Principles of Adult Learning

Assessment of needs
Legally almost all University or TAFE students would claim to be adult learners, so 'adult' is not a good word for distinguishing between university students. The use of the word ‘adult’ to describe learners is common in educational use and is used in this course, however the preferred term may be ‘mature’ learner. This term can be used to make a distinction between mature students who have a longer experience of living autonomously and independently, and other University or TAFE students who are recent school leavers.

The definition of an Adult

The definition of an adult depends upon many theories; according to ‘Burns’ in the article ‘Theories of adult education’ states, “ adulthood is dependent on achieving a certain level of physical development, cultural expectations, individual values and goals”.

Every adult who is enrolled in a program come from different cultural...