Adult Learning and Motivation in the Human Resources Setting

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Table of Contents

Introduction
A brief Overview of Adult Learning
Adult Learning and the Human Resource Setting
Motivating the Adult Learner
Discussion
Further Research
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Education and the learning process can arguably be stated to be the foundation of man’s modern civilization and for this reason, educational institutes have been given a lot of relevance in modern day society. However, this tremendous attention and significance has mostly been focused on childhood education and it has not been until fairly recent that adult learning has been given closer attention.

Swanson and Holton (2009) propose that part of the reason why adult learning has gained new respect is the realization that adult learning is a powerful tool in developing better institutes as well as individuals. This has resulted in more research on adult learning and a marked increase in the knowledge base on adult education and training.

One of the areas of adult education that is of great relevance is adult learning and motivation in the human resource setting. This are has especially become significant in modern times whereby new technologies necessitate employees to undergo learning processes so as to remain effective in their work setting.

This paper shall set out to provide an in-depth research into various ways in which the adult learner can be motivation with particular bias to the human resource setting. The paper will begin with a brief introduction on adult learning and continue to give a concise discussion as to how to make the motivational strategies a success.

A brief Overview of Adult Learning

Adult learning is defined as “the process of adults gaining knowledge and expertise” (Knowles, Holton and Swanson, 2005, p.174). Adult learning has always been perceived to differ significantly from childhood learning due to the marked difference exhibited by the adult and child learner.

Despite this acknowledgment, little attention was given to the adult learner while numerous theories were come up with to explain the childhood learning and development process. It was not until the late 1960s that the renowned educator Knowles came up with andragogy which was to become the most extensively analyzed and critiqued adult education theory (Swanson & Holton, 2009). The term Andragogy by translation means “art and science of helping adults learn” and Lieb assets that this to an instructor means that

Instructions for adults need to focus more on the process and less on the content being taught. Strategies such as case studies, role playing, simulations, and self-evaluations are most useful. Instructors adopt a role of facilitator or resource rather than lecturer or grader (Lieb, 1998, p. 6).

Andragogy recognizes that the learner is mature and for this reason should not be treated in a similar manner to the young learner. While andragogy has been criticized by many education scholars as being less a theory and more a set of assumptions about the nature of adult students, there is general concession that andragogy offers a manner through which strategic differentiation of educational practices between children and adults can be made.

In addition to this, andragogy is credited with being the theory that sparked widespread interest in adult learning leading to a revolution in adult education and training. For this reason, Brookfield (1986, 91) asserts that andragogy is the “single most popular idea in the education and training of adults.” Adult learner motivation tactics therefore greatly borrow from this theory.

Adult Learning and the Human Resource Setting

Rose, Kasworm and Ross-Gordon (2010) theorize that the rapid development in technology which has resulted in the emergence of information-based and knowledge-based economies is the biggest contributor to the increased significance of adult learning recent times.

This changes compounded with globalization and rising unemployment have had the cumulative effect of transforming the social demand for learning and a rising of the issue of equipping adults with “appropriate workplace competencies and skills that would allow nations to compete in the global markets” (Rose, Kasworm & Ross-Gordon, 2010, p.93).

Adult learning has therefore became more prevalent as it proposes to meet the challenge of lifelong learning that have been brought about by the rapid informational changes currently experienced in the world.

Thorpe, Edwards and Hanson (1993) reveal that a good deal of adult education is actually in compensation of previous school shortcomings rather than a continuation of the previous regime. With this in mind, the authors go on to articulate that some of the reasons for previous failure may include ability, motivation and learning styles.

This assertion demonstrates that motivation is a very important factor in adult education. For this reason, every adult education program should endeavor to motivate the adult learner so as to make them perform optimally and remove and impasse that may have been formed from previous learning experiences.

Motivating the Adult Learner

Motivation can be defined as the process of “arousing, directing and maintaining behavior towards a goal” (Martocchio, 2005). While everyone is motivated towards achieving some goal which is unique to them, not everyone is motivated towards achieving the organizational learning goals.

For this reason, it is very important to take measures to increase the likelihood of all learners being motivated towards achieving desirable goals. This is because motivation is directly linked to performance and productivity since a highly motivated person is more likely to perform optimally.

