Adult Education: Students' Independence and Autonomy as Foundations and as Educational Outcomes. ZIFF Papiere 49.

Overview & Synopsis

This paper discusses the concept and definitions of adult education, the assumptions made about adults and their educational abilities and motives, the aims and objects of adult education, and the means and methods in adult education. The paper concludes that there is a close relationship between the aims and methods of adult education and the view of humans as independent in their search for solutions to problems. Adult education is assumed to attract mature people intent on personal, intellectual, and professional development in the direction of autonomy. The study content, the institutional forms, and the methods usually applied are intended to pave the way for this development. The maturity of participants in adult education would seem to strengthen the assumptions that adult students are--or can be--particularly capable of independent study. This maturity, the conversational methods developed, and the very ethos of adult education make it reasonable to expect of adult study particular potentials for developing independent personalities. This expectation and knowledge of the general motivation of voluntary, mature learners make lifelong learning a realistic proposition for considerable numbers of people to whom study opportunities are continuously available. A 66-item reference list concludes the document. (KC)