of Adult Experiential Learning in Research, addresses theory building in adult education and developing a deeper understanding of adult experiential learning. Chapter 2, Theoretical Underpinnings and Methodology,…

Educational needs of an adult as an individual and a social being form the bases of every educational activity and are an important issue of every discussion about adult education. If human needs are understood as the motivation, the specific energy that turns into striving to achieve an aim, or an expression of a lack, then it follows that…

This book introduces newcomers to the concept of facilitation, and it presents a critical analysis of established and current theory on facilitation for existing practitioners. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) emergence of the field of facilitation; (2) development of facilitation in management; (3) development of facilitation in…

One of the main problems facing andragogy is that its systematic nature is more the result of other theoretical deliberations than those of its own. Until the mid-19th century, andragogy founded its development mainly on prevailing communal, social, economic, political, and cultural conditions in various countries. In the 1950s, andragogy turned…

Learning in Retirement (LIR) programs are formal programs predicated on the principle that adult learners are capable of developing, designing, and delivering high-quality instructional programs. Issues associated with teaching computer use to senior citizens were examined in a case study of a small private college's establishment of an LIR…

A practitioner's model of the processes of learning and knowing was developed through a review of global, societal, individual, and personal perspectives on learning. The first phase of the model's development consisted of using a method of exploration based on determining who, what, where, when, why, and how to investigate the following 10…

This document contains three papers on transfer of training and human resources. "The Effect of Organizational Support, Management Support, and Peer Support on Transfer of Training" (Susan E. Cromwell, Judith A. Kolb) reports on a longitudinal study of work environment factors that affect transfer of training in a university supervisory…