Philosophies of Adult Education

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how through contrast and comparison it becomes clear that individual and cultural value systems play a predominant role in assessing the importance of various adult education theories. It looks at how traditional western civilizations long history of patriarchal bias has continued to influence liberal arts programs well into this century. It analyzes how some of the newer theories, like Humanism, derived basis from earlier ideologies and how the associated theories are nonetheless relatively modern constructs that have resulted directly from critical inquiry regarding cultural change. Therefore, cultural differences must be recognized, accepted and evaluated for their influence on the basic aspects of each theory. This paper examines each of the theories of adult education for potential use in practical application by modern American educators.

From the Paper:

"The theory of Progressivism arose as a response to the criticism of liberal arts. The theories main contribution is that it identifies the need for vocational training and focus on student interests. However, the progressive theory over emphasizes learner-centeredness, especially when applied to adult education. The difficulty of attempting to tailor education to the experiences of the learner increases exponentially with the age of the student. Subsequent theorists made attempts to more precisely define the role and responsibilities of the educator. The increased focus on teacher ability to determine a student's experiences and teach accordingly causes methodology and outcome to be scrutinized. If the methodology and learning outcome cannot be clearly evaluated then how can we be sure that any teacher is effective in the educational process?"

More papers on Philosophies of Adult Education:

• Research Paper # 105806 : "Philosophy of Christian Education & Discipleship"
• Essay # 67993 : "Adult Education Philosophies"
• Essay # 74451 : "Adult Learning"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: