Abstract

This article analyses adult education from John Dewey’s perspective and the effectiveness of his theories if applied to the adult education system. Adult education is seen as a social and political issue that contributes to educational and economic development. The paper starts off by analyzing Dewey’s experiential and continuity based progressive learning. Then goes on to show how reflecting on past experiences and knowledge, backed by action, enhances experiential learning. Furthermore, the paper examined how Dewey’s experiential theory can be applied, and the progress made so far towards the promotion of adult education. A significant effort has also been made to outline the role of education, student-centered learning, as well as the limitations encountered. Following Dewey’s theories, adult education can prove to be effective in getting real-life skills and these skills can later on, help the people get better jobs and secure futures. We conclude by arguing that adult education should be based on experiences and practical implications in order to form a system that promotes real-life experienced based education.

1. Introduction

Adult education is a social and political issue for the educational and economic development of the world. Most people only get basic primary education and do not continue with higher education. The factors affecting a person's decision to pursue adult education include lack of time, unbalanced work and educational commitments, money, and mindset. Due to a lower skill level and low level of education, many adults do not get good jobs and opportunities in life. Adult education needs a system that can help people acquire new skills and knowledge. There are many educational reforms and philosophies that can be applied to solve the issue of adult education. One of the most well-known philosophers of educational theory is John Dewey who was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer. This paper will analyze adult education from the perspective of John Dewey’s philosophy and the effectiveness of his theories if applied to the adult education system.

2. Dewey’s Experiential and Continuity Based Progressive Learning

Adult learning is considered to be voluntary learning. The term “adult learner” refers to someone who does not fall in the category of a student in a conventional sense of the word. Adult learners pursue education mostly out of choice. Adults have many external responsibilities and situations that can affect the learning process. Adult learning and education are very important because they affect the social and economic growth of the society. Adult education is a very crucial concept for fostering ecologically sustainable development, for promoting justice, gender equity, democracy, scientific, social, and economic development ². Basic education is important in learning the ways of living life. Adult education is important for a secure and better future. Learning is beneficial at every stage of life. According to Dewey, learning is a continuous process of reconstruction of experience, and it should continue throughout life ³. Dewey believed that education is a lifelong process. Following Dewey’s views about learning and education, adults should pursue education for the sake of learning new skills and knowledge.

Dewey’s experiential philosophy of education describes a system where learners learn from experience and hands-on activities that relate directly to their lives. Dewey explains educational experience as an interaction between the learner and the environment ³. This is Dewey’s principle of interaction. According to Dewey, the factors that affect the experience of a learner are the learner’s internal, and the objective parts of the society. The attitude, beliefs, habits, prior knowledge, and emotions of the learner influence learner’s perceptions of the objective factors. The interactions of a learner with the environment create perceptions and assumptions of a certain object, people or situations. These assumptions and perceptions later on influence the future experiences.

Another premise of Dewey’s theory is the principle of continuity. Dewey’s principle of continuity states that “every experience takes something from both who have gone before and modifies in some way the quality of those which come after” ³. As cited in Carver and Enfield ⁴, Dewey explains that people develop the habits of emotional response, perception, sensitivity, appreciation, and attitude. These habits are based on past experiences that influence future experiences. The assumptions and perceptions of the learners due to their interaction with the environment affect the future decisions of the learners. According to Dewey, these two principles determine the quality of education. If the experiences of the learners based on the interactions are positive and constructive, it motivates the learners to continue the learning process. The continuity of learning and experiences creates a link between future knowledge and information. When the learners create a link between the past and future experiences, it makes more sense to them, and the learning experience becomes a meaningful process. This creates motivation for continuing the learning process. Without any meaning or purpose, the learning process does not make any sense to the learners.

As Dewey said, “The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning” ³. To be meaningful, the process of education should motivate and inspire learners to go on learning. Experience is based on the reflection and reconstruction of past experiences. Long-term consequences of education determine its quality. As cited in Rodgers ⁵, Dewey declared that reflection is a meaning-making process, systematic, rigorous or disciplined way of thinking that needs to happen in the community and requires the attitudes that value the personal and intellectual growth of oneself and others. Continuity links the knowledge gained by the learner and makes it meaningful. For Dewey, the purpose and meaning of education is the emotional, intellectual, and moral growth of an individual that would later on become the reason for the evolution of a democratic society ⁶.

Dewey believed that learning and growth should not only affect an individual but should also benefit the society. For Dewey, people should contribute to the society by making things better for everyone. He said, “The extent in which the interests of a group are shared by all its members... the fullness and freedom with which it interacts with other groups…and the extent to which…makes provision for participation in its good of all its members on equal terms and which secures flexible readjustment of its institutions through interaction of the different forms of associated life…” ⁶. According to Dewey, this is what makes education meaningful and constructive. If experiential learning of an individual negatively affects the society, then that learning is not fulfilling the real meaning of education.

