How useful are theories focusing on adult learners for educators?

Transcription

1 How useful are theories focusing on adult learners for educators? Gota Hayashi 1. Introduction: Dye (1999)found through informal discussion with student teachers and examination of assignment work that while teachers do attribute value to the use of educational theory, the extent, level, and depth of how theory is valued is extremely variable. The researcher suggests that there needs to be a more balanced alignment of theory and practice strands in teacher preparation programs. This suggests the value of theories related to adult learners being introduced to educators who are teaching adult learners. Specifically, the more educators are exposed to various theories related to their own practice, and the more in-depth reflection there is, the better equipped educators will be in nurturing their ways of recognizing complexity in their students and serving them better (Klette, 2011; Reason, 2010). However, what is confusing is perhaps that different groups of researchers represent different schools of thought, some of which appear to be mutually incompatible if not directly contradictory (Klette, 2011). Klette (2011)argues that it is neither likely nor desirable that we shall get a unified theory in educational research in a foreseeable future, if ever. This paper introduces two sets of theories that can be grouped into two distinct schools of thought : theories focusing on learners characteristics offered by Knowles (1975/1980)and Cross (1971/1995), as well as theories focusing on changes in consciousness offered by Mezirow (1991/2000) and Freire (2000). Specifically, strengths and weaknesses of the two schools of thought will be analyzed for educators to become more familiar with these theories and recognize complexity in their students to serve the students better in their own unique ways. 2. Theories focusing on learners characteristics: Knowles and Cross One of the strengths of Knowles theory on andragogy is of the humanistic attitudes that build on learners personal experience. Aslanian and Brickell (1980)found that 83 65

2 How useful are theories focusing on adult learners for educators? percent of adult learners were engaged in learning activities because of some transition in their lives, suggesting that this art and science of helping adults learn can help them become better learners so they can make life transitions smoothly. Another strength is that andragogy can help a person establish self-identity from their experience, and a strong sense of identity can help them develop a strong identity and be in good relationships with others (Erikson, 1968). However, because much of the focus is on personal experience, critics have pointed out that andragogy does not address how culture impacts a personʼs development and ways of thinking (Sandlin, 2005). Furthermore, the fact that adults have lived longer than children so they have a quantity of experience greater than children does not necessarily translate into quality experience that can become a resource for learning, and certain experiences can even be barriers to learning (Merriam, Mott, & Lee, 1996), and children in certain situations can have a range of experiences qualitatively richer than some adults (Hanson, 1996). Cross model which has grown from five identity stages of underground approach to Black identity (1971)to multiple identity clusters at each of the four stages (Cross & Vandiver, 2001)is related to Knowles model in terms of learner characteristics, specifically with regards to learner identity. The four main stages: pre-encounter, encounter, immersion, and internalization provides a process of identity development (Cross & Vandiver, 2001) through adult experience. In the encounter stage, the individual has an experience that shatters the relevance of the personʼs current identity and worldview and provide a hint for the direction that the person can take (Cross, 1995). This is usually followed by a process of internalization marked by an inner peace and a personʼs idea of Blackness, and such a biculturalist-internalization involves a person committed to Black concerns yet enjoys aspects of the dominant culture (Cross & Vandiver, 2001). Unlike andragogy, its strength is that not only does it address a personal identity component but a reference group component. However, its main weakness may be that the encounter experiences are very individualistic and spontaneous, and it may not be situations that can be recreated in classrooms. Both Knowles and Cross theories encourage educators to help adults further develop their identity, their capacity to learn, and their capacity to live well. In Cross model, although it may be difficult to provide an experience that shatters the relevance of the personʼs current identity and worldview, classroom learning can encourage students to reexamine how they presently view the world. Also, through classroom discussions, in the last stage of bicultural-internalization, classes can facilitate students finding inner peace in 66

3 コミュニケーション科学 (48) which it is possible for students to commit to Black concerns and also enjoy aspects of the dominant culture (Cross & Vandiver, 2001). In order to help students experience bicultural-internalization, it becomes important for teachers to understand each students personal stories to have an understanding of what stage of identity development they are at, and it also makes sense for teachers to have achieved bicultural-internalization. Since Knowles theory is also based on personal development, it also makes sense for teachers to understand students personal stories and where they are in their stage of development to help facilitate growth. Tools that can be used include the Oddi Continuing Learning Inventory or OCLI, a 24-item Likert scale that measures oneʼs self-directedness as a personality trait and the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007). 3. Theories focusing on changes in consciousness: Mezirow and Freire Mezirowʼs (1991)perspective transformation and Freireʼs (2000)conscientization contend that changes in perspective or consciousness are defining characteristic of learning in adulthood. According to Mezirow (2000), there are two dimensions to our frame of reference: a habit of mind, and a point of view, and transformative learning occurs when there is a transformation with our entire perspective or habit of mind, or a transformation in our beliefs or attitudes as related to our point of view. For transformations to occur, a disorienting dilemma is the first step in the 10-phase process (Mezirow, 1991). Merriam (2004)points to Mezirowʼs theoryʼs weakness, stating that the theory should be expanded to include affective and intuitive dimensions on equal footing with cognitive and rational components. In other words, while rationality can be perceived as a strength, it has been criticized as relying too much on rationality. Freireʼs approach emerges from a context of poverty and oppression and focuses on radical social change. However, like Mezirow, Freire focuses on cognitive growth (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007). According to Freire (2000), banking education is teacher-centered as the all-knowing teacher deposits knowledge into passive students who serve as receptacles of dialogue. In this type of education, students are oppressed and live in a culture of silence because their worlds are defined by the teacher who is an oppressor. On the other hand, the purpose of problem-posing education is liberation in which teachers and students become coinvestigators into common reality or the sociocultural situation in which they live. The strength of problem-posing education is that it allows for a 67

