Perspectives on Adult Learning - Essay Example

Perspectives on Adult Learning Historically the concept of adult education and learning, particularly in the North American and European Educationsystems, have barely focused on race as a central issues of concern. Of the total nine handbooks published since 1934 till the 21st century, race and education were observed to be one of the crucial issues and concerns that were given least importance in the field of education and adult learning. In the literature reviewed during the early twentieth century 1934 (Rowden, 1934 cited in Rubenson, 2011) and Locke (1936 cited in Rubenson, 2011) it could be clearly observed that there was little to no emphasis on the learning needs of or education for African Americans or Indian Americans. The handbook by McCurtain (1948) was one of the first handbooks that dealt with discussed and addressed the issues faced by racial and ethnic minorities with regard to adult education and learning (Rubenson, 2011: p. 245). Race and ethnicity were largely ignored in most of the literature despite its increasing significance during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. On the contrary the racial and ethnic minorities continued to be largely ignored through laws that essentially aimed at desecration of public schools as well as other public institutions that offered adult education. Historically education in the North American and European states have focused on offering education and developing learning modules with key emphasis on the majority adult learners that comprised of white population, while ignoring the other races. Such blatant discrimination and colorblind attitude toward adult education and learning has been deeply embedded in the social structure of the Western world (Rubenson, 2011: p. 246). However with the change in trends due to globalization and rise in multiculturalism there was a drastic change in the attitudes toward adult learning and education systems. The adult learning modules began incorporating crucial issues aimed at the growing multicultural population thus indicating its acceptance and acknowledgment of the growing diversity and the need for inclusive education. Since the concept of multiculturalism entailed and presupposed the domination of one particular race, in case of the Western world - the majority White population; the key aim of the post globalization adult education system was to include the beliefs, perspectives and cultural context of the racial minorities and ethnically diverse population (Rubenson, 2011: p. 246). This was done to ensure greater tolerance and harmony across all groups in a growing multicultural society. The key outcome achieved through inclusion of a culturally diverse adult education and learning program include: Acknowledgment of the growing significance and relevance of multiculturalism and of the differences between the needs of the privileged and the underprivileged A comprehensive review and the subsequent restructuring of the existing classroom practices Greater emphasis on social equality across race, gender, and social class among others. 2. This question can be better answered with the help of two key theories namely; the Learner-centered theory put forward APA and the Adult learning theory as proposed by Knowles (2011, cited in McDonough, 2012: p. 345). The differences between adult and child learners can be well explained on the basis of their conditions of learning and the Learner-centered psychological principles. Conditions of learning: Various models and theories have been proposed over the years to understand and unravel the key differences between the manner in which both children as well as adult learn and acquire knowledge / education. According to one such model developed by Cambourne (1988 cited in McDonough, 2012: p. 345) aimed at understanding the manner in which children learn, it was observed that learning among children is based on seven key criteria / conditions which include: - Immersing the learner (in this case children) in an environment or a real-life situation that enables them to learn - Demonstrating through various audio-visual cues that enable them to learn through simple activities such as seeing, hearing / listening, viewing, feeling, exploring etc., - Ensuring their active participation in situations / events that are occurring around them - Setting realistic expectations with regard to learning that encourage them to learn - Entrusting responsibilities with regard to learning and enabling them to participate in active decision-making activities - Encouraging the children to implement or apply the learned information and reviewing their progress in the form of active feedbacks and - Enabling and encouraging them to share the knowledge or information with those around them especially with those learners who belong to diverse socio-cultural backgrounds. Learner Centered principles of learning: The American Psychological Association Task Force on Psychology of Education put forward a total of 12 principles aimed at explaining the manner in which learners acquired education, forward. Principle 10 - Developmental and Social Factors suggest that learning is deemed to be most effective when it is age-appropriate and at a developmental level that is suited to the learners age. This is because although learners learn through their surroundings, certain aspects of learning can only be learned when the learner achieves a certain developmental level. Thus the cognitive, emotional and social development of the learner plays a key role in the learning process of a child (McDonough, 2012: p. 346). The Adult learning theory put forward by Knowles (2011) on the other hand suggests that adults learn through a process of self-inquiry whereby they make certain key assumptions based on their past experiences, in order to learn or understand any given situation or phenomenon. Furthermore are self-directed and hence learn faster through setting of personal goals through collaborative efforts. They are able to take initiatives with regard to learning regardless of the help offered to them, thus implying that unlike children, adult learners are not dependent on the teachers for information and can learn through self-exploration process. The theory further suggests that self-directed learners are proactive and are hence able to effectively apply the knowledge learned appropriately without any help or assistance (McDonough, 2012: p. 346). To summarize, the key differences between adult and child learners includes the existence of prior knowledge; ability to effectively and appropriately apply real life experiences; and the existence of learner responsibility. 3. Using adult learning theories in designing a "Mountaineering and mountain rescue" program: Diverse learning theories can prove to be highly useful and effective in training and educating the adult learners with regard to any given situation. One of the most significant aspects of learning is to ensure the effective and successful accomplishment of the learning outcomes, since understanding of such learning outcomes plays a crucial role in ensuring that the learners have understood and are able to implement the knowledge acquired in real life situations. Figure 1: Learning outcomes: - Verbal information: Helps the learner in understanding the key reasons for the said training such as reasons behind safety training and its relevance and significance - Intellectual skills: Helps the learner in applying the concepts learned and afford the ability to solve problems when need be - Motor skills: Enables the learner in successfully executing a physical action learned with precision and timing expected of them such as initiating and completing a rescue operation and rescuing the victim safely - Attitudes: Helps the learner in choosing appropriate course of action based on instinct and experience acquired through the program, such as responding to an emergency situation and taking appropriate action based on the condition / situation of the victim. - Cognitive strategies: Enables the learner in appropriately using both the strategies learned as well as their own personal inputs in emergency situations for instance using the rescue strategies learned and applying their own presence of mind depending on the situation faced. Social learning theory: This theory emphasizes that individuals learn through observation. The training programs can help in effectively modifying / altering the behavior of the learners by enabling them to directly experience the intended concept or by enabling them to observe others. Reinforcement theory: The reinforcement theory states that individuals are mostly influenced and encouraged to perform acts or behavior based on their previous experiences and the outcomes of such experiences. The theory suggests that in order for learners to be able to modify / change their behavior, skills and acquire knowledge the training program developed must take into consideration the positive learning outcomes and associate such outcome with the learners. One such aspect of training method is the behavior modification which enables the trainers to modify the behavior of the learner through appropriate training. In this case such method can be used to train the learners in safety procedures for their own protection as well as for ensuring the safety of the victims and eliminate unsafe practices and behaviors. References: McDonough, D., (2012). Similarities and differences between adult and child learners as participants in the natural learning process. Psychology Vol., 4 (3): p. 345 - 348 Rubenson, K., (2011). Adult learning and education. Vancouver, Canada: Elsevier Publication Read More