All Adult and Lifelong Learning Theories

Adult and Lifelong Learning Theories groups accounts built specifically around how adults learn, a strand the education literature treats as distinct from K-12-oriented learning theory because it foregrounds a learner's prior experience, self-direction and life circumstances. Belongs here: Andragogy, Malcolm Knowles' theory distinguishing adult learning from pedagogy through self-direction, experience and readiness tied to social role; and Transformative Learning Theory, Jack Mezirow's theory of adults revising deeply held frames of reference through critical reflection on experience. Does not belong here: a general developmental-stage theory not specific to adulthood, such as Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development, grouped under Foundational and Developmental Learning Concepts, and a general theory of self-directed monitoring not specific to the adult-learning literature, such as Self-Regulated Learning, grouped under Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning.