Pedagogy or Andragogy? An exploration into sixth form teaching and learning

As sixth form teachers, pedagogy is a fundamental term in our vocabulary, but have we really thought about what it means in the context of post-16 education? Pedagogy entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 1571 and, literally translated, is the art or science of teaching children.¹ The word has its origins in Greek and consists of two parts: pais (‘of a child’) and agogos (‘leader’): therefore, the word ‘pedagogy’ refers to the act of leading a child. What does this mean for us as sixth form teachers? This is where the pioneering work of American scholar and teacher Malcom Knowles may provide us with an alternative framework for instruction, more aligned with post-compulsory education and the unique challenges of the context in which we teach. Rather than ‘pedagogy’ Knowles introduced the concept of ‘andragogy’.

Andragogy is defined as “the art and science of helping adults learn”.² Initially the theory assumed that adults learn differently than children; however, the theory was revised to approach andragogy on a continuum with pedagogy, ranging from teacher-directed to student-directed learning depending on the student. The theory includes five core assumptions of the characteristics of an adult learner³: “Someone who (1) has an independent self-concept and who can direct their own learning, (2) has accumulated a reservoir of life experiences that is a rich resource for learning, (3) has learning needs closely related to changing social roles, (4) is problem-centred and interested in immediate application of knowledge, and (5) is motivated to learn by internal rather than external factors”.⁴  At Richard Huish College we wanted to explore this further. could andragogy enable us to address a significant challenge in post-16 teaching: supporting students’ transition from school into college, and planning a curriculum that enables students to develop the confidence and independence to move from teacher-directed to self-directed learning?

What did we do?

The rationale for the inquiry was to explore the principles of andragogy in the context of a sixth form college and to investigate if sixth form students are more aligned in their learning preferences to how children learn (pedagogy) or how adults learn (andragogy), using the five assumptions of andragogy as a framework to assess similarity with the characteristics of adult learners. 

The inquiry was implemented as a ‘Learning Preferences' questionnaire, devised to measure the extent to which students agreed with statements relating to the five assumptions of andragogy. 2,135 16-19 students were invited to anonymously respond, all enrolled on the first or second year of full time level 3 and level 2 programmes including a mix of A levels, vocational certificates and extended diploma. 873 students returned questionnaires (a 41% response rate).

The questionnaire consisted of 20 statements which were answered using a seven-point scale with answers ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’, with a neutral option provided. Each item was developed from Malcom Knowles’ description of the characteristics of andragogy in The Adult Learner,⁵ with some of the language adapted to be accessible for an adolescent student.  Each dimension was assessed using four questions and scored to produce an average representation of each dimension, with higher scores indicating a preference for andragogical instruction and lower scores pedagogical. The dimensions that measured were:

• Readiness (needing to understand the impact of own learning), through statements such as “It is important to know why I am learning something”,
• Self-Concept (independence and initiative in own learning), for example: “I am responsible for my own learning”,
• Experience (a resource for own learning), such as “I find I can use my own intuition when learning something new”,
• Orientation (application of relevant learning), for example: “I am more interested in learning when it is of immediate relevance to me,” and
• Motivation (driven to learn internally): “I am driven to learn by my own ambitions and have pursued further education for myself”.

What did we find?

The results indicated that students showed preference for andragogical instruction on all dimensions. However, some questions showed that certain aspects of adult learning were not of significant importance to sixth form students: for example, ‘I feel rejected when my teacher does not acknowledge my own life experience,’ and ‘I prefer to find my own solutions when faced with a challenge in my learning’ received relatively low agreement scores. Other areas indicated a greater degree of agreement; for example: ‘Learning will help me to move to the next stage of my life,’ and ‘I think it’s important to have choice about how I learn’.

The mean scores indicated that some dimensions are more relevant to sixth form students. For example, the highest score was for ‘readiness to learn’: this means that students showed a strong preference for understanding the impact of what they are learning. This has important implications for teaching and curriculum design. Interestingly, students generally showed little agreement that their own experience is a resource for their learning. This is more in line with pedagogical instruction, where children have limited experience of the world and therefore rely on the teacher to contextualise learning and to provide solutions to novel problems.

Figure 1: Bar graph comparing mean score on each of the five dimensions of andragogy

What does this mean for us?

The findings tell us that there needs to be more explicit focus on the use of andragogical instruction in the teaching of sixth form students, and this is something that we will explore at a cross-college level as part of staff development training. The use of andragogy has already been embedded in our internal training provided to ECTs and qualifying teachers who are employed at the college as a complimentary approach to pedagogy. This has been well received. Using each of the dimensions, there are clear preferences that students have that can be implemented into the classroom. For example, students do need to know why they are learning something: this does not always need to be exam driven, but teachers should use opportunities to explain the purpose of the content and sequencing of the curriculum. Beyond the classroom, there are also some important implications: adults need to feel that they are ready to learn and that their learning will help them to move to the next stage of their lives. This may be of relevance to those in school liaison and in admissions roles, as well as progress tutors.

The dimension where there was the most variation in score and significance was motivation. This is not unexpected, as intrinsic motivation is more associated with adulthood, but understanding motivation in the context of andragogy can equip teachers to implement interventions that support students to make that transition from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is one of  the most significant factors in actually achieving a goal.⁶ Another factor which increases intrinsic motivation is giving students an opportunity to choose the learning activities they take part in in the classroom.⁷ On the questionnaire, one of the most highest scores was for ‘I think the classroom should be a collaborative learning environment’. This means that, when students have an element of autonomy over their learning, they will more easily situate themselves in their learning and feel more motivated to engage with independent learning activities.⁸ Therefore, providing students with more choice in selecting tasks to complete both inside and outside the classroom can support the transition from pedagogical to andragogical instruction.

What's next?

If you would like to find out more about how this inquiry was implemented, then the full investigation is published on Camtree, the Cambridge Teacher Research Exchange. Camtree is a new global platform for close-to-practice research in education that helps educators and educational leaders both to improve learning and share their knowledge. By developing a global community of active classroom practitioner-researchers and educational leaders, sharing their work, and learning from and with each other, the aim is to promote improved outcomes in classrooms worldwide.

Amy Lees is course leader for psychology at Richard Huish College in Somerset and a reviewer for Camtree.

Notes

1. Shah, R.K (2001) Conceptualizing and Defining Pedagogy. Journal of Research & Method in Education.  Volume 11, Issue 1 page 6-29.

2. Knowles, M. S. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall/Cambridge, p. 43

3. Knowles, M. S. (1984) The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species. (3rd ed.) Houston: Gulf.

4. Merriam, S. B. (2001), Andragogy and Self-Directed Learning: Pillars of Adult Learning Theory. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2001: 3–14, p. 5.

5. Knowles, M.S., Holton III, E.F., & Swanson, R.A. (2005). The Adult Learner (6th ed.) London, Routledge. 

6. Ugah, A. D. (2008). Motivation and Productivity in the Library. Library Philosophy & Practice, 10(1), 1-6.

7. Lowman, J. (1990). Promoting motivation and learning. College Teaching, 38(4), 136-139.

8. Kearney, A.  J. (2008). Understanding applied behaviour analysis. London, England:  Jessica Kingsley Publishers, p. 5.