Cross Cultural Communications and Leadership Management Case Study

Cross Cultural Communications and Leadership Management - Case Study Example This explains the attitude of Hernandez when he tells Van West to take it slow, and that he is in control of the situation; he would be able to solve all the raised grievances. Managers in the Mexican settings use less participative style of management (Morris & Pavett, 1995). Judged from the actions of Hernandez; being out of the workplace as required. Stanford (1992) further argues that though American managers use participative management, Mexican managers are treated as figures of authorities, and Hernandez as a manager does not expect any control from Van west. To deal with Hernandez, Van West has to consider these Mexican settings. However, Hernandez might have used the friendly link between them to act in this particular way. The first thing for Van West to do would be to call Hernandez, and outline his expectations, though he had earlier informed him concerning his management styles. This would help West in reminding Hernandez of his roles, and the expectations in the product ion Department. When this does not work, Van West has to involve his authority as being the overall manager of the subsidiary, and replace Hernandez with a more competent manager. However, he must hold elaborate discussions with other departmental managers to support these strategic actions in streamlining the failing production department. Hofstede (1994), in his cross cultural theory and work related values critically examined how bosses behave, and interact with employees in an organization. Mexicans, according to this study have high scores in Power- Distance, Collectivism and Masculinity, and Uncertainty – Avoidance. Employees from a high power –Distance cultural background have a tendency to maintain professional distance away from their bosses. Bosses are therefore the ultimate decision makers, setting goals in an organization according to the Mexican culture (Hofstede, 1994). Bosses and managers in Mexico retain their local managerial cultural style in being au thoritative, and are viewed as father figures; meaning they are observed with due respect (Shimoni & Begmann, 2006). The ability to have authority in making decisions individually, and being less involved, or being less participatory in the daily factory operations makes these managers to be in less conflict with people on the factory floor. This guarantees these managers both power and authority, with the ability to act on personal decisions without consulting. The management- employee relation in the Mexican culture is a rather fascinating relation, which brings out important family values in Mexican management styles, and working environment. Hofstede (1994) explains the collectivism nature of Mexican culture, which translates to a strong sense of team working, and the need for social harmony. There is need for team based work, and harmonized groups as compared to individualistic competitions. Trompenaars (1994) further elaborates that Mexicans in being high on achievement dimens ion do not have preference in following any universal pattern rules. As managers are less participative, the relationship between employees and managers in Mexico is a vertical one, where managers are viewed as ‘fathers’ to make decisions for their subordinates, who do not participate in the decision making process. De Forest (1994), in his study in management culture in

The Creative Development Of Ict Education Essay

The Creative Development Of Ict Education Essay Fine motor skills ICT involves using many of our fine motor skills from the obvious mouse control clicking and selecting shapes or areas on the screen, the new touch screens, keyboard buttons, phone buttons and touch screens and pushing buttons such as power switches. Gross motor skills interactive whiteboards provide good opportunities for use of gross motor skills as we have to reach up and down to make them work, and use whole bodies to reach certain buttons or selections. Consoles such as the Nintendo Wii involve a lot of gross motor skill action to play the games dancing, running, jumping, stretching, throwing and so on. Creative Development Most ICT can offer some kind of creative development from drawing pictures, shapes, and colouring in Paint applications on PCs, laptops and tablets. You have to choose from brush sizes, erasers, pencils, pens, colours. Older children could even do junk modelling with old computer equipment (electrical parts removed first). Increase confidence ICT products are interactive and children get instant reactions from them. Children are in control. Digital cameras provide instant pictures for them to see and talk about. A lot of learning is done through games so they are unaware and enjoy taking part. Shy children can sometimes react better to cameras and come out of themselves. Increases world knowledge Children constantly see adults using ICT every day, from televisions, microwaves, digital clocks and radios, computers, sat navs and so on. By using ICT themselves they are copying adults and can see themselves as part of the wider world. Interest and confidence in engaging with ICT in their many forms are necessary so that all of us are able to play a full part in society. (Stirling University) Mathematical development