Nowadays, there are still some ambiguities in the concept of adult education. This statement is one or two for readers' reference.
I. Definition of adult education
What is adult education? Some people say that all kinds of education provided for adults are adult education. This definition cannot be said to be wrong, but it is not entirely correct. This is an incomplete and unscientific interpretation. According to this view, can it be considered that copying the system, concept, connotation and methods of general education to adults is adult education? I don't think so. Adult education is an extremely strict scientific concept, which has its own purpose, connotation, essential characteristics and laws. It is divided into two different educational categories and two educational systems different from general education.
The essential characteristics of adult education are determined by the object of education-adults. Adult education can be understood as the process of guiding education in an adult way. Adults are mature people and experienced people. Adult means maturity and experience. Patterson believes that adulthood means a kind of social identity and status, which covers certain social responsibilities. Knowles uses "social maturity" to judge whether a person is an adult. He believes that when a person's social maturity reaches a certain level and can assume certain social responsibilities, he can be regarded as an adult. In other words, when a person enters adulthood, it means that his self-awareness and the cognition of others are recognized, that is, he has reached a certain social maturity. And this level is suitable for the adult identity of the society in which it lives.
From the perspective of pedagogy, when we say that a person enters adulthood, it means that his cognitive ability and learning ability have reached a mature level. For example, we can use experience to recognize things around us and guide the learning process. Knowles has compared adult students with children students and pointed out that there are great differences between them. First of all, he thinks that adults are self-learners. From the psychological point of view, adults refer to people who can independently guide and control their own behaviors and activities. Therefore, adults' self-study ability should be considered when formulating and implementing education plans. Secondly, adult students are people with life experience and work experience, which enhances their cognitive ability. Experience is an important resource for adult learning. Third, adults learn actively. Adults learn with motivation to solve problems in work and life. The purpose of learning is quite clear and the attitude of learning is quite positive. Its learning effect is obviously better than that of children. Knowles put forward the adult teaching method.
To sum up, I think the concept of adult education should be defined according to these characteristics of adults: the educational process undertaken by people with adult characteristics. This is the fundamental difference between adult education and general education.
Knowles pointed out: Adult education has at least three meanings. First of all, this is a learning process for adults. Second, it is a set of activities organized by some institutions to achieve certain educational goals. Third, it is the first field of social practice.
Second, the characteristics of adult education
Adult education is an integral part of the lifelong education system. It is a perfect interdependent relationship with general education. Together, they constitute an organic education system, that is, a lifelong education system.
Adult education has the following two characteristics: sociality and informality.
1. Sociality: The sociality of adult education is manifested in social organization and national participation. This is a highly socialized educational activity. Adult education goes deep into all aspects and fields of social life and has a very close relationship with social life. It affects social life, participates in social life, and promotes social progress and reform. Therefore, adult education, as a government action, is a social policy. The solution of social problems, such as equality of educational opportunities and elimination of unemployment and poverty, cannot be separated from adult education.
However, adult education is a cause that the whole people participate in and jointly manage. To a great extent, it is a kind of folk behavior, that is, a national self-education activity under the guidance of national policies and regulations. This is an unofficial, social and folk education process. In a sense, the mainstream of adult education organizations is running schools by social forces.
The sociality of adult education also shows that it has the largest group of learners, which can meet the educational needs of all social strata, groups and individuals to the greatest extent, and can meet the needs of social and economic development to the greatest extent.
2. Non-standard: Some people may disagree with me and think that this conclusion means lowering the level and level of adult education. In fact, informality means that the organizational form and behavior of adult education go beyond convention and adopt a non-traditional educational model. Irregularity is a characteristic of adult education, which makes adult education have strong adaptability and flexibility, so as to meet the educational needs of society and individuals to the greatest extent.
In a sense, adult education is a kind of perfection and supplement of general education. According to the viewpoint of lifelong education, people still need to continue to receive education after completing formal and ordinary education until life. These educations are usually provided and organized in an informal way.
The informality of adult education requires it to break the traditional concepts, modes and methods of school education and organize activities that meet the various educational needs of society and adults. For example, in adult education, the traditional academic year system of school education is abolished and a credit system suitable for adult learning characteristics is adopted. In teaching, we should break the traditional subject teaching system and adopt the teaching principle of "teaching students in accordance with their aptitude" and so on.
The informality of adult education requires us to break through the shackles of academic education and boldly organize various non-academic and informal cultural life education activities to meet individual educational needs and hobbies, thus improving people's spiritual civilization level and quality of life. In other words, in addition to a small amount of academic education, adult education should take continuing education and social and cultural life education as the leading direction.
The informality of adult education determines that it has strong coping mechanism and ability. That is to say, it can and should adjust its own school-running direction, education plan and teaching system in time, adjust its majors and curriculum settings in time, add new teaching contents, and impart the latest knowledge and information to adults in a quick way according to the needs and changes of social development and the changes of individual educational needs of social members.
Third, the purpose and scope of adult education
1, the purpose of adult education
The fundamental purpose of adult education is to expand educational opportunities, improve national quality and implement lifelong education.
The initial purpose of implementing adult education is to provide a second chance for those poor people in society or those who have lost their educational opportunities for other reasons, so as to realize social justice and equal educational opportunities. Therefore, adult education is often a social policy of the government.
With the development of economy and social progress, people's requirements for quality are getting higher and higher. In the 1960s, the concept of "lifelong education" was put forward, which caused the change of contemporary educational concept. The theory of "implementing lifelong education" is gradually recognized and accepted by all countries in the world. Under the guidance of this theory, the development of adult education has a new direction and new goal. The theory of lifelong education promotes the cause of adult education, and adult education is also consciously integrated into this new education system. Therefore, the implementation of lifelong education has become the fundamental purpose of adult education.
2. Types of adult education
Adult education is divided into four categories according to its functions. These four categories are: compensatory education (including literacy education, cultural basic education and academic education), continuing education, adult vocational education and social and cultural life education.
(1) Compensatory education: It used to be the dominant direction and basic category of adult education. Its purpose is to provide a second educational opportunity for those who have lost their educational opportunities or failed to complete their formal basic education for various reasons. This kind of education is obviously compensatory.
(2) Continuing education: It should become the mainstream of adult education today. Continuing education refers to continuing education for those who have completed formal academic education with the purpose of updating their knowledge and improving their professional level and ability.
(3) Adult vocational education: it is an organic part of the vocational education system. Its purpose is to cultivate or improve the ability of adults to find jobs or engage in business. Adult vocational education is divided into two categories: one is social adult vocational education, that is, education provided by various social vocational education or vocational training institutions at all levels. The purpose of this kind of vocational education is to expand the employment opportunities of adults. The second category is the vocational education of enterprises and institutions. Its purpose is to improve the professional ability of on-the-job personnel. The fundamental purpose of vocational education in enterprises and institutions is to develop the human resources of enterprises and institutions and improve their survival and competitiveness. As a kind of human investment, enterprises and institutions bring it into their own business management category, which is a link in business management. Therefore, in a sense, it is an industrial and commercial enterprise behavior, which goes beyond the scope of education and is a dual vocational education.
(4) Social and cultural life education: it is the most extensive adult education. It aims to meet the educational needs of individual members of society, organize and provide various informal and non-academic educational activities, and is the most personalized, free and non-utilitarian adult education. Social and cultural life education is the best organizational form to improve the national spiritual and cultural quality.