RETHINKING ANDRAGOGICAL PRACTICES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY: A STEP TOWARDS HEUTAGOGY

A teaching- learning process has traditionally been considered as a pedagogic relationship between the teacher and the learner. Also, in higher education it was mostly the teacher who decided what the learner needed to know, and instead how the knowledge and skills should be taught. In the field of higher education, Knowles (1970) suggested an important change in the way in which educational experiences for adults should be designed. The approach known as Andragogy, provided learner-centred ways for improving educational methodology by considering how adults learn. Andragogy meets the needs of the learners to a great extend; it has still some gaps in terms of self-determination which is an essential skill in the 21st century. It is inevitable to go one step beyond Andragogy termed as Heutagogy (Hase & Kenyon, 2000). A learning process of the 21st century requires dynamism and continuous innovation by the learner. There is a need for a new set of principles and practices that may have applications across the whole spectrum of education and help an adult to become a lifelong learner. With the existing environment being highly unpredictable, it is important for an adult learner to possess an ‘all round’ capacity which is centred around self-efficacy, knowing how to learn, being creative, the ability to use competencies in familiar as well as novel situations and the most important is working with others to use collective intelligence. The study is to comprehend the significance of Heutagogy in present day higher education