4 How useful are theories focusing on adult learners for educators? process of conscientization, an ongoing process where the learner becomes increasingly aware of the various oppressive forces in his or her life and eventually becomes part of the process of social change (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007). For instance, discussions between the teacher and the students raise students awareness about their life situations (Freire, 2000). On the other hand, the weakness of banking education is that such discussions are discouraged because banking education resists dialogue. Also, realistically, it is difficult for students to be taught only by teachers who have a problemposing education approach. Educators can learn from the strengths and weaknesses of Mezirow and Freireʼs theories including : employing a rational approach to cognitive growth of the students, not being over-reliant on the rational approach, and encouraging student-discussion through problem-posing education. First, the focus on students cognitive development can encourage teachers to attempt to provide challenging materials that encourages such development. Second, recognizing affective and intuitive dimensions (Merriam, 2004)encourages a more balanced view of learning, rather than viewing learning through education as what only makes sense, as there is a difficulty of recognizing every variable that leads to individuals learning experiences. Second, a problem-posing education can encourage dialogue among students and teachers, which can lead to students constructing their own knowledge. This makes sense considering that students not only remember and trust what the teacher says but also what the students contribute to classroom discussion. However, banking education, which can be frequently seen in universities through lectures can also contribute to students constructing their own knowledge, and so both banking education and problem-posing education approaches benefit from being employed with care. 4. Conclusion: This paper introduced two sets of theories that can be grouped into two distinct schools of thought : theories focusing on learners characteristics offered by Knowles (1975/1980)and Cross (1971/1995), as well as theories focusing on changes in consciousness offered by Mezirow (1991/2000)and Freire (2000). Strengths and weaknesses of the two schools of thought were analyzed for educators to become more familiar with these theories and recognize complexity in their students to serve the students better in their own unique ways. First, upon analysis, it was argued that both Knowles and Cross theo- 68

5 コミュニケーション科学 (48) ries encourage educators to help adults further develop their identity, their capacity to learn, and their capacity to live well. Second, it was argued that educators can learn from the strengths and weaknesses of Mezirow and Freireʼs theories including: employing a rational approach to cognitive growth of the students, not being over-reliant on the rational approach, and encouraging student-discussion through problem-posing education. The inevitable limitation of this analysis is that it is confined within the learning and teaching experience of the writer. For future research, what would be worth examining are the attitudes of educators who teach adult learners. Specifically, what attitudes they have toward these two schools of thought and their actual practice can merit analysis, particularly in better understanding how a group of educators in a certain organization teach, which provides a different angle from ordinary course evaluations. Prior to such an examination, it may be worthwhile for the researcher attempting to collect qualitative data from other educators in being examined by another researcher in terms of his own attitudes toward these two schools of thought as well as his own practices in his own classroom. In such a way, bias towards analysis of collected data may be mitigated. References Aslanian, C. B., & Brickell, H. M. (1980). Americans in transition : Life changes as reasons for adult learning. New York: College Entrance Examination Board. Cross, W. (1971, July). The Negro-to-Black conversion experience. Black World, 20, Cross, W. E. Jr. (1995). The psychology of Nigrescence : Revising the Cross model. In J. G. Ponterotto, J. M. Casa, L. A. Dye, L. V. (1999). Is educational theory being valued by student teachers in further and higher education? Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 51 (2), Klette, K. (2011). The role of theory in educational research. In The Research Council of Norway (Ed.), The role of theory in educational research : Report from the March seminar 2011 (pp. 3-7). Lysaker: The Research Council of Norway. Knowles, M. S. (1975). Self-directed learning. New York : Association Press. Knowles, M. S. (1980). The modern practice of adult education : From pedagogy to andragogy (2 nd ed.). New York: Cambridge Books. Suzuki, & C. M. Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural counseling (pp ). Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage. Cross W. E. Jr., & Vandiver, B. J. (2001). Nigrescence theory and measurement : Introducing the Cross racial identity scale (CRIS). In J. G. Ponterotto, J. M. Casa, L. A. Suzuki, & C. M. Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural counseling (2 nd ed., pp ). Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage. Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity, youth and crisis. New York : Norton. 69

6 How useful are theories focusing on adult learners for educators? Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed (20 th anniversary ed.). New York : Continuum. Hanson, A. (1996). The search for a separate theory of adult learning : Does anyone really need andragogy In R. Edwards, A. Hanson, & P. Raggatt (Eds.), Boundaries of adult learning (pp ). New York: Routledge. Merriam, S. B. (2004). The role of cognitive development in Mezirowʼs transformational learning theory. Adult Education Quarterly, 55 (1), Merriam, S., Caffarella, R., & Baumgartner, L. (2007). Learning in adulthood : A comprehensive guide (3 rd ed.). California: Jossey-Bass Publishing. Merriam, S. B., Mott, V. W., & Lee, M. (1996). Learning that comes from the negative interpretation of life experience. Studies in Continuing Education, 18(1), Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning. San Francisco : Jossey-Bass. Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning to think like an adult : Core concepts of transformation theory. In J. Mezirow & Associates, Learning as transformation : Critical perspectives on a theory in progress (pp. 3-33). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Reason, C. (2010). Leading a learning organization : The science of working with others. The United States of America: Solution Tree Press. Sandlin, J. (2005). Andragogy and its discontents : An analysis of andragogy from three critical perspectives. PAACE Journal of Lifelong Learning, 14,