Adult education: the basis of social improvement.

Is it any wonder that among the first acts of any dictator is to disable the education system?

Ignorance forces submission. Illiteracy breeds powerlessness.

The corollary, then, is that education is a necessary precondition to social improvement. On its face, this is hardly a shocking statement.

Most would agree, for example, that effective and sustainable change in a democracy relies on a literate and educated population.

Beyond literacy and numeracy, of course, lies the broader concept of learning: to improve one’s knowledge of art, culture, history, social concepts, science, professional skills, technology, communications, and other disciplines that actually help to propel our society.

And broader still is the concept of informal learning that, arguably, is even more instrumental in shaping our place in society. It is the people we meet, the papers we read voluntarily, the blogs we peruse, and the coffee house chats and lively discussions at the bar that shape our perspectives and—to a large extent—our actions.

According to Malcolm Knowles, education builds our ability to propel our social fabric forward.

The major problems of our age deal with human relations; the solutions can be found only in education…Our fate rests with the intelligence, skill, and good will of those who are now the citizen-rulers. The instrument by which their abilities as citizen-rulers can be improved is adult education.

In the 1950’s Knowles developed his theory that adults learn differently from children, and he referred to this approach as andragogy (as opposed to pedagogy), which I have summarized in my own words as follows:

Adults have more life experience and are more independent in making decisions affecting their own life. Moreover, an adult’s readiness to learn is based on their social roles, and typically there is a need to apply that learning immediately to a specific problem. Notably, the motivation to learn for adults is internal, and not forced upon them.

As social marketers this is valuable information, especially if we define adults as being individuals 18 or older. Campaigns to motivate behavioral change are often targeted to this group, and often rely on public education around an issue to precipitate action.

In order to be effective, then, these adult education efforts need to take into account that the motivation, approach and purpose of education is different for adults. As a target audience, an adult’s experience, current social role and individual concerns have to be considered in developing the approach and the message for any social campaign.

Social marketers cannot be didactic, forcing ideas upon an adult population.

The methods and messages have to be relevant, and have to compliment the experience and knowledge of the audience and must offer an immediate solution to a presented problem.