Implications of Self Conceptual Assumptions in Adult Learning
Rini Novianti Yusuf and Yanti Shantini
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, jalan Dr. Setiabudi No. 229, Bandung, Indonesia
Keywords: Adult Education, Self-concept.
Abstract: The concept of adult education is one of the concepts that characterize non-formal education programs. Adult
education or the term andragogy is the art and science to help adults learn. Learning for adults can be a
necessity, when an adult has an awareness of his needs, meaning that the he has a mature self-concept. Self-
concept maturity can be seen from the development of adult self-concept which is influenced by self-
awareness, interaction, self-esteem, individual role, and experience. After passing the phase of self-concept
formation, usually adults are included in the type of positive self-concept. The condition of adult learn, of
course, is involvement with self-concept maturity as expressed by Knowles about adult learning assumption.
One of them is self-concept. In adult learning, learners are directly involved in every learning activity,
therefore, there is need for maturity of positive self-concept of learners. Thus, there are implications of self-
conceptual assumptions in adult learning, characterized by positive self-concept types and the development
of self-concept formation.
1 INTRODUCTION
As we know in the concept of andragogy, there is an
assumption of adult learning according to Malcom
Knowles (1960) developing the concept of
andragogy, the four principal assumptions as follows:
1) self-concept, 2) experience, 3) readiness of
learning, 4) learning orientation. The first assumption
is self-concept, meaning that adults already
understand of themselves including their own needs.
Such understanding can be influenced by age,
physical completeness, psychology, and can play a
role in accordance with the demands of the task of the
status it has. Elias and Sharan B. Merriam (1990)
mentions maturity in a person include: age,
psychological maturity, and social roles.
Psychological maturity has an influence on adult
learning. Learning for adult is to find and find
something according to their needs. The needs that
can be sought and obtained through education, adult
education in the learning process one of them related
to self-esteem and self-actualization or self-
acknowledgment in the status and role it has.
Adult learning is commonly found in programs
organized by non-formal education, such as literacy,
equity, training, and so on, Learning for adults in such
programs in practice often uses the concept of
andragogy. The influence of heterogeneous
background of learners such as age, occupation, and
others makes educators in non-formal education
using the concept of andragogy in their learning.
Therefore, many researchers study adult learning.
However, from some previous studies, most have
studied about adult learning process, while the
involvement of adult assumptions that Knowles has
disclosed in his lessons has never been studied. Based
on the flow of thoughts above, the authors will try to
study about the involvement of the concept of self in
adult learning.
2 METHOD
The method used is the method of literature review or
literature review, this method is used to find answers
scientifically about the relationship between one
theory with other theories. Therefore in this paper,
researchers try to find the link between self concept
theory and adult learning.
Yusuf, R. and Shantini, Y.
Implications of Self Conceptual Assumptions in Adult Learning.
In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Educational Sciences (ICES 2017) - Volume 1, pages 493-497
ISBN: 978-989-758-314-8
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
493

3 THEORETICAL REVIEW AND
DISCUSSION
3.1 Self concept
Self-concept is someone who already knows himself,
both the strength of and weakness, and the needs of
himself. According to Shavelson (1982) the concept
of self is a person’s perception of himself, where this
perception is formed through the experience and
interpretation of a person to himself. While the
concept of self, according to Burns (1993) is the
concept of self-regarded as a key role in integrating
individual personality, in motivating behavior and in
the achievement of mental health. Another case of
self-concept according to Clemes and Bean (2001)
that the concept of self will give effect to the process
of thinking, feeling, desire, value and purpose of
one’s life. Furthermore, the concept of self according
to Hughes, Galbrainth and White (2011) that the
concept of self is a description or description of self
that also contains an evaluation of yourself. From the
definition or self-concept according to some experts,
it can be concluded that self-concept is all knowledge
about aspects of self, be it knowledge of physical
aspects, psychological aspects, and social aspects
based on experience, interpretation, and interaction
with others.
