Digital andragogy: the need to know and the role of experience in an online Master’s degree
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.27.2.38799Keywords:
adult learning theory, online education, higher education, andragogy, student profile, learning strategiesAbstract
The current high demand for online learning, the high drop-out rates, and the heterogeneity of students taking online master's degrees call for attention to be paid to the different profiles and their different ways of learning. Andragogy provides a theoretical framework for understanding adult learning, although its principles need to be revisited from the perspective of online learning and through the lens of today's learners themselves. This study aims to understand learners' self-identification with the adult learning principles of Knowles' andragogy. Specifically, it focuses on two of the principles of this theory: the need to know (NK) and the role of experience (RE). A mixed method approach was employed: a descriptive and inferential quantitative analysis of a questionnaire was complemented by a qualitative analysis of interviews. A questionnaire was designed, validated, and completed by 245 postgraduate students, and the correct reliability of the instrument was analysed. In addition, 5 interviews were carried out with students on items of the questionnaire. The results show statistically significant differences in the RE according to previous work experience in education, but no differences are found in the preferences for the learning strategies analysed related to the NK and RE principles of andragogy according to gender, age, or work situation. In conclusion, the validity of the NK and RE andragogical principles for online learners in the 21st century is defended.
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