This paper examines how ideology and philosophy shape approaches to adult education program planning. It compares four major philosophical orientations — liberal, progressive, humanist, and radical liberatory — across key dimensions including the source of learning authority, the role of the learner, the role of the teacher, and the purpose of education. Drawing on Elias and Merriam's six-philosophy framework and Zinn's work on philosophical orientation, the paper analyzes how each tradition approaches educational intervention differently. A personal reflection section applies these frameworks to the writer's own assumptions about human nature, the learner's role, the teacher's role, and the broader purpose of adult education.
This paper considers how ideology and philosophy impact approaches to program planning. It does so by examining the similarities and differences in approaches to educational intervention based on differing philosophical assumptions: (1) liberal; (2) progressive; (3) humanist; and (4) radical liberatory education ideologies. Part II expresses the writer's personal philosophical reflections on program planning in relation to basic assumptions about human nature, the learner's role, the teacher's role, and the purpose of adult education.
The Liberal philosophy acknowledges the Western canon as the source of authority in adult learning. It holds that learning is pursued for its own sake and that this should take place through lectures, study groups, critical reading, and discussion.
In contrast, the Progressive school of thought holds that learning is derived from the experiences of the learner through problem-solving and ongoing inquiry. The Humanist school of thought views the learner as the source of their own learning and holds that learning takes place experientially. The Radical school of thought views the sources of learning as the socioeconomic and socio-political imbalances present in society, and holds that non-compulsory learning and autonomy combined with critical thinking skills are the optimal learning methods.
Elias and Merriam (1980) identified six philosophies of adult education: (1) Behaviorist — behavior modification; (2) Liberal — organized knowledge for intellectual development; (3) Analytic — logical and scientific positivism; (4) Progressive — social reform; (5) Humanistic — personal growth; and (6) Radical — radical social change (Strom, 1996).
It was the belief of Elias and Merriam that adult education is influenced greatly by "progressive, humanistic and radical philosophies" and that "the purposes and contexts of specific fields of practice will often determine the philosophic influence" in adult education (Strom, 1996). They further held that the philosophy of adult education can assist adults in attaining "education-for-work," and that the progressive and humanistic philosophies of adult education "have been found to be useful in the design and implementation for certain learning situations, like diversity education and training in business and industry and the institutional classroom" (Strom, 1996).
From the perspective of adult education, the purpose of the Liberal tradition is the development of the intellectual powers of the mind. Within this framework, the learner is a seeker of knowledge on a conceptual and theoretical basis, and the teacher is the expert who transmits knowledge.
"How each tradition defines learner and teacher roles"
"Writer's personal stance on adult education philosophy"
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