John Dewey and Education

John Dewey is nothing less than a rock star of modern education. His ideas and approaches to
schooling were revolutionary ideas during his lifetime and remain fundamentally important to
modern schooling today. In this video, we will take a brief look at the background of John Dewey
as well as a more in depth look at his educational philosophies and ideals. When we're done, you
should be able to describe Dewey, but more importantly, you should be able to identify his
philosophy in action.

Biography

John Dewey was born in Burlington, Vermont, on October 20, 1859. He was a bright kid,
attending college at the University of Vermont at only 15 years old! At the University of Vermont,
Dewey focused on the study of philosophy. Dewey graduated with his bachelor's degree in 1879.
He then began his teaching career. He taught two years of high school in Oil City, PA, and one
year of elementary school in Charlotte, Vermont.

In 1884, Dewey received his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University and immediately began his
university teaching career at the University of Michigan. Dewey spent most of his early career
there, except for a one-year stint at the University of Minnesota. In 1894, Dewey left for the
University of Chicago, where he would become the head of the philosophy department. At the
University of Chicago, Dewey would work to develop much of his viewpoints that have lasted far
beyond his time. In 1904, Dewey would become a professor at Columbia University, where he
would retire in 1930.

The Views of John Dewey

John Dewey is probably most famous for his role in what is called progressive education.
Progressive education is essentially a view of education that emphasizes the need to learn by
doing. Dewey believed that human beings learn through a 'hands-on' approach. This places
Dewey in the educational philosophy of pragmatism.

Pragmatists believe that reality must be experienced. From Dewey's educational point of view,
this means that students must interact with their environment in order to adapt and learn.
Dewey felt the same idea was true for teachers and that teachers and students must learn
together. His view of the classroom was deeply rooted in democratic ideals, which promoted
equal voice among all participants in the learning experience.

John Dewey’s Educational Philosophy

BY MOHAMMED RHALMI · PUBLISHED JUNE 9, 2011 · UPDATED APRIL 18, 2016

John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer. He was born
in 1859 and died in 1952. His ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was
one of the early developers of pragmatism and functional psychology. The following are some of
his ideas about education and society.

Education and Democracy

John Dewey considered two principal elements to be fundamental in strengthening democracy,

namely schools and civil society. According to Dewey, it is not enough to extend the voting rights.
It is of paramount importance to form public opinion through education as well. The aim is to
ensure effective communication among citizens, experts, and politicians. The latter must be
accountable for the policies they adopt.

Dewey argued that education and learning are social and interactive processes, and thus the
school itself is a social institution through which social reform can and should take place. Thus,
Dewey makes a strong case for the importance of education not only as a place to gain content
knowledge, but also as a place to learn how to live. In his eyes, the purpose of education should
not revolve around the acquisition of a pre-determined set of skills, but rather the realization of
one’s full potential and the ability to use those skills for the greater good in society. In addition to
helping students realize their full potential, Dewey goes on to acknowledge that education and
schooling are instrumental in creating social change and reform.

John Dewey and Education

Along with Jean Piaget, John Dewey was one of the first major contemporaries to develop a clear
idea of what constructivism consists of. He was concerned with the learner. He wanted to shed
light on the learner as an important agent in the learning process. He had precise insights
regarding how education should take place within the classroom. According to Dewey there are
two major conflicting schools of thought regarding educational pedagogy.
The first is centered on the curriculum and focuses almost solely on the subject matter to be
taught. Dewey argues that the principal weakness in this methodology is the inactivity of the
student; within this particular framework, the child is simply the immature being who is to be
matured; he is the superficial being who is to be deepened.

The second is learner-centred. He argues that in order for education to be most effective,
content must be presented in a way that allows the student to relate the information to prior
experiences, thus deepening the connection with this new knowledge.

Although Dewey believed in the second view of education, he was alarmed by the excesses of
“child-centered” education. He argued that too much reliance on the child could be equally
detrimental to the learning process. The potential flaw in this line of thinking is that it minimizes
the importance of the content as well as the role of the teacher. For this reason he tried to strike
a balance between delivering knowledge while also taking into account the interests and
experiences of the student. For Dewey the child and the curriculum are simply two sides. One
can not do without the other. These ideas made John Dewey one of the most famous advocates
of hands-on learning or experiential education.

In addition to Dewey’s ideas about how the learning process should take place, He also re
evaluated the role that the teacher should play within that process. According to Dewey, the
teacher should not be the sage on stage anymore. The role of the teacher should be that of
facilitator and guide. The teacher becomes a partner in the learning process, guiding students to
independently discover meaning within the subject area.

Read more about John Dewey’s educational philosophy:

Lewin's Change Management Model

Understanding the Three Stages of Change

Change is a common thread that runs through all businesses regardless of size, industry and age.
Our world is changing fast and organizations must change quickly, too. Organizations that handle
change well thrive, whilst those that do not may struggle to survive.

The concept of "change management" is a familiar one in most businesses today. But how
businesses manage change (and how successful they are at it) varies enormously depending on
the nature of the business, the change and the people involved. And a key part of this depends
on how well people within it understand the change process.
Find out about Lewin's Change Management Model, in this short video.

One of the cornerstone models for understanding organizational change was developed by Kurt
Lewin back in the 1940s, and still holds true today. His model is known as Unfreeze – Change –
Refreeze, which refers to the three-stage process of change that he describes. Lewin, a physicist
as well as a social scientist, explained organizational change using the analogy of changing the
shape of a block of ice.

Understanding Lewin's Change Management Model

If you have a large cube of ice but realize that what you want is a cone of ice, what do you do?
First you must melt the ice to make it amenable to change (unfreeze). Then you must mold the
iced water into the shape you want (change). Finally, you must solidify the new shape (refreeze).

Lewin's Change Model: Unfreeze, Change, Refreeze

By looking at change as a process with distinct stages, you can prepare yourself for what is
coming and make a plan to manage the transition – looking before you leap, so to speak. All too
often, people go into change blindly, causing much unnecessary turmoil and chaos.

