Andragogy, Culture, and Adult Learning Worldviews

Abstract

Adults differ from children in the ways they learn. This is not only due to the fact they have more experiences to relate to but also due to the motivations behind why they are learning. So why do so many teachers, trainers, and professionals teach courses and provided training to adults in the same manner as if they were teaching children? This discourse explores the adult learning construct of andragogy, applications of different andragogical approaches, and challenges and considerations of andragogy. It also briefly describes a quantitative andragogical scale that was developed, which may provide a useful tool to an otherwise qualitative concept. Finally, the chapter provides several adult learning worldview overviews to be used considered in conjunction with the application of andragogy to potentially increase andragogical effectiveness.