Psychology and adult learning Psychology and adult learning Second edition Mark Tennant London and New York First published 1997 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 RoutledgeFalmer is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003. © 1988 and 1997 Mark Tennant All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Tennant, Mark. Psychology and adult learning/Mark Tennant. –2nd edn. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. 1. Adulthood—Psychological aspects. 2. Adult learning. 3. Learning, Psychology of. 4. Psychology. I. Title. BF724.85.C64T46 1997 155.6–dc20 96–28530 ISBN 0-203-44161-3 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-74985-5 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-14991-6 (Print Edition) Contents List of figures and tables vi Preface vii 1 Introduction 1 2 Humanistic psychology and the self-directed learner 7 3 The psychoanalytic approach 21 4 The development of identity during adulthood 36 5 The development of intelligence and cognition 57 6 Learning styles 80 7 Behaviourism 94 8 Group dynamics and the group facilitator 107 9 Critical awareness 123 10 Concluding comment: psychology as a foundation discipline in adult education 135 Bibliography 142 Index 157 v List of figures and tables FIGURES 4.1 Adult development: basic research designs 41 6.1 The performance of extreme field independent (a) and field dependent (b) subjects in Witkin’s (1950) rod and frame test 81 6.2 The experiential learning model 89 9.1 An illustration used by Freire 124 TABLES 3.1 Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development 32 4.1 Educational responses to life cycle tasks 39 4.2 A sample of statements from Gould’s questionnaire 42 4.3 Hierarchy of adaptive mechanisms 43 4.4 Developmental tasks of the adult years 46 4.5 Some methods and views on the developmental process 48 4.6 Differences between best and worst life outcomes relevant to an Eriksonian model of the life cycle 50 5.1 Comparison of concrete operations and formal operations on two tasks 61 5.2 Kohlberg’s stages of moral development 70 6.1 The educational implications of cognitive styles 83 6.2 Kolb and Fry’s learning styles 90 7.1 The learning system design process 105 8.1 Steps in the Nominal Group Technique 117 8.2 Some approaches to group development 120 9.1 Mezirow’s charter for andragogy 127 9.2 Contrasting traditions in the framing of issues in adult education 129 vi Preface The first edition of Psychology and Adult Learning was written while I was a Visiting Fellow with the Department of Continuing Education at the University of Warwick in 1986. This second edition was written while a Visiting Professor with the Center for Research and Development in Higher Education, Hokkaido University, Japan, during the northern winter of 1995–6. It has thus been ten years since I began work on the first edition. Over this decade, writes Welton (1995): voices from the margins of the field—armed with interpretive strategies from hermeneutical, critical and postmodernist studies—have been levelling four fundamental accusations against the modern practice of adult education: (1) adult education has abandoned its once vital role in fostering democratic social action, (2) the discipline of adult learning was based on a shaky foundation, (3) the contemporary modern practice of adult education is governed by an instrumental rationality that works to the advantage of business, industry and large scale organisations, (4) the guiding principle of the modern practice of adult education, self directed learning, is conceptually inadequate to serve the interests of the poor, oppressed, and disenfranchised in global…society He goes on to say that the chaos and disorder so evident in the field of adult education as discourse and practice is largely attributable to the theoretical bankruptcy of the andragogical model. During the same period Bruner (1990) writes that the development of psychology as a discipline has become fragmented as never before in its history. It has lost its center and risks losing the cohesion needed to assure the internal exchange that might justify a division of labour between its parts. And the parts, each with vii viii Preface its own organisational identity, its own theoretical apparatus, and often its own journals, have become specialities whose products become less and less exportable. Perhaps these comments lend further weight to the postmodernist interpretation of contemporary society, that fragmentation, diversity, difference, and multiple identities are replacing cohesion, convergence, sameness, and singular identities in our working, civic and private lives. In spite of any misgivings voiced about the state of adult education theory, and psychology as a foundation discipline within it, adult education as an activity is arguably becoming more urgent and central. This is particularly so given that demarcations between formal and nonformal educational institutions are breaking down, new interdisciplinary groupings are being formed which challenge the old disciplines, and formal educational institutions no longer enjoy a monopoly on either pedagogical expertise or the creation of knowledge. Adult education is beginning to fill some of the spaces created by the fragmentation of the old educational systems. In this context I believe it makes sense to continue the project of linking psychology to issues and practices in adult education. But not for the purpose of psychologising the process of adult learning and certainly not to resurrect a monolithic and singular theory of adult learning. Rather the purpose is to acknowledge the psychological dimension of adult education work, and to explore this dimension in the context of the concerns of adult educators, and global social and economic conditions. It is a book about psychology and adult learning as opposed to being a book about the psychology of adult learning. The reader who wants a comprehensive account of psychology and its application to adult learning should look elsewhere. Similarly, the reader who wants an exhaustive treatment of any particular theory will not find it here. My approach has been to examine the seminal traditions of some key psychological theories and to discuss the issues and problems in applying them to an understanding of adult learning and development. I hope it will be useful for those who seek a critical understanding of psychological theory and research from the perspective of the adult educator. Many of the ideas grew out of lectures and seminars delivered to graduate students in the adult education programme at the University of Technology, Sydney. These students were enrolled in one of a number of courses leading to an award in adult education. They comprised community educators, industrial and commercial trainers, Aboriginal educators, ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) teachers, literacy teachers, outreach workers, health education officers and so on. They were all practising adult educators who had completed undergraduate studies in psychology or a related discipline. This is the readership for whom the book will be most accessible— the graduate student who has a knowledge of psychology, and work experience in adult education. Preface ix I should like to express my gratitude to the following colleagues and friends who have made direct and indirect contributions to the book: Susan Roberts, who read the draft and made many valuable suggestions; Chris Duke, who was my host at the University of Warwick; John Martin, who was a valuable mentor during my days at Macquarie University; my colleagues in the adult education programme at the University of Technology, Sydney; Professor Ogasawara and his colleagues for kindly inviting me to Hokkaido University; and Peter Jarvis, who stimulated me to write the book and provided valuable editorial guidance. I am indebted to the following publishers for permission to reproduce diagrams and figures: 1 Taylor & Francis, for allowing substantial excerpts from an article published in the International Journal of Lifelong Education to be used in Chapter 2: M.Tennant (1986) ‘An evaluation of Knowles’ theory of adult learning’, 5 (2): 113–22. 2 Little, Brown & Company, for Tables 4.3 and 4.6, which appear in Adaptation to Life by George E.Vaillant. © Copyright 1977 by George E. Vaillant. 3 Jossey-Bass, for Table 4.4, which appears in The Modern American College by Arthur W.Chickering (ed.) (1981). 4 Gulf Publishing, Houston, for Table 8.2, which appears in Learning in Groups (2nd edn) by D.Jaques (1992). 5 Croom Helm, for Table 9.1, which appears in Adult Learning and Education by Malcolm Tight (ed.) (1983). 6 Writers and Readers Publishing Co-operative, for Figure 9.1, which appears in Education: The Practice of Freedom by Paulo Freire (1974). I would also like to thank my immediate family: Susan, Annie and Erin. Mark Tennant Hokkaido, Japan, February 1996