To begin any successful change process, you must first start by understanding why the change
must take place. As Lewin put it, "Motivation for change must be generated before change can
occur. One must be helped to re-examine many cherished assumptions about oneself and one's
relations to others." This is the unfreezing stage from which change begins.

Unfreeze

This first stage of change involves preparing the organization to accept that change is necessary,
which involves break down the existing status quo before you can build up a new way of
operating.

Key to this is developing a compelling message showing why the existing way of doing things
cannot continue. This is easiest to frame when you can point to declining sales figures, poor
financial results, worrying customer satisfaction surveys, or suchlike. These show that things
have to change in a way that everyone can understand.
To prepare the organization successfully, you need to start at its core – you need to challenge the
beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviors that currently define it. Using the analogy of a building,
you must examine and be prepared to change the existing foundations as they might not support
add-on storeys. Unless this is done, the whole building may risk collapse.

This first part of the change process is usually the most difficult and stressful. When you start
cutting down the "way things are done," you put everyone and everything off balance. You may
evoke strong reactions in people, and that's exactly what needs to done.

By forcing the organization to re-examine its core, you effectively create a (controlled) crisis,
which in turn can build a strong motivation to seek out a new equilibrium. Without this
motivation, you won't get the buy-in and participation necessary to effect any meaningful
change.

Change

After the uncertainty created in the unfreeze stage, the change stage is where people begin to
resolve their uncertainty and look for new ways to do things. People start to believe and act in
ways that support the new direction.

The transition from unfreeze to change does not happen overnight: People take time to embrace
the new direction and participate proactively in the change. A related change model, the Change
Curve , focuses on the specific issue of personal transitions in a changing environment and is
useful for understanding this aspect in more detail.

In order to accept the change and contribute to making it successful, people need to understand
how it will benefit them. Not everyone will fall in line just because the change is necessary and
will benefit the company. This is a common assumption and a pitfall that should be avoided.

Tip:

Unfortunately, some people will genuinely be harmed by change, particularly those who benefit
strongly from the status quo. Others may take a long time to recognize the benefits that change
brings. You need to foresee and manage these situations.

Time and communication are the two keys to the changes occurring successfully. People need
time to understand the changes, and they also need to feel highly connected to the organization
throughout the transition period. When you are managing change , this can require a great deal
of time and effort, and hands-on management is usually the best approach.

Refreeze

When the changes are taking shape and people have embraced the new ways of working, the
organization is ready to refreeze. The outward signs of the refreeze are a stable organization
chart, consistent job descriptions, and so on. The refreeze stage also needs to help people and
the organization internalize or institutionalize the changes. This means making sure that the
changes are used all the time, and that they are incorporated into everyday business. With a
new sense of stability, employees feel confident and comfortable with the new ways of working.

2018 Life Plan Toolkit Offer!

Make this your best year yet with our 2018 Life Plan Toolkit, FREE when you join the Mind Tools
Club before midnight, January 11.

Find Out More

The rationale for creating a new sense of stability in our ever-changing world is often questioned.
Even though change is a constant in many organizations, this refreezing stage is still important.
Without it, employees get caught in a transition trap where they aren't sure how things should
be done, so nothing ever gets done to full capacity. In the absence of a new frozen state, it is
very difficult to tackle the next change initiative effectively. How do you go about convincing
people that something needs changing if you haven't allowed the most recent changes to sink
in? Change will be perceived as change for change's sake, and the motivation required to
implement new changes simply won't be there.

As part of the refreezing process, make sure that you celebrate the success of the change – this
helps people to find closure, thanks them for enduring a painful time, and helps them believe
that future change will be successful.
Practical Steps for Using the Framework

Unfreeze

1. Determine what needs to change.

Survey the organization to understand the current state.

Understand why change has to take place.

2. Ensure there is strong support from senior management.

Use Stakeholder Analysis and Stakeholder Management to identify and win the support of key
people within the organization.

Frame the issue as one of organization-wide importance.

3. Create the need for change.

Create a compelling message about why change has to occur.

Use your vision and strategy as supporting evidence.

Communicate the vision in terms of the change required.

Emphasize the "why."

4. Manage and understand the doubts and concerns.

Remain open to employee concerns and address them in terms of the need to change.

Change

1. Communicate often.

Do so throughout the planning and implementation of the changes.

Describe the benefits.

Explain exactly how the changes will effect everyone.

Prepare everyone for what is coming.

2. Dispel rumors.

Answer questions openly and honestly.

Deal with problems immediately.

Relate the need for change back to operational necessities.

3. Empower action.

Provide lots of opportunity for employee involvement.

Have line managers provide day-to-day direction.

4. Involve people in the process.

Generate short-term wins to reinforce the change.

Negotiate with external stakeholders as necessary (such as employee organizations).

Refreeze

1. Anchor the changes into the culture.

Identity what supports the change.

Identify barriers to sustaining change.

2. Develop ways to sustain the change.

Ensure leadership support.

Create a reward system.

Establish feedback systems.

Adapt the organizational structure as necessary.

3. Provide support and training.

Keep everyone informed and supported.

4. Celebrate success!

Key Points

Lewin's Change Management Model is a simple and easy-to-understand framework for

managing change.

By recognizing these three distinct stages of change, you can plan to implement the change
required. You start by creating the motivation to change (unfreeze). You move through the
change process by promoting effective communications and empowering people to embrace
new ways of working (change). And the process ends when you return the organization to a
sense of stability (refreeze), which is so necessary for creating the confidence from which to
embark on the next, inevitable change.

This site teaches you the skills you need for a happy and successful career; and this is just one of
many tools and resources that you'll find here at Mind Tools. Subscribe to our free newsletter, or
join the Mind Tools Club and really supercharge your career!

