Principles of Adult Education
I. Metaphors of adult life – the metaphors that we use shapes how we think about adult life
and adult education
a. Metaphor in general of adult development as of a “Journey” We are going
somewhere. There is a goal at the end. This is a primary metaphor in most
descriptions of adult development.
b. A second metaphor from Sam Keen – life as an odyssey in which ones leaves and
returns home again. Each step may be a circling back, a remembering of the “still
point’ within. We progressively understand ourselves and our world differently
with each movement of the circle but there is no necessary endpoint.
c. Third metaphor – life is like a symphony, the themes that are central to each stage
are anticipated in the previous stage and remain as subthemes in subsequent
stages.
d. Fourth metaphor – life is like a tapestry in which we weave many different
meaning systems or faiths or experiences into some sort of a whole.
II. Stage Theories are part of the “Journey metaphor”
A. Erik Erickson’s 7 stages and tasks – wife Joan added 8 stage for later life.
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Go through each stage before to get to the next one. The stages comes along and if
you do not resolve the issues, then you will have problems in the next stage.
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Development – you grow and get better and wiser
Early Adulthood (18-34 years) Psychosocial Crisis: Intimacy vs. Isolation
Basic Strengths: Affiliation and Love
Not necessarily the same for women as for men. Women are more interdependent.
Middle Adulthood (35-60 Years) Psychosocial Crisis: Generativity vs. Self-absorption or
Stagnation
Basic Strengths: Production and Care
Generativity is the concern of establishing and guiding the next generation. Simply having or
wanting children doesn't achieve generativity. Socially-valued work and disciplines are also
expressions of generativity. Mentoring of others, raising children, Main question asked: Will I
ever accomplish anything useful?...
Later Adulthood (60 years-Death) Psychosocial Crisis: Ego integrity vs. despair
Basic Strengths: Wisdom
Ego integrity is the ego's accumulated assurance of its capacity for order and meaning. Despair is
signified by a fear of one's own death, as well as the loss of self-sufficiency, and of loved
partners and friends
B. Daniel Levinson Seasons of a man’s life.
He assumes change but not development – you don’t get better.
Life structure – key component is our relationships with various others.
Adult life has broad periods of 25 years divided by transitions. Mentors help us in the transition
periods.
D. James Fowler – stages of faith development- based on stage theory
E. Robert Kegan – two motives – 1) to be connected or joined and integrated with others and 2)
to be independent and differentiated from others. Life is like a spiral where we move from
one pole to another through change. Not stage theory but life is still a Journey.
F. Personality types
Personality Type In Congregations Alban Inst (November 1998)
by Lynne M. Baab
Book Description: This book presents all the ways personality type -- as measured by the
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator -- can be used in congregations. Subjects include finding a place to
serve, avoiding burnout, type and prayer, type and personal growth, and using type in working
with congregational leaders. Church leaders will learn to work more effectively with type; to
enhance teamwork in congregations; to assist people in finding satisfying ministries and
developing their spiritual lives.
Transition: If stage theory is of great interest to you, you may want to explore it further. I do
not see it as very helpful in my work with adults. Ideas about learning styles and building a
teaching/learning relationship I find more helpful. That is where I want to spend most of our
time.
Transition: When we think about adult learners and ourselves as a teacher as a learner, we need
to examine our assumptions. In our culture, most of our images of education are of education of
children or of teachers are those teaching children.
Following information taken from “Principles of Adult Learning,” by Kent L. Johnson and
Nelson T. Strobert in Lifelong Learning: A Guide to Adult Education in the Church. (1997)
Augsburg Fortress Publishers
I. Assumptions of pedagogy ( p. 62)
 The child is a dependent being.
 The child has limited life experiences from which to draw.
 Readiness to learn. Children learn in order to advance to another level of learning. The
learning is identified by adults.
 Orientation to learning. Learning for the future. Learns subject-matter.
 Motivation - responsibility of education is placed on the parents, guardians and
sponsors.
II. Assumptions of adult education
 The need to know. “ What is so important about this class for my life as a Christian
adult?” Adults desire to know the reasons they need to learn before they commit
themselves to an educational experience. “It is important for the adult educator, the, to
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present how a specific learning activity will improve performance or the quality of their
lives.” (P. 63)
The learner’s self-concept. “How am I going to grow or change from this educational
event?” Adults are more self-directed and better to determine their perceived needs.
“With a strong self-concept, adult learners struggle when they feel that others are
imposing their wills or desire on them.” Being self-directed is important.
The role of the learner’s experience. “Do my past experiences count for anything?”
“Adults bring more years of life experiences to the learning event than do children or
youth. Multiple experiences might close adults to new ideas and change. Role of the
teachers – develop ways to challenge adults to consider alternative perspectives &
acknowledge their experiences.
Readiness to learn. “I wasn’t able to deal with this before but now I can.” “Readiness
emerges from the adult’s desire to interpret and confront his or her real-life experiences.”
( p.63) Readiness comes by exposing adult learners to various experiences such as
models, simulations or counseling.
Orientation to learning. “How can I deal with so many changes going on in my life?”
Adult education – orientation towards life – task or problem-centered educational
experiences. “Adults will devote time to learn something when they sense that it will
assist them in dealing with problems and issues they are confronting in their lives.” (P.
64)
Motivation “I just know that I need to get a handle on my life and faith.” The most
powerful motivation – internal motivation of the adult learner.
III. Resource of highest value in adult education is the learner’s experience. How can you as a
tap into that experience?
