International Journal of Research e-ISSN: 2348-6848 p-ISSN: 2348-795X Available at https://edupediapublications.org/journals Volume 05 Issue-01 January 2018

Sociology of Adult Education H. Eylem Kaya

ABSTRACT

A growth interest started at early 1970’s in well. Moreover, with the improvement of the sociology of education, but that was educational sociology, the expert field mostly related with the initial education sociologists have been also raised and they processes. However, one decade later a have started to bring different sociological growing sociological interest on adult points of view and aspects academically education just started in Europe then later during these years. By this effort, another in United States as well. By the time of significant sub-area called sociology of progress adult education was set in a wide adult education has been raised since they sociological context all around the world. recognized the variation between child and Actually, the education of adults has adult education although there are also existed for centuries in one form or some similarities too. After this notable another, yet generally embedded in recognition, studies and researches have psychology and in adult learning fields been started to be done in sociology of since the intelligence was traditionally adult education and for the necessity of declined in adulthood. On the other hand, adults’ learning in social structures. when the education of adults was Actually, McCullough (1980:158) stated recognized as an instrument for social on this issue and asked some core change, especially as stated in Gramsci’s questions that extracting adult education work that the worker education could from its surrounding social milieu or at cause for example destroying the cultural least differentiating adult education from hegemony of the dominant social classes in its social milieu is as difficult as a Italy, the education of adults was accepted determining how many angels can dance as one of the core issues in the field of on the head of pin. Is adult education a socially too. Therefore, in this study, the practice or a programme…, is adult significance and role of adult education education is, therefore, everywhere yet both in society and in sociology will be nowhere in particular? discussed within a dialectic and critical perspective. On the one hand, as Jarvis (2012) declared that there is a dichotomy between structure Key words: Adult education, society, and action and this may also be reflected in praxis, social change, hegemony the origins of the word “education” itself derived from either one of the Latin words; INTRODUCTION “educare” and educere”, the first means “to train” which implies to prepare a person to Sociology is a very core field among social take their place within the structures of sciences and related with many society while the second means “to draw interdisciplinary studies, for instance; law, out” which places more emphasis upon the management, gender, politics, economy, person and the process. That something art, etc., and in this regard, one of the exists for the education of adults in a significant areas of sociology is education, multitude of forms and organizations is therefore many subjects and researches on undeniable and as such constitutes a sociology of education have been studied “social fact” in Durkheim’s sense, that may for many years all around the world as be studied by the social analyst. On the

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other hand, as Giddens declared that the pedagogy but also through andragogy individual is regarded as an agent capable which is the art and science of guidance of making causal interventions, then the and assistance for the adults “learning social system might be regarded the action”. With the help of andragogical outcome of the human action. In this adult education works, the fact that adults regard, any social change in a social learn differently than children was reached. system might be occurred by this human Their self concept, life experiences, action as the agent individuals of the motivation, readiness and orientation for society. That may form an “infinite action” learning are quite different from children’s, concept in a society and its structures because of these important conditions, a through praxis. Besides, when it is thought special teaching and learning models are that education is a social system and praxis needed for the adult learners. It is in a society, then the members of this presumed that adults have specific learning social system have an impact on social requirements in Andragogy. The best structures and constructions through their learning environments for adults are the social actions and could easily cause social ones that are collaborative and utilize a changes in any social context of life and problem-based approach, so the classical transform the sociology of educational educational approaches and classroom structures and constructions through the atmosphere do not provide these learning organized human action, then the environments. In this case, a shareroom individual in that society becomes a social atmosphere with sharemates which actor. Hence, in general each education provides mutual share and collaboration system in particular adult education are among both the adult learners and supposed to be transformative and educators (Kaya, 2014). Within this liberating, democratic, humanist and framework, adult educator and learner egalitarian, not hegemonic and patronizing relationship should be regarded as a mutual of the dominant culture in industrialized one in which the educator is also a learner societies of the world and their structures. and the learner is also an educator through Gramsci, for example, recognized the this core interaction. significance of that dominant culture in these societies, Freire also highlighted a In 1980, Knowles made four assumptions similar principle in colonized countries of about the characteristics of adult learners the third world as well. Then, education is that are different from the assumptions more likely to be affected by social forces about child learners and in 1984, he added than to be a force for change, but should be the fifth assumption: vice versa.  Self-concept as a person matures SOCILOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON her/his self concept moves from ADULT EDUCATION one of being a dependent personality toward one of being a Within the education of adults, there may self-directed human being be variety of social concepts and  Adult Learner Experience as a phenomena; however the most important person matures s/he accumulates a thing is here to look at the case through the growing reservoir of experience sociological perspectives instead of the that becomes an increasing ideological ones to be able to provide resource for learning. objectivity. Thus, the steps should be set to  Readiness to Learn as a person understand adults and their way of learning matures her/his readiness to learn in a social based contexts not only through