Kurt Lewin 3 Phases Change Theory

Universally Accepted

Change Management

Is Kurt Lewin change theory relevant to change management in the 21st century? Yes, and
companies benefit from understanding it

Kurt Lewin change theory and Lewin's three step model are very much a significant part of
change management strategies for managing change in the workplace in the 21st century. This
change management model was developed during the 1940's and the concept of 'Unfreezing-
Transition-Freezing' still remains very relevant today.

Below, from the perspective of a change management consultant I explain this change
management model, 'the 3 phases model', and how it works today as a key part of business
improvement and successful organizational change initiatives.

Kurt Lewin 3 Phases Change Management Model

Kurt Lewin's change management model is a fantastic change model for understanding the basic
concepts of a straight-forward change management process.

Kurt Lewin

As a business improvement and change management consultant globally for more than 10 years,
I can say that Lewin's three step model of unfreezing transitioning and freezing has been in some
way apart of most change management projects that I have been involved with. However whilst
we are going through the change management process we do not tend to specifically refer to
Kurt Lewin's three step model or refer to Kurt Lewin 3 phases, and so on...

Lewin's Three Step Change Model Phases are:

Unfreeze: Reducing the forces that are striving to maintain the status quo, and dismantling the
current mind set. Usually by presenting a provocative problem or event to get people to
recognize the need for change and to search for new solutions.

Transition: Developing new behaviors, values, and attitudes, sometimes through organizational
structure and process changes and development techniques. There may be a period of some
confusion as we move from the old ways of doing things to the new.

Freeze: The final stage of crystallizing and the adaptation of ownership of the new 'as is'. The
organization may revert to former ways of doing things at this point unless the changes are
reinforced through freezing.

For a real and relevant example of this change theory, and to see why I suggest it is still so much
a part of business improvement and change management programs, and relevant to your
business today, take a look at this Continental Airlines video below.

This video provides a excellent demonstration of the Kurt Lewin methods theories and change
model in action. It demonstrates how it works and the benefits of Kurt Lewin 3 phases theory
put in practice.

Continental Airlines

from the Poorest Performing Airline to Airline of The Year

Use Kurt Lewin's Change Model in Change Management Implementations

The challenge when reviewing a change management model like this is being able to picture
yourself implementing it a real world situation, using the change model in your business today.
One of the purposes of showing the Continental Airlines video above is that I hope that is can be
useful and helpful for you in that way.

If we were together now working on a project in your workplace how could we best use this
approach? As you read through this site, I hope you can think about what is in this change
management video and how it could apply in your business.

An important observation and reminder from this video is that to begin the change management
process you must begin by creating and awareness and an understanding for why the change
must take place. Build awareness for the pressure for change to come to the surface.

Unfreeze

How do we unfreeze an organisation? Typically a provocative problem or event needs to be

presented to people to get them to recognize the need for change and to search for new
solutions. This problem or event is the catalyst that creates the pressure for movement of
attitude or thinking, and for change to occur. And key to this unfreezing catalyst is
communication.

Two examples are:

By doing attitude surveys of all staff, it may show management that moral is quite low and that
as a result of this low morale the risk to safety is quite high. This may influence a manager who
has been resisting change to begin to take action.
Similarly when information is being delivered to the field, but then negative events in the field
are continuing to occur, this may convince management that the message is not being heard and
some required changes are in order.

During the unfreezing step generally most staff and management are willing to change. Those
that are not usually require something meaningful to provoke them to change their attitude.
These two examples above demonstrate that there are many positive and constructive ways to
do that.

Kurt Lewin's model suggests that one of the best ways to motivate people to change is to first
get people to see the need for change. Even when a change if for the persons long term health
benefits such a ceasing a bad destructive habit, few people ever change because someone else
tells them to. People generally need to see for themselves the need for change, for the catalyst
to occur, to provoke them to "unfreeze".

Educating employees in regards the pressures for change is a first step.

Following on from that leaders can begin to highlight gaps between the current and desired
states and present a vision as it needs to be. Then further begin to convey the change in terms of
specific outcomes that the company expects from the operation and employees and their
confidence and belief that these changes are possible.

The existing system needs to be broken down before a new way of operating can be installed.

As change agents the goal at this stage is to create a strong reaction. To get the relevant staff and
management involved and examining the status quo. To create an upsetting of the apple cart,
where people are forced to seek out a new and better way to do things. To re-set the normal
order of things to new heights and standards.

Tips to Unfreeze
Change cannot be change for change sake but change because compelling information about the
business, market or product or so on is telling us this is necessary. Do the analysis to determine
what change is required. Internal research, market data, etc. Build an understanding.

Break down the existing status quo before developing a new way of doing things. "Break the
failing system while maintaining order" - watch the Continental Airlines video above.

Compel people to understand and know the old ways cannot continue and use prior poor
outcomes as references to this old status quo. Get the message out. The who, what, when,
where, how, and why changes and improvements are required.

Maintain regular and frequent communication lines open with all employees. Have an open door
policy from the leadership group that allows employees in to discuss concerns and such can help
eliminate barriers to change and fears in terms of directing the need to change.

Remain open and honest with feedback to staff and continue to build cohesiveness among the
groups affected.

Build a guiding coalition and support from management and understand and pay attention to
the needs of stakeholders.

Transition

During the transition phase we aim to shift or alter the behavior of the individual, departments,
or organization in which the changes are taking place.

People are at this stage looking for new and better ways to do things. The behavior may initially
be mechanical but they are starting to perform and behave in ways that support the new
direction.

This process can be lengthy and almost certainly will not happen in a matter of just a few days. It
will take time for people to feel comfortable and start to act in ways that are supporting the
change initiative. There may be some mayhem and confusion at this point though with a
properly structured approach to the change this can be managed well.

Once people begin to see how the change is benefiting them, the company and those around
them, they will begin to take ownership in the change and drive it. However we must not as
leaders and change agents take for granted that everybody will be the same. Some people even
though they themselves can see the benefit for the business and its people, may still create
difficulties and may have to be removed. Unfortunately this is a fact of business life.

