Adult Learning and Theory Building: A Review

The one factor that all adult education agencies, programs, and professionals have in common is that all deal with adults in learning situations. Perhaps that is why there has been more theory building in adult learning than in other areas of adult education. It is the adult learner, after all, which distinguishes this field from other areas of education. This article assesses the state-of-the-art of theory building efforts in adult learning. The theories have been divided into three categories: (a) those based on adult learner characteristics, (b) those emphasizing the adult's life situation, and (c) those focusing upon changes in consciousness. Components common to most of the theories are identified, and it is concluded that, taken as a whole, theory building efforts in adult learning contribute to our understanding of the phenomenon.