There are lots of maths games for ICT ranging from basic shapes to solving complex calculations all making learning fun. BugBots are a type of pre programmed bug which moves to given instructions such as left, forward, backwards. Language development again there are lots of languages games for ICT ranging from letter recognition to sentence structure to story writing as well as crossword games, wordsearches making it fun. Toy phones prompt children to talk and make conversations and in addition to this there are general discussions and learning to share and compromise. Construct a booklet which can be issued to parents which identifies safety concerns for children using ICT and how these concerns are being addressed in the child care setting. See separate attached document. Identify and describe various ways in which ICT can be used to support the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. Reference should be made to the various types of ICT available, not just computers. Early Learning Goals Numeracy as mentioned before there are lots of maths games for ICT ranging from basic shapes to solving complex calculations all making learning fun. BugBots are a type of pre programmed bug which moves to given instructions such as left, forward, backwards. Other means of ICT teaching Numeracy skills are toy shop tills, toy phones and calculators which all have numbers and opportunities for number play/work. Literacy as above there are lots of languages games for ICT ranging from letter recognition to sentence structure to story writing as well as crossword games, word searches making it fun. Young children can learn to type their names, recognise the letters in their names. Touch screen tablets encourage the letter formation using fingers. Other means of ICT that Literacy can be incorporated into are toy phones or walkie talkies which prompt children to talk and make conversations, role play in shops with tills. Whiteboards offer interaction for the children in writing on a larger scale using pens or their hands. Physical Education ICT can be used for PE lessons, or physical activities in that the children can watch videos, CD Roms of various sports and activities and then try them themselves. Some games consoles have games on them where the children interact physically with dancing, running, jumping, throwing, batting, bowling and even skiing. Personal and Social Education ICT products are interactive and children get instant reactions from them. The children are in control which increases their confidence and in turn their understanding. Digital cameras provide instant pictures for them to see and talk about, as do camcorders. Shy children can sometimes react better to cameras and come out of themselves, noisy disruptive children can be calmer and more responsive when in control and getting instant reactions from ICT. and in addition to this there are general discussions and learning to share and compromise. Creative Development ICT can offer lots of creative development ranging from drawing pictures, shapes, and colouring in using Paint applications on PCs, laptops and tablets. The creations can be printed out onto paper to be kept for assessment or display purposes or proudly taken home. Knowledge and Understanding of the World ICT can give children a good basis of understanding the world around them videos, CD Roms, pictures, slideshows. Children can learn about other cultures, religions, countries and using web cams can even talk to other children in childcare settings all over the world or country. Identify the ways in which families can become involved in ICT including ways in which the childcare setting can promote its use. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.the use of ICT helps remove the boundaries between learning and experiences that take place in the home and at school (Teaching Expertise) In general IT literate parents are already in a good position to help their children become familiar with ICT around and outside of the home. They can already teach their children the basics such as using a mouse and keyboard, touch screen devices, games consoles, play phones all before they enter the childcare setting. ICT has been embedded into the Early Years Curriculum as a separate subject so it can offer new and further things to these children, as well as introduce the basics to those who dont have this advantage from home. Using digital cameras or camcorders children can record or photograph things at home that they may not be able to take into the childcare setting for safety or risk of loss reasons, and then talk about them once in the setting examples of this could be pets, precious things, clothes etc. Parents who are not IT literate can access free ICT courses at most local colleges or community centres. Classes include basic PC processing, using laminators, using digital cameras, introduction to interactive white boards. Most towns have internet cafes and computers for use in local libraries, some McDonald branches now even have iPads you can play whilst visiting! The childcare setting itself can offer email and text messaging services for newsletters, photos and essential messages such as closures or general reminders. Some settings even have cctv or webcams for parents to watch their children at play during the day from their home or work computers.

