Essay on andragogy

Andragogy should never assume that adult motivation to learn is wholly driven by internal needs and desires. Using evidence you select from your readings explain how race, gender and sexual orientation can affect adult development or learning.

Andragogy, the art and science of teaching adults, is based on a set of core assumptions about why and how adults learn. The first assumption is that adults are self-directed (Knowles, 1984). As a result, adults learn best when their learning process can be self-directed, rather than centered in a traditional, dependent educational environment.

Malcolm Knowles says, Andragogy is “the art and science of helping others learn (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007).”Andragogy are learning strategies focused on adults. It is often interpreted as the process of engaging adult learners with the structure of the learning experience (Clardy, 2005).

Andragogy is the teaching of adults, self-directed learning is the individual controlling their learning, and transformational models and theories associated with adult learning. Through my research it seems that andragogy is the first thing educators think of when adult learning process is mentioned.