Research On Malcolm Knowles' Adult Pedagogy Thoughts

Malcolm Knowles is an important writer and theorist in the field of adult education in the United States.He died in 1997,but his thought of adult education is a valuable treasure in the United States and even in the world.Based on Knowles'explanation of andragogy,this paper traced his thought development of "andragogy"from 1950 to 1997.This study showed that in the gestation stage of Knowles' thought,many important elements of his later andragogy framework has emerged.In 1970,It was the key point of his thoughts about andragogy.In his book named Modern Practice of Adult Education,Knowles first presented a comprehensive theoretical framework of adult learning practice which he thought could work.The publication of this book has aroused academic discussion on the relationship between andragogy and pedagogy.With further development of his practice and thought,his theory of andragogy finally developed into a self-oriented lifelong learning model.This paper was mainly divided into five parts.The first chapter was a brief introduction to the topic,including research methods and summary of the former papers.Based on literature review and historical analysis,the second chapter traced the origin of Knowles' thought of andragogy.Three aspects were discussed,respectively,from social background and theoretical trend of thought,from educators and mentors,and from the perception and reflection of social practice.Chapter three is to trace the change of Knowles' understanding of the concept of andragogy from 1950 to 1997.It concluded that Knowles' interpretation of the concept of andragogy has undergone two transitions,respectively,from the concept of adult maturity turned into the concept of adult learning,and from the concept of adult learning turned into the concept of human learning.Knowles' interpretation of the concept of andragogy played a guiding role in the construction of his andragogy framework,so this part was the thread running of this paper.Chapter five traced the three stages of the development of Knowles' thoughts,respectively,informal adult education stage,comprehensive adult learning stage and lifelong learning stage.By analyzing Knowles' works and articles.It fully demonstrated his ideological framework of andragogy and finally presented Knowles' thought of "andragogy".This part was the main part of the article.The last chapter summarized Knowles' main contributions,which helped adult educators recognize the historical status of Knowles and his thoughts.Drawing lessons from Knowles' thought of andragogy,the author put forward some suggestions on the development needs of adult education in China.They were to recognize the research group of adult education and broaden the research path of localization;to effectively organize adult education practice and promote the adult education management;to improve the prospective of adult development and tap the needs of adult education in China.