Abstract
The article seeks to reveal the theoretical bases of andragogy as a science. The issue of adult education is regarded separately from that of child education, and is known as “andragogy”. There are differences in children and adult learning. The basic assumptions about adult learners are different from those about child learners in terms of: his/her self-concept, his/her readiness to learn becomes increasingly oriented towards the developmental tasks of his/her social roles, a growing reservoir of experience. It is easy to understand why these differences are relevant in selecting teaching methods to avoid to treat the student as dependent on others and not respect his/her identity, to consider boundaries and abilities of an adult student who is independent and capable. Children also learn from their experiences, perhaps even more naturally than adults, and without conscious reflection. The article analyses the main principles of andragogy such as: considering the needs of adults when planning and evaluating their instruction; experience (including mistakes) provides the basis for the learning activities as adults are mostly interested in learning subjects that have immediate relevance and impact on their job or personal life; adult learning is problem-centered rather than content-oriented. The instruments used in the research were: the study of the scientific literature, case studies, systematic observation.
Keywords: Andragogy, education, learners, methods, pedagogy