52 The Coaching Toolkit for Child Welfare Practice
We do not see things as they are,
we see things as we are.
~ Anais Nin
Adult learning or andragogy
Definition: Andragogy is based on the Greek word aner (with the
stem andr-), meaning “man” and is “the art and science of helping
adults learn” (Knowles, 1980, p.37).
Adult learning research has made it clear how adults learn new
information and integrate learning into practice. The formal
coaching process provides an avenue for an enhanced adult-learning
experience. Elaine Cox (2006) asserts that “andragogy [adult
learning] has reached its zenith with the advent of coaching as a
learning approach” (p. 195).
Coaches must ensure adult learning elements are addressed
throughout the coaching process. By doing so, the coach creates the
opportunity to “pull the learning from the experience and plan how
to do things differently in the wake of the new understandings”
(Cox, 2006, p. 201).
Adult learners (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1998, pp. 64-68):
Have a need to know: Adult learners must be helped to recognize
the value or benefit of the learning to be undertaken before it begins.