Chapt 6 Critical And Post Modern Perspectives On Adult Learning

1 Krishna K. Bista PSE 6670: Chapter 6 Dr. McNellis March 19, 2009 Q.1. In your own words, summarize the critical theory perspective on adult learning. Also, explain whether or not you agree with this theory and why. Adult learners are practical, goal oriented, autonomous, and self-directed. They focus on the aspects of a lesson most useful to them in their work. Their teachers actively involve adults in the learning process and serve as facilitators for them. Adults have a foundation of life experiences and knowledge that may include work-related activities, family responsibilities, and previous education. In this sense, a critical theory of adult education involves conceiving of what education, why and where adults learn. Critical theory on adult learning views learning as a part of social interaction among individuals. Critical theorists believe that learning is possible through how people think, what they really need and what best serves their needs in family and society. In other words, they think critically and rationally about the goals of learning and understanding the nature of needs. Critical theorists argue that social structures and institutions—race, ethnicity, caste, language and religion—reinforce adult learners to view and interpret everyday learning as “a common-sense lens.” They must see a reason for learning something. Learning has to be applicable to their work or other responsibilities to be of value to them. Critical thinking perspectives on adult learning is very important and relevant because this kind of thinking, according to Kilgore, “challenge what we think we know is true by demonstrating how it serves the interests of certain individuals and groups at the expense of other individuals and

2 groups(p.54).” After all, critical theories help adult understand social issues of unemployment, poverty, racism and the rest in thoughtful and reflecting ways. I agree that critical theories are useful sets of working tools for adults to observe and utilize various forms of knowledge in different teaching and learning settings. Besides, a critical theory in adult education helps adults to conceptualize and understand various features of society likes social stratification, power structure and distribution of power. It also helps adult to see what the critical theory projects as a better life and society because it shows adults a way of seeing society, mapping, making connections and engaging into activities.

Reference Kilgore, D. W. (2001). In The New Update on Adult Learning Theory, Ed. Sharan, M. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, pp.53-61.

3 Q. 2) In your own words, summarize the postmodern perspective on adult learning. Also, explain whether or not you agree with this theory and why. Postmodern perspective views that knowledge is contextual and there is no universal rule of acquiring knowledge. Postmodernism helps the adults to question the existing forms of learning theories and knowledge. Postmodern theorists, as Kilgore (2001) mentions, “view knowledge as tentative, multifaceted, and not necessarily rationally connected to any motivation or interest.” (59) To put in other words, postmodernists believes that there is no absolute truth. There is no single meaning as final meaning, and no single interpretation as final interpretation. Rather, they view as many meanings as ways of understanding the thing, as interpretations as many ways of perceiving the context. There is nothing wrong or right but all as possible ways of getting into the world of learning. Postmodernists (Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Ferdinand de Saussure, JeanFrançois Lyotard, Richard Rotary, Levis Strauss, etc) have helped adult learners that reality is more complex and that is formed of our needs and interests. Knowledge has become a product of human interaction with nature, culture and universe. Postmodernism has given adults a very different perspective to look at existing facts and values in their universe. Further, postmodernism has been a new weapon to challenge, to view, and to deny or to accept continuity and commonality of the world. Derrida came with ‘Deconstruction’—a tool of perceiving everything through binary oppositions such as black vs. white, birth vs. death, competence vs. performance. Foucault discussed the power hegemony to dissect the existing discourse of politics and social formation. Saussure brought a new way of understanding human language and communication in terms of signifier and signified whereas Strauss dealt with fundamental aspects of social structure and post structure anthropologically. Richard

4 Rotary questioned the self as a network of human needs, beliefs and desires. In general, postmodernism has challenged the Western world as “there is no center.” Why postmodern perspective in adult education? There are several implications of postmodern perspective in adult education. The most important is that it helps adult in careful and deliberate determination of whether adults should accept or reject about a claim—of learning, understanding and perceiving anything in everyday life. It let them rethink, reexamine, reinterpret and re-read the whole understanding of their learning. Similarly, it opens windows for adults encouraging to question the accepted “realities”—truth, god, power, authority, religion, politics and the World.

Reference Kilgore, D. W. (2001). In The New Update on Adult Learning Theory, Ed. Sharan, M. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, pp.53-61.