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ONLY WHEN FORCED INTO THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT WILL THE ADULT LEARNER'S NATURAL TENDENCY TO BE SELF-DIRECTED BECOME EVIDENT.
In the treacherous and rewarding arena of adult education, trainers often find themselves at a crossroads. On one side lies a bounty of motivated learners ready to engage in the most thrilling of activities, and on the other lies a gray mass of drones preparing to be pushed into the next mandatory session. Both groups possess a commonality that is often referred to in adult education, but often misinterpreted. This is the theory that all adult learners are self-directed.
Malcolm Knowles, a central figure in U.S. adult education in the second half of the twentieth century and author of Informal Adult Education (1950), The Modern Practice of Adult Education (1970) and The Adult Learner (1973), moved the field of adult education in a way that has prompted deep thought and discussion. However, while his theory about self-directed learning, which emphasizes that adults are self-directed and expect to take responsibility for decisions, is highly useful,...