Matema (2007) declares that unlike with children learners where learning is its own reward, adults are more interested in outcomes that can be put to immediate use. As such, while children will be impressed with good marks on their report cards, the same will not have a desirable effect on the adult learner. This assertion is backed by Knowles who states that adults’ orientation to learning is life centered and as such, the education they receive should result in an increase in their competency level in performing some tasks.

Rose, Kasworm and Ross-Gordon (2010) also confirm that some of the adult participants in formal learning opportunities do so as to improve the way they feel about themselves. The desire for greater self-esteem and feelings of self-worth is therefore a huge factor in the case where adult learners are concerned.

While the child learner is comfortable with letting the teacher take total control of the learning process, the adult learner is keen on being in control. This is one of the big differences between the child and adult learner since the adult learner will always be very specific about their assignments and expectations in the class or field setting. Ensuring maximum participation by the adult learner is therefore a core motivator which the instructor can use.

Swanson and Holton (2009) reaffirm this by documenting that the adult learner has in him many prior experiences with provide rich resources for learning. The instructor should therefore be ready to relinquish as much control of the learning process to the learners as he/she can. By doing this, the adult learner who is ideally self driven will be more ready to learn since he will have a sense of control over his own learning experience.

Rothwell (2008) advances that since new training will result in significant changes in the way tasks are performed, adult learners must be made to understand why the learning is useful and the reason as to why mastering the new skills will be important. This notion is seconded by Knowles who affirms that adults need to know “why they need to learn something before learning it”.

Having the adult learner understand the learning outcomes is also crucial since it not only acts as a motivator but also influences the training environment in which the learning process will occur. This being the case, it is important for the educator/trainer to outline what is going to be learnt and the reasons why the specific material is important to the adult learner.

Another theory that proposes how adults can be motivated is the reinforcement theory. Reinforcement theory borrows from the assertion by the renowned psychologist B. F. Skinner that “behavior is a function of its consequences” (Burns, 1995). The reinforcement theory proposes that a learner is likely to repeat an action that brings about a pleasant consequence.

There are two common types of reinforcements, that is; positive and negative reinforcement, which are used to bring out the desirable modes of behavior from the learner. In general, positive reinforcements range from verbal reinforcements such as complements to more tangible rewards.

In the Human resource setting, this positive reinforcement can be the awarding of a certificate which increases the value of the learner to the organization or even the promise of a promotion at the end of the learning process. While reinforcement as a motivation method is criticized as being rigid and mechanical, educators concede that it is very important when teaching skills that require a lot of practice from the learner.

The idea that people have different learning styles has been discussed by educational researchers and from this, it has been discovered that individuals have preferred learning styles. MacKeracher (2004, p.74) asserts that while learning refers to the content of thought or to what we learned, learning styles explicitly refer to “how we have learned it”. Kolb’s theory of learning styles which has been extensively applied throughout the education field emphasis the importance of learning style in how people learn (Rothwell, 2008).

An understanding of the various learning styles that adult learners use is imperative for the adult instructor if he/she wishes to achieve success in the learning process. This is because learners are more likely to be actively engaged in the learning process if the instructor teaches them in a manner that is aligned with their preferred learning style.

Swanson and Holton (2009) theorize that the self-concept of adults is heavily dependent on a move towards self-direction”. What this means is that adults are predisposed to taking control of their own learning and setting their individual learning goals as well as deciding on which learning styles to utilize so as to come up with the outcome that they want.

This is a huge factor when motivating the adult learner since it is already established that the adult learner is inherently self-driven. However, learners exhibit different levels of self-direction in different learning situation. Matema (2007) reveals that learners may have a higher level of self-direction in an area in which they are family or areas that are similar to prior experiences as compared to areas which are alien to them.

Research on Adult learning reveals that adults become ready to learn when they experience needs and interests that the will be satisfied by learning. Knowles, Holton and Swanson (2005) reinforce this principle by their statement that one of the distinguishable characteristics of human behavior is its purposeful goal-directed nature.

In order to motivate the adult learner, it therefore makes sense to understand why they are engaging in the learning process. According to Rose, Kasworm and Ross-Gordon (2010) some of the adult participants in formal learning opportunities do so as to improve the way they feel about themselves. Desire for greater self-esteem and feelings of self-worth are therefore a huge factor in the case where adult learners are concerned and the instructor should use them to motivate the learner.

