Page 186 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Training Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 186
This then means the adult education process foresees adults as ac-
tively engaged in all stages of planning, performing and evaluating
the educational experience. The relationship between the learner
and teacher in such a setting is equivalent and interactive teach-
ing methods such as group work, group discussions, applied prob-
lem-based sessions, project work, hands-on activities and learner
guidance and mentoring are compulsory. Since the main problem
of potential ESL students is often feelings of alienation from teach-
ers and schools, disconnectedness, low learning motivation, and
a search for the purpose and meaning of life, it is necessary for
schools to start responding to their learning needs and the learn-
er-based approach provides one of the ways to address their needs.
Teachers in mainstream education thus need to be empowered in
andragogical knowledge and approaches to learning, its origins, as-
sumptions, practical implications, methods and advantages in or-
der to successfully address different students’ educational needs
and help reduce ESL already in mainstream education. It is also
important to keep in mind that, if expect teachers to incorporate
learner-centred approaches into their work, they themselves need
to be taught in the same way we want them to teach.
Key words: andragogy, learner-centred approach, mainstream edu-
cation, ESL prevention
Introduction
In the last century, two major philosophies emerged in field of education,
i.e. instructivism, and constructivism. In the instructivist approach, which
has its roots in behaviourism, the educator sets performance goals and de-
velops a systematic approach to the learning content that is independent
of the learner. On the contrary, the constructivist philosophy, which orig-
inates from cognitive psychology and humanistic approaches, places the
emphasis on the learner and the learner’s interpretations of educational
processes and outcomes through self-directed explorations (Cartor, 1990;
Holton, Swanson, & Naquin, 2001; Merriam & Caffarella, 1999). In other
words, we are talking about a teacher- and learner-centred educational ap-
proach (Taylor & Kroth, 2009). One of the learner-centred approaches we
wish to focus on in this article is andragogy.
Andragogy (Greek: man (adult)-leading) is grounded in human-
istic (conceptions of Maslow’s and Rogers’ self-actualisation of the
186
tively engaged in all stages of planning, performing and evaluating
the educational experience. The relationship between the learner
and teacher in such a setting is equivalent and interactive teach-
ing methods such as group work, group discussions, applied prob-
lem-based sessions, project work, hands-on activities and learner
guidance and mentoring are compulsory. Since the main problem
of potential ESL students is often feelings of alienation from teach-
ers and schools, disconnectedness, low learning motivation, and
a search for the purpose and meaning of life, it is necessary for
schools to start responding to their learning needs and the learn-
er-based approach provides one of the ways to address their needs.
Teachers in mainstream education thus need to be empowered in
andragogical knowledge and approaches to learning, its origins, as-
sumptions, practical implications, methods and advantages in or-
der to successfully address different students’ educational needs
and help reduce ESL already in mainstream education. It is also
important to keep in mind that, if expect teachers to incorporate
learner-centred approaches into their work, they themselves need
to be taught in the same way we want them to teach.
Key words: andragogy, learner-centred approach, mainstream edu-
cation, ESL prevention
Introduction
In the last century, two major philosophies emerged in field of education,
i.e. instructivism, and constructivism. In the instructivist approach, which
has its roots in behaviourism, the educator sets performance goals and de-
velops a systematic approach to the learning content that is independent
of the learner. On the contrary, the constructivist philosophy, which orig-
inates from cognitive psychology and humanistic approaches, places the
emphasis on the learner and the learner’s interpretations of educational
processes and outcomes through self-directed explorations (Cartor, 1990;
Holton, Swanson, & Naquin, 2001; Merriam & Caffarella, 1999). In other
words, we are talking about a teacher- and learner-centred educational ap-
proach (Taylor & Kroth, 2009). One of the learner-centred approaches we
wish to focus on in this article is andragogy.
Andragogy (Greek: man (adult)-leading) is grounded in human-
istic (conceptions of Maslow’s and Rogers’ self-actualisation of the
186