According to Subadi (1986) self-concept is not a
factor that is brought from birth, but the factors
learned and formed from individual experience in
dealing with other individuals. A person who has a
self-concept usually forms by itself through
interaction with others or through life experiences
based on one’s thoughts, feelings and goals. In
addition to the process of forming self-concept, one
needs to do self-awareness. According to Dayakisni
and Hudaniah (2003) define self-awarness is a
process whereby individuals direct attention to
themselves to know the existing self-concept.
Another case of self-establishment according to
Rogers (1988) states that self-concept develops
through the process, which develops slowly through
interaction with others around the environment.
Meanwhile, according to Pudjogyanti (1995) states
that the concept of self is formed on two components,
namely: 1) cognitive component, is an individual
knowledge of himself, thus forming self-picture and
self-image; (2) affective components, an individual’s
self-assessment so as to shape self-acceptance and
self-esteem. Thus, to form a self-concept a person
needs to do self-awareness and can learn from life
experiences or learn through interaction with his
environment, thus forming acceptance of self that can
be evaluated as a whole, then form self-esteem.
After passing the phase of self-concept formation,
then someone can be seen to have what kind of self-
concept that is formed. Is self-concept positive or
even form a negative self-concept. According to
Calhoun and Acocella (1990) in the development of
self-concept is divided into two, namely positive self-
concept and negative self-concept. This means that:
(1) the concept of positive self more to acceptance of
self is not as a big pride about self. However, the
individual who has a positive self-concept is an
individual who knows very well about himself, can
understand and accept some facts about himself.
Individual who have positive self-concept will
usually design goals that are in accordance with
reality, that is, goals that are likely to be achieved,
able to face life in front of it and assume that life is a
process of discovery; (2) the negative self-concept
divided into two types, the individuals view of
himself is completely disorganized, the individual
really does not know who he is, his strengths and
weaknesses or who are valued in his life, then his
view of himself is too stable and regular. This can
happen because the individual is educated in a very
hard way, thus creating a self-regulated image
according to laws and regulations.
3.2 Andragogy
Adult education is one model of education that
characterizes non-formal education. Adult education
arises from criticism of children’s education or
pedagogy. Adult education known as Andragogy by
Malcom Knowless (1960) has the understanding of
art and science to help adults learn. In addition Adult
Education, Adediras, Amos, and Adenike (2013) can
be seen as any form of education or process involving
adults throughout their lives to keep their knowledge
growing, extending their horizons to fulfill their
understanding of life. Subsequently Sudjana in his
book, Non-Formal Education the History of the
Development of the Azas Supporting Philosophy
Theory (2005), mentioned that andragogy comes
from the Greek “andra and agogos”. Andra means
adults and Agogos means to lead or guide, so that
andragogy can be interpreted by the science of how
to guide adults in the learning process.
From some of these definitions can be concluded
that adult education is one effort to help adults learn.
As in adult education is considered adults seen from
age, psychological maturity, but basically it is said
that adults are already independent. Adult Education
is interpreted as an effort for the continuation or
ICES 2017 - 1st International Conference on Educational Sciences
494

improvement of education obtained from schools,
colleges, universities, or internships. The education is
for adults in their communities, so they can develop
skills, enrich knowledge, improve existing skills and
professions, acquire new ways, and change attitudes
and behavior of adults. (Sudjana, 2005).
As for the andragogy, Knowless also reveals
assumptions about adult learning. Malcolm Knowless
(1960) develops the concept of andragogy, the four
principal assumptions are as follows: First, the adult
has the self-concept of an independent person,
meaning that he sees himself as a capable of fully self-
regulating, knowing his needs and knowing the
purpose of Second life. Adults have many (rich)
experiences that tend to differ as a result of their life
background, so that experience can be a source of
learning for himself. Third, adults have a certain
readiness (according to their social role) to learn.
Fourth, adults tend to have the perspective to quickly
apply what they learn. All of these assumptions carry
certain important implications to be considered in
adult learning.
