Attributes and distinctive

features of adult
learning and development
 Objective of this lesson:
 At the end of the lesson the student must understand the
attributes and distinctive features of adult learning and
development , motivational aspect of adult learning, values of
adult education and challenges of contemporary
society ,individual versus group learning approaches in adult
education.

 Explain the motivation of adult learning and values of adult

education and challenges in the contemporary society .

 Identify the individual and group learning approaches .

 Demonstrate the values and attributes and the distinctive

 Summary:
Adults are characterized by maturity, self-confidence,
autonomy, solid decision-making, and are generally more
practical, multi-tasking, purposeful, self-directed,
experienced, and less open-minded and receptive to change.
All these traits affect their motivation, as well as their ability
to learn. So let’s see the adult learners' cognitive and social
characteristics, and what instructional designers need to
know in order to create the right course content and
structure, and adjust their attitude.
 Knowles’ Theory
Before 1950, pretty much everything we knew about
learning methods was centered around the way kids operated.
After all, traditional schooling was pretty much how and where
education took place. Finally, adult educator and researcher
Malcolm Knowles adopted the term “andragogy” to refer to
the unique motivators adult learners used. While children
required more extrinsic motivation and relied on instructor-led
methods, Knowles noticed that adults were self-directed and
relied heavily on their past life experiences when they
approached learning opportunities.
 Knowles defined a theory about adult learners that
helped educators receive better insight into how/why adult learners
learn, including:

 Adults are self-directed

 Adults use their past experiences as learning resources
 Adults are motivated to learn in relation to their social roles
 Adults prefer to learn solutions that can be applied in realistic
situations
 Adults rely on intrinsic motivations
 Motivation Learning in adulthood
 Multi-level responsibilities Adult learners
 High expectations Adult learners
 ADULT LEARNER`S TRAITS
Adults are characterized by maturity, self-
confidence, autonomy, solid decision- making
and are generally more practical, multi- tasking
purposeful, self- directed, experienced, less
open- minded and receptive to change. All
these traits affect their motivation, as well as
their ability to learn.
SELF-DIRECTED

PRACTICAL and RESULT- ORIENTED

LESS OPEN- MINDED

SLOWERLEARNING, YET MORE INTEGRATIVE

KNOWLEDGE
USE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AS A RESOURCE

MOTIVATION

MULTI- LEVEL RESPONSIBILITIES

HIGH EXPECTATIONS
 MOTIVATION IN ADULT EDUCATION
THEORY
What is Learning? An adult learner is "a self-directed person, 24
and above whose engagement and readiness to learn is based on the
applicability to the development tasks of his/her social role incorpo
reservoir of experience. Learning is "any process leading to a chang
or use of conscious and unconscious cognitive processes that lead t
capacity change not solely caused by biological maturation or aging"
p. 906). Therefore, adult learning is any process completed by any
leads to the type of learning referred to in the above definition.
Motivation towards adult learning can be categorized into thre
 Work / Economic
 Personal
 Social
 What are strengths and weaknesses of
Motivational Adult Learning?
STRENGTHS
Adult learners generally know their goals, needs, and values. They
are also typically highly motivated, self- directed, relevancy- oriented, and
learn best from experience. This knowledge and these qualities make
them easier to motivate.

WEAKNESSES
Many adult learners were taught in traditional classrooms and may be
unfamiliar and uncomfortable with the new technology and methods for
instructing and learning. They may also have obligations that can interfere
with their motivation to learn.
HOW IS THE MOTIVATION
IN
ADULT LEARNING THEORY

APPLIED
IN
PRACTICAL
 MOTIVATIONAL STRATEGIES ARE
METHODS USED BY AN INSTRUCTOR TO
ENHANCE A LEARNERS’ MOTIVATION
MOTIVATIONAL STRATEGY APPLICATION in
EDUCATIONAL SETTING

1. Establish Inclusion 1. Allow groups to work together to:

Apply skills learned
Construct meaning
Find solutions to problems
2. Develop a Positive 2. Ensure that the following features
are
Attitude incorporated in the learning
environment:
Concrete
evidence that effort makes a
difference
Continuous
feedback on learning progress
Effective
Instruction

3. Enhance Meaning 3. Utilize a variety of strategies

4. Engender 4. Create authentic performance tasks
for
Competence assessment purposes. Tasks
are authentic if
they:

 Require evaluation and innovation

 Use real- life contexts
 Assess the learner’s ability to
integrate new learning
 Allow opportunities for feedback and
product or performance refinement
 Values in adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a
practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating
activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values.[1]
It can mean any form of learning adults engage in beyond traditional schooling,
encompassing basic literacy to personal fulfillment as a lifelong learner.[2] and to
ensure the fulfillment of an individual. promotes tolerance and understanding
above and beyond our political, cultural and religious differences, putting special
emphasis on the defense of human rights, the protection of ethnic minorities and
the most vulnerable groups, and the conservation of the environment. Values in
adult education Normative Values in Adult Education I wish now to turn
specifically to normative values in adult education and how they have been
developed within the context of what I have described. Despite Malinowski‘s
observation that, anthropologically, education is, in all societies, a lifelong and
usually informal process of adaptation to changing circumstance, adult
education,
INDIVIDUAL LEARNING refers to the
attainment of knowledge through teacher
instruction and individual practice in the
classroom. Academic Performance involves
the grades on tests that are achieved by
each individual student. A GROUP includes
two or more students who work together to
complete a task.
 STUDENT DIVERSITY