IV. Guidelines for adult education.
1. Honor the expectations that learners bring with them.
2. Respect students and their experiences.
3. Be both a teacher and a learner.
4. Be enthusiastic about what you are teaching or modeling.
V. Two basic forms of adult education
 Discussion based – informal, exchange of information, questions and opinions
 Teacher directed, lectures, presentation
Formal classes small part of adult learning. Mentoring can be a significant educational
technique. It is an informal type of learning.
Discuss Parker Palmer and his two models of learning. Instrumental and constructivist.
Draw the two images below on the white board and discuss.
T he two images below that are drawn from Parker Palmer's book (The Courage to Teach). The
top image is of an instrumental definition of learning, the bottom image is a relational,
constructivist definition.
Transition exercise: Think for a moment about a person who had a significant impact upon
your growth in faith? Picture his or her face. Recall what this person said and did that was
significant for you. What was a particular quality that you appreciated about this person?
 Write it on your index card.
 Share in your group.
 Share in large group and write list on the board.
Components of building an effective relationship with your mentee
(From Chapter 11, Student-Faculty Relationships, in Education and Identity, by Arthur W.
Chickering and Linda Reisser. Second Edition Jossey-Bass Publishers: San Francisco Copyright
© 1993 - from Rick Reis – posting Sept 18, 2007)
1. Accessibility
Accessibility means more than simply saying to students, "Feel free to come and see me." It
requires an institutional climate where talking with faculty members is legitimized, where
students feel free to "take up the professors' valuable time," and where such contacts are viewed
as an important and necessary part of teaching and learning. In many studies, simply frequency
of contact is associated with variables related to the general kinds of development with which we
are concerned. When frequent contacts are characterized by informality and warmth, student
development is augmented
2. Authenticity
Authenticity holds sway when the people that students encounter have a firm and well-integrated
system of values and behaviors of their own. Students do not want to be told what they should
be or what they should become, nor does such telling make much difference. They do want to
know what others believe and the basis on which those beliefs rest.
Knowledge
3. Knowledge about students and their development can be a great help. . Loevinger's Ego
Development: Conceptions and Theories (1976), Kegan's The Evolving Self: Problem and
Process in Human Development (1982), Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, and Tarule's Women's
Ways of Knowing: The Development of Self, Mind, and Voice (1986)-all these provide insights
that help us "listen with a third ear" and hear better some of the fundamental developmental
dynamics that underlie the cognition and affect our ability to Increasing our own knowledge of
the literature on human development can by very useful.
come through in our encounters.
4. Ability to Communicate with Students
We can learn better how to listen and how to talk with our students.
A review of the qualities associated with skilled helping may remind us of what can be
helpful. Trust and respect are key ingredients, as are empathy, warmth, concreteness,
immediacy, and a nonjudgmental attitude. Ivey (1988) summarizes the basic components. The
most basic is the ability to enter into the student's frame of reference, to attempt to truly
understand the student's experiences (even if the student cannot see them), and focusing on assets
or strengths that the student can build on. This needs to be done sensitively, not discounting
negative feelings or simply trying to make the student feel better superficially. Ivey describes
other important dimensions of caring, such as genuine warmth, an emphasis on specifics rather
than vague generalities, a focus on the here-and-now rather than the past or future, and a
willingness to carefully offer feedback and suggestions that will help students move toward their
goals.
Respect is also necessary, recognizing each student's basic worth and uniqueness, refraining
from patronizing advice or quick solutions. By helping students clarify the situation, the
problem, and the context, and discover what actions are possible, we empower them to take
charge of their own adaptation and maturation
Active listening involves using our eyes, voice, gestures, and body language to convey our
interest, and being fully present to the speaker. This kind of attention demands restraint. It
means deliberately tuning out the "static," such as our own counterarguments and opinions, and
concentrating so intently on what the student is communicating that we can paraphrase it
accurately.
We need to listen not only for facts and feelings but for students' interpretations of what they
mean. Does the low grade received on a test mean "total failure"? Does it mean that he did not
understand the assignment or needs more work on study skills? Does it mean that she could not
concentrate because of personal problems? By helping students see their assumptions and
interpretations, we probe cognitive constructs that underlie their thoughts, feelings, and
actions. Alternative frames of reference can then be explored.
Listening to and talking with students effectively can be exhausting, frustrating, and difficult,
especially with students diverse in age and national and ethnic backgrounds. But it is in one-toone exchanges that we can be models, mentors, and friends.
A. Emphatic listening – Stephen Covey – Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Listening involves patience, openness and the diesire to understand.
You are not learning anything while you are talking. You learn a lot when you listen.
Four levels of listening (Covey – See pages 240 -241)
1. Ignoring another person, not really listening, pretending to listen
2. Selective listening, hearing only parts of the conversation
3. Attentive listening – paying attention and focus on the words being said
4. Empathic listening – more than “active” listening or “reflective listening” where you
repeat back or mimic what another person said. That is skill-based listening. Emphatic
listening is more. Listening to understand – to deeply understand. Only 10 percent of our
communication is represented by the words we say. 30 percent by our sounds and 60 %
by our body language. In empathic listening, you listen with your ears but also with your
eyes and your hearts and your body. You listen for feeling for meaning, for emotion, for
behavior. Through emphatic listening, you affirm the other person. Emphatic listening
is risky. “It takes a great deal of security to go into a deep listening experience because
you open yourself up to be influenced. You become vulnerable. It’s a paradox, in a
sense, because in order to have influences, you have to be influenced. That means you
have to really understand.” P. 243.