In the Hamburg Declaration of 1997 (point 2), it
is stated that adult education is more than a right, but
a key to the 21
st
century. This is a consequence of the
active state of the art and the requirement to
participate fully in society. Furthermore, the
Hamburg Declaration on adult education must be able
to face great challenges through knowledge.
Knowledge can be obtained through learning,
learning can be obtained not only young age but also
adult learning can be obtained. As Piaget (1980)
points out that one’s cognitive development develops
not only in adolescence but growing into adulthood.
Kegan (1994) provides insight into how adult learners
overcome difficulties in the independence of their
learning. According to Kegan’s Theory, the stage of
adult development in cognitive achievement can be
obtained through a social context, meaning that the
social context is considered as a support provider for
learning. This is consistent with the concept of
andragogy that in the adult education process, the
main source of learning is the life experience
associated with the social environment.
Furthermore, learning for adults also has some of
the characteristics that shape the way adults learn.
According to Lindeman (1926) identified four
characteristics of adult learning: (1) adult learning is
relevant to their personal lives, (2) applying learning
based on real life situations, (3) desire to be involved
in learning process, (4) Individuals in learning. When
in a classroom atmosphere is created according to the
characteristics of adult learning, it will create learning
comfort and learning objectives which are achieved
as well as participants feel there is self-esteem when
engaged in creating an atmosphere of learning.
3.3 Implications of Self-Concept in
Adult Learning
In a previous study from Melanie, D Murmanto
(2007) reported in his journal that the formation of
self-concept in students through participatory
learning needs to be understood by teachers as well as
by parents. Positive self-concept helps the
implementation of learning because students are
directly involved in the learning process since the
beginning of planning, implementation strategy until
the evaluation of learning. So also in adult education
or often called andragogy. Andragogy is a model of
education for students consisting of adults.
Andragogy is also a technology of adult engagement
in learning activities. Thus the key to success in adult
learning lies in their involvement in the learning
process (Sudjana 2005). Adult learning is a simple,
yet very complex phenomenon. Simple because we
know that learning is the essence of everyday life and
the conscious experience. This is the process of
turning that experience into knowledge, skills,
attitudes, values, and beliefs (Jarvis, 1992: 11). Thus,
engaging the adult in learning will succeed when a
behavioral change is seen toward the fulfillment or
attainment of an adequate skill.
Behavioral changes in adults occur through
educational processes related to the maturity of
individual self-concept. The maturity of individual
self-concept enables the active role of social
environment to improve the welfare of self and
others. Psychologically maturity of this self- concept
will affect how adults learn, because people with self-
concept will be able to diagnose their needs including
learning needs. Hughes, Galbrainth and White (2011)
state that self-concept is a description or self-
explanation that also contains self-evaluation. Self-
concept has an important role to one’s behavior. The
way a person sees him or herself will be seen also in
his overall behavior. That is, when the individual sees
himself incapable of performing a task, then his entire
behavior will see his disability.
In addition, the concept of self has a sense.
Shavelson (1982) states that the concept of self is a
person’s perception of himself, where this perception
is formed through experience and interpretation of a
person to himself. It is assumed that adult life
experiences will be able to form self-concept. The
formation of self-concept can also be done through
self-awareness where the individual understands the
strengths and weaknesses. The formation of self-
Implications of Self Conceptual Assumptions in Adult Learning
495

concept according to Rogers (1988) states that the
concept of self evolves through the process, which
develops slowly through interaction with others
around the environment. That is, someone will run its
role in the social context, then formed the concept of
self through interaction and experience that
unconsciously do. This is in accordance with the
statement according to Rogers (1988) that,
individuals assess each experience related to self-
concept. People want to act in ways that are consistent
with their self-image; Inconsistent experiences and
feelings are threatening him and not being accepted
by consciousness.