Organizational Psychology :: Graduate Admissions Essays

Organizational Psychology The University of Tulsa prepares Industrial/Organizational psychologists to deal with individual problems in the workplace. This philosophy matches my research area of interest on the effects of individual differences in the work environment. I believe that individual differences influence nearly every aspect of human behavior and interaction, including those in the workplace. By necessity, a successful manager is one who understands the potential influences of individual differences in the work environment. As an example, the management style utilized (as I have learned first hand) must match the personalities of the employees being managed. By conducting research in this area, theory relevant to motivating individually diverse employees may be developed and then applied. Of particular interest is the motivation of aging employees. The elimination of a mandatory retirement age has greatly increased the need for further research in this area. My interest in the University of Tulsa is strengthened by the required practicum and field experience, as well as, excellent faculty and facilities. I intend to pursue a career in applied research and organizational consulting, therefore, these qualities are imperative to myself and my career. My career goals are to: (a) initially gain practical experience in the field through employment with a consulting firm, and (b) eventually acquire a teaching position with a college or university, while continuing research and consulting endeavors. It is my intention to contribute empirically based findings to the Industrial/Organizational psychology field through my research and practice. I also hope to be a strong influence and encouragement in students' lives through my contact with them during their academic careers. I have assisted Dr. Whitsett of the University of Northern Iowa psychology department in the writing of his book on merging companies with different organizational cultures. For Dr. Whitsett, I selected and condensed pertinent information from audio-taped organizational interviews. Dr. Whitsett's book has not yet been submitted for publication. My research experience will be expanded during the spring, when I will be assisting Dr. Whitsett with a research endeavor on Vroom's Expectancy Theory. I will also be a teaching assistant for Dr. Whitsett's psychology research methods class. I believe I possess particular strengths that will contribute to my success in a graduate program. I am intrinsically motivated, possess a strong desire to remain "on task", and I persevere when confronted with obstacles and difficulties. Also, being a disciplined person, I have developed very useful time management skills to handle my busy work and class schedule during my undergraduate education.

Dr. Maya Angelou (personality theory) Essay

Dr. Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father, Baily Johnson, was a doorman, and, later a dietician for the navy. Her mother, Vivian Johnson, was a registered nurse. When Angelou was three years old, her parents were divorced. They sent her and her four-year-old brother, Baily, Jr., to live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson, in Stamps, Arkansas. Henderson ran a small general store and managed to scrape by. She continued to do so after her grandchildren joined her. Angelou’s grandmother was one the many strong who trained her, helped her, and provided her with role models. The people of her church also nurtured her and gave her a sense of belonging to a community. But her child hood in the south was a nightmare. In 1982, Maya Angelou told Ebony Magazine about Stamps. She said: â€Å"When I was taken to California by my grandmother, I vowed never to return to the grim, humiliating south. Except for a tentative trip to visit when I was eighteen, I didn’t break my promise until I was forty years old.† When she was seven and a half, Angelou left Stamps to visit with her mother. While there, she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. He was tried, found guilty, and kicked to death in prison. The confused little girl felt responsible for his death and withdrew into herself. â€Å"I was mute for five years, I wasn’t cute and didn’t speak. I thought he was killed because I spoke his name that was the only logic I was able to employ. So I thought if I spoke, anybody might die.† In frustration, her mother sent her back to Stamps. Her emotional withdrawal caused many to think of her as backward, but her grandmother did not give up on her. â€Å"My grandmother told me all the time, ‘Sister, Mama don’t care what these people say about you being a moron, being a idiot. Mama don’t care. Mama know, Sister, when you and the good Lord get ready, you’re gonna be a preacher.'