Combining American, European, and World Andragogy Together

Introduction

This chapter begins with Savicevic (1991, 1999a) who provided a critical consideration of andragogical concepts in ten European countries – five eastern and five western – and focused on it being a fairly independent scientific discipline. Young (1985) claimed that the European concept of andragogy was more comprehensive than the American concept. Knowles (1995) provided the most articulate American conception of andragogy with six assumptions and eight process elements, which he tested and refined with twelve different entities. Knowles was criticized by: Jarvis in England and Candy in Australia, Welton for neglecting democratic social action; Grace for its being focused on exclusion, maintenance and conformity; Hartree felt Knowles’ failed his promise. In contrast Knowles’ andragogy survives and thrives with support from: Illeris on adults’ learning; Peters and Jarvis valuing Knowles’ vision; Long’s seeing its vibrant strength; Griffith on practice; Tough on warmth; Maehl on advocacy of learners; Isenberg on connecting internet learning; and Houle on his learner-centeredness. Lindeman (1926) was the first to bring andragogy to the USA. Kessels and Peoll (2004) bring together such things as: Self-Directed Learning [SDL], Learning Organization, and Learning in the Workplace. Roberson (2004) found older rural adults were highly engaged and involved in SDL. Henschke (2006b) outlined four major historical social movements that were interlinked with influencing Knowles’ andragogy with him, in turn, also influencing those social movements. Boucouvalas (2008) emphasized groups, community and society in Knowles’ andragogy. Eight doctoral dissertations concentrated on Knowles’ work in andragogy. Risley’s (2012) dissertation strong congruence between Henschke’s scholarship and practice. Savicevic’s (2006b) estimation of Knowles’ andragogical history will put him in a meritorious place in the development of andragogy as a scientific discipline. Merriam et al (2009) suggested andragogy be replaced with ‘transformative learning’ as the new andragogy. Fifteen annual Malcolm S. Knowles’ andragogical programming Awards have been given by AAACE since 1995. Henschke and Boucouvalas (2019) updated and published Malcolm’s (1989) autobiographical journey.