During this transition phase be prepared to deal with people who benefit from not changing. For
them the best situation is the status quo.

Have plenty of time and plenty of communication. People need time to take things in and
through the continual communication they will feel more involved and connected to the process.

It will benefit the project and is great for leaders and the change initiators to get out in the field
and talk and be apart of the people's approach. This aspect is part of what makes a good leader.

Tips for Transition

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate.

Involvement, Involvement, Involvement.

Immediately address any barriers of negative people, and keep things real and coming back to
how it relates to the business and the need for change.

Provide empowerment for people that is matched to consequences, and their readiness to
change.

Make use of milestones and measurements.

Be open to continual negotiation.

Freeze

When the people, structure, and strategy elements all seem okay, when things are looking well,
it is time to lock things in. We act here to make sure that the improvements stick and this is the
freezing phase. We continue here until the changes become the 'way we do things around here'.

Kurt Lewin's three step model assumes that organizations tend to revert to there former ways of
doing things unless the changes are reinforced. Kurt Lewin's model requires a process be in place
that supports and maintains the changes. This may include things such as new employee
performance appraisal systems and reward systems to influence those to adhere to the firm's
new values.

These aspects are also referred to and supported in John Kotter's leading change model such as
in "John Kotter Error 5, not removing obstacles to the new vision". This is very important point
because it reinforces that to sustain change, to freeze, something has to be in place to maintain
it. This may mean removing existing business systems and structures, etc that are now clearly
inconsistent with the new 'as is'.

Importantly, in recognizing that we continually change, this stage of freezing may only be
temporary in a continually improving environment. But freezing is still necessary in the
continuity of operations. It is necessary before moving on to the next stage of unfreezing again.
This is because freezing eliminates confusion for people who may not be sure of what needs to
be done if things were not locked in to become standard operating procedure (at least
temporarily).

Another benefit of freezing is that even though it may just be temporary, we have confirmed the
need to improve and become more compelled when the pressure for change builds again.

Tips to Freeze

Be sure to recognize and celebrate success as a standard part of the change process.

Use force-field analysis to identify and eliminate barriers to the change sticking, whilst
maintaining a forward looking focus on the new installations.

Establish performance and reward systems for monitoring the influencing the change
consistency.

Maintain regular review meetings with key staff and adapt the organisations meeting structure
and agenda's to support the improved status and processes.

Train personal where necessary and invite continued involvement in the processes.
Change Management Tool - Force Field Analysis

One of the great instruments of implementation success, the Kurt Lewin Change Management
Tool that helps bring it all together. Force field analysis (Kurt Lewin force field analysis) is used in
project implementations for positioning. To help determine what aspects of the business are
supporting the project, and what are the issues and forces working against it. It's also great for
using is actions-output focused meetings.

Summary of Kurt Lewin Change Theory

The Kurt Lewin model was developed to summarize what Kurt Lewin believed were the basic
steps in good planned change.

In summary the Kurt Lewin model demonstrates that to move an organization from point A to
point B first we should create compelling and motivating reasons to change (unfreeze). Then
implement and install the necessary changes (transition) to the way we wish for things to be.
Then aim to stabilize the operation (freeze) at a better and /or higher level of performance.

This model works whether the changes are strategic and incremental or reactive or anticipatory
change.

There is a very broad selection of strategies for managing change in the workplace that
management can select from to achieve successful organizational change. The Kurt Lewin three
step model provides an outline that assists us to visualize, plan and manage each of the stages of
change.

As a management consultant I see each stage of the Kurt Lewin change theory as being able to
be planned, as implementable, and as auditable for achieving successful change management
program implementation and business improvement results.
Change Management Consultant

Have you read over this Kurt Lewin change management model and reviewed the other change
management theories, tools and strategies for managing change in the workplace available on
this site? If so, then you have a very good foundation for achieving successful organizational
change. You can do it.

If you're not feeling quite confident enough to take on these activities, not sure where to start,
perhaps short of physical resources, or for any other reason click here to find a contact form.

Please fill out the required information and include details of your situation. I will reply to you
with my thoughts on it and help as best I can. There's absolutely no cost, obligation or
commitment on your part. Just the promise of me doing my best to try and give you a hand.
Contact Form

The Adult Learning Theory - Andragogy - of Malcolm Knowles

3.1K

SHARES

What does Andragogy mean and which are Knowles’ 5 assumptions of Adult Learners? Are you
familiar with Knowles’ 4 Principles Of Andragogy? In the following post I will answer the above
questions and provide you with several highly recommended resources on Malcolm Knowles’
Adult Learning Theory.

The Adult Learning Theory - Andragogy - of Malcolm Knowles

The Adult Learning Theory - Andragogy

Malcolm Shepherd Knowles (1913 – 1997) was an American educator well known for the use of
the term Andragogy as synonymous to adult education. According to Malcolm Knowles,
andragogy is the art and science of adult learning, thus andragogy refers to any form of adult
learning. (Kearsley, 2010).

The term andragogy can be supposedly equivalent to the term pedagogy. Andragogy in Greek
means man-leading in comparison to pedagogy, which in Greek means child-leading. However,
it should be noted that the term pedagogy has been used since the Ancient Greek times, while
Alexander Kapp, a German educator, first used the term andragogy in 1833.

Knowles’ 5 Assumptions Of Adult Learners

In 1980, Knowles made 4 assumptions about the characteristics of adult learners (andragogy)
that are different from the assumptions about child learners (pedagogy). In 1984, Knowles added
the 5th assumption.

Self-Concept

As a person matures his/her self concept moves from one of being a dependent personality
toward one of being a self-directed human being.

Adult Learner Experience

As a person matures he/she accumulates a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an

increasing resource for learning.

Readiness to Learn

As a person matures his/her readiness to learn becomes oriented increasingly to the

developmental tasks of his/her social roles.