John Dewey was also one of the most influential and charismatic leader and American philosopher who led activists in becoming educational reformers. As cited in ⁷, Dewey presented the educational theories in writing titled “My Pedagogic Creed ⁸; The School and Society ⁹; The Child and the Curriculum ¹⁰; Democracy and Education ⁶; and Experience and Education ¹¹." Dewey has presented the idea that education and learning are two aspects that are needed for interactive processes and for the sake of social processing. Furthermore, Dewey considered school to be the major social institution for adults in which social reform could take place, and he believed that students need to strive in such an environment where they would be able to have experience and interaction with the larger educational concept as cited in ⁷.

John Dewey’s main focus was on learning through experience. According to John Dewey’s experiential learning theory, knowledge is based on experience and social environment ³. Knowledge has to be discovered by the individual’s personal experience to hold a significant meaning. The best of learning is by being personally involved in the process and learning from personal experiences. A person is the most motivated to learn when they are free to choose their learning objectives ¹². Dewey’s approach towards learning was through experience because he assumed that experience could teach the best lessons. If a person only memorizes the knowledge and information and does not use it in a practical life, then it is not effective learning. The learning process should teach learners the real meaning and implication of the information and skills they are learning.

3. Reflection on Past Experiences

Dewey defined education as, “the reconstruction or reorganization of experience which adds to the meaning of experience, and which increases [one’s] ability to direct the course of subsequent experience” ⁶. Reflecting critically on past experiences and knowledge gives learners a chance to reconstruct and shape that knowledge for a better and meaningful outcome. Successful reflection and reconstruction of past experiences and already existing knowledge result in successful and desirable outcomes of learning. According to Dewey in Miettinen ¹³, one of the purposes of reflection is to be conscious of the prejudices and carriers created in the observation by culture and past experiences. These prejudices can affect the actions of the present. Dewey called these ideas, “uncontrolled coursing of ideas through our heads” ¹⁴. If these prejudices and carriers are made visible and critically transformed through reflection, they can become means of enriching thoughts and actions ¹³. According to Dewey, reflection constitutes, “active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends” ¹¹. According to Dewey, action must be included in reflection as cited in ⁵. Without action, reflection holds no meaning because only after acting on the reflected hypothesis can we identify the meaningfulness of the experience. The actions that are based on reflection are intelligent and different from routine actions. The action phase of reflection identifies the meaningfulness of experiential learning. Experiential learning involves the interaction of the learner with themselves, the teacher, other learners, and the whole environment.

John Dewey was a theorist who strongly affirmed that education should be viewed as the need of doing. According to his theory, practicality is very important. There is no doubt in the fact that experience also teaches the learners and enhances their knowledge. This is why having practical experience is important to learn and grow. Dewey believed that learning and growth should not only affect an individual but also benefit the society. For Dewey, people should contribute to society by making things better for everyone. He said, “The extent in which the interests of a group are shared by all its members... the fullness and freedom with which it interacts with other groups…and the extent to which…makes provision for participation in its good of all its members on equal terms and which secures flexible readjustment of its institutions through interaction of the different forms of associated life…” ⁶. According to Dewey, this is what makes education meaningful and constructive. If experiential learning of an individual negatively affects the society, then that learning is not fulfilling the real meaning of education.

The process of experiential learning enhances the learner's knowledge and skills. When learners see the benefits of their labor, they experience greater gratification and pride, thus enhancing their enthusiasm for continued learning. Experiential learning projects are often career-oriented because they are grounded in “real-world” activities. These activities allow learners to develop their skills, aptitudes, and passions. This, in turn, sets them on a more defined path to college and careers. Most experiential learning activities are cooperative, with learners working in groups. These team projects allow learners to learn to work more effectively together, forming a plan of action, and using the unique characteristics of each team member. As a result, students learn real-life leadership skills and the ways to apply critical thinking and adapt to changing circumstances.

In experiential learning, ideas are formed and re-formed through experience and are not the fixed elements of thought ¹⁵. Experiential learning is based on the concepts of reflection, action, and reconstruction. By following these principles of experiential learning, the learning process can be a meaningful experience for the learners. This process would teach the learners lifelong skills and will create the will and enthusiasm for education in them.

4. John Dewey Conception of Interdisciplinary Curriculum

Dewey's theory has highlighted the changes needed in the education system's curriculum. The curriculum is the course taught to the students. Students are supposed to absorb the material of the course and are evaluated on the basis of exams and tests from the curriculum. This is the common procedure pursued in the education system, and teachers and students are used to this procedure. John Dewey recommended that curriculum discipline should be transformed into an interdisciplinary curriculum. This curriculum would allow students to learn multiple courses on the basis of their own interests. In this mode of curriculum, teachers have a crucial role in adult learning. Students learn what teachers teach them and are evaluated on the basis of knowledge delivered to them ¹⁶.

