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Adult Education: A Personal Philosophy

Haley Harris
Department of Education, Indiana University
D500: Introduction to Adult Education Theory
Dr. Amy Pickard
May 1, 2020
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Adult Education: A Personal Philosophy

Today, there are roughly eight billion people in the world that can be grouped together in

a countless number of cultures. These cultural groups can then be broken down into smaller

groups when you consider language, ideology, class, national formations, gender, generation,

religious beliefs, etc. With the vast differences among cultures, societies and individuals, how

can adult education come into play and serve the needs of learners on a societal/cultural level

down to the individual adult level? Individuals, on average, will spend 72% of their lives in

adulthood. Which means that adult education has roughly 57 years to positively impact a

person’s life and the culture/society to which one belongs. It would be ridiculous to claim that

adult education can be all things to all people, all cultures and societies but if adult education can

rely on the following principals, I believe adult education has a pretty great chance. My

philosophy of adult education relies on the following three principles: (1) truth and wisdom, (2)

preparation and (3) passion.

First, the purpose of adult education should be to promote truth and wisdom. It is in the

pursuit of truth and wisdom that adult students are able to (1) learn how to question, (2) problem

solve and (3) reflect. These skills are vital to making the right decisions in life and to develop as

a moral person. For example, take into account all of the negative influences the media, social

media, peers and even people in power can have on an individual to lead one down the wrong

path. Education must be utilized for the purposes of placing individuals on a path to truth and

wisdom. In a world that is filled with fake news, corrupt political systems, unhealthy marketing

messages and hidden agendas, finding truth and gaining wisdom to counteract these messages is

vital to the success of individuals. Considering the beliefs of the liberal adult education

philosophy, education should exist without bias, promote critical thinking and as a result, expose
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new truths. According to Elias & Merriam (2005) the liberal adult education philosophy

“attempts to lead persons from information to knowledge to wisdom” (p. 28). It is this search for

truth and wisdom that transform learners into “good parents, citizens and workers” (Elias and

Merriam, 2005). It is for these reasons that the purpose of education must be to pursue truth and

wisdom promoting the “examined life.”

Second, the purpose of adult education should be to continue to prepare individuals

throughout life. Education does not stop at 18 or 22 years old. Education is a life-long process

and is necessary to succeed. Education should exist to prepare individual throughout life and

give opportunities to individuals to learn a new skill, get a new job, buy a house, make financial

decisions, parent children, make new friends, and live a fulfilled happy life. Therefore, education

must (1) be inclusive to all activities where learning takes place, not just traditional school, (2)

effectively teach skills/competencies and (3) lead individuals to self-actualization. Bearing in

mind the ideas of the progressive and behaviorist philosophy of adult education, the purpose of

education is to learn and to prepare an individual for life events. According to Elias and Merriam

(2005) the progressive philosophy of education believes that “education is thus not restricted to

schooling, but includes all those incidental and intentional activities that society uses to pass on

values, attitudes, knowledge and skills” (p.61) While also according to Elias and Merriam (2005)

the behaviorist approach to adult education promotes that, “the acquisition of job skills so that a

person can survive in our society” (p. 92) Although the progressive and behaviorist philosophies

of education have been seen as opposites in regards to how and why learning is achieved, the

main purpose behind both philosophies is ultimately for individuals to achieve learning. Both

philosophies focus on the “process of learning” and ways to successfully better individuals and

as a result society. The end goal of education is to learn something, but it is also to achieve
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happiness in life. The humanistic approach can be used to wrap it all together. The purpose of

education should be to prepare individuals for life through learning, but it should also prepare

individuals for life by leading individuals on a self-actualizing path. Life can be amazing but it

can also be difficult and education should be used to prepare us to enjoy the “happy times” and

get through the “sad times” whether that is socially, culturally, politically, financially etc.

Third, the purpose of education should be to ignite passion within individuals as passion

often leads to fulfillment in life. In order to ignite passion, education should (1) be student-

centered, (2) the role of the teacher should be to guide and facilitate and (3) the purpose of

teaching should be to expand the minds of individuals. According to Elias and Merriam (2005)

under the humanistic approach “a teacher can guide or facilitate the process, but the emphasis is

upon learning rather than teaching and on the student rather than the instructor (p. 124). In order

to successfully ignite passion within students, education cannot be about the teacher and their

agendas and biases. Education must solely revolve around the individual and fostering skills and

beliefs that instill passion. Furthermore, according to Elias and Merriam (2005), the progressive

approach to adult education emphasizes “the teacher’s task [is] not just to capitalize on the

interests that already existed in the learner, but also to arouse interests in those things that were

educationally desirable” (p. 64). Education should be for the purposes of expanding the minds

and abilities of individuals. Education in no way, shape or form should be stagnant, benign or

dull. The teacher must find new ways to intrigue, interest or excite on an individual basis. Lastly,

following the humanistic approach, each student should be seen as unique throughout the

educational process and the process must allow for the individual to grow in all aspects to give

the individual the opportunity to foster new passions in life and ultimately fulfillment.
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While there are many philosophies of adult education, liberal, progressive, behaviorist

and humanistic best aligned with what I believe to be the purpose of adult education. Almost all

of the philosophies discussed over the course of the semester could fit into my overall

educational ideals of truth, preparation and passion; however, I chose to include the philosophies

that resonated with me the most. The purposes of education behind the liberal, progressive,

behaviorist and humanistic philosophies are purposes that are easy to digest and apply to most if

not all adult educational settings. If adult education is for the purpose of promoting truth,

preparing for life and igniting passion, individuals will be better able and equipped to have a

positive impact that influences and promotes society in a positive way. The humanistic approach

explains this concept the best as reported by Elias and Merriam (2005), “a society of self-

actualizing or fully functioning, thinking, feeling, active individuals will result, humanists feel,

in the betterment of humanity as a whole” (p. 125). If each adult in this word can continue

education into adulthood in the pursuit of gaining truth and wisdom, to continue to prepare for

the future and to find or ignite passions, then I believe education has fulfilled its purpose in the

lives of all individuals and in society as a whole.

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References

Elias, J. L., & Merriam, S. B. (2005). Chapter II Liberal Adult Education. In Philosophical
Foundations of Adult Education (pp. 17–46). Krieger Publishing.

Elias, J. L., & Merriam, S. B. (2005). Chapter III Basic Principles of Progressive Adult
Education. In Philosophical Foundations of Adult Education (pp. 61–74). Krieger
Publishing.

Elias, J. L., & Merriam, S. B. (2005). Chapter IV Behaviorist Adult Education. In Philosophical
Foundations of Adult Education (pp. 88–110). Krieger Publishing.

Elias, J. L., & Merriam, S. B. (2005). Chapter V Humanistic Adult Education. In Philosophical
Foundations of Adult Education (pp. 111–137). Krieger Publishing.