ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of learning theory and practice as they relate to the field of HRD. It begins by providing a definition of adult learning and explaining the distinction of critical approaches to adult learning. The concept of learning in adulthood is frequently connected to the term “andragogy.” The extent to which self-direction is an indicator of having reached adulthood or if it is an aspirational state of adulthood achieved through adult education is questionable. Certainly, some children exhibit a great deal of self-direction, and some adults exhibit none. Paulo Freire criticized education for the way lecturing habituated students into being passive recipients of deposits of information supplied by the teacher—the more “filled” students are with this information, the more successful the teacher is. There is much debate about how to capture the different ways of thinking about how people learn.