But interdisciplinary curriculum poses a responsibility on the teachers that they should not limit the knowledge and course material to the students. In fact, they should teach a certain concept with background information and then analyze the students' interests. The students should be asked to think and discuss the concept in the form of group projects. This curriculum procedure would be helpful for the students to learn effectively. The process of learning is not only dependent on the students. The teachers and the education system play a vital role in this process. Students learn and develop skills in accordance with the environment and opportunities they are provided with. An interdisciplinary curriculum helps make multiple perspectives and ideas ¹⁷.

According to Dewey's thoughts on democratic society, such a learning procedure will teach and train every student of the society on the basis of their own interest. Adults have a chance to polish their self-interest-based learning. Dewey believes that when the school presents and trains every adult of society into participation and soaking students with the soul of administration and furnishes them with instruments of successful self-heading, we will have the best assurance of a bigger society which is commendable and ponderable. The interdisciplinary curriculum connects the basic concepts with the practice routine and evaluates and upgrades the concepts based on the perceived assumptions and ideas ¹⁸.

Moreover, interdisciplinary learning encourages students to think about the issues and their social circumstances. In such a curriculum, a critical thinking approach arises. Critical thinking over the issues contributes to the evolvement of effective problem-solving skills, and more active ideas are formulated. Dewey's conception of the curriculum differs from the traditional one and believes that students develop their learning individually on the basis of their activity but in a defined and structured framework of education ¹⁹.

5. Application of Dewey’s Experiential Theory

Dewey’s experiential theory can be applied to adult education to make it a productive and practical experience for the learners. During the adult period, people have the choice to choose what they want and what they don’t want to learn. When a person sets their own goals and objectives without any pressure, they work hard and passionately to achieve those goals. Experiential learning is an established approach in adult education theories ¹³. If there’s an outside pressure on the individuals about education, they cannot develop interest and enthusiasm for studies. This is a major problem in the education process. There is so much pressure on the learners that it gets suffocated for them. One reason why adults stop getting an education is because they can’t handle the pressure that comes with it. Dewey’s work focused on an education system that promotes the inner potential and interest of the students. By identifying the interest and inner potential, learners can achieve greater objectives in their fields of work. Adults have their own will and choice to choose whatever they feel is right for them. Dewey’s theory of experiential learning can hence be effective for the educational learning process.

John Dewey believed in the concept of student choice because his ideas and thoughts reflected upon a system that helps learners in their personal and intellectual growth. The oppressive nature of the education system limits the thoughts and cognitive development of the learners. This becomes an obstacle in the intellectual and personal growth of the learners. John Dewey believed that the major responsibility of education falls upon the system, teachers, adults, and others ²⁰. According to him, learners should not be held fully responsible for the shortcomings of their performance. He held the learning processes created by the adults for the children to be responsible for the shortcomings. According to Dewey, student’s choice is essential to create the energy of learning in the students. He stated that the teacher’s guidance, direction, and navigation are impossible without the energy of learning from the students. Dewey said that “since learning is something that the pupil has to do himself [or herself] and for himself [or herself], the initiative lies within the learner” ¹⁴. Dewey believed in giving freedom to the student, but he stated that the teacher’s instructions and directions are important for the process to be successful ¹⁴. According to Dewey, the suppression of students by educators creates a dull and disrupted learning experience ²⁰. Students should be given the freedom of choice and decision making to get the best results of the learning process.

John Dewey believed in progressivism. The environment of a progressive classroom is that which provides learners with the maximum chances to experience new things. The teacher guides students through the process but does not stop them from learning new things. These things are taught to them through their own efforts. It is a philosophy that is anti-cramming. Progressivism stresses on active experience and participation of the learner. “Experience by doing”, becomes critical on the education of the learners. Answers to the questions are more inquisitive in nature, students have to research and test out a hypothesis in order to comprehend the happenings around them. Tests, curriculum and books are just sources to be used as a guideline, but not something to cram or not provide opportunities for exploration and questioning. What, how, why and when; every question is answered through the efforts made by the learners. The educator is a facilitator to guide the students, not to provide redundant help.

