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Abstract
Arguments regarding the distinction between child and adult learning have existed for decades. Pedagogy has a long tradition of providing educational guidance in which there is little differentiation between child and adult education. The two groups of learners are assumed to learn under the same philosophy. Conversely, andragogy, advanced by Malcolm Knowles in the 1970s, is a well-known approach to address the distinct needs of adult learners. Knowles' concept of andragogy has been widely adopted by educators from various disciplines around the world. Andragogy is based upon six assumptions: (a) self-directedness, (b) need to know, (c) use of experience in learning, (d) readiness to learn, (e) orientation to learning, and (f) internal motivation. This paper presented a synthesis of research that discussed the applications of Knowles' andragogy in different settings.
Developing Human Capital in a Global Economy
Globalization has become a common term in the 21st century. It brings about change in trade, economic, social, and educational issues (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007). In order to survive in the global economy, businesses need to invest in advanced technology, modern machinery, and human capital to keep up with the changes in this volatile environment. Barney (1991) states that although competitors can easily imitate tangible assets such as technology and machinery, these assets are not sufficient to maintain competitiveness. The competitive advantage can be best sustained through human capital, and the development of human capital denotes education. Zmeyov (1998) states, "The main goal of education today is to provide individuals with a multifaceted training, and principally with knowledge and skills for creative activities, for adapting to the changes in the natural social environment ? and for lifelong learning" (p. 104). Therefore, education is essential to the development of skills and knowledge to compete in the 21 st century.
Having just identified education as a potential source to competitiveness is not an end task to itself. One needs to continue asking questions regarding the kinds of education to offer in schools, the approaches to use in classrooms, and ways in which to involve learners in the teaching and learning process. The discussion of these issues is prefaced below with a very brief history of teaching approaches.
Pedagogy
The history of training can be traced back...