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 including a PowerPoint presentation for each chapter. 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.

Goal 5 of the National Education Goals states that by the year 2000 every adult American will be literate and possess knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy. An in-depth review of current research and literature on issues related to adult literacy and lifelong learning was conducted. The review focused on the following issues related to literacy and lifelong learning: the school-to-work transition; opportunities for training in the skills needed to adapt to emerging technologies, work methods, and markets; programs to meet the needs of part-time and midcareer students; projected increases in enrollments in college programs; and outcomes of college education related to critical thinking, effective communication, and problem solving. The following are among the major findings of research in these areas: (1) more adults are completing more years of education, and this trend will likely continue into the next century; (2) increasingly, adults are learning at all ages and in settings that vary widely with respect to degree of formality and organization; (3) technological advances are providing adults with more opportunities and options for controlling timing and setting of learning and are enabling postsecondary students to balance their time between work and education; and (4) ever-changing work environments require recurrent education. The literature review also revealed that there is little consensus on the definition of literacy and on what constitutes knowledge for citizenship and curricular areas likely to contribute to good citizenship. (Contains 92 references.) (MN)

Results of a 2-year effort to analyze feedback from over 1,500 adults across the country about what literacy means to them. This report contains both a synthesis of adult learner perspectives on National Education Goal 6, and examples of the actual essays submitted by the respondents. Includes: what it means to be literate; what it means to compete in a global economy; what it means to exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship; voices of adults on welfare; and voices of adults in prison and treatment centers.