6. Comparing Dewey’s and Freire’s Learning Theory

One needs to compare the learning theory of Dewey with Freire ²¹ in order to discover the flaws in Dewey’s theory. Freire’s theory is based on the concept of identifying the inner capabilities of the learners. Dewey’s work focuses only on the learners and education system while Freire’s work is a contribution to every oppressed person. It is a way for the oppressed to find freedom through education. The concepts related to education, teaching and learning include the psychological perspectives of learning. Freire has tried to explain the idea of Theory of Knowledge in order to depict how a curious mind tends to learn more and also gets more satisfaction from education and educating others. Freire has explained the concept by shedding light on the ideas that are of knowledge, how knowledge is considered to be different from belief and where the mistake lies. Freire has linked education with knowledge that leads to curiosity. For instance, knowing is a social process where the individual dimensions cannot be either devalued or forgotten. He believes that the process of knowing involves the whole of conscious feelings and affects self, emotions, memory and, most importantly, the epistemologically curious mind.

This clearly shows that the relationship known as “thinking” is not merely enclosed in the relationship of “thinking subject and knowable objects,” but instead, it extends to many other thinking subjects. The curiosity for knowing is further based on the theory of value presented by Freire. He believes in discussing the knowledge and skills that are indeed worthwhile for learning and to find out the goals of education. Freire took into account that education needs to raise awareness among the students causing them to become subjects instead of the objects of the world. This is however done by first teaching students to think in the democratic perspective and then to continue to question while making the meaning from the critical point of view about everything that the students learn.

Freire explained this relationship between learning and knowledge in the best way. He explains that learners’ relationships to other learners demands that they respect each other and become tolerant of differences. He demands that learners all learn equally about the concrete conditions that exist in their worlds and how those conditions shape them. Learners need to know that the reality in which they live in is just a task that the entire educational practice imposes on them. There is also a respective idea of tolerance one needs to understand within the idea of knowledge because Freire believes that there is no theme or the value about which one cannot speak and no area in which one must be silent. One has the capability to talk about everything and also give the testimony about every single thing. This shows that students all need to discuss the idea of tolerance in their lives. They need to understand the discussion about the fact that they lack tolerance when they learn or gain some knowledge because they have a strong tendency to affirm the idea that what is different from them is always inferior. Students lack tolerance and also start with the belief that their way of being is good and better than others who are different from them. This is what we call intolerance ²².

7. Teachers’ Responsibility and Progress Made in Adult Education

These philosophies actually encourage a self-awareness that is the core of teaching adults. Teachers have the toughest responsibility, to fashion and orient the adults, and to do this, one must start with composing oneself first. Confusion and uncertainty are contagious in young students, and adult learners will also react the same way. Self-awareness gives teachers credibility, conviction and authenticity. Teachers are supposed to be articulate and charismatic, so that they can leave an impact on adult learners. Studying these philosophical orientations help teachers to categorize their philosophies and how it is applicable to their teaching processes. This may actually make teachers switch from one philosophy to another, to become a better educator.

Progress has been made with each passing year in the field of adult education as the foundation named as “London Institution” was founded by Sam Woods in the year 1805. The major aim of this institution was to form the promotion of diffusion and to promote the values of science which also included the concepts of Arts and Literature. Adult education has become more important in this age of technology, globalization and rapid change. It will empower adults by providing them with the skills and knowledge for a better future for them and their families ⁸, which will consequently benefit the society in all. Access to adult education is very important with respect to improvements in health and reducing poverty.

The roles of an educator, leaner and the institute are determined by these philosophical orientations. The educator will produce a breed similar to his thoughts and philosophy. There are orthodox philosophies that treat learners as puppets in the hands of their educators, while other philosophies treat learners as individuals and focus on their mental growth. Every philosophical orientation gives a different role to the learner. When applying these philosophical orientations, the conditions and environment will vary. The classroom is a place where a teacher can make or break a person. To fulfil different needs and demands of a specific philosophy, different classroom environments are provided to both the teacher and the learner, in order to facilitate the educator and the learner.

It is seen that these educational leaders of adult learning are categorized and differentiated based on the time era in which they presented the theory and also based on the theatricals subject in which they provide their contributions. Some of the contributors have provided their own in the domain of philosophy while others have provided the contributions in the domain of pedagogy.

8. Dewey’s Pragmatic Theory

Dewey was a philosopher who helped found pragmatism. Pragmatism is a philosophical thought that views knowledge as arising from a person’s adaptation to their environment. This school of thought was popular at the beginning of the 20th century. Dewey assumed pragmatism was a call against dogmatism, rationalism, universalism, and monism. According to this ideology, only the things that are verified by the experiment are true. This is the basis of Dewey’s experiential education theory. Therefore, the major difference is based on the learning contract in which the principles of adult education has been provided. These actions have applied the modern principles of adult education. This field indeed incorporates a number of domains and thus is considered to be one of the most widely used domains which include various perspectives. Education is depicted in a way that it includes the concepts which are referring to the learning process.

