Are Adult Learners Really Different?

Just as education focused on pedagogy and youth learning in response to Jean Piaget and his followers, a shift to andragogy and adult learning occurred in response to Malcolm Knowles’ suggestion that adults were not simply big Little People. A google search of adult learners provides numerous sites noting the proposed characteristics of those adult learners. Knowles suggests that adults:

• are self-directed
• bring experience as a resource
• learn based on social roles
• want immediate applicability
• are problem-centered

Charlotte Redden asks how we can “generalize about millions of individuals who vary widely by ages, abilities, job experiences, culture, linguistic fluency, personal goals, and educational background? In our work, “Online education reaches the single parent with children, the unemployed high tech worker, traditional college students, and corporate employees.”

The degree to which adults are self-directed depends on a number of personal characteristics and experience as well as the situational element of subject and context for learning. For example, corporate training differs from a degree program or courses taken due to general interest in a topic.

Adults bring many experiences to the learning environment, some are undoubtedly relevant and many will not be. Learners of all ages have experiences that may or may not pertain to a given topic or course of study.

Learners’ social roles, such as worker, do direct learning in many instances. However, many learners also pursue subjects due to interest or for general knowledge or skill that may not be directly applicable, especially in the workplace.

Learners often pursue topics for immediate applicability to work or a program of study. Again, however, learners may pursue other topics that lay a foundation for further study or growth, that are interesting or compelling, or are requirements for a goal such as a degree.

Lastly, learners often pursue topics that help resolve an issue or problem. While all learners have practical motivations they also may pursue a topic for general knowledge or out of a broad interest.

Redden states that “it is more accurate to suggest that the most important difference between adult learners and younger ones is the quantity and diversity of experience that they bring to the class. . . .These experiences can and should be incorporated into the learning opportunities for the relevance to the learner but also, and perhaps more importantly, to enrich the understanding of other students in that class.”

Andragogy informs us that adults, and many would argue all learners, bring experience, varied needs and expectations, and personal motivation to the learning experience which supports a learner-centered approach to education. Acknowledging that the characteristics of adult learners are more varied in reality and implication than many models suggest fosters the flexibility to be more attuned to the learners themselves and their success in the learning environment where we work.

Ken Switzer, Ph.D.

Senior Academic Trainer & Consultant

Knowles, M. (1984). Andragogy in Action. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Redden, C. (2003) Andragogy: Hit & Myth. Educator’s Voice, 4(2)