Abstract
In the 1950s, Carl Rogers pointed out that there is a fundamental difference between traditional teaching and the facilitation of learning, based on his belief that people cannot be taught directly, but only facilitated in their learning. Person-centered adult education as introduced in this chapter is therefore based on the principle that significant learning occurs and becomes permanent when the processes of knowledge transfer are self-initiated. Furthermore, people integrate into their self-concept only what they themselves perceive as relevant and meaningful for their self-preservation and/or self-development. This chapter describes the particular demands of adult education and how the person-centered approach is supportive in addressing them. As a result, Rogers’ general statement that the primary task of a lecturer (“facilitator”) is to establish an atmosphere that facilitates significant learning is confirmed to hold for adult education, in particular.
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Acknowledgments
The author thanks Sabine von Levetzow, Germany, and Ian Carty and Colin Lago, England, for their translation help with this chapter.
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Kunze, D. (2013). The Person-Centered Approach in Adult Education. In: Cornelius-White, J., Motschnig-Pitrik, R., Lux, M. (eds) Interdisciplinary Applications of the Person-Centered Approach. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7144-8_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7144-8_10
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