John Dewey is a prominent name in the pragmatic school of thought. Pragmatism stresses on the realistic approach over the theoretical approach. According to this school of thought, all theories should be experienced in real life to solve the problems of humans in society. John Dewey is a prominent name in the pragmatic school of thought. John Dewey’s pragmatic theory differs from the positivism in a few manners. John Dewey’s theory of pragmatism is aimed at humanistic naturalism. This approach gives an argument of the reconsideration of the place of man in the world through some scientific changes ²³. Dewey’s pragmatic theory contradicts scientific realism. According to scientific realism, physical theories are the best account of reality. In Dewey’s pragmatism, he challenges a society that limits science to physical matter. John Dewey’s instrumentalism is his aspect of pragmatism ²³. According to the cultural instrumentalism of Dewey, scientific explorations should aim to solve human problems in society ²³. Philosophy should pay attention to solving human problems in society by improving the intellectual tools. John Dewey believed that thoughts, theories, and concepts are the tools for solving human problems. Dewey believed ideas to be the plans of action and predictors of future events. A person possesses an idea when he is prepared to use a given object in a manner that will produce a predictable result. This indicates that John Dewey was a believer of action and not words. His pragmatic instrumentalism relates his approach to his experiential learning theory.

9. The Role of Education

Education is an essential human right and a huge factor in the improvement of children, networks, and nations. Opening classroom ways to all youngsters, particularly young ladies, will help break the intergenerational chains of destitution since training is naturally connected to all improvement objectives, for example, supporting sexual orientation strengthening, enhancing children’s and maternal well-being, lessening hunger, battling the spread of HIV and maladies of neediness, prodding monetary development, and building harmony. The skills for the improvement of these objectives can be learned with experience and skillful learning. John Dewey’s main focus was on experiential education. He believed in learning through doing and not memorizing. When learners only memorize the knowledge and information, they cannot put that knowledge into practical use for a long time. Skills, on the other hand, benefit a person’s whole life. Memorized knowledge fades away but skills never do. Skillful learning ensures a secure future. Education propels confidence and furnishes us with the things we have to share in the present world. It makes us freer and more mindful of what is happening on the planet today, alongside the attention to circumstances and rights. It offers a more noteworthy comprehension of one's capacity and potential as well ²⁴. From Dewey’s theories, it is clear that he supported the idea of learning to be based on one’s learning capabilities. The Education system and teachers should let the learners identify their capabilities and then continue the process based on those capabilities.

10. John Dewey Vision on Education

Dewey brought a changed vision toward the goals of the traditional education system. He put forward his vision of the education system in relevance to the changes that occur in the world. As the world continuously changes in terms of social circumstances as well as the economic system also changes. This change is considered essential in the view of Dewey that the learning system must be structured in a way that can serve the changes that occur. Additionally, this vision was considered essential according to the time in America, as there was a rapid change going on in the economic and social system ²⁵. The traditional aims of education were discarded by Dewey, as the education system was based upon absolute standards. This absolute standard was not influential in practical life. Dewey consents to the capacity of schooling as groundwork forever, assuming that it indicates to live now and in the short term. Dewey added that adult students are not intrigued by far off or far future. Any such endeavor wouldn't stimulate them to learn. Education must guarantee a satisfactory foundation for immediate life; this will urge the students to learn ²⁶.

Dewey likewise concurs with the point of schooling as self-acknowledgment of the person. This is how Dewey viewed the education system and was in favor of bringing such a learning environment for students which can help them in practical and real life. The purpose of such learning would not remain a scale of their evaluation but a tool and a way through which students can deal with the situations on the basis of their capabilities and potential. To Dewey, education is all about encountering experience, which is dependent upon steady change with the changings occurring in life. The course of education is a persistent course of change. The individual has consistently to change again and again according to the change they ace in the practical world ²⁷.

11. Student-Centered Learning

Student-centered learning is the key goal in inclusion learning, that broadly encompasses many methods of teaching that have shifted their focus of instructions from the teachers to the students. Student-centered learning also aims to make sure that it develops learner autonomy and provides the right independence among the students. This is done by putting the required responsibilities on themselves and in the hands of the students that helps them to learn the skills, and the given basis for how to learn the specific subject in more detail, as well as the given schemata which is eventually required to measure the specific performance requirements among the students.