Owing to their experiences or knowledge in particular subjects, most adult learners possess some form of information on the subject matter. For this reason, they are may be able to spot errors or indeed ignorance on the part of the instructor. An educator who exudes expertise and a mastery of the subject is therefore more likely to motivate the adult learner than one who appears unsure of himself.

This is because Adult learners have a high regard for expert knowledge on the subject of interest and will therefore be more interested in authoritative sources on a subject other than random explorations in the aim of landing on a correct answer. Adult instructors should therefore have a thorough grasp of the subject matter they wish to teach.

MacKeracher (2004) asserts that the instructor must also be ready to demonstrate by use of concrete examples how the information or skills he/she is teaching will be relevant to the adult learner in the real world environment.

Discussion

Motivating the learner is key to ensuring the success of the learning process for the good of the individual and the organization at last. The adult motivation tactics proposed in this paper stems from the core principles of adult learning as proposed by Knowles.

Swanson and Holton (2009) assert that these core principles when properly understood and implemented help adult educators to come up with more effective learning processes for the adult learner leading to a more successful and mutually fulfilling learning experience for both the learner and the educator.

While motivation is key to the success of the learning process, it is not the only factor that results in productivity in the learning setting. Factors such as the learning environment also play a role in bringing about positive results.

MacKeracher (2004) suggests that an inclusive learning environment which takes into consideration the diverse realities of the adult learner is most conducive for the learning process. This kind of learning environment takes into consideration factors such as psychological, social and cultural conditions which have powerful influence on the perception and subsequent grown and development of the adult learner.

There cannot be a universal method of motivating the adult learner since different adult learners all have different expectations and backgrounds. O’Connor et al (2002, p.127) state that “individual adults learn differently, depending upon their experiences, aptitude and attitude”. However, by taking into consideration the various principles proposed in Knowles “core andragogial model”, it is possible for an instructor to come up with motivational methods that can be used for the adult learner in a human resource setting.

Further Research

One of the issues that adult learning addresses is the issue of learner control. Ideally, it is proposed that the more control the learner has the better the learning outcomes will be. Martocchio (2005) reveals that while research on adult learner control in a traditional class setting has been covered, little effort has been made in terms of research in non-traditional contexts such as trainee environments.

In most human resource oriented settings, learning takes place outside of the traditional class setting. Further research on this area would lead to a better understand adult learning theories that are better suited for the human resource environment.

Conclusion

Adult learning has become an important and indispensible faucet of today’s society. This paper set out to review adult learning and motivation in the human resource setting. To this end, the paper has proposed various ways in which the adult learner can be motivated all the while reinforcing the claims by sound theoretical basis and assertions by authorities on the subject.

From the discussions presented herein, it is evident that while an educator might come up with a good environment that encourages learning, the success of the learning process is only possible when the adult learner is well motivated and prepared to utilize these settings. However, this does not mean that instructors should avoid making learning engaging and fun since this leads to adult learners choosing to engage in more learning which results in better outcomes for both the individual and the organization.

References

Brookfield, S. D. (1986) Understanding and Facilitating Adult Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Burns, R. (1995). The Adult Learner at Work. Sydney: Business and Professional Publishing.

Knowles, M. S., Holton, F. E. & Swanson, R. A. (2005). The Adult Learner: the Definitive Classic in Adult Education and Human Resource Development. Butterworth-Heinemann.

Lieb, D. (1991). Principles of Adult Learning. Retrieved from: www.amschool.edu.sv/…/PRINCIPLES%20OF%20ADULT%20LEARNING.doc

MacKeracher, D. (2004). Making Sense of Adult Learning. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Martocchio, J. J. (2005). Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, Volume 24. Emerald Group Publishing.

Matema, L. (2007). Jump Start the Adult Learner: how to Engage and Motivate Adults using Brain-Compatible Strategies. Corwin Press

O’Connor, B., M. Bronner, & C. Delaney. (2002) Cincinnati: Delmar/South-Western. Thomson Learning.

Rose, A. D., Kasworm, C. E. & Ross-Gordon, M. J. (2010). Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education. New York: Sage.

Rothwell, J. W. (2008). Adult Learning Basics. USA: American Society for Training and Development.

Swanson, A. R. & Holton, E. F. (2009). Foundations of Human Resource Development. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehier Publishers.

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