† Angelou was also helped by a woman named Bertha Flowers, who i ntroduced her to literature. By the time of her graduation from eighth grade, she was at the head of her class. While attending high school, she took drama and dance lessons. She then decided that she wanted to be a streetcar conductor in San Francisco. Although San Francisco had never had a Black conductor and was not eager to hire one, she persisted and, with her mother’s support managed to attain her goal. At sixteen Angelou gave birth to her son, Guy. She did not plan her  pregnancy but has always been grateful that it happened. â€Å"The greatest gift I’ve ever had was the birth of my son. Because when he was small, I knew more than he did, I expected to be his teacher. So because of him, I educated myself. He began to ask questions I didn’t have the answers to, so I started my lifelong love affair with libraries . . . I’ve learned an awful lot because of him. â€Å" Still, her life at this time was not easy. In addition to teaching her son, she also had to support him. She was a cook and a nightclub waitress and, for a short time, â€Å"madam† for two lesbian prostitutes. She began doing drugs but then quit after seeing what they had done to her brother. When she was twenty-two, Angelou married Tosh Angelos, a white former sailor. Two years later she left him and became a professional dancer. She then moved to New York to pursue a career and study with Pearl Primus. In 1954, she was cast in a production of Porgy and Bess that toured Europe and Africa. When she came back to the United States, in 1960-61, she was northern coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In 1961 she also appeared in an acclaimed off-Broadway production of the Blacks, by Jean Genet. The show was highly successful and ran until 1964. By this time, Angelou was writing poetry, short stories, and songs. Her reputation was growing. In 1970, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was published. It became a best seller and an instant classic, and became a made-for-television movie. In 1971, her screenplay Georgia, was made into a film, making her the first Black woman to have an original screenplay produced. The four other volumes of her autobiography are, Gather Together in My Name (1974), Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas (1976), The Heart of a woman (1981), and All God’s Children Need Travelin Shoes (1986). She also published several volumes of poetry and has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for one of the, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘fore I Diiie (1971). In 1973, Angelou appeared on Broadway in Look Away and was nominated for a Tony Award. In 1977 she received an Emmy nomination for her performance in the mini series Roots. She was appointed to the Bicentennial Commission by President Gerald Ford and to the Commission of International Women’s Year by President Jimmy Carter. For many  Americans, one of the most memorable moments during the inauguration of President Bill Clinton, on January 20, 1993, came when Maya Angelou recited the poem, â€Å"On the Pulse of Morning† not since 1961, when Robert Frost read his work at the ceremony for president John F. Kennedy, had a poet taken part in a presidential inauguration. Dr. Angelou is best known for the first volume of her autobiography, in it, she bravely speaks of her battle to overcome abuse, rape, and poverty. For thousands of young Black women reading the book, it is a way of passage for those who have been similarly victimized, it is like a soothing ointment that helps heal the wounds. Angelou gives a voice to the voiceless; she says, â€Å"You’re not alone. In happened to me too. You are not to blame. You will survive.† The Humanistic approach can be applied to Dr. Maya Angelou’s biography in a number of ways. In order to do so, I attempted to take each piece by piece to gain a clear understanding of both. Beginning with the four elements of the approach: it is obvious that she accepts personality responsibility for her life, and doesn’t blame anyone else for anything bad that may have happened to her. She hasn’t allowed anyone else to make her decisions. Her need for personal growth doesn’t seem like it has been met due to the fact that she continues to work and strive for more. I would consider Dr. Angelou to be a fully functioning person because she trusts her own feelings, and experiences them very deeply. It is easy to tell that she really cares about other people and is a true humanist (motivation by growth need). When looking at Manslow’s hierarchy of needs, it is obvious that her physiological needs have been met, simply because, she is still alive. Since her life as a child was very chaotic and her future was unpredictable, her safety needs were not met at that time. Statements such as â€Å"All my life, everything has been about survival. All of my words are meant to say. ‘You may encounter many defeats but you must not be defeated. In fact the encounter may be the very experience which created the vitality and the power to endure, â€Å"‘ lead me to believe the she has, however, managed to find a way to stabilize her life and have those needs met. â€Å"What I would like said about me is that I dared to love.† She said to Essence Magazine. â€Å"By love I mean the condition in the human spirit so profound it encourages us to develop courage and build bridges and learn to trust those bridges and cross the bridges in attempt to reach other human beings.