Student-centered instruction has a key focus on the skills and practices of students that enables them to engage in lifelong learning and to acquire independent problem solving abilities. Dewey’s experiential theory talks about learning from the experience and doing. The purpose of this theory was to establish an education system that can teach the learners real skills based on their experiences. These skills can help learners in achieving constructive and meaningful outcomes. When learners choose their fields of education and learning process, they get the best outcomes. The skills that are learned out of interest motivate the learners to do something constructive with those skills. Student-centered learning practice reflects Dewey’s theories on education. For adult education, student-centered learning practice is the best option. This can help them in gaining knowledge while achieving constructive skills. Student-centered learning practice and theory are completely and solely based on the approach of constructivist learning theory that has the key emphasis on the critical role of the learners in order to construct meaningful outcomes from the new information and from the given prior experiences. The University has specifically designed the student-centered learning approach for the students in order to provide them with all the knowledge and experience they need to acquire. For that purpose, the Clark Atlanta University Faculty Development Institute (FDI) has also formed the intensive week-long professional development experience for the teachers that allowed the teachers to learn how to facilitate students and their engagement in lifelong learning. The FDI participants were asked to take on the existing courses and redesign them using the learner-centered instructional approach. The participants will also be required to recognize the features to be found in learner-centered instructional design and to refine while also reviewing the individual teaching and learning philosophies.

The student-centered learning approach allows teachers to put students and their needs first, while acknowledging their voices as being the center for the lifelong learning experience. The learner-centered approach and learning space is one where the students also choose what they want to learn, know how to keep pace with their learning, and lastly, know how to assess their own learning outcomes. This method is totally in contrast to what we have seen in the traditional education system, also called teacher-centered learning which allows the teachers to be situated as the active role models and the students are the passive role models. Teachers are the ones who decide on every single thing ranging from how the students will learn, what they will learn and how the assessment of students will be carried out. John Dewey’s work shows that he was against the learning experience in which the learners do not get to choose how and what they want to learn. A system where learners’ choices and capabilities do not matter is not an effective education system. The outcomes of this kind of education system cannot be constructive. In an environment like this, learners eventually lose interest in education and drop out. On the other hand, education based on learners’ choices and capabilities can be helpful in the long run and keeps the learners interested and motivated. Adult education is often voluntary so there should be a system that keeps the motivation alive in adults and not kill it. Dewey wanted a system in which the learners decide what and how they want to learn in order to keep the motivation alive.

Rogers as cited in Kraft ²⁸ wrote in his work that “the only learning which significantly influences behavior [and education] is self-discovered.” The given self-determination theory also focuses on the degree to which an individual and his behavior is being self-determined and self-motivated. John Dewey also believed that knowledge should be self-discovered. Learners should be able to discover the knowledge for it to be meaningful. A person should have the motivation for learning and then learn from any source possible. He believed that learning should not be limited to schools only. With the right motivation, people can learn from any possible source. According to self-determination theory, the students are given an opportunity to gauge and direct their own learning process when the learning also becomes incentive in nature. The learner-centered learning approach is all about inverting what the traditional teacher-centered learning process is and then putting the students at the edge of every single learning process. The right distinction that could be explained between the student-centered and teacher-centered theory of learning is to define that the teacher acts as the facilitator in the student-centered learning, not the instructor. Teachers are equipped with the task to guide the students in the development of new interpretations to learn the new materials, experience the content and the significant learning is acquired from the students by actually “doing” ²⁹.

Clark University ³⁰ has developed the student programs that could provide them with the assistance in learning how to develop lifelong learning. According to Dewey, education is a lifelong process. He believed that education is a continuous process of learning and shaping new experiences, and it should continue throughout life. ³¹ mentioned that traditional education ignores or suppresses learner responsibility. This requires the need to develop peer-to-peer learning and interaction among the students that gives the sense of advocating the abundance of knowledge. The teacher gets closer to the peer level and it helps to enhance the knowledge and learning process that benefits the classroom and the students as a whole. This approach is well established and carried out at CAU where the student-centered learning approach is developed and formally inducted in the learning process.

12. Methodology

A quantitative methodology of the investigation was employed to produce a descriptive account of portfolio development and the learning outcomes from the perspectives of a group of some adult students. This research design allowed for an in-depth analysis of a particular setting, program, and group of students. The institutional setting for this research was a university school of an adult where nearly 70 percent of the adult undergraduate students developed an experimental learning portfolio. Like other programs of the era, the purpose of the university school was to provide a non-traditional undergraduate degree to adult students. This portfolio program primarily represented the learning acquired through professional experiences and work participation in professional community activities. The portfolio introduced a development process to the students providing them with the instructional modules to get academic assistance throughout the learning phase. The faculty of the university school of adults evaluated students' learning by using the competency-based system in the portfolio. The development of portfolios changed adult students' perspectives on their educational and professional lives. A remarkable increase in the self-knowledge of adult students was observed after the portfolio development. Improved communication and organizational skills were also marked. A greater appreciation and recognition of the value of learning from the work and from the instructors was also observed as a significant research finding ³².

