This book examines the role of psychology in informing adult education practice. It acknowledges the psychological dimension of adult education work, and explores this dimension in the context of the concerns of adult educators. The approach is to examine the most important traditions of some key psychological theories and to discuss the issues and problems in applying them to an understanding of adult learning and development. The text is ideally suited for those who seek a critical understanding of psychological theory and research from the perspective of the adult educator.

The third edition of this popular book examines the role of psychology in informing adult education practice and has been fully updated to reflect the effect of changes in the structure of society, globalisation, technology and the impact of postmodernism. It explores the traditions of key psychological theories and discusses issues and problems in applying them to an understanding of adult learning and development. It also examines the formation of identities and places increased emphasis on what it means to be a lifelong learner. Dealing with adult learning in a variety of contexts, the topics considered include: humanistic psychology self directed learners psychoanalytic approaches the formation of identities development of intelligence learning styles behaviourism group dynamics and group facilitators critical awareness.

Adult education occurs whenever individuals engage in sustained, systematic learning in order to affect changes in their attitudes, knowledge, skills, or belief systems. Learning, instruction, and developmental processes are the primary foci of educational psychology research and theorizing, but educational psychologists' work in these domains has centered primarily on the childhood and adolescent school years. More recently, however, a number of educational psychologists have studied learning and development in adulthood. The results of these efforts have resulted in what is now called adult educational psychology. The purpose of this volume is to introduce this new subfield within educational psychology. Section 1 focuses on the interplay between learning and development in adulthood, how various forms of instruction lead to different learning outcomes for adults, description of the diverse social contexts in which adult learning takes place, and the development of metacognitive knowledge across the life span. Section 2 describes both research and theory pertaining to adult intellectual functioning, thinking, and problem-solving skills within various contexts. Section 3 describes research in a variety of adult learning domains; discusses the cognitive and behavioral dimensions of reading in adulthood and the applications of reading in real-life circumstances; examines an educational intervention developed to promote forgiveness; and relates the outcomes of an intervention designed to educate parents about their children's mathematics learning. Section 4 summarizes the themes and issues running throughout this, the first book that has sought to span the gulf between adult education, adult development, and educational psychology.

Adult Educational Psychology is useful for those encountering psychology as a subject in adult education courses as well as those with an interest in the psychology of adult development. It is directly relevant for teachers in higher education, instructors in technical and further education, staff development and human resource practitioners as well as community educators.

This book offers a new and promising way to support adults in Adult Basic Education (ABE) and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) programs specifically, and learners in adult education, in general. Applying renowned Harvard University psychologist Robert Kegan's constructive-development theory, Drago-Severson depicts an in-depth investigation into how and why adults develop "ways of knowing" to better prepare them for their work in the 21st century. This book provides practical suggestions for applying Kegan's theory in adult education classrooms to enable teachers, curriculum developers, program designers, and policymakers to better respond to adult learners' strengths and learning needs.

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.

Presenting psychology as an applied discipline that can help adult educators be more effective in their work, this book analyses the cultural factors that influence the characteristics, behaviour and thinking of adult learners. It emphasizes the collective orientation of African cultures and the view of the self in terms of interdependent relationships within a community. The chapters provide an introduction to the psychology of adult learning and address the following: characteristics of adult learning; life span development; human motivation and participation; learning styles; facilitating adult learning; and guidance and counselling of adult learners.