Orientation to Learning

As a person matures his/her time perspective changes from one of postponed application of
knowledge to immediacy of application. As a result his/her orientation toward learning shifts
from one of subject- centeredness to one of problem centeredness.

Motivation to Learn

As a person matures the motivation to learn is internal (Knowles 1984:12).

Knowles’ 4 Principles Of Andragogy

In 1984, Knowles suggested 4 principles that are applied to adult learning:

Adults need to be involved in the planning and evaluation of their instruction.

Experience (including mistakes) provides the basis for the learning activities.

Adults are most interested in learning subjects that have immediate relevance and impact to
their job or personal life.

Adult learning is problem-centered rather than content-oriented. (Kearsley, 2010)

Application of Andragogy in Personal Computer Training

Knowles (1984) provides an example of applying andragogy principles to the design of personal
computer training:

There is a need to explain the reasons specific things are being taught (e.g., certain commands,
functions, operations, etc.)

Instruction should be task-oriented instead of promoting memorization -- learning activities

should be in the context of common tasks to be performed by the others.

Instruction should take into account the wide range of different backgrounds of learners;
learning materials and activities should allow for different levels/types of previous experience
with computers.

Since adults are self-directed, instruction should allow learners to discover things and knowledge
for themselves without depending on people. However, learners should be offered guidance and
help when mistakes are made.

I highly encourage you to read the 9 Tips To Apply Adult Learning Theory to eLearning. In this
article I discuss how Knowles' 5 adult learning theory assumptions can be translated to modern
day eLearning experiences, so that you can integrate the 4 principles of Andragogy into your
eLearning course for maximum learner engagement and motivation.

You may also find useful:

Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy

Malcolm KnowlesMalcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy. A

champion of andragogy, self-direction in learning and informal adult education, Malcolm S.
Knowles was a very influential figure in the adult education field. Here we review his life and
achievements, and assess his contribution.

contents: introduction · malcolm knowles – life · adult informal education · malcolm s. knowles
on andragogy · self-direction · conclusion · further reading and references · links

Malcolm Shepherd Knowles (1913 – 1997) was a, perhaps ‘the’, central figure in US adult
education in the second half of the twentieth century. In the 1950s he was the Executive
Director of the Adult Education Association of the United States of America. He wrote the first
major accounts of informal adult education and the history of adult education in the United
States. Furthermore, Malcolm Knowles’ attempts to develop a distinctive conceptual basis for
adult education and learning via the notion of andragogy became very widely discussed and
used. He also wrote popular works on self-direction and on groupwork (with his wife Hulda). His
work was a significant factor in reorienting adult educators from ‘educating people’ to ‘helping
them learn’ (Knowles 1950: 6). In this article we review and assess his intellectual contribution in
this area with respect to the development of the notions of informal adult education, andragogy
and self-direction.

Malcolm Knowles – a life

Born in 1913 and initially raised in Montana, Malcolm S. Knowles appears to have had a
reasonably happy childhood. His father was a veterinarian and from around the age of four
Knowles often accompanied him on his visits to farms and ranches.

While driving to and from these locations, we engaged in serious discussions about all sorts of
subjects, such as the meaning of life, right and wrong, religion, politics, success, happiness and
everything a growing child is curious about. I distinctly remember feeling like a companion rather
than an inferior. My father often asked what I thought about before he said what he thought,
and gave me the feeling that he respected my mind. (Knowles 1989: 2)

Malcolm Knowles has talked about his mother helping him through her example and care to be a
more ‘tender, loving, caring person’ (op. cit.). His schooling also appears to have reinforced his
‘positive self-concept’. Boy scouting was also a significant place of formation: ‘the knowledge
and skills I gained in the process of learning over fifty merit badges and performing a leadership
role were as important in my development as everything I learned in my high school courses’
(ibid.: 4).
Malcolm Knowles gained a scholarship to Harvard and took courses in philosophy (where he was
particularly influenced by the lecturing of Alfred North Whitehead), literature, history, political
science, ethics and international law. Again, his extracurricular activities were particularly
significant to him. He became President of the Harvard Liberal Club, general secretary of the
New England Model League of Nations, and President of the Phillips Brooks House (Harvard’s
social service agency). Involvement in voluntary service for the latter got him working in a boys
club. Knowles also met his wife Hulda at Harvard. Her father was a tool-and-die maker in
Detroit’s motor industry and an active unionist. ‘As we talked’, Knowles was later to write, ‘it
became clear that our values systems were identical’ (ibid.: 29).

Initially intending to make a career in the Foreign Service, Malcolm Knowles enrolled in the
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy when he graduated in 1934 from Harvard. He passed the
Foreign Service exam – but there was a three year wait for entry. Hulda and he had got married
in 1935 and he needed a job. Knowles joined the new National Youth Administration in
Massachusetts. His job involved him in finding out what skills local employers were looking for,
establishing courses to teach those skills, and recruiting young people to take the courses. About
three months into the work he met Eduard Lindeman who was involved in the supervision of
training within the NYA. Lindeman took Knowles under his wing and effectively became his
mentor. Knowles read Lindeman’s Meaning of Adult Education: ‘I was so excited in reading it that
I couldn’t put it down. It became my chief source of inspiration and ideas for a quarter of a
century’ (Knowles 1989: 8).

In 1940 Malcolm Knowles was approached by Boston YMCA to see if he would be interested in
becoming director of adult education and organizing an ‘Association School’ for adults. He was
drafted into the Navy in 1943, began to read widely around the field of adult education, and
decided to undertake a masters programme at the University of Chicago when he was mustered
out. To support himself through the programme he got a job at the Central Chicago YMCA as
director of adult education. His adviser at the University of Chicago was Cyril O. Houle whose
‘deep commitment to scholarship and his role in modeling a rigorous scholarly approach to
learning’ were of great importance. Knowles also fell under the influence of Carl Rogers. Early in
his master’s programme he had enrolled in a seminar in group counselling under Arthur Shedlin
(an associate of Rogers). ‘It was exhilarating. I began to sense what it means to get “turned on”
to learning. I began to think about what it means to be a facilitator of learning rather than a
teacher’ (ibid.: 14).

