Self Direction In Adult Learning

Originally published in 1991, this book provides the reader with a comprehensive synthesis of developments, issues and practices related to a self-direction in learning. it presents strategies for facilitating self-directed learning as an instructional method and for enhancing learner self-direction as an aspect of adult personality. The idea of self-directed learning is not a new one but has received renewed attention in education circles and has particular significance for the adult education sector.

Today’s global educational environment includes the emergence of adult learners participating in formal and informal educational encounters for the purposes of professional development or personal enrichment. These learners must possess the conceptual and attitudinal idea of self-directed learning in order to be skilled workers and fulfilled human beings. Self-Directed Learning Strategies in Adult Educational Contexts is a critical scholarly publication that examines the impacts of self-directed learning methods and strategies on adult learning in various formal and informal learning situations and educational encounters. Featuring topics such as andragogy, learning analytics, and educational technologies, this book is geared toward adult educators, administrators, principals, professors, human resource managers, educational professionals, and researchers working in the fields of andragogy, adult learning theory, professional development, instructional technology, and curriculum development.

A self-directed learner is one who takes responsibility for his or her own learning. Self-Direction in Adult Learning provides the reader with a comprehensive synthesis of developments, issues and practices in self-directed learning. Emphasizing autonomy and personal development, self-direction is now considered an important element in courses from external degrees to literacy training and continuing professional development. This book analyzes current theory and research trends and offers an examination of key strategies for applying principles of self-directed learning in practice.

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How do you tailor education to the learning needs of adults? Do they learn differently from children? How does their life experience inform their learning processes? These were the questions at the heart of Malcolm Knowles’ pioneering theory of andragogy which transformed education theory in the 1970s. The resulting principles of a self-directed, experiential, problem-centred approach to learning have been hugely influential and are still the basis of the learning practices we use today. Understanding these principles is the cornerstone of increasing motivation and enabling adult learners to achieve. The 9th edition of The Adult Learner has been revised to include: Updates to the book to reflect the very latest advancements in the field. The addition of two new chapters on diversity and inclusion in adult learning, and andragogy and the online adult learner. An updated supporting website. This website for the 9th edition of The Adult Learner will provide basic instructor aids. For each chapter, there will be a PowerPoint presentation, learning exercises, and added study questions. Revisions throughout to make it more readable and relevant to your practices. If you are a researcher, practitioner, or student in education, an adult learning practitioner, training manager, or involved in human resource development, this is the definitive book in adult learning you should not be without.

The purpose of the book is to present a comprehensive survey and analysis of the concept of self direction in learning, to trace its ideological roots, to examine its history, to explore its manifestations in various fields of education, and to provide some specific insights into strategies that may be used to induce or develop self direction in learners. Basically, then, the book is about the development and exercise of self directedness in learning, especially in adulthood. It celebrates individuality but at the same time recognises the essentially social nature of learning and of human existence. It attempts to reconcile and integrate ideas and practices - some very familiar and some quite novel - derived from many parts of the world, many domains and contexts of learning, and many historical periods. It is a tapestry woven from threads provided largely by others.