The research methodology was an instructional strategy used for adult students to document their ability to create learning outcomes beyond previous learning experiences. The awareness of accomplishments among the participating adult students was increased to empower a new sense of self-discovery to achieve future goals. The experiences of the adult students supported the ideas of social learning theorists who believed that the experiences of work and role models as mentors are critical factors in the learning process. The portfolio development process provided personal insights such as behavior and self-knowledge experienced in prior learning experiences. In an experience with thousands of students who have developed portfolios, everyone experienced a different degree of learning. There is a significant impact of portfolio development on adult students' subsequent work-related learning and career development ³³.

While there is a minimal grown-up instructive examination on the effect on appraisal, a few pertinent investigations are directed according to mental perspective and, for the most part alluding to auxiliary school. A large portion of this research centers around persuasive perspectives and requests the effect of evaluation or input on the students' inspiration. Students, who are looked at on a singular level with what they have accomplished in a specific time, are more roused than low achievers who are contrasted with the remainder of the gathering of educators' authorizations. Instructors' recognition can be deciphered as data about low capacity, while instructors' fault can be deciphered as data about high ability ³⁴.

There is sufficient research on inspiration and interest from optional school, and the grown-up instructive conversation didn't think that it is fundamental yet to scrutinize the outcomes. So, they are taken as given and backing the presumption that separately arranged and instructive criticism is an awesome approach for grown-up students too. Despite the fact that Dewey's work appears to have become undesirable, basically to the extent that current instructive strategy is concerned, his work stays key in numerous branches of schooling. John Dewey's methods of reasoning and work in the field of instruction have been extremely powerful to instructors throughout the long term ³⁵. His way of thinking that kids, not content, should be the focal point of the instructive interaction has had an enduring impact on instructors who share in his convictions and methods of reasoning about training and how kids learn most successfully ³⁶.

Undergraduate programs for adult students were designed to serve them. The growing number of adult students has contributed to the idea that the university school experience should not be recognized as an integrated component of the broader mosaic of students' learning. The mentors intended to categorize academic learning in terms of traditional measurements and tests, and they may have viewed the portfolio development and assessment as just very subjective, clumsy, and time-consuming for all. It has also been found that learning is too big to fit into a quantifiable system. There is actually no significant need to encourage greater attention to experimental learning portfolios on the part of adult students. Teachers have noticed that grown-ups bring an abundance of lived encounters into the learning climate. Along these lines, it isn't business as usual that many have contended for the acknowledgment and esteeming of learners' experiences in showing this understudy. All the more explicitly, three parts of the writing on learning and experience give some knowledge into the sorts of learning that could result from the course of portfolio improvement, including general learning speculations, especially those related to learning in adulthood, models of learning, as a matter of fact, a little arrangement of studies that investigate the learning results related with the advancement of portfolios ³⁷.

13. Limitations

The international and comparative adult education however deals with the perspective of various questions, confusions and other needs and thoughts which are being exchanged for the sake of clarification. It deals with the fact of how things are and how they work together. It also includes the concept of adult needs and how they can reach their goals in order to achieve the height of education in the various fields which could be obtained. Its major challenge is based on the community in which the education is being practiced. People come from various backgrounds and cultural areas which makes it difficult to cope with the differences in the use of educational learning. Adult education is practiced in third world countries by the use of social perspective because in those countries, social issues are given the most importance because of various problems. The Hamburg Declaration on Adult learning has, however, become one of the most important rights in the domain of 21^st century. It has indeed great consequences of the active citizenships and to have the full participations in the society. There are also some major limitations which are based on the economic, social, cultural, and environmental context. Thus, there is a need to put things in place for the sake of new vision of education. It also includes the recognition of the rights for education throughout the lifetime of an individual which include adult literacy, women’s integration, as well as empowerment. Following Dewey’s theories about education can help in solving these problems. According to Dewey, learning is a process that should be based on the capabilities and potential of the learner. People should find their inner capabilities and interests as this creates motivation for learning. If people are motivated for education and learning they won’t care about the differences and would only focus on learning.

14. The Way Forward

The concept of experiential learning is very popular in adult learning because the idea of experiential learning creates an attractive package for adult learners ¹³. Experiential learning combines spontaneity, feeling, and deep individual insights with the possibility of rational thought and reflection. These characteristics of experiential learning attract the spontaneous nature of young learners. Young learners need some reason and motivation for learning. If they believe that the learning process will be meaningful and constructive for them, it motivates them to continue the process. The humanistic belief of the experiential theory in every individual’s capacity to grow and learn maintains the importance of the concept of lifelong learning. In describing the importance of experiential learning in youth work, Young ³⁸ said that learning [in youth work] is seen as a dynamic process, which leads to action. In other words, to be meaningful, learning needs to be tested in reality ³⁸. This statement is related to that of Dewey’s experiential theory.

