Content area
Abstract
Adult learning theory has become the basis of many educational strategies in medicine, but there are dangers in uncritically accepting theories without evaluating the evidence. The principle that adults are self-directed and can identify what they need to know has not been proven. [...]the differences between adult and child learners may be more situational than psychological.2 Nevertheless, the assumptions in adult learning theory have become known as the “principles of adult learning” and have developed into an entrenched orthodoxy. [...]without evidence that self-directed learning is effective in the maintenance of competence, other measures of competence may be needed.2 The major areas of research on adult learning focus on self-directed learning, critical reflection, experiential learning, distance learning, and learning how to learn.