This piece of work was an opportunity for us to view Adult Education from the historical point. Indeed, we tried to define what adult education is and how it emerged, developed through time and space.
About time and space, we moved to the French speaking Africa, particularly to Ivory Coast to present how Adult Education, particularly Andragogy is perceived by the people and by the government.
Then we tried to show how Andragogy should be understood and why it is important and urgent to incorporate andragogic principles to teachers’ training. At this information technology age, continuing to be submitted to pedagogic principles refers to refuse development, but we preferred the option of progressive changes. That is why we first proposed collaboration between Andragogy and Pedagogy as a transition for all the educative community to know better andragogic principles and be prepared for the change.
In order to prepare them for the change, future teachers must be exposed to the new principles that consist in learning how to learn rather than being taught. We hope that this will prepare future teachers’ minds for the real change for a fully learner-centered, self-directed and auto-learning!
The full use of andragogic principles must be perceived as a democratization of knowledge. To use Mark Esposito’s words (2007), continuing with Pedagogy means that we decide to rely on others to tell us “what to learn”, “how to learn it” and also “when to learn”. How and why can we accept to be so dependent? When are we going to take the responsibility to “kill our masters”, the pedagogic teachers and be our own masters, meet our own learning needs, and demand all training providers to do the same?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. Introduction:
B. Adult Education Background Description:
1) The Classical Humanism
2) The Progressivism of Dewey
3) Humanism and Behaviorism
C. General Analysis:
1) The Socratic Method
2) From Alexander Kapp to Rosenstock
3) How is Andragogy Seen in Ivory Coast?
4) Partial Conclusion
D. Actualization:
1) How is the Learner Viewed?
2) The Role of Experience
3) The Desire to Learn
4) How Should Learning be directed?
5) Motivation
6) Definitions
E. Discussions:
F. General Recommendation:
G. General Conclusion:
H. References:
A. Introduction
Teachers’ training is an important tool in the process of facilitating learning in general. If we consider school as a compulsory place through which many generations of learners pass, then school must also be seen as the ideal place for community oriented strategies. The same way, the form and content of training curricula has increasingly become an area of scholarly focus.
Likewise, the teaching methods in use in our secondary schools and universities are of equal importance. Many secondary school and university teachers rely heavily on a teacher-centered approach in their noble process of transmission of knowledge.
The new trend in our profession is the preference for a more student-centered instructional format. This Essay aims at examining a way to incorporate Adult Education principles into Teacher training in Ivory Coast.
By utilizing andragogic principles, both secondary school and university teachers will become more actively involved in their learners’ learning process. Such an approach may also help future generations, products of our school system, become more self-directed and more responsible in every day decision making.
Before initiating such a study, it seems useful to us to wonder what Adult Education is. How did it emerge and develop? How is it perceived in the French speaking Africa, and particularly in Ivory Coast? How should Adult education be perceived and incorporated in teacher training?
This piece of work will present first, the description of Adult Education background and its evolution to present. After that we will initiate a brief analysis of the principles underlying adult education. Afterwards, a brief attempt of actualization and discussion will help to show the rationale to incorporate Adult Education principles into teacher training. Some recommendations, followed by a general conclusion will put an end to this paper.
B. Adult Education Background Description
The history of Adult Education can be rooted to that of the ancient Greek philosophers, theologians and enlightened scholars such as Kant, Hegel, Lock (Sharan B, Merriam…, 2003) who invented ‘’classical humanism’’.
1)Classical Humanism:
Classical Humanism is also called ‘’liberal education’’ or “perenialism”. This trend is considered as the oldest education theory. This theory prevailed from its origin, that is to say the time of the ancient Greek philosophers; Plato, Zeno, Epicurus, and Aristotle (about 350 years before Jesus Christ) to the colonial America (From the sixteenth century to the nineteenth century). This theory is recognized as the ancestor of modern education theories. Later this liberal education was, not actually challenged, but improved through time and space by the progressivism of Dewey.