Diversity in the classroom does not refers

to culture diversity but also refers to
diversity in skills, knowledge and needs. It
is important to understand these attributes
in order to effectively teach your student.
 LEARNING ABOUT YOUR
STUDENT

The most important thing you can do to help educate

your students is to learn as much as about them as
possible. Using a combination of all the above methods
can help give you a clear picture of what each student
needs and how they learn best for their verbal skills and
personality. Another key component for learning about
your student is communicating with parents and
families. This will give you background information, such
as their cultural identity, personal history.
END
 CATIGORIES OF ADULT LEARNING
THEORIES

In broad terms, theories of adult learning

can be grouped into, or related to, several
categories. There is quite a lot of overlap
between the theories and the categories of
theories, and here we give a simplified
overview.
A.Instrumental learning theories; These focus on individual
experience, and include the behaviorist and cognitive learning
theories;

I. Behavioral theories are the basis of many competency based

curricular and training programs. These leads to the main
issues with behavioral theories namely who determines the
outcome and how they are measured.

II. Cognitive learning theories focus learning in the mental and

psychological process of the mind, not on behavior. They are
concerned with perception and the processing of information.

III. Experiential learning has influenced adult education by

making educators responsible for creating, facilitating access to
B. Humanistic theories; These theories
promote individual development and are
more learner-centered.

I . Knowles supported this theory by

popularizing the concept of “andragogy”.
Although it explains the motivation to
learn, its main limitation is the exclusion
of context and the social mechanism of
constructing meaning and knowledge. We
now know that context and social factors
are crucial in professional education.
 ii. Self-directed learning suggests that
adults can plan, conduct, and evaluate their
own learning. It has often been described as
the goal of adult education emphasizing
autonomy and individual freedom in
learning. Although it is axiomatic to adult
learning, there are doubts about the extent
to which self-directed learning, rather than
directed self-learning is truly achievable. A
limitation of the concept is failure to take
into consideration the social context of
learning. It has also implicitly
underestimated the value of other forms of
learning such as collaborative learning.
c. Transformative learning theory: Transformative
learning theory explores the way in which critical
reflection can be used to challenge the learner's beliefs
and assumptions. The process of perspective
transformation includes;

i. A disorienting dilemma which is the catalyst/trigger to review own

views/perspectives – “knowing that you don’t know”.

ii. The context, which includes personal, professional and social

factors.

iii. Critical reflection. Mezirow identifies different forms of

reflection in transformation of meanings, structures, context, process
and premise. Premise reflection involves the critical re-examination
of long held presuppositions.
d. Social theories of learning: The two elements that
are crucial to social theories of learning are context
and community, emphasizes the importance of
“communities of practice” in guiding and encouraging
the learner.

i. Learning and thinking are social activities

ii. Thinking and learning are structured by the tools

available in specific situations

iii. Thinking is influenced by the setting in which

learning takes place.
 e. Motivational models: Any theoretical model that attempts
to explain and relates adult learning to an educational theory
must have two critical elements – motivation and reflection.

i. One of the issues about learning is that a low expectation

ivation and reflection.
of success will result in poor motivation to learn, unless the
perceived value of success is overwhelming. This is partly
explained by Maslow's theory.......

ii. The Chain of Response model concerns participation by

adults in learning projects. In this model three internal
motivating factors are....
 f. Reflective models:
The reflection-change models
consider that reflection leads to action and
then change.
 PROFESSIONALIZATION OF ADULT
EDUCATION:
Practices of Higher education Institutions (HEIs) in contributing to
Professionalization of Adult Educators Among the best practices of Higher
Education Institutions (HEIs) in contributing to the professionalization of
adult educators are arranged in the order of frequency of multiple responses
as follows:
(1) strict implementation of licensed teachers only to teach,
(2) pursue graduate education to update their knowledge and skills as a result
of advancement
of education and technology,
(3) in-house training and workshop on new development in their field of
specialization,
(4) in-service training/workshop for those non-education graduates specifically
on teaching strategies, table of specification (TOS) and test construction,
(5) sending teachers for short term training or for scholarship,
(6) encouraging graduates to enroll certificate or diploma on teaching.
CHALLENGES OF ADULT EDUCATION
The main opportunity that adult educators have is that adult
education can be used as a dramatically powerful tool to go deeper
into the causes of the situations adults in modern society have to
learn to deal with. It can be used to tear down the traditional barriers
between economics, ethics, social welfare, and the environment to
develop a vision of the intersectionality of modern life and the
challenges it poses.
Firstly, one should look at the variety of setting in which adult
education takes place, these include:
• Community Centres
• Schools
• Prisons
• Outside
• Television & Radio
• Online & Apps
 These are just a few of a large consortium of areas in
which adult education takes place and justifiably come
with their own selection of challenges and opportunities.
There is a huge selection of obstacles or differences to
overcome amongst students as an adult educator and
these can include:
• Age differences
• Cultural obstacles
• Learning difficulties & Physical abilities
• Linguistic divides
• Perceptions of gender
• Racial discrimination