Malcolm Knowles gained his MA in 1949. His thesis became the basis of his first book Informal
Adult Education published in 1950 (see below). In 1951 he became executive director of the
newly formed Adult Education Association of the USA. He attended a couple of summer sessions
of the National Training Laboratories (in 1952 and 1954) and was influenced by the thinking of
their founders: Kenneth Benne, Leland Bradford and Ronald Lippett – and of Kurt Lewin. Hulda
and their children were also involved in the seminars – and one fruit of this, in part, was
Malcolm and Hulda’s joint authorship of books on leadership (1955) and group dynamics (1959).
Knowles spent nine years at the Adult Education Association, and as Jarvis (1987: 170) has
commented, ‘he was able to influence the growth and direction of the organization’. He also
started studying for a PhD (at the University of Chicago). Significantly, he began charting the
development of the adult education movement in the United States – and this appeared in book
form in 1962. It was the first major attempt to bring together the various threads of the
movement – and while it was not a detailed historical study (Jarvis 1987: 171) it was the main
source book for more than twenty years. As Jarvis (1987: 172) has commented:

He saw that the movement was, in a sense, peripheral to the dominant institutions in society
and yet important to it. He recognized that the very disparate nature of the movement
prevented its being adequately coordinated from a central position. [This] … free-market needs
model of adult education provision … is a position he … maintained even after adult education
became much more established and scholars were calling for a more centrally coordinated
approach… [I]implicit within this position … is perhaps one of the central planks of his
philosophy; that adult education must be free to respond to need, wherever it is discovered.

In 1959 Malcolm S. Knowles joined the staff at Boston University as an associate professor of
adult education with tenure and set about launching a new graduate programme. He spent
some 14 years there during which time he produced his key texts: The Modern Practice of Adult
Education (1970) and The Adult Learner (1973). These books were to cement his position at the
centre of adult education discourse in the United States and to popularize the notion of
andragogy (see below). In 1974 he joined the faculty of the North Carolina State University
where he was able to develop courses around ‘the andragogical model’ (Knowles 1989: 21). He
also updated his key texts and published a new book on Self Directed Learning (1975).

Malcolm S. Knowles ‘retired’ in 1979 but continued to be deeply involved in various

consultancies and in running workshops for various agencies (something he had begun much
earlier in his career). He was also associated with North Carolina State University as Professor
Emeritus. He had time to write further articles and books. Some nine years into his retirement
he commented that he couldn’t imagine ‘a better, richer life’ (ibid.: 24). He died on Thanksgiving
Day, 1997, suffering a stroke at his home in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Adult informal education

The notion of informal adult education had been around in the YMCA before Malcolm Knowles’
book was published in 1950. In Britain Josephine Macalister Brew had published the first full-
length treatment of informal education in 1946. However Informal Adult Education was a
significant addition to the literature. Knowles was searching for a ‘coherent and comprehensive
theory of adult learning’ – and the closest he could come to an organizing theme was ‘informal’
(Knowles 1989: 76). Later he was to comment that while this was surely ‘an important
component of adult learning theory… it was far from its core’ (op. cit.).

In focusing on the notion of informal education, Malcolm Knowles was pointing to the ‘friendly
and informal climate’ in many adult learning situations, the flexibility of the process, the use of
experience, and the enthusiasm and commitment of participants (including the teachers!). He
didn’t define informal adult education – but uses the term to refer to the use of informal
programmes and, to some extent, the learning gained from associational or club life. He
commented that an organized course is usually a better instrument for ‘new learning of an
intensive nature, while a club experience provides the best opportunity for practicing and
refining the things learned’ (Knowles 1950: 125). Clubs are also ‘useful instruments for arousing
interests’ (op. cit.). He contrasts formal and informal programmes as follows:

Formal programs are those sponsored for the most part by established educational institutions,
such as universities, high schools, and trade schools. While many adults participate in the
courses without working for credit, they are organized essentially for credit students… Informal
classes, on the other hand, are generally fitted into more general programs of such organizations
as the YMCA and YWCA, community centers, labor unions, industries and churches. (Knowles
1950: 23)

This distinction is reminiscent of that later employed by Coombs and others to distinguish formal
from non-formal education.

Informal programmes, Malcolm S. Knowles suggests, are more likely to use group and forum
approaches.

Several important differences are found between the interests in organized classes and the
interests in lecture, forum and club programs. In the first place, the former are likely to be stable,
long-term interests, while the latter are more transitory. In the second place, lectures, forums
and club programs are more flexible than organized classes. In a program series the topics can
range from pure entertainment to serious lectures, while an organized class is necessarily limited
to a single subject-matter area. Third, the lecture, forum, and club types of programs generally
require less commitment of time, money and energy from participants than do organized
classes. As a result they are likely to attract people with somewhat less intense interest.
(Knowles 1950: 24)

Malcolm Knowles was able to draw on material from various emerging areas of expertise. This
included understandings gained from his time with Eduard Lindeman, Cyril O. Houle and others
within the adult education field; his knowledge of community organization within and beyond
the YMCA (and via the work of Arthur Dunham and others); a growing appreciation of the
dynamics of personality and human development (via Carl Rogers and Arthur Sheldin); and an
appreciation of groupwork and group dynamics (especially via those associated with the
National Training Laboratories). He also had some insights into the relationship of adult
education activities to democracy from his contact with Dorothy Hewlitt at the NYA (see Hewitt
and Mather 1937).

Exhibit 1: Malcolm S. Knowles on informal adult education

The major problems of our age deal with human relations; the solutions can be found only in
education. Skill in human relations is a skill that must be learned; it is learned in the home, in the
school, in the church, on the job, and wherever people gather together in small groups.

