Theory, Research, and Definition of Andragogy

Rosenstock posed andragogy as a necessity in which the past, present, and future merges with theory in becoming practical deeds. Knowles presents his first published iteration of andragogy as being a major technological breakthrough in the field of adult education. Hadley developed a 60-item questionnaire assessing an adult educator's andragogical and pedagogical orientation. Henschke developed an andragogical inventory that contained 45 items within seven factors, found congruence with self-directed learning, and was Cronbach-Alpha validated for reliability three times with an almost perfect ‘bell-shaped' measurement for an andragogical facilitator. Poggeler listed 10 trends he hopes will be helpful for future development of European andragogy and perhaps may apply to the USA. Rachal identified seven criteria for implementing empirical studies of andragogy. Biao found after 25 years of research that andragogical programs/courses need to be staffed by people academically prepared and competent in andragogy. This chapter explores all of this.