Andragogy

Andragogy is the term used to describe philosophy around adult learning. Malcolm Knowles is
generally considered the founder of adult learning doctrine. Knowles defined andragogy as the art and
science of helping adults learn (Thompson, 2004, p. 108). He made five crucial assumptions about the
characteristics of adult learners:
Self-concept: as adults mature, their self-concept moves from one of being a dependent on others to being
more self-directed.
Experience: as adults mature they accumulate a vast collection of experiences that become a source for
learning.
Readiness to learn: as adults mature, their readiness to learn becomes oriented to developmental tasks of
social roles.
Orientation to learning: as adults mature they change from knowledge as preparation for the future to
immediate application of knowledge, and their orientation shifts from subject-centered to problemcentered.
Motivation: as adults mature their motivation to learn is internally generated.(Smith, MK, 2002)
Pedagogy is the term used when speaking of teaching children. The term comes from the Greek
and means child conductor (Thompson, p. 107) There are striking differences between pedagogy and
andragogy.
Pedagogy is teaching centered, where the teacher assists in the passive transfer of information to
the student. Andragogy is about active seeking of information by the learner. It is student centered.
Pedagogy assumes students must be given goals; andragogy suggests having students set their
own goals.
Pedagogy assumes the learner has little or no experience, while andragogy recognizes that the
student brings significant experience that they can apply to the learning process.
Pedagogy is structured and subject oriented, while in andragogy, teaching is less structured and
more relevant. Real-life applications are more important with andragogy than pedagogy.
Pedagogy assumes students are unmotivated and must rely on rewards and punishments;
andragogy relies on students to be self-motivated to learn.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhydhDa0BGU)
Adult learners are at a disadvantage if teaching practices lean on a pedagogical model.

Thompson, M. & Deis, M. (2004). Andragogy for adult learners in higher education. Allied Academies
International Conference, 9(1), 107-111.

Smith, M. K. (2002) Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy, the
encyclopedia of informal education, www.infed.org/thinkers/et-knowl.htm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhydhDa0BGU