The Adult Learner The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development

Provides a theoretical framework for understanding adult learning issues both in teaching and workplace environments. Suitable for practitioners and students in the field of adult learning and human resource development, this book incorporates theories on adult learning alongside the advances in the principles and practice of adult education.

"A great update of a classic. Should be required reading for anyone involved with adult

learning in schools, businesses and communities."

Sam Stern, Professor & Dean, School of Education, Oregon State University, USA

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 infl uential 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.

This update of a pioneering classic contains all Knowles' original chapters alongside a newer second part by Elwood "Ed" Holton and Richard A Swanson charting the advancements on these core principles. A third section includes selected readings from previous editions to illustrate the theory's evolution, as well as important articles from other key experts around the world for a comprehensive view.

This new edition includes:

. New chapter outlines, learning objectives and careful edits of Malcolm Knowles' work to simplify the original theory

. Updates to the second part to refl ect the very latest advancements in the field

. Revisions throughout to make it more readable and relevant to your practices.

If you are a specialist 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 shouldn't be without.

* Provides a theoretical framework for understanding adult learning issues both in teaching and workplace environments
* Essential reading for a wide audience of practitioners and students in the field of adult learning and human resource development
* Incorporates Knowles' classic theories on adult learning alongside the latest advances in the principles and practice of adult education

The late Malcolm S. Knowles, Ph.D., was one of the leading authorities on adult education in the second half of the twentieth century. He wrote the first major accounts of informal adult education and the history of adult education in the United States, authoring more than 200 articles and 18 books. He is famous for his adaptation of the theory of Andragogy as a conceptual basis for adult education and learning, and was a significant force in reorienting adult educators from 'educating people' to 'helping them learn'.
Richard Swanson is a past president of the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD), founding editor of Advances in Developing Human Resources, a scholarly journal sponsored by AHRD, and founding editor of the Human Resource Development Quarterly, the research journal of AHRD and American Society for Training and Development. The AHRD presented him with the Outstanding HRD Scholar Award in 2000 and in 2001 he was inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was inducted into AHRD's Human Resource Development Scholar Hall of Fame. He has performed consulting work for leading US corporations and is an internationally recognized authority on organizational change, performance improvement and financial analysis of human capital investments.
Elwood F. "Ed" Holton holds an impressive record of accomplishments in adult and continuing education and human resource development. He is the founding editor of Human Resource Development Review, a past president of the Academy of Human Resource Development and author of over 200 publications, including academic and professional articles in HRD, performance improvement and psychology journals. In addition to his academic role as the Jones S. Davis Distinguished Professor of Human Resource, Leadership and Organization Development at Louisiana State University, he has more than twenty years' HRD and performance improvement consulting experience with a wide variety of private, public, and non-profit organizations.