2) The Progressivism of Dewey:
Indeed, the old and narrow view that was limited to the teaching of philosophy, ancient languages and fine arts will become broader with John Dewey and his “pragmatism”. Elias and Merriam, (1994) qualified Dewey’s pragmatism as at the ‘’ heart of social reforms’’ with very clear objectives to be attained through clearly defined curricula. Those pragmatic views of Dewey gave way to behaviorist and humanist perspectives led by Watson in the 1920’s.
3) Humanism and Behaviorism:
The theories of Watson were based on what he called “measurable and observable realities, external to the knower and that can be known through the senses’’. According to Sharan and Merriam, from 1930’s to 1970’s Skinner developed this view more scientifically. That philosophy can be summarized this way: “human actions are the results of prior conditioning and the way in which a person’s external environment is arranged” (Sharan B., Merriam, 2003).
In Beyond Freedom and Dignity, Skinner (1971) asserted that ‘’the key to survival rests on a carefully designed educational system”. For Skinner, a better society can be developed if we manage to control the human behavior through a planned arrangement of the environment in order to achieve desired responses.
Similarly, Rogers C. played an important role in this humanist view of education and learning. For him “all human beings have a natural propensity to learn; the role of the teacher is to facilitate such a learning”. Rogers feels that the learner must fully be involved in his learning process. As for the subject matter, it must be relevant to the personal interest of the learner. For a faster learning, Rogers believes that external threats have to be reduced to the maximum. Rogers, C.R. (1969).
Progressively we are heading to a more humanistic vision of education. Ever more we are going nearer and nearer to a very learner-centered view of education. That is what made Rogers (1983) write that the translation of humanistic ideas into educational goals has led in shaping contemporary education into a “humanistic-based practice”.
Another leading figure of the modern humanism is Paulo Freire, for whom education must raise the learner’s consciousness “by teaching students to think democratically and to continually question and make meaning from everything they learn”( Freire Paulo, 1985)
Accordingly, in our modern adult education, the learner is internally good, motivated, and able to identify his own learning needs, able to decide about his learning contents. For example he has a word to say about the instruction and the evaluation methods.
Moreover, this modern adult education views the teacher, no longer as ‘’the authoritative dispenser of knowledge,’’ but as a mere facilitator of students’ learning. The works of Malcolm Knowles and those of Pratt (1993) will be based on this humanistic psychology based on the goodness of human nature. At this stage, it is good to ask the following questions; what is Andragogy then?
C. General Analysis
We will start this analysis by trying to see what education is. At this stage of our work we will start with the easiest and most known definition of adult education, the one that opposes adult education to child education. Adult education appears as the way to teach an adult. Adult education is also the art of teaching an adult. Is there another name for adult education and if yes where does it come from?
1)The Socratic Method:
If today finding the synonym of adult education seems obvious, the question of its origin is certainly interesting on the historical plan. Indeed, seen as a teaching method, another source of adult education is certainly the particular teaching method of Socrates known as “the Socratic method”.
It is this particular method of teaching through questions and answers that, in 1833 Alexander Kapp was referring to when for the first time, he used the term ‘’der Andragogik” to mean the way to teach adults (Sharan B. Merriam, 2007). However, this term will remain unused for about a century, because the influential German philosopher Johan Friedrich Herbert, was totally against it use.
2)From Alexander Kapp to Rosenstock:
That long silence was broken by Eugen Rosenstock, who pointed out the needs for “specific methods and teachers for adult learners”. That was at the beginning of the twenty first century. With Rosenstock Andragogy meant a series of processes for adult curriculum design (AIU Doctorate Degree Program, p14). How and when did Andragogy appear in France and then to its old colonies among which Ivory Coast?
The French Philippe Carré will help us by asserting that adult education research started in North America a long time before it was introduced in France. This means that research in adult education in general is relatively new in France.