This fact makes the task of every leader of adult groups real, specific, and clear: Every adult
group, of whatever nature, must become a laboratory of democracy, a place where people may
have the experience of learning to live co-operatively. Attitudes and opinions are formed
primarily in the study groups, work groups, and play groups with which adults affiliate
voluntarily. These groups are the foundation stones of our democracy. Their goals largely
determine the goals of our society. Adult learning should produce at least these outcomes:

Adults should acquire a mature understanding of themselves. They should understand their
needs, motivations, interests, capacities, and goals. They should be able to look at themselves
objectively and maturely. They should accept themselves and respect themselves for what they
are, while striving earnestly to become better.
Adults should develop an attitude of acceptance, love, and respect toward others. This is the
attitude on which all human relations depend. Adults must learn to distinguish between people
and ideas, and to challenge ideas without threatening people. Ideally, this attitude will go
beyond acceptance, love, and respect, to empathy and the sincere desire to help others.

Adults should develop a dynamic attitude toward life. They should accept the fact of change and
should think of themselves as always changing. They should acquire the habit of looking at every
experience as an opportunity to learn and should become skillful in learning from it.

Adults should learn to react to the causes, not the symptoms, of behavior. Solutions to problems
lie in their causes, not in their symptoms. We have learned to apply this lesson in the physical
world, but have yet to learn to apply it in human relations.

Adults should acquire the skills necessary to achieve the potentials of their personalities. Every
person has capacities that, if realized, will contribute to the well-being of himself and of society.
To achieve these potentials requires skills of many kinds—vocational, social, recreational, civic,
artistic, and the like. It should be a goal of education to give each individual those skills
necessary for him to make full use of his capacities.

Adults should understand the essential values in the capital of human experience. They should
be familiar with the heritage of knowledge, the great ideas, the great traditions, of the world in
which they live. They should understand and respect the values that bind men together.

Adults should understand their society and should be skillful in directing social change. In a
democracy the people participate in making decisions that affect the entire social order. It is
imperative, therefore, that every factory worker, every salesman, every politician, every
housewife, know enough about government, economics, international affairs, and other aspects
of the social order to be able to take part in them intelligently.

The society of our age, as Robert Maynard Hutchins warns us, cannot wait for the next
generation to solve its problems. Time is running out too fast. Our fate rests with the
intelligence, skill, and good will of those who are now the citizen-rulers. The instrument by which
their abilities as citizen-rulers can be improved is adult education. This is our problem. This is our
challenge.

Malcolm S. Knowles (1950) Informal Adult Education, Chicago: Association Press, pages 9-10.

Malcolm Knowles saw that the quality of the experiences people members have in the
government of their own groups ‘influences the skills and attitudes they will carry into governing
their nation’ (ibid.: 124). However, this interest was in many respects secondary to the possibility
of making ‘clubs, groups, and forums effective instruments of adult education’ (1950: 123). For
all the talk of ‘laboratories of democracy’, he didn’t fully grasp the significance of association.
This may, in part, derive from the limited extent to which he experienced adult education as a
social movement. Earlier figures like Lindeman and Tawney were deeply involved in progressive
politics and activities. It is difficult not to escape the conclusion that even at this stage Malcolm
Knowles was more concerned with establishing the claims of adult education as a separate area
of professional activity and with individual learning, than with fundamental social change.

Malcolm S. Knowles on andragogy

Knowles was convinced that adults learned differently to children – and that this provided the
basis for a distinctive field of enquiry. His earlier work on informal adult education had
highlighted some elements of process and setting. Similarly, his charting of the development of
the adult education movement in the United States had helped him to come to some
conclusions about the shape and direction of adult education. What he now needed to do was to
bring together these elements. The mechanism he used was the notion of andragogy.

While the concept of andragogy had been in spasmodic usage since the 1830s it was Malcolm
Knowles who popularized its usage for English language readers. For Knowles, andragogy was
premised on at least four crucial assumptions about the characteristics of adult learners that are
different from the assumptions about child learners on which traditional pedagogy is premised.
A fifth was added later.

1. Self-concept: As a person matures his self concept moves from one of being a dependent
personality toward one of being a self-directed human being
2. Experience: As a person matures he accumulates a growing reservoir of experience that
becomes an increasing resource for learning.

3. Readiness to learn. As a person matures his readiness to learn becomes oriented increasingly
to the developmental tasks of his social roles.

4. Orientation to learning. As a person matures his time perspective changes from one of
postponed application of knowledge to immediacy of application, and accordingly his orientation
toward learning shifts from one of subject-centeredness to one of problem centredness.

5. Motivation to learn: As a person matures the motivation to learn is internal (Knowles

1984:12).

Each of these assertions and the claims of difference between andragogy and pedagogy are the
subject of considerable debate. Useful critiques of the notion can be found in Davenport (1993)
Jarvis (1977a) Tennant (1996) (see below). Here I want to make some general comments about
Malcolm Knowles’ approach. (The assumptions of the model and its overall usefulness are
further explored in the article on andragogy).

First, as Merriam and Caffarella (1991: 249) have pointed out, Knowles’ conception of andragogy
is an attempt to build a comprehensive theory (or model) of adult learning that is anchored in
the characteristics of adult learners. Cross (1981: 248) also uses such perceived characteristics in
a more limited attempt to offer a ‘framework for thinking about what and how adults learn’.
Such approaches may be contrasted with those that focus on:

an adult’s life situation;

changes in consciousness (Merriam and Caffarella 1991).

Second, Malcolm Knowles makes extensive use of a model of relationships derived from
humanistic clinical psychology – and, in particular, the qualities of good facilitation argued for by
Carl Rogers. However, Knowles adds in other elements which owe a great deal to scientific
curriculum making and behaviour modification (and are thus somewhat at odds with Rogers).
These encourage the learner to identify needs, set objectives, enter learning contracts and so
on. In other words, he uses ideas from psychologists working in two quite different and opposing
traditions (the humanist and behavioural traditions). This means that there is a rather dodgy
deficit model lurking around this model.

