Foundations of Adult Education, Learning Characteristics, and Instructional Strategies

Abstract

The chapter examines the concept of adult education by analyzing its emergence as an academic discipline, and assesses the philosophical ideologies through which it finds expression. It provides a critical review of andragogy as a framework for examining its perception as a teaching method exclusively for adult learners. The review reveals that andragogical principles can be used to develop learning strategies to support instruction for both children and adult learners. The unchallenged assumption that pedagogy is exclusively reserved for teaching children is critically assessed. To demonstrate that adults do learn from instructional strategies that are supported by both pedagogical and andragogical principles, a case study is conducted. Adults learn from similar methods as much as children. It indicates that the distinction between pedagogy and andragogy as principles of learning is somewhat spurious. The chapter discussed strategies for using digital theories to facilitate instruction.