Adult Learners: Readiness to Learn, Essay Example

It may be that the greatest impediment to adult learning, and consequently to the process by which adults motivate their peers to learn, lies in a sort of cultural or societal assumption. The prevalent belief that adulthood rests upon established identity, which is typically seen as  a complete  form of being, renders adult education to many as, at best, something of a redundancy.  Childhood and adolescence, it is widely perceived, are the years in which true learning can occur, and the lifespan thereafter is chiefly devoted to employing what has already been ingested (Tennant, 2006,  p. 35).  Motivation under such circumstances is not encouraged, as the mentality is also self-perpetuating.

Fortunately, and at least partially due to the globalized and efficient access to education enabled by information technologies,  this mentality is diminishing. There was never precisely a stigma to pursuing adult education in the past, yet it was typically only done for specific, and ordinarily careerist, purposes. Today, adults of all ages are actively engaging in either exploring new educational opportunities or in returning to those abandoned years before. Reasons must, of course, vary, but six motivations have been identified as primary agents in adult learning. These are the opportunities to advance in careers, build social networks, achieve the satisfaction of meeting expectations in regard to learning, experience mental stimulation, enjoy the inherent gratifications in learning, and assist others (Rothwell, 2008,  p. 46). As may be expected, no reason acts independently, and more than a few usually work in a cooperative manner to motivate adult learners.

The desire to assist others is most interesting, in relation to specifically adult learning. The other reasons identified may, with some slight modification, apply perfectly validly to adolescent education incentives, because they go to furthering an individual’s sense of self and place in society. These are the goals a younger person will aspire to, for they provide the equipment with which success in adulthood may be attained. Only within that adulthood, however, can emerge the more selfless impulse to share and motivate. If the adult identity is desirous of improving itself for any number of reasons, it nonetheless is established as a platform unto itself. Plainly speaking, living has taken place which only the adult can have experienced, and experience is often a restless commodity. It spurs on a need to have itself conveyed.

Consequently, the adult who feels motivated to learn is intrinsically poised to be something of an educator in his or her own right, certainly in the role of a motivating force. On one level, the adult already knows quite well how an authentic desire to motivate may influence and benefit another, for the adult has been the recipient of this. Then, there is a perspective regarding learning itself that may usually only arise in adulthood; that is, an innate appreciation for what education provides solely as an experience. This refers to the “inherent gratifications” reason mentioned earlier, but in a more evolved fashion. As the adult seeks to enjoy the satisfaction s of learning quite apart from commercial or social gain, he or she is also impelled to acquaint other adults with this benefit.

There is a singular aspect to this transferring of motive, and one seemingly confined to the levels of maturity and experience associated with the adult. That adults who wish to further their learning are driven to motivate others is not of itself a virtuous process, although there is clearly good within it. Rather, it is an inevitable consequence of ordinary adulthood combined with educational ambition. The adult knows that he or she impacts on the community and society, as the younger person can only speculate as to personal influence. The adult, then, understanding and appreciating the advantages to learning is encouraged to share the ambition because, quite simply, the adult is equipped to share it. Adults comprehend action and results in a way that young people cannot; what is hypothetical for the youth is a part of a concrete past for the older person. It follows, then, that the adult who is motivated to carry on education will be inclined to pass along the incentive and the motivation, for the benefits are known realities, and not the hopeful conjectures of youth.

 References

Rothwell, W. J. (2008.)  Adult Learning Basics.  Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training and Development.

Tennant, M. (2006.)  Psychology and Adult Learning. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.