Third, it is not clear whether this is a theory or set of assumptions about learning, or a theory, or
model of teaching (Hartree 1984). We can see something of this in relation to the way Malcolm
Knowles defined andragogy as the art and science of helping adults learn as against pedagogy as
the art and science of teaching children. There is an inconsistency here. Hartree (1984) then
goes on to ask: has Knowles provided us with a theory or a set of guidelines for practice? The
assumptions ‘can be read as descriptions of the adult learner… or as prescriptive statements
about what the adult learner should be like’ (Hartree 1984 quoted in Merriam and Caffarella
1991: 250). This links with a point made by Tennant (1988) – there seems to be a failure to set
and interrogate these ideas within a coherent and consistent conceptual framework. As Jarvis
(1987b) comments, throughout his writings there is a propensity to list characteristics of a
phenomenon without interrogating the literature of the arena (e.g. as in the case of andragogy)
or looking through the lens of a coherent conceptual system. Undoubtedly Malcolm Knowles had
a number of important insights, but because they are not tempered by thorough analysis, they
were a hostage to fortune – they could be taken up in an ahistorical or atheoretical way.

Self-direction

In its broadest meaning, ‘self-directed learning‘ describes, according to Malcolm Knowles (1975:
18) a process:

… in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their
learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for
learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning
outcomes.

Knowles puts forward three immediate reasons for self-directed learning. First he argues that
there is convincing evidence that people who take the initiative in learning (proactive learners)
learn more things, and learn better, than do people who sit at the feet of teachers passively
waiting to be taught (reactive learners). ‘They enter into learning more purposefully and with
greater motivation. They also tend to retain and make use of what they learn better and longer
than do the reactive learners.’ (Knowles 1975: 14)
A second immediate reason is that self-directed learning is more in tune with our natural
processes of psychological development. ‘An essential aspect of maturing is developing the
ability to take increasing responsibility for our own lives – to become increasingly self-directed’
(Knowles 1975: 15).

A third immediate reason is that many of the new developments in education put a heavy
responsibility on the learners to take a good deal of initiative in their own learning. ‘Students
entering into these programs without having learned the skills of self-directed inquiry will
experience anxiety, frustration , and often failure, and so will their teachers (Knowles 1975: 15).

To this may be added a long-term reason – because of rapid changes in our understanding is no
longer realistic to define the purpose of education as transmitting what is known. The main
purpose of education must now to be to develop the skills of inquiry (op cit).

Malcolm Knowles’ skill was then to put the idea of self direction into packaged forms of activity
that could be taken by educators and learners. He popularized these through various books and
courses. His five step model involved:

1. diagnosing learning needs.

2. formulating learning needs.

3. identifying human material resources for learning.

4. choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies.

5. evaluating learning outcomes.

As Merriam and Cafferella (1991: 46) comment, this means of conceptualizing the way we learn
on our own is very similar to much of the literature on planning and carrying out instruction for
adults in formal institutional settings. It is represented as a linear process. From what we know
of the process of reflection this is an assumption that needs treating with some care. Indeed, as
we will see, there is research that indicates that adults do not necessarily follow a defined set of
steps – but are far more in the hands of chance and circumstance. Like Dewey’s conception of
reflection an event or phenomenon triggers a learning project. This is often associated with a
change in life circumstances (such as retirement, child care, death of a close relative and so on).
The changed circumstance provides the opportunity for learning, the way this is approached is
dictated by the circumstances. Learning then progresses as ‘the circumstances created in one
episode become the circumstances for the next logical step’ (op. cit.). Self-directed learning thus,
in this view, becomes possible, when certain things cluster together to form the stimulus and the
opportunity for reflection and exploration.

However, once we begin to take into account the environment in which this occurs then
significant concerns arise with Malcolm Knowles’ formulation. Spear and Mocker, and Spear
(1984, 1988 quoted in Merriam and Caffarella 1991: 46-8) found that ‘self-directed learners,
rather than pre-planning their learning projects, tend to select a course from limited alternatives
which happen to occur in their environment and which tend to structure their learning projects’.
This is of fundamental importance. It is in this light that Brookfield’s (1994) question is pertinent:
‘What are the essential characteristics of a critical, rather than technical, interpretation of self-
directed learning?’ Two suggest themselves:

self-direction as the continuous exercise by the learner of authentic control over all decisions
having to do with learning, and

self-direction as the ability to gain access to, and choose from, a full range of available and
appropriate resources.

Both these conditions are, he argues, as much political as they are pedagogical and they place
educators who choose to use self-directed approaches in the centre of political issues and
dilemma.

There are also further problems with Malcolm Knowles’ approach that he shares with other
writers. These include issues arising out of the use of ‘humanistic psychology’; questions around
the notion of selfhood (and the cultural specificity involved); and the research base for
explorations. These are reviewed in the article on self-direction).

Conclusion
Malcolm S. Knowles was responsible for a number of important ‘firsts’.. He was the first to chart
the rise of the adult education movement in the United States; the first to develop a statement
of informal adult education practice; and the first to attempt a comprehensive theory of adult
education (via the notion of andragogy). Jarvis (1987: 185) comments:

As a teacher, writer and leader in the field, Knowles has been an innovator, responding to the
needs of the field as he perceived them and, as such, he has been a key figure in the growth and
practice of adult education throughout the Western world this century. Yet above all, it would be
perhaps fair to say that both his theory and practice have embodied his own value system and
that is contained within his formulations of andragogy.

Much of his writing was descriptive and lacked a sharp critical edge. He was ready to change his
position – but the basic trajectory of his thought remained fairly constant throughout his career.
His focus was increasingly on the delineation of a field of activity rather than on social change –
and there was a significantly individualistic focus in his work. ‘I am just not good’, he wrote, ‘at
political action. My strength lies in creating opportunities for helping individuals become more
proficient practitioners’ (Knowles 1989: 146).