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MALCOLM
Knowles
EducationandCareer:
1934BAinhistory,Harvard,Boston,MA
1935DepartmentAdministrator,NationalYouthAdmin.,Boston,MA
1940DirectorofAdultEducation,YMCA,Boston,MA
1944Lt.,UnitedStatesNavy
1946ExecutiveSecretary,YMCA,Chicago,IL
1949MastersDegree,UniversityofChicago,IL
1960Ph.D.,UniversityofChicago,IL
1960ProfessorofEd,BostonUniversity,MA
1974ProfessorofEd,NorthCarolinaStateUniversity,Raleigh,NC
1979Professoremeritus,NorthCarolinaStateUniversity,Raleigh,NC
1991AdjunctProfessor,UniversityofArkansas,Fayetteville,AK
Contributions:
Hismajorcontributionisinthefieldofandragogy:model,methods,applications.Heconsideredcontract
learningthesinglemostpotenttoolinadulteducation(Knowles,1990).
Andragogy:
1. Theneedtoknow.Adultsneedtoknowwhytheyneedtolearnsomethingbeforeundertakingit.
2. Thelearnersselfconcept.Adultshaveaselfconceptofbeingresponsiblefortheirownlives.They
haveaneedtobeseenasbeingcapableofselfdirection.
3. Theroleoflearnersexperience.Adultscomeintoaneducationalactivitywithbothagreatervolume
andadifferentqualityofexperiencefromyouths.
4. Readinesstolearn.Adultsbecomereadytolearnthosethingstheyneedtoknowandneedtobeable
todoinordertocopewithreallifesituations.
5. Orientationtolearning.Adultsaremotivatedtodevoteenergytolearnsomethingthattheyperceive
willhelpthemdealwithproblemsthattheyconfrontintheirlives
6. Motivation.Whileadultsareresponsivetoextrinsicmotivators(jobs,promotion),morepotent
motivatorsareintrinsic(selfesteem,qualityoflife),(Knowles,1990).
Learningcontracts:
Objectives Resourcesand
Strategies
Evidenceof
Accomplishment
Meansfor
ValidatingEvidence
Obtainsourcesfor
research
http://goo.gl/Edhilv (hypothetical)
Subscribeforaccess
(hypothetical)
Subscriberlist
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Influencesandrelatedtheories:
EduardC.LindemanwasdirectoroftheWorksProgressAdministrationwhenMalcolmwasworkingfor
NYA.InhisbookTheMeaningofAdultEducation,hedescribesadultlearnersasproblemsolverswho
reachforselffulfillment.ItwasalifelonginspirationforMalcolm(1926citedbyKnowles,1989).
CyrilO.HoulewasMalcolmsadvisorattheUniversityofChicago.HisbookTheDesignofEducation
definesselfdirectedlearningasanaspectofadulteducation(1972citedbyBrockettandDonaghy,2005).
CarlRogerssassociate,ArthurSheldon,taughtMalcolmatChicago.Rodgersapproachto
studentcenterededucationdefinestheteacherasafacilitatortolearning(1951citedbyKnowles,1990).
PhilosophicalrootsinDewey,Lindeman,Maslow,Rogers.(Knowles,1989)
Isandragogyatheory?
Thereissomedebateaboutwhetherandragogyisatheoryorasetofguidelines.Malcolmstates,Iprefer
tothinkofitasmodelofassumptionsaboutlearningoraconceptualframeworkthatservesasan
emergenttheory,(Knowles,1990).
Isitresearchbased?
Ratherthanexperimentalresearch,Malcolmconductedactionresearch.Actionresearchisdefinedasa
comparativeresearchontheconditionsandeffectsofvariousformsofsocialactionandresearchleading
tosocialaction:atriangleofaction,research,andtraining.(Lewin,1946).
Mythoughts:
IamcompelledbyMalcolmKnowleslifeasalearnerandateachertobeabettereducator.Heused
everyexperiencehehadwitheverypersonhemettoincreasehisunderstandingofhowadultslearn.He
usedthisinformationtocontinuouslyrefinehistheoryandimprovehistechniques.
References:
Brockett,R.andDonaghy,R.BeyondTheInquiringMind:CyrilHoulesConnectiontoSelfDirected.
Learning.Conferenceproceedings.TheUniversityofTennessee,Knoxville,USA.Retrievedfrom
http://www.adulterc.org/proceedings/2005/proceedings/brockett.pdf
Knowles,M.(1989).Themakingofanadulteducator.SanFrancisco,CA:JosseyBassInc.
Knowles,M.(1990).Theadultlearner:Aneglectedspecies(4thEd.).Houston,TX:GulfPublishing
Company.
Lewin,K.(1946).Actionresearchandminorityproblems.Retrievedfrom
http://bscw.wineme.fb5.unisiegen.de/pub/nj_bscw.cgi/d759359/5_1_ActionResearchandMinortyProb
lems.pdf
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Additionalsources:
Knowles,M.(1989).Themakingofanadulteducator.SanFrancisco,CA:JosseyBassInc.Excerpt
availablehttp://www.umsl.edu/~henschkej/henschke/the_making_of_an_adult_educator.pdf
Knowles,M.(1960).Themodernpracticeofadulteducation.NewYork:Cambridge.Retrievedfrom
http://www.umsl.edu/~henschkej/articles/a_The_%20Modern_Practice_of_Adult_Education.pdf
LinHarper&JerryRoss(2011)AnApplicationofKnowlesTheoriesofAdultEducationtoan
UndergraduateInterdisciplinaryStudiesDegreeProgram.TheJournalofContinuingHigher
Education,59:3,161166,DOI:10.1080/07377363.2011.614887.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/07377363.2011.614887
Lindeman,E.(1926).Themeaningofadulteducation.NewYork:NewRepublicInc.Retrievedfrom
https://ia600401.us.archive.org/14/items/meaningofadulted00lind/meaningofadulted00lind.pdf
Norrie,P.andDalby,D.(2007).Howadultareourlearners?:Acrosssectionalexplorationofthelearning
characteristicsofnursingstudents.JournalofResearchinNursing200712:319.DOI:
10.1177/1744987107075254.http://jrn.sagepub.com.mutex.gmu.edu/content/12/4/319.full.pdf+html
Saxon,W.(1997).M.S.Knowles,84,AdultEducationPioneer.NewYorkTimes.Retrievedfrom
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/06/us/msknowles84adulteducationpioneer.html
Taylor,BandKroth,M(2009).Andragogystransitionintothefuture:Metaanalysisofandragogyandits
searchforameasurableinstrument.JournalofAdultEducationVolume38,Number1.Retrieved
fromhttp://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ891073.pdf