NURSING EDUCATION

ASSIGNMENT ON -ADULT LEARNING

 Needs of adult learning

 Scope of adult learning in nursing
 Principles of adult learning
 Importance of adult learning
Factors/elements that influence of adult
learning

SUBMITED BY SUBMITTED TO
RAJENDRA KALAL MRS.SUNITA PATNEY
MSc nursing first year Associate professor
ADULT LEARNING
Introduction
Adult learning is the practice of teaching and educating
adults at work place during in service education program.
The field of adult learning was introduced by Malcolm
Knowles. It is a new area of study which involves
understanding how adult lean best as compare to children
and teens team.
Adult education is a normal and informal instruction and aids
to study of grown-up people. Efforts are made towards the
self-development of the people who take initiative to solve
da- to-day life problems
Malcolm Knowles a pioneer in the study of adult learning
observed that adults learn best when:
 They understand why something is important to
know or do.
 They have freedom to learn in their own way.
 Learning is experimental.
 The time is right for them to learn.
 The process is positive and encouraging.
Need of Adult Learning
 To enlarge the cultural span of the individuals.
 For healthy recreation and relaxation. Properly
planned program of social education will be provided.
  Political consciousness and civil participation.
 Social efficiency and cooperation.
 Economic betterment and self-sufficient.
 For promotion purposes.
 For skill development.

Philosophy of Adult Education

 Adult education does not imply only to make adults
literate. In fact, it means to educate total personal f
adult and adult literacy is of fundamental importance
for the all-round development of the Country we
make them to acquire command over the tools
knowledge or reading, in acquiring this command, we
strive to educate them into economic, social and
political problems of the day in order that they maybe
come intelligent citizens for taking right decisions
when they are faced with a number of alternatives. If
they fail to acquire this skill, the mean and self-
centred people will exploit them for their own
interests. Consequently, the demands will fail and will
yield place to dictatorship.
 From above it is clear that the purpose of adult
education is not only to impart bookish knowledge.
Infect, it aims at the education of the total personality
of the adult. This will be possible only when we try to
develop in them various types of skills with a view to
make them successful and socially useful members of
the society. We have to help the adults to acquire
 useful knowledge in professional, political, economic
and social spheres. The main philosophy of adult
education is need based and adult education is based
on the prior experience and knowledge.
Scope of Adult Learning in Nursing
There are rapid scientific and technological changes which
have greatly affected the learning process of individuals. The
purpose of adults learning is improve one’s competency and
knowledge due to the following factors:
o Changing social trends: As the trend is changing at a
faster pace it helps to keep an individual updated with
the new technology.
o Population mobility: It helps the migrating population It
helps the migrating population to adapt themselves with
the new trend.
o Changing roles of hospital: The hospitals are not only
concerned with the providing medical treatment they
are also engaged in other activities like research.
This helps the individual to take-up new challenges and
roles.
o Health statistics: Adult learning helps in updating an
individual's knowledge regarding various health related
aspects, e.g. mortality, morbidity, crude birth
rate, specific rates, and other rates and ratios.

The scope of adult learning in nursing practice is very

significant and nurses are committed for lifelong
learning to themselves and it needs to be continued
 roughout the professional life. If the nurse lacks
motivation in learning new concepts, she will continue
practicing the old trends in nursing practice which are
suppose to change with time and social trends.

Characteristics of Adult Learning

Malcolm Knowles identifies following characters:
o Adults are autonomous and self-directed: They need to
be free to direct themselves, their teachers must
actively involve adult participants in learning process
and serve as facilitators for them.
o Adult are goal oriented: As the adult wants to attain,
sense of appreciate adult learning.
o Adults have accumulated a foundation of life
experiences and knowledge that may include work-
related activities family responsibilities and previous
education.
Adults are relevancy oriented: So they must see a reason for
learning something, every individual have their own personal
and professional objectives and they only try to increase their
learning horizons in these particular objectives by directing
them towards these objectives.
o Adults are practical, focusing on the aspects of a lesson
must useful to them in their work: They may not be
interested in knowledge for its own sake. Instructions
must tell participants explicitly how the lesson will be
useful to them on job.
 o Adults needs to be shown respect: Adults are people
with years of experience and a wealth, have established
value ,believes and opinion, hence, they need to be
repeated .
o Adults tend to have a problem cantered orientation to
learning: Emphasize how learning can be applied in a
practical setting. Use case studies, problem, solving
groups and participatory activities to enhance learning.
Individual difference among people increase with age.
o Self-direction: Adult have a deep need to be self-
directed and motivated to have effective learning.
PRINCIPLES OF ADULT LEARNING
 Needs assessment.
 Sound relationship between teacher and learner and
among learners.
 Safety in the environment and process.
 Sequence of content and reinforcement.
 Praxis, which mean action with reflection or learning by
doing.
 Respect for learner as decision-maker.
 Involve cognitive, affective aspects of learning.
 Immediacy of learning.
 Clear roles and role development.
 Team work and use of small groups.
 Engagement of learner in what they are learning?
 Accountability how do they know.
IMPORTANCE OF ADULT LEARNING
 Too many people think that because they have attained
a certain age, they are too old to be educated. This is
not true; as long as you are alive, there is still a lot that
you can achieve. Studying might be tough, but many
adult education programs take that int consideration.
 Getting a higher education is never a bad idea. The latter
years still count for something.
 By the content or complexity of an adult education
program, you can tell if it is something you can do of
not. However, if you are the type who really wanted to
do that course, you would not let it make any difference
to you if it were complex or not.
 Sometimes your lack of a diploma can hold you back
professionally, at that time adult learning is very
importance.
 Adult learning helps in updating the knowledge.
 It helps in improving professional growth and also in
productivity.
 It helps in maintaining the interest during the work
FACTORS/ELEMENTS THAT INFLUENCE
THE ADULT LEARNING
 Preparing the learners: If the learners are well prepared
for the adult learning then it will be easy in conducting
the adult learning.
 Climate setting: The environment and the physical set-
up should be appropriate, so that it can be done
effectively.
 Mutual setting: Sometimes for particular learning topics
help of other department is also needed. So in that case
it should be managed properly. For example, if the
learning program is decided to taught on projector and
by use of other machines, instruments then there
should be in the collaboration of the technicians.
 Identification of learning needs: As the aim of adult
learning is to improve the knowledge in that field in
which learner is no efficient but need to be efficient, and
learning program is provided on any other topic which is
of no use in one's profession. Then that learning is not
fulfilling the objectives of adult learning
 Formation of learning objectives: Before the adult
learning there should be setting of the objectives so
learning. that effectiveness can be maintained.
 Learning plan design: Learning plan of teaching makes
the teaching program fruitful, and decreases the chance
of time wastage.
 Learning plan execution: For every making learning plan
execution is must, because it shows that learning plan is
appropriate or not. So that after implementing the plan
there should be no hindrance in learning and teaching
process.
 Evaluation: Evaluation is done in for checking the
effectiveness of the teaching-learning program. if it is
not performed properly, then it is difficult to
assess the extent of learning by learners.
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