Page 191 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Training Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 191
andragogical knowledge and skills for teachers in mainstream education ...
informally arranged rooms), diagnosis of the learner’s needs (involvement
of adult learners in a process of self-diagnosis of their learning needs), in-
volvement of learners in the process of planning their learning, conduct-
ing learning experience and treating the learning-teaching transaction as
the mutual responsibility of the learner and educator, and appropriate eval-
uation of learning (the shift from evaluation to self-evaluation) (Cercone,
2008; Holton, Swanson, & Naquin, 2001).
The learner’s experience. The third assumption emphasises the role of
adults’ life experiences in the educational process. Adults have a large rep-
ertoire of experience, which should be treated as a rich resource for learn-
ing. This assumption derives from cognitive learning theory where the
knowledge construction process involves the individual’s need to attach
new knowledge to already existing internal knowledge structures. At this
stage, it is important for the educator to be aware of the value of the experi-
ence and prior knowledge of the participants. Adults want to use what they
know and wish to be acknowledged for having that knowledge. To support
this, educators should encourage learners to learn how to learn from their
experience (recognise and free their minds from preconceptions), encour-
age experiential learning techniques and give emphasis to the practical ap-
plication of newly gained knowledge (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999).
Readiness to learn. The fourth assumption of andragogy refers to the
adult’s readiness concerning their current developmental tasks and so-
cial roles. Merriam (2001) stated that the learning needs of adults are often
closely related to their social roles. Adults feel ready to learn when they feel
a need to cope with a certain developmental task (e.g. finding a job, raising
children etc.). In this way, educators should be aware of considering this as-
pect when planning the curriculum which must be timed with the develop-
mental tasks of adults and their current social roles. It is also beneficial to
combine adults with similar social roles in the educational setting so they
can also share their life experience and learn from each other.
Problem-centred learning. The fifth assumption is closely associated
to the previous one in that it considers the change in time perspective as
people mature from the future application of knowledge to the immedi-
acy of application. This means that adult learning is problem-centred and
less subject-centred (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999). Accordingly, educators
should pay attention to this when organising the educational curriculum:
it should acknowledge a problem-centred orientation and design learning
experience in this manner.
191
informally arranged rooms), diagnosis of the learner’s needs (involvement
of adult learners in a process of self-diagnosis of their learning needs), in-
volvement of learners in the process of planning their learning, conduct-
ing learning experience and treating the learning-teaching transaction as
the mutual responsibility of the learner and educator, and appropriate eval-
uation of learning (the shift from evaluation to self-evaluation) (Cercone,
2008; Holton, Swanson, & Naquin, 2001).
The learner’s experience. The third assumption emphasises the role of
adults’ life experiences in the educational process. Adults have a large rep-
ertoire of experience, which should be treated as a rich resource for learn-
ing. This assumption derives from cognitive learning theory where the
knowledge construction process involves the individual’s need to attach
new knowledge to already existing internal knowledge structures. At this
stage, it is important for the educator to be aware of the value of the experi-
ence and prior knowledge of the participants. Adults want to use what they
know and wish to be acknowledged for having that knowledge. To support
this, educators should encourage learners to learn how to learn from their
experience (recognise and free their minds from preconceptions), encour-
age experiential learning techniques and give emphasis to the practical ap-
plication of newly gained knowledge (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999).
Readiness to learn. The fourth assumption of andragogy refers to the
adult’s readiness concerning their current developmental tasks and so-
cial roles. Merriam (2001) stated that the learning needs of adults are often
closely related to their social roles. Adults feel ready to learn when they feel
a need to cope with a certain developmental task (e.g. finding a job, raising
children etc.). In this way, educators should be aware of considering this as-
pect when planning the curriculum which must be timed with the develop-
mental tasks of adults and their current social roles. It is also beneficial to
combine adults with similar social roles in the educational setting so they
can also share their life experience and learn from each other.
Problem-centred learning. The fifth assumption is closely associated
to the previous one in that it considers the change in time perspective as
people mature from the future application of knowledge to the immedi-
acy of application. This means that adult learning is problem-centred and
less subject-centred (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999). Accordingly, educators
should pay attention to this when organising the educational curriculum:
it should acknowledge a problem-centred orientation and design learning
experience in this manner.
191
