Andragogy in Practice: Clarifying the Andragogical Model of Adult Learning

The andragogical model has stood for many years as a central model of adult learning. The purpose of this article is to offer a fresh look at certain aspects of andragogy that are important for performance improvement professionals as well as other adult educators. More specifically, the objectives are to clarify the current state of the andragogical principles, address certain key issues in using andragogy in practice, and offer a clearer framework for adapting andragogy to different practice conditions. An expanded model, Andragogy in Practice, is offered that more explicitly accounts for factors that must be considered in shaping andragogy to fit the learning situation. An analysis framework called andragogical learner analysis is also offered to utilize the andragogy model in practice during needs assessment and curriculum development.