According to Dewey, reflection method action is important to identify the meaningfulness of the reflection and experience. By applying the hypothesis of reflection in real-life experiences, the learning process becomes meaningful and constructive. This idea inspires and attracts the youth to learn and motivates them to learn more. It is noted that youth work methods include support for individuals, work with small groups, and learning through experience ¹². These are the characteristics of John Dewey’s experiential theory. By working with small groups, the youth follow the interaction principle of Dewey’s theory. John Dewey’s experiential theory is being wildly used in the education system. For youth education, it is proving out to be a very effective and attractive process of learning. By reflecting on past experiences and knowledge, students can build up the skills that would help them in real and practical life.

Kolb ¹⁵ said that adults learn best through active participation and reflection. It is a powerful mechanism for adult learners because they obtain real experiences and reflect on them by comparing the new experiences with their previous learning. In adult education, constructivism is one of the most famous perspectives of experiential learning. In this approach, learners construct their experiences and knowledge through interaction ³⁹. Adult education works best when textbooks and memorization are replaced with experiences. Experiential learning is a great tool for adult education, which is why it is such an important element of any organizational education program.

Other theories have proven to be effective in adult education. According to the instrumental view, adult learning is largely understood as a source of adapting to the needs and demands of the socio-cultural context ⁴⁰. This process of learning focuses on education being a source of understanding the needs and demands of the society and environment. It differs from Dewey’s philosophy in a manner that Dewey talks about the personal experience and potential of the learner. The instrumental theory is widely used in the world as an educational process for adults and is also proven to be effective. In this paper, however, Dewey’s theories on education are the main focus.

Low literacy levels in adult learners create educational challenges for the scientific community ⁴¹, ⁴². When there are low numbers of adult learners, there is an automatically low number of scientists and scientific discoveries. This negatively affects the scientific development. Adult education is important for the scientific growth of the world. Everyone should play a part in the growth of society. Without education, adults cannot fully play their part in the development of society. Science opens the minds of people and makes them think outside of the prejudices and search for the hidden reality. Adult education should explore the potential of learners. They should be taught new skills and techniques based on their personal and natural strengths. John Dewey as cited in Kett ⁴³ assumed that if science is related to the personal experience of the learner, it would transmit the scientific way of thinking and hence can protect the people from demagogues. John Dewey perceived science as a tool against the political leaders who gain support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people. According to him, science should relate to an individual’s personal experience, only then would it be effective.

It is true that due to the educational progresses being made in history towards the promotion of adult education, today, we are able to have the required level of education in modern work. This also gave rise to the concepts of grants, scholarships and other such loans which are now being used for the promotion of adult education. It is also true that the newer technologies like internet etc., have added more to the development of adult education and with the help of this, not only men but also women are able to gain the required educational level at ease. One cannot forget the remarkable works being done by these educators which have paved way for further development in the field of education ⁴⁴.

Dewey’s work focused mostly on childhood education and learning processes. He believed that childhood is the period where education can be effective ⁴⁵. However, his theories can still be beneficial for adult education and the learning process. In his experiential theory, he talks about learning through experience and how it can have a positive effect on adult education. Through experiential education, a person gets to learn about the practical skills that can be used in real life. Experiential learning makes the learners passionate about their goals and objectives and motivates them to move forward with them. Dewey’s work can prove to be a great contribution to adult education. By getting an education based on great motivation and passion, adults can play an active role in the development and betterment of society. Adult education is very important for the socio-economic growth of the society. Another reason for adults to continue education is that by getting a good education, they can raise their children better.

John Dewey was another great adult educator who was an American philosopher and he has been the leading member in the Georgist movement and also for the educational reformer movement. His methods are important to note not only for young learners, but also for adult learners. Dewey has provided his work in the field of philosophy of pragmatism and also the founder of the functional psychology.

15. Conclusion

According to Dewey’s theory of education, adult learning should be based on experiences and practical implications. His perspective of adult education would be to form a system that promotes real-life experience-based education. Dewey believed that education is a lifelong process, meaning that anyone can learn and educate themselves at any age. Following Dewey’s theories, adult education can prove to be effective in getting real-life skills. These skills can later on, help the people get better jobs and secure futures. People in their elderly lives face challenges because they don’t have any real-life skills that can help. Learning that is based on only the memorization of information is not good after a specific period. On the other hand, education based on experiences and practical implications can turn out to be of great use for one’s whole life. Adults can choose what is best from them. They can choose their field of interest and then set specific goals and objectives. These goals and objectives should be based on the real interest and potential of the learners. This way, learners will be encouraged to learn and get their necessary education based on their interests. They can, later on, use their degrees and skills to create their identity in society. This would be the perspective of Dewey on adult education. Although, Dewey’s work is mostly about childhood education, its application on adult education can also prove to be effective.

References