Malcolm Shepherd Knowles (August 24, 1913 – November 27, 1997) was an American adult educator, famous for the adoption of the theory of

andragogy Andragogy refers to methods and principles used in adult education. The word comes from the Ancient Greek, Greek ἀνδρ- (''andr-''), meaning "adult male", and ἀγωγός (''agogos''), meaning "leader of". Therefore, andragogy literally means ...

—initially a term coined by the German teacher Alexander Kapp. Knowles is credited with being a fundamental influence in the development of the

Humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

Learning Theory and the use of learner constructed contracts or plans to guide learning experiences.

Biographical information

Born in

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

to Dr. and Mrs. A. D. Knowles, Knowles was an avid

Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

in his youth. The family moved to

West Palm Beach West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and he graduated from

Palm Beach High School Palm Beach Lakes Community High School, also known as Lakes or PBL, is a coeducational public high school located in the Palm Beach Lakes community of West Palm Beach, Florida. It is under the jurisdiction of the School District of Palm Beach ...

in 1930. He earned a scholarship to

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1934. Shortly afterwards, he worked with the

National Youth Administration The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a New Deal agency sponsored by Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency. It focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, and was married to Hulda Fornell, whom he met while studying at Harvard. In 1940, he assumed the position of Director of Adult Education at the

Boston YMCA YMCA Boston (also known as YMCA of Greater Boston) was founded in 1851 in Boston, Massachusetts, as the first American chapter of YMCA. History The YMCA of Greater Boston, founded in 1851, was the first YMCA in the United States. The organi ...

until he was drafted into the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in 1943. In 1946, he moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to work as the Director of Adult Education at the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

while working on his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, which he earned in 1949. From 1951 to 1959 he served as executive director of the Adult Education Association of the USA and pursued his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

at the University of Chicago. In 1959, he accepted a faculty appointment at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

as an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

of adult education with

tenure Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic tenure originated in the United ...

. He spent 14 years there. He became a member of the faculty of Education at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

in 1974 to complete his final four years of academic work prior to retirement. After retiring, he remained active in the field into the 1990s. He taught at

Fielding Graduate University Fielding Graduate University (previously Fielding Graduate Institute and The Fielding Institute) is a Private university, private Postgraduate education, graduate-level university in Santa Barbara, California. It offers postgraduate and doctoral ...

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

(which offers degrees in

clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...

and related subjects) and at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

. He died in

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

, of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

Selected bibliography

During his career he authored over 230 articles and 18 books, some of which include: * *Knowles, M. S., & Knowles, H. F. (1955). ''How to develop better leaders''. New York: Association Press. *Knowles, M. S., & Knowles, H. F. (1959). ''Introduction to group dynamics''. Chicago: Association Press. Revised edition 1972 *published by New York: Cambridge Books. *Knowles, M. S. (1968). Andragogy, not pedagogy. ''Adult Leadership, 16''(10), 350–352, 386. *Knowles, M. S. (1973)
''The adult learner: A neglected species''

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Gulf Publishing Company Gulf Publishing Company is an international publishing and events business dedicated to the hydrocarbon energy sector. In mid-2018 it rebranded as Gulf Energy Information. Founded in 1916 by Ray Lofton Dudley, Gulf Energy Information produces an ...

. Revised Edition 1990. *Knowles, M. S. (1975). ''Self-directed learning: A guide for learners and teachers''. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall/Cambridge. *Knowles, M. S. (1977). ''The adult education movement in the United States''. Malabar, FL: Krieger. *Knowles, M. S. (1980). ''The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy.'' Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall/Cambridge. *Knowles, M. S., ''et al.'' (1984). ''Andragogy in action: Applying modern principles of adult education''.

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Jossey-Bass John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company was founded in 1807 and produces books, journals, and encyclope ...

. *Knowles, M. S. (1986). ''Using learning contracts''. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. *Knowles, M. S. (1989). ''The making of an adult educator: An autobiographical journey''. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. *

References

External links

Website about Knowles
* Smith, M. K. (2002)

the encyclopedia of informal education * Fiorini, Deborah (2003)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Malcolm S. 1913 births 1997 deaths Harvard University alumni University of Chicago alumni Brown University faculty North Carolina State University faculty Boston University faculty People from Livingston, Montana YMCA leaders United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II New Deal in Massachusetts American Unitarian Universalists Adult education leaders

Biographical information

Selected bibliography

See also

References

External links