Pedalling from Pedagogy to Andragogy: Engaging the Learner in the Process of Learning

Learning is Life not just preparation for life. It is the lifes experiences that facilitate learning rather than authoritarian instructions and we learn what we do and more often fail in doing all that we have learnt. Because, for learning to be lifelong and application oriented, it has to be learner centered and learner has to be internally motivated. However all the advancement in the pedagogical practices based on the different learning theories seem to be in contradiction to the term since pedagogy embodies teacher-focused education where learners are dependent, with pre-determined objectives, assumed to be inexperienced and uninformed and contributing little to the experience, learning chiefly being content centered and trainer/teacher a primary resource of ideas and examples. Unlike this, Andragogy the art and science of helping adults learn is an alternative to pedagogy refers to learner-focused education. Here learner is a participant assumed to have experiences to contribute and learning is real life centered rather than subject/content centered where participants are seen as primary source for ideas and examples. The author in the present piece of work share the experience of using Andragogy as a teaching-learning model for facilitation workshops with in-service teachers and heads of schools in the area of school leadership development. The author is no way bidding farewell to pedagogy, however propose that teaching and learning exist along a continuum with pedagogy (directed learning) at one end and Andragogy (facilitated learning) at the other.