Adult Learning

Malcolm Knowles ¹  is viewed as one of the leading authorities on adult learning.

Contents

• Aspects of adult learners
• Conditions for effective learning

Aspects of adult learners

Malcolm Knowles describes six aspects of adult learners:

1. The need to know. Adults need to know why they need to learn something before they undertake to learn it.

2. The learner's self-concept. Adults develop a deep psychological need to be seen by others and treated by others as being capable of self direction.

3. The role of the learner's experience. For many kinds of learning, the richest resources for learning come from the adult learners themselves.

4. Readiness to learn.  Adults become ready to learn those things they need to know and are able to do to cope effectively with their real-life situations.

5. Orientation to learning. Adults are life-centred or problem-centred in their orientation to learning.

6. Motivation.  While all adults are responsive to some external motivators (e.g. better jobs, higher salaries), the most powerful motivators are internal pressures (e.g. the desire for increased job satisfaction and quality of life).

Conditions for effective learning

The above aspects of adult learners inform us as to the conditions that are required for effective learning:

• Environment - the learning environment is characterized by physical comfort, mutual trust and respect, mutual helpfulness, freedom of expression and acceptance of the differences
  
  
• Perception - the learners perceive the goals of the learning experience to be their own goals
  
  
• Responsibility - the learners accept a share of the responsibility for planning and operating a learning experience, and therefore have a feeling of commitment to it
  
  
• Participation - the learners participate actively in the learning process
  
  
• Process - the learning process is related to, and makes use of, the experience of the learners
  
  
• Progress - the learners have a sense of progress towards their goals.