The Nature of Qualitative Studies

Malcolm shepherd Knowles, an American educator, was a key person in the practice and growth of the adult education. For the critical review, I have selected four readings of Knowles and focussed the following aspects: Themes/ideas that emerges in the chosen articles; Traditions of adult education; the educational practices that they want promote or encourage; Highlighting Knowles biography which shaped the his own ideas; Finally, in the critical thinking section, I analysed, evaluated the Knowles context and related with my current practice of facilitating adult learning in Australia.

Adult Education is the extension of educational opportunities to those adults beyond the age of general public education who feel a need for further education or training of any sort. Even though it has been around for some time, it is still a growing field in the US that hasn’t caught up to the education of children and younger adults. There is a set of principles for Andragogy, how adults learn and another for pedagogy, how children learn. This paper will look at one main theory of adult education and how the ideas are portrayed. It will also compare the pedagogical and andragogical approaches to highlight the differences between how children learn compared to adults and how these differences affect learning needs, preferences and the

According to John Houghton, in Encyclopedia of Sociology, “adult education is the intentional, systematic process of teaching and learning by which person who occupy adult roles acquire new values, attitudes, knowledge, skills, and disciplines.”

Knowles, M. S. (1980). The modern practice of adult education from pedagogy to andragogy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Cambridge Adult Education.

Lifespan Developments Theories offer explanations of how the individual changes and develops throughout their lifetime. While this objective is constant, the focus of these theories vary. Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory adopts an intrapersonal focus, outlining nine age related stages of the life cycle while Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Stage Theory focuses on five socio-cultural stages within which the individual interacts, interpersonally, over time. This essay will focus on both these theories, their implications in the world of adult education, particularly from the perspective of experience within two South Kerry Adult Education Centres and finally the areas where these theories may concur and contrast.

It is common for adults to continue learning after completing secondary education. Whether it is work related, self-improvement, or newfound interest in a particular area, continuation of learning and education are common experience for most adults. There are courses and training facilities widely available for adults, however is not immediately apparent how the educational experience can best be organized and delivered to the adult learner. Adult learning has been described as a separate entity to the tradition

The Adult Learning Theory is based on understanding how adults learn and how they respond to the program in general. Researchers have found three key methods on how adults learn: experiential learning, transformational learning, and non-Western and Indigenous ways of knowing and learning (CITE). In Experiential Learning, adults learn through the experiences they have lived. Transformational Learning, on the other hand, is a “process in which adult learners question their own lives and how they interact with the world in which they live in” (CITE). Thus meaning that adults learn through situations that challenge their own thoughts about something and makes them reevaluate their original thought process. Lastly, Non-Western and Indigenous ways of knowing and learning is a bit complicated in adult learning as it is hard to find ways to categorize it. Despite the difficulty, there are four reoccurring themes in Non-Western and Indigenous learning: Communal nature of learning, the oneness of learners with the natural world, the oral tradition of learning, and knowledge as holistic (CITE). Further elaboration on this type of adult learning reflects on understanding cultural differences and the value of

"Education is life--not a mere preparation for an unknown kind of future living…The whole of life is learning; therefore, education can have no ending. This new venture is called adult education--not because it is confined to adults but because adulthood, maturity defines its limits." (Lindeman, E.1926p.6)

Today's workers need to prepare with continuous job training, growth and development. Given the increased age, experiences and diverse lifestyles of the working population, it is understandable that adult education practices must move beyond the traditional model of teachers and learners, while new skills, working with local companies to match their needs and sending staff into factories and other workplaces to spread the word about state and federal retraining assistance. While trying to decide how to rebuild your life after loss of employment and lack of job opportunities following the current recession, or devastated from a divorce? Adult students faced with other struggles; studies have shown that older adult students face different hurdles, family problems, and poor self-image. These along with poor time management, weaker academic preparation and a need for remediation an increased focus on adult learners and their needs can help. (armour)

As such concepts as lifelong learning and the knowledge society gain prominence, education and training become key vehicles for preparing people to be adaptable to economic changes in society. As Habermas (1972) indicated, adult education is a moral and political endeavor as much as it is a technical practice. Thus, it is affected by its role in maintaining or challenging the social order.

In the first article chosen, “Why are Nurses Leaving? Findings From an Initial Qualitative Study on Nursing Attrition,” the research method used was qualitative. The specific type of research design used was phenomenology. The participants were interviewed about their person experience of what it was like working as a registered nurse. The research question for this study was, “What is the experience of RNs who leave clinical nursing?” The sample is registered nurses (RN) with a minimum of 1 year of clinical practice and no clinical practice in the last 6 months. The sample size was ten, which were a majority of females (80%),

The title of this research study is: The internet and student research: teaching critical evaluation skills. I believe that this title is suitable for the research study because it is an overview of the information that relates the point of the study itself which indicates a connection between students and their use of the internet when it comes to utilizing the internet as a research tool. The study reflects the central phenomenon by exploring

The article I chose to discuss is: Davis, H. A., & Bowman, S. L. (2015). Examining experiences of weight-related oppression in a bariatric sample: A qualitative exploration.

The article, Understanding and Theorizing the Role of Culture in the Conceptualizations of Successful Aging and Lifelong Learning by Maureen Tam (2014), seeks to explore how successful aging and lifelong learning is understood in different cultural contexts, within and between cultures. Tam (2014) articulates that “successful aging and lifelong learning are value-laden concepts that are culturally determined. To this effect, people with different value systems and cultural backgrounds may perceive and understand these two concepts differently, resulting in different definitions and conceptualizations by people in diverse cultural contexts” (p. 881). Tam’s article successfully addresses her thesis that the concepts of successful aging and lifelong learning are value laden and are culturally constructed, by providing qualitative research that supports her claims. Tam succeeds in her argument by introducing The Kluckhohnian Framework of Cultural Variation, which provides a better understanding of how diverse cultures conceptualize important concepts in different and similar ways.

Death is something that we all have to deal with, be it in our profession or in our daily lives. This article discusses the reasons why caring for dying patients is stressful for nurses and is a high risk for burn out. The article also gives findings related to the study and gives recommendations based on the results. The study shows that education is needed for the nurses that care for the dying patient.