The formation of self-concept will also determine
the type of self-concept that someone has. According
to Calhoun and Acocella (1990) in the development
of self-concept is divided into two, namely positive
self-concept and negative self-concept. Someone who
has formed the concept of himself will know about
himself, knowing his strengths, weaknesses, and
needs even already knows goals to be achieved. As
has been explained before, that self-concept is one
important aspect in adult psychological development
of learning. This is because the self-concept
determines the behavior of learners (adult) in the
learning process. Adults who have a lot of negative
problems in their life show the individual has a low
self-concept or even included in the negative self-
concept. Another case with individuals who have
positive self-concept are individuals who will design
goals that are in accordance with reality, the goal that
has the most likely to be achieved, able to face life in
front of it and assume that life is a process of
discovery.
Figure 1: The process of forming self-concept.
Furthermore, based on the humanistic psychology
of Knowles Version, the approach of humanism is
more on the side of the development of human
personality. This approach sees the incident that is
how humans build themselves to do positive things.
This positive acting ability is called human potential.
According to Maslow (1966), learning is a process to
achieve self-actualization (self-actualization). That is,
in the adult as a learner who has grown maturity of
his self-concept arises the need for deep psychology
that is the desire to be seen and treated others as a
whole person who directs himself.
Associated with one of the assumptions of the
concept of Knowles andragogy is the assumption of
self-concept. In adult learning or education, it is
assumed that adult have self-concept. This means that
adult already have responsibilities, and have
independence, have been able to diagnose the needs
of his life, and also have life goals related to his
welfare. Therefore, there are implications or self-
concept involvement with adult learning. It is also in
accordance with the principle of adult learning is the
experience of becoming a source of learning which
means experience can also in form of a person’s self-
concept. Therefore, the involvement or implications
of self-concept in adult learning are usually found in
non-formal education programs or out-of-school
education.
Figure 2: Self Concept and Adult Learning.
Sudjana (2005) suggests the notion of off-school
education as follows: "Out of school education is any
learning activity which is organized outside the
school education in order to help learners to actualize
the potential of self-knowledge in the form of
knowledge, attitudes, skills and aspirations that are
useful for himself, his family, society, institutions,
nation, and State. So the group gets information about
knowledge, practice, guidance according to the age
level and the necessities of life. Based on the
definition of off-school education, it can be
concluded that the education services provided to the
community or individuals in need outside of formal
education or school with the aim of helping students
to actualize themselves in the form of knowledge,
attitude, and skills. Communities who are students in
out-of-school education programs are usually adults.
Adults found in non-formal education programs or
out-of-school education, in the learning process
generally use andragogic approach, because in
addition to adult participants, the thing that makes
andragogy approach used is usually adult participants
already have a mature self-concept. Adults with
mature self-concept make it easier for tutors to plan
lessons and carry out learning activities, such as in
adult literacy or adult literacy programs can be
involved in determining learning goals, planning
Behavior
Feedback
Self-
concept
Self Concept
Adult Learning
ICES 2017 - 1st International Conference on Educational Sciences
496

learning, designing learning experiences, establishing
learning needs, and etc. Therefore, create a
comfortable learning environment for adults to earn,
and choose learning objectives can be achieved.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Adult learning is a growing process that can be
answered and learned on an ongoing basis throughout
life. Learning for adults shows the involvement of the
maturity of one's self-concept. Adults who have
established self-concept through self-awareness or
interaction with others and life experiences, make a
person has a kind of positive self-concept or negative
depends on his interaction and experience in running
the role according to the status he has. Thus, the adult
will be able to know the need or readiness of learning,
which means that the person has a positive Self
Concept. Positive self-concept is the individual who
can recognize himself, know what his needs, have
confidence in the decisions taken, and of course have
a purpose and direction of life. Therefore, the
assumption is said by Knowless that in learning
adults, right there is the involvement of self-concept
because the implications of self-concept in adult
learning provide ease for doing learning activities,
making it easier to create a learning climate, knowing
the learning needs, having responsibility in the
learning process, and being able to evaluate
themselves. In addition, individuals who have self-
concept and realize themselves need continuing
education as a form of self-actualization. Learning for
adults usually