Pedagogy: Adult Education and Lifelong Learning
There is little doubt that the most dominant form of instruction in Europe and America is pedagogy, or what some people refer to as didactic, traditional, or teacher-directed approaches. A competing idea in terms of instructing adult learners, and one that gathered momentum within the past three decades, has been dubbed andragogy. The purpose of this resource piece is to provide the interested reader with some background information regarding both instructional forms.
The pedagogical model of instruction was originally developed in the monastic schools of Europe in the Middle Ages. Young boys were received into the monasteries and taught by monks according to a system of instruction that required these children to be obedient, faithful, and efficient servants of the church (Knowles, 1984). From this origin developed the tradition of pedagogy, which later spread to the secular schools of Europe and America and became and remains the dominant form of instruction.
Pedagogy is derived from the Greek word "paid," meaning child plus "agogos," meaning leading. Thus, pedagogy has been defined as the art and science of teaching children. In the pedagogical model, the teacher has full responsibility for making decisions about what will be learned, how it will be learned, when it will be learned, and if the material has been learned. Pedagogy, or teacher-directed instruction as it is commonly known, places the student in a submissive role requiring obedience to the teacher 's instructions. It is based on the assumption that learners need to know only what the teacher teaches them. The result is a teaching and learning situation that actively promotes dependency on the instructor (Knowles, 1984).
Up until very recently, the pedagogical model has been applied equally to the teaching of children and adults, and in a sense, is a contradiction in terms. The reason is that as adults mature, they become increasingly independent and responsible for their own actions. They
The pedagogical model of instruction was originally developed in the monastic schools of Europe in the Middle Ages. Young boys were received into the monasteries and taught by monks according to a system of instruction that required these children to be obedient, faithful, and efficient servants of the church (Knowles, 1984). From this origin developed the tradition of pedagogy, which later spread to the secular schools of Europe and America and became and remains the dominant form of instruction.
Pedagogy is derived from the Greek word "paid," meaning child plus "agogos," meaning leading. Thus, pedagogy has been defined as the art and science of teaching children. In the pedagogical model, the teacher has full responsibility for making decisions about what will be learned, how it will be learned, when it will be learned, and if the material has been learned. Pedagogy, or teacher-directed instruction as it is commonly known, places the student in a submissive role requiring obedience to the teacher 's instructions. It is based on the assumption that learners need to know only what the teacher teaches them. The result is a teaching and learning situation that actively promotes dependency on the instructor (Knowles, 1984).
Up until very recently, the pedagogical model has been applied equally to the teaching of children and adults, and in a sense, is a contradiction in terms. The reason is that as adults mature, they become increasingly independent and responsible for their own actions. They
References: Brookfield, S. (1984). The contribution of Eduard Lindeman to the development of theory and philosophy in adult education. Adult Education, 34, 185-196. Carlson, R Davenport, J., & Davenport, J. A. (1985). A chronology and analysis of the andragogy debate. Adult Education Quarterly, 35, 152-159. Hiemstra, R., & Sisco, B Knoll, J. H. (1981). Professionalization in adult education in the Federal Republic of Germany Democratic Republic. In A. N. Charters (Ed.), Comparing adult education worldwide (pp. 90-108). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Knowles, M Knowles, M. S. (1975). Self-directed learning. New York: Association Press. Knowles, M Knowles, M. (1984). The adult learner: A neglected species. Houston: Gulf Publishing. Knowles, M Knowles, M., & Associates. (1984). Andragogy in Action. Applying modern principles of adult education. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Savicevic, D.M Stewart, D. W. (1986a). Adult learning in America: Eduard lindeman and his agenda for lifelong learning. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing. Stewart, D Tough, A. (1978). Major learning efforts: Recent research and future directions. Adult Education, 28, 250-263. Welton, M Anderson, M. L.,& Lindeman, E. C. (1927). Education through experience. New York: Workers Education Bureau. In this work the authors provide an interpretative translation of literature describing the folk high school system in Germany Brockett, R. G., & Hiemstra, R. (1991). Self-direction in adult learning: Perspectives on theory, research, and practice. New York: Routledge. In this book the authors describe various aspects of self-direction in adult learning Brookfield, S. (1987). Learning Democracy: Eduard Lindeman on adult education and social change. Wolfeboro, New Hampshire: Croom Helm. Brookfield pulls together a number of Lindeman 's writings and adds some synthesizing chapters Carlson, R. A. (1979). The time of andragogy. Adult Education, 30, 53-57. He suggests that Elias ' attack on andragogy does not give much credence to the notions of or possibilities for adult self-directed learning Cranton, P. (1989). Planning instruction for adult learners. Toronto: Wall & Thompson. The author provides in Chapter One a description of what she refers to as some principles of adult learning Cross, K. P. (1981). Adults as learners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Cross presents her views on the strengths and weaknesses of the andragogical concept Darkenwald, G. D., & Merriam, S. B. (1982). Adult education: Foundations of practice. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers. The authors describe andragogy in some capacity several times throughout their book