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becomes oriented increasingly to a journey of a learner changing their the developmental tasks of his/her frames of reference by interpreting social roles. experience and these interpretations would  Orientation to Learning as a then guide their actions and empower the person matures her/his time learner to give a rationale for those actions. perspective changes from one of The learner, as a part of the action process postponed application of must acquire knowledge and skills knowledge to immediacy of sufficient for implementing the new action application, and accordingly his/her plan, provisionally try out the new roles orientation toward learning shifts that are associated with the new action plan from one of subject- centeredness (Mezirow, 2000) and reintegrate the action to one of problem centeredness. plan, the new ideas, the shifts of belief and  Motivation to Learn as a person other paradigm shift into their life in such a matures the motivation to learn is way that their transformed noetic structure internal (Knowles 1984:12). and worldview is now dictated by a new perspective (Reuschle, 2009). In again 1984, Knowles suggested four principles that are applied to adult In this context, learners should understand learning: the difference between informative learning and transformative learning. For  Adults need to be involved in the Mezirow (2000), there is an implication planning and evaluation of their that informative learning is merely and instruction. information exchange and will not have a  Experience (including mistakes) lasting impact o the learner because an provides the basis for the learning exchange of information may not lead to a activities. dilemma that then promotes the learner  Adults are most interested in towards self-reflection and action planning learning subjects that have (Apte, 2009). However, the implications in immediate relevance and impact to transformative learning are that the learner their job or personal life. must first learn to take control over her/his  Adult learning is problem-centered own learning which means empowering rather than content-oriented the learner through a framework that (Kearsley, 2010). communicates, models, reinforces through feedback, and continuously helps to Then after, Mezirow and his ideas on adult motivate the learner to continue to direct education came to the stage and themselves to him/herself through the transformative learning theory, which is learning process (Woodard, 2007). For the about fundamental change in the way we successful learner there is a process of see ourselves and the world, was understanding the gaps in their knowledge articulated, further refined in his later and the applicability of what knowledge publications whereas Knowles' model of they possess to real world problem solving andragogy focuses on the characteristics of in situations that they are facing (McGrath, the adult learner and her/his life situation 2009). (Knowles, Holton and Swanson, 2005). According to Mezirow, learning is about On the other hand, Freire analysized the transformation, it’s about change, it’s system of education in terms of banking about seeing yourself in relation to the concept education such an instrument of world differently (Apte, 2003, pg. 168) as social control and education for liberation, and discussed through the understanding of

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human and the structures of the world, then CONCLUSION clearly recognized that the social structure of human surrounding could oppress the In global structure of the world today, individual. He argues that education should adult education is a very core and be liberating and enabling the individual significant issue especially when the aging and freeing intellectually to act both upon population of the countries are recognized. the structures of the world and, get Within this context, the sociology of adult conscious of her/his own and the society to education comes into prominence and change it (Freire, 1974). By this way of should be taken care of more than ever. In education, the individual is free to develop a fact that didactic teaching and learning through the educational process so that process tends to be education from above s/he might act as an social actor in and on while liberating and transformative the structures of the society. Hence, the teaching and learning process flashes the individual who is more enlightened on the education of equals by making the social processes could become more aware individual free from the social pressures to of actual reality of her/his social and be able to act as a social actor externalizing political situation and their real needs in potentially revolutionary nature of human that society. learning in a society. Thus, any teaching and learning process should result their However, unlike Freire, adult educators becoming critically aware thinkers and tend to ignore the constraints of the social create conscientization, which leads to the structure and to assume that the deepening awareness. This kind of educational process occurs in a relative awareness will let the learners achieve of isolation. In addition, while Gramsci the socio-cultural reality shaping their lives recognized the significance of the and then have the capacity to change it as dominant culture in the industrialized well. societies of the world, Freire highlighted a similar principle in the colonized countries All these socio-cultural realities shaping of the third world. When individuals as lives in a society should be considered social actors of the society understand that because they might also cause the apparently objective knowledge is disadvantageous conditions for the people ideological, liberation begins and at the of that society in many social contexts, hearts of Freire’s thinking, this process of especially in educational system and might reflection is one of the characteristics of block them for not only accessing but also individuals themselves and problem continuing of education. Therefore, within solving is an element in the development the framework of adult education, the of the humanity of the learner. It is through disadvantaged learners such as women, problem solving that individuals think unemployed, immigrants, disabled etc. critically and become conscious of the should be paid attention more than the world in which they live and by which they others without causing any type of socio can be freed from the process of cultural, economical and political conditioning, then, in the fact of learning, exclusion. In order to succeed this in a they become potential agents also freed to society and its adult education system, first act upon the world. By this way, he locates the policy makers should make egalitarian education within the wider socio-political and comprehensive educational policies for process and the individual within the all individuals of that society, then the context of a sociological framework adult educators as system implementers (Freire, 1976; Jarvis, 2012). should apply these policies equally and properly. Otherwise, the system itself starts

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