Talking about research on self- directed learning Carré acknowledged that France, his country has an important delay (twenty five years) over the research in North America that started in the early 1960’s. The advance of North America over France can be seen through the number of doctoral dissertations on the matter by 1990. Indeed, there were 173 doctoral dissertations in North America against five Thèses de doctorat in France( Philippe Carré, 1993). If the master is twenty five years late how about the colony? This leads to the situation of andragogy in the French speaking Africa; the case of Ivory Coast.
3)How is Andragogy seen in Ivory Coast?
Questions fréquemment posées sur le contenu de « Language Preview »
De quoi parle ce document ?
Ce document est un aperçu complet du langage. Il comprend la table des matières, les objectifs et les thèmes clés, les résumés de chapitres et les mots-clés.
Quels sont les sujets abordés dans la table des matières ?
La table des matières comprend : Introduction, Description du contexte de l'éducation des adultes, Analyse générale, Actualisation, Discussions, Recommandation générale, Conclusion générale et Références.
Quelle est l'importance de la formation des enseignants selon l'introduction ?
La formation des enseignants est considérée comme un outil important dans le processus de facilitation de l'apprentissage en général. L'école est vue comme un lieu idéal pour les stratégies orientées vers la communauté.
Quel est le but de l'essai ?
L'essai vise à examiner une manière d'incorporer les principes de l'éducation des adultes dans la formation des enseignants en Côte d'Ivoire.
Qu'est-ce que l'andragogie et comment les enseignants peuvent-ils l'utiliser ?
En utilisant les principes andragogiques, les enseignants du secondaire et de l'université peuvent s'impliquer plus activement dans le processus d'apprentissage de leurs élèves, les aidant à devenir plus autonomes et responsables dans la prise de décision quotidienne.
Quels sont les principes fondamentaux de l'éducation des adultes abordés dans le document ?
Le document aborde l'humanisme classique, le progressisme de Dewey, l'humanisme et le behaviorisme comme fondements historiques et théoriques de l'éducation des adultes.
Qu'est-ce que l'humanisme classique ?
L'humanisme classique, également appelé « éducation libérale » ou « perenialisme », est la plus ancienne théorie de l'éducation. Elle met l'accent sur la philosophie, les langues anciennes et les beaux-arts.
Comment le progressisme de Dewey a-t-il influencé l'éducation ?
Le progressisme de Dewey, avec son « pragmatisme », a élargi la vision de l'éducation pour inclure des objectifs clairs à atteindre grâce à des programmes d'études définis, conduisant aux perspectives behavioristes et humanistes.
Quelle est la perspective behavioriste sur l'éducation ?
Le behaviorisme, influencé par Watson et Skinner, met l'accent sur les réalités mesurables et observables, affirmant que les actions humaines sont le résultat d'un conditionnement préalable et de l'agencement de l'environnement extérieur.
Quelle est la perspective humaniste sur l'éducation ?
La perspective humaniste, soutenue par Rogers et Freire, met l'accent sur la capacité naturelle des êtres humains à apprendre, l'importance de l'implication de l'apprenant dans son processus d'apprentissage et le rôle de l'éducation dans l'éveil de la conscience.
Comment l'andragogie est-elle perçue en Côte d'Ivoire ?
Selon le document, l'andragogie ou l'éducation des adultes est totalement ignorée en Côte d'Ivoire, soulignant un besoin d'intégration dans la formation des enseignants.
Comment l'histoire de l'andragogie est-elle tracée dans le document?
Le document trace l'andragogie depuis la méthode socratique, via Alexander Kapp (qui a inventé le terme Andragogik), Eugen Rosenstock, et Philippe Carré (qui a mis en évidence le manque d'andragogie en France et par conséquent en Côte d'Ivoire).
- Quote paper
- Assoa Ettien (Author), 2010, The Foundations of Adult Education, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/156603
