We May Help Adults Learn But It's For A Different Purpose

I am a classic adult learner. I simply love to learn new things. Some of what I learn I put into practice such as my newest hobbies of fishing and genealogy. Some of it I just enjoy it for the pure pleasure of learning such as watching the History channel or other documentaries on TV. I am self-directed, self-motivated, evaluate my own learning, and do it for my own benefit. I am everything that classic adult learning principles describe in an Adult Learner.

Some of you may not know that I am a staunch advocate for this type of adult learning. I am the co-author (with Malcolm Knowles and Richard Swanson) of The Adult Learner: The Definitive Classic in Adult Learning and Human Resource Development which is Malcolm Knowles' basic book on andragogy, the core theory of adult learning. As such, I am a vigorous advocate for the power of learning in our society and the capacity for adults to learn throughout their entire lives. From an andragogical point of view, adults should be empowered to learn and make decisions about what they do with their learning.

But not within organizations. This seems like a contradiction to many who quietly object to me co-authoring this book, but I am an equally staunch advocate for the right of organizations to expect performance change after (adult) learning because they are the ones who make the investment. In this sense, organizational trainers are NOT in the adult learning business, at least not in the classic sense of adult learning. While organizational trainers may use some of the same methods, the purpose of learning is fundamentally to provide a return to the organization, not the learner. Learning is controlled by the organization, paid for by the organization, benefits the organization (as well as the learner), and is expected to transfer into job performance change.

Some adult learning advocates have a philosophical objection to this and view control of learning by anyone other than the learner as horrible. I don't. I find no contradiction in my dual positions of being a staunch advocate for classic adult learning in society, and an equally staunch advocate for performance-based learning inside organizations.

We have to abandon our traditional notions of adult learning as being entirely learner controlled in order to embrace learning transfer change. But don't feel guilty--just remember who is paying the bill!