† This shows that her belongingness and love needs have been met because she knows that they are important and has allowed them to be. I believe that the kind of love adopted by Angelou is B-love because she is really concerned with the well-being and growth of others. I could tell that her self-esteem needs have also been met because if they weren’t, she wouldn’t be as successful as she is. One statement in the book that really stood out to me about self-actualization was made by Manslow†: An artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be. He must be true to his own nature.† I feel that although Angelou is doing something that makes her happy, and that she loves, her self actualization needs have not been met because she continues to do more. I personally believe that if these needs are met, then people lose their motivation and drive to live, because there is nothing to achieve, no goals to reach, which results in nothing to look forward to anymore. Maya Angelou is a psychologically healthy person because she does posses self-actualizing creativity, which is shown in her writing, she accepts herself, and expresses herself freely. I think her life seems to be full of optimal experiences, one of which is writing. She has stated that she â€Å"can write for eighteen hours straight in complete solitude and not notice it.† She also seems to have no problem with disclosure, which is obvious because she is a writer. She continuously puts her feelings and emotions on display. She discloses events that are traumatic as well as those that are not, which seems to be good for her self-development because it is a great release. I’m not really sure if Dr. Angelou has experienced loneliness, but it is possible because everyone has felt that way at one time or another. â€Å"One would say of my life-born loser-had to be: from a broken family, raped at eight, unwed mother at sixteen . . . in fact but that’s not the truth. In the Black community, however bad it looks, there’s a lot of love and much  humor.† This statement shows that there are many ways in which race, and sex have affected Angelou’s life because she would not have gone through a lot of the experiences that she has if she simply were not a Black woman. â€Å"You’re going to be famous,† Billie Holiday told Maya Angelou in 1958, â€Å"but it won’t be for singing.† The first part of this prophecy was fulfilled. The second part, in the most superficial sense, was true as well. Angelou’s fame did not grow from the nightclub singing she was then doing to support herself and her son. But in a way Holiday was wrong. Since she first put paper to pen, Maya Angelou has been singing. In closing, by taking all of the aspects of the Humanistic approach into consideration, I believe that it does, give a few possible explanations about Dr. Angelou’s personality when directed to the little information that is given about her in her biography. By writing this paper I feel that I have gained a deeper insight on how to appreciate and apply this approach to the life and personality of anyone. I understand how this approach can apply to many people that I come into contact every day and possibly explain why they behave in the manners that they do. If they are writers and all that they put forth are sad pieces, if they are singers and mostly talk about sex. Whatever the case may be, there is a reason behind the things that people do. The humanistic approach can apply to all areas of life with no exclusions based on race, class, or gender.

Adult Education and Training Essay

Abstract This paper work presents the summary of the most well known adult learning theory – Andragogy, explains how it accounts for the characteristics, patterns of learning, and motivation adopted by adult learners. Moreover, reflects on my own qualities and circumstance as an adult learner; critique the strengths and weaknesses of Andragogy. Key Words Andragogy, pedagogy, adult learning, education, training, adult learner, characteristics, motivation Introduction All these years, the specialized field of education has generated a number of models and theories of adult learning, included transformation learning theory, experiential learning theory, informal learning theory†¦etc. And the most important one with which to be familiar is Malcolm Knowles’ Andragogy. Andragogy was described as the â€Å"art and science to teaching adults to learn† (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2005). It also interpreted the foundation and structure of adult learning, the concept of andragogy has been worldwide used in different times with different connotations and seem as a bible of adult education. Andragogy The notion of andragogy has been around for nearby two centuries. It originally formulated by a German teacher, Alexander Kapp, in 1833 (Nottingham Andragogy Group 1983). He used â€Å"andragogy† to describe education theory. Andragogy literally means â€Å"man leading†, which contrasted with pedagogy (Since andr- is Latin for â€Å"man†, peda is Latin for â€Å"child† and agogus is Latin for â€Å"leading†). And later on, couple educators had used the term of â€Å"andragogy† in their article. It included Rosenstock in 1921; Lindeman wrote â€Å"The Meaning of Adult Education† in 1926. The notion of â€Å"Andragogy† was well developed, widely discussed and used in 1980 by Malcolm Shepherd Knowles, a champion of andragogy. Knowles first introduced the concept of in the US in 1968. With his previous work on informal adult education, Knowles used those elements of process and setting to construct the shape and direction of adult e ducation. The concept he used to explain the theory of adult education was the notion of andragogy. â€Å"Malcolm Knowles, Informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy† (Jay-D Man, 2009). Knowles applied the idea of andragogy as the foundation of adult learning, he marked it as a new born technology which moderates the development and performance of adult learning. He posited six assumptions related to the adult learners: 1) Need to know, 2) self-concept, 3) experience, 4) readiness to learn, 5) orientation to learning , and 6) motivation to learn  (Knowles, 1980) Need to know â€Å"Adults want to know why they need to learn something before undertaking to learn it† (Knowles, 2005). Adults are realist, they want to find out what is the advantage and the loss before they make decision to do something. The â€Å"why†, â€Å"what†, â€Å"how†, â€Å"when†, â€Å"where† will first came to their mind before they making choices. For example: A man find he needs to improve his academy standard to get a promotion at work, which is â€Å"why† he wants to continue learning; he will choices a subject related to his present career to learn, he knows â€Å"what† he needs to learn and â€Å"what† is expected of him; in order to achieve his goal, he knows â€Å"how† he going to do and plan; beside works and take care his family, he needs to know â€Å"when† he studies; after conducts research, he knows â€Å"where† is a best place for his continuing learning. Self-Concept â€Å"Adults have a self-concept of being responsible for their own decisions, for their own lives† (Knowles, 1998). Adult learners are autonomous, they expect and enjoy independence, like to take control in everything and see themselves as self-directed. They don’t want adult educators use a pedagogical model to teach them. They think learning is a process of sharing with the teacher and one another, for example, they prefer interaction rather than formal subject issue. So teacher has responsibility to encourage and promote the process of self-direction. That is why Knowles emphasizes that adult educators must â€Å"make efforts to create learning experiences in which adults are helped to make the transition from dependent to self-directing learners† (Knowles, 1998). Experience For those adult learners, they are individual differences in their background, occupation, education standard, learning style, interests, goals and motivation will cause different experiences than youth when come into an educational activity (Knowles, 2005). Upon the adult learners’ prior experience, Knowles (1998) point out four paths that adult experience  learning: A wider range of individual differences will be established. Offer a richest resource for learning. Create deviation that can restrain, or sculpt new learning. Provide area for adults’ self-identity. Since the adult learners have many experiences, teacher must draw on learner experiences. Everyone in class could share their experiences through experiential techniques (simulations, group discussions, or problem-solving activities, etc). Moreover, sometime the adult learners may have more experience than the educator in some area. The communication and knowledge sharing will not only limit between instructor and student, also lead to 2 and 3 way interactions: between instructor and learner, learner and learner as well. Readiness to Learn Adults learn in order to cope effectively with real-life tasks. They normally come to class motivated, and ready to learn things they need to know. Knowles observes that â€Å"adults generally become ready to learn when their life situation creates a need to know† (Knowles, 2005). Anticipate the adults’ readiness to learn is very important in adult education, it determine how to proceed the training, and what strategies and activities should apply to meet a learner’s readiness. Surveys of learners prior to beginning a course, or some introduction course before the advanced courses are the ways to retrieve the material and aware the learner’s readiness. Orientation to learning Learning is a process of increasing competence to achieve full potential in life. According to Knowles, adults are problem-centered in their orientation to learning (Knowles, 2005). They prefer a problem solving orientation to learning (problem centered), rather than content-oriented. This orientation relates to their experience, task or problems in everyday situations. The sense of adults is that learning will allow them to execute task or deal with problems faced in life. When they confront real-life situation, they want to learn what will help them to contribute their  effectiveness, and they learn best in this status. Motivation Motivation is the last core of Andragogy assumption, but not the least. Knowles emphasizes the adult learner’s motivation can be blocked by training and education if neglect of adult learning principles (Knowles, 2005). â€Å"Adults tend to be more motivated toward learning that helps them solve problems in their livers or results in internal payoffs† (Knowles, 1998). Adult learners are responsive to some motivators. And normally those motivators can be divided into external (e.g., better job, higher salaries) and internal (e.g., desire of job satisfaction, self-esteem). And the andragogical model assumes adult learners tend to be more motived by the internal motivators than the external one. Implement Base on the six assumptions of Andragogy, let’s see how adult learners and educators began to implement the practical applications: Assumption Adult learner Educator Need to know Have a need to know what they expect to learn before investing time in a learning event Make sure that the learners know the aim, goal and purpose of training as early as they can. Self-concept Must uphold the concept of self-directing, responsible their own growing. Coach learners to find their needs and guide their own learning experience. Experience Come to a learning occasion with richest of experience and trade-off to contribute. Create and maintain a learning environment to build on and make use of learner’s experience. Readiness to learn Uphold a strong readiness to learn those things that they undertaking to learn. Ensure training relates directly to situations adult face in real-life task Orientation Dedicate their energy to learning things that help them cope with daily life  or solve a problem. Identify learner’s needs and interests, develop content based on the their needs. Motivation More responsive to internal motivators than external motivators. Create a safe learning environment and make sure the internal motivation will not blocked. Characteristics of Adult learners According to the Andragogy, Malcolm Knowles practiced a characterization of the defining features for adult learners, and shown as following: Adults have identifiable goal – they clearly understand what they need and know how to achieve their goal; Adults are independent – they are expect and enjoy independence, like to take control, and should allowed to express themselves freely; Adults have wealth of experience – need others to recognize their previous experience, including both positive and negative; Adults want immediate usefulness of their learning – they want to apply what they learn to solve and handle problems faced in their daily life; Adults fear to the educational process – normally graduated from school years and do not familiar with those process; Adults are hard to change – with their prior experience, their conducts become a habit, and some even though became their character already. Andragogy vs Pedagogy Since the Andragogy is a learning theory for adult learners, and which is contrast to Pedagogy. The following table summarizes the assumptions and processes of andragogy and pedagogy: Assumption / Processes Andragogy Pedagogy Need to know Clearly understand why they need to know before choose to learn. Only need to know what the teacher teaches. Self-concept Raise of self-directedness Dependency Experience Learners are a wealth resource for learning Tiny worth Readiness to learn Developed from life’s experience Directly related to age level and curriculum Orientation Problem centered Self centered Motivation Motivated by internal payoffs and curiosity Motivated by external incentives and punishment Time perspective Immediacy of application Postponed application Learning climate Interaction Respectful Informal Authority Competitive Formal Planning Mutual self-diagnosis By educator / instructor Formulation of objectives Mutual negotiation By educator / instructor Teaching strategies Experiential techniques Transmittal techniques Evaluation Mutual measurement of program By educator / instructor Barriers of learning Compare with children and teenagers, adult learners have different roles and many responsibilities in their daily life, they must balance against the demands of learning. Those responsibilities will cause barriers against their choice to return to school or participate in workplace training. Normally, those barriers can separated into three categories: 1) Attitudinal barriers; 2) Time and financial barriers; and 3) Education barriers. We need to identify those barriers and overcome them and take control of our own learning. Attitudinal barriers Knew already – People with â€Å"I already know† attitude to reject learning. He think it does not require training in that area, because he may already trained or thought himself had enough knowledge in that aspect. And properly people has this attitude are come with good education level; Previous experience – Generally people are used to learn in a traditional style, instructor teach with transmittal techniques. With this experience, they may feel the learning is irrelevant or boring, so they reject. Lacks of trust – Students attend a class with different backgrounds and goals. Do not trust the other participants will cause some of them do not participate actively in class for nervous and shy. Problems of motivation – people come to learn without initiative, they were forced to learn. Hard to motivate people if they don’t have own motivation. Time and financial barriers Lack of time – No matter the duration of a course, adults need to invest time to join it. They need to â€Å"sacrifice† from other activities and concern of its existence. Lack of money – Free training is minority. Therefore, money always is a main barrier to access adult education services. Family responsibilities – Caring for children, the obligation of accompany spouse, will cause shortage of study time. Organizing schedule – You need to change or sacrifice the study timetable because of the family and work responsibilities. Education barriers Too old to learn – Generally can be find in older and low education level people. The behaviour of reject learning is because they don’t familiar with the new technology or specialized languages, and their reaction time is often slow. Lack of confidence – Low self-esteem, past failures experience mark the adults, preventing them to overcome frustrations and fears. Reflection First of all, I would like to introduce myself, and the brief of my background are shown as below: Male, 42 years old, married with 2 children (12 Yrs & 7 Yrs). I’ve been serving the Hong Kong Police Force for 22 years, working in operational field but non-frontline. Besides operation planning, I’m also involved in a â€Å"Diploma in Police Search & Venue Security Programme†, which was held by Hong Kong Police and granted accreditation from HKCAAVQ, I’m one of the instructors of this programme. I am F.5 graduated, then granted a diploma of Police Policing on 2002, and that was my last academic certificate. According to my profile, I am a typical adult learner and faced most of the barriers that I had mentioned previously. I would like to critique the strengths and weaknesses of andragogy with my own circumstance. Strengths As an adult learner, the motivation of learning is very important, is core factor of adult education. Adults have different tasks and needs in their daily life; they will put their needs in orderly with the seniority. If the need is related to learning, they will have a great motivation, and learning become the priority in their life, so no any barriers can block them, and they study best in this situation. However, the concept of â€Å"motivation† is not the strength of andragogy in my view. Upon my opinion, I will choose the concept of â€Å"need to know†, because it’s the factor that cause â€Å"motivation†. With the â€Å"why†, â€Å"what† and â€Å"how†, I will explain the principle of â€Å"need to know† on my circumstance. At the beginning, I come to class for my own promotion and seem as career  investment. I like my current career, and seem to be my life occupation. In order to enhance my competitive advantage and help myself excel in my working place, I choose to continue learning. That will offer opportunities for further development and lead promotion. My view have change during this training, I find out I know more about the adult training theory, which help me to teach the trainee in my programme; enhance the communication skill with my children and people around me. The most important is I know myself more, I am shortage not only in academic standard but also in daily knowledge. I enjoy study and hunger for the knowledge. My motivation of learning becomes stronger and stronger, because I clearly understand why I need to learn, what I need to learn and how I need to learn. Weaknesses During this moment, I will say the concept of â€Å"Orientation† is the weakness of my own learning. Since I come for learning is not for a problem solve purpose, and the subject I study also not relate to my daily task. Conclusion Knowles introduced and develop the andragogy as core principles of adult learning. It help the educator designing and conducting adult learning, and build more effective learning processes for adults. Andragogy works prefect in practice when it is adapted to fit the special character of the learners and the learning organizations. References Adams, N. B. (n.d.). Andragogy. Andragogy. Retrieved March 1, 2014, from http://www2.southeastern.edu/Academics/Faculty/nadams/etec630%26665/Knowles.html Ana, B. (2013, October/November). Characteristics of adult learning. Characteristics of Adult Learning. Retrieved March 1, 2014, from http://www.slideshare.net/aliceproject/39-ana-badea Andragogy how adults learn. (2013, October/November). Andragogy How Adults Learn. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/xilo24/andragogy-how-adults-learn Aspell, D. D. (n.d.). Retrieved August, 2003, from http://www.umsl.edu/~henschkej/andragogy_articles_added_04_06/aspell_Andragogy%20-%20Adult%20Learning.pdf Crawford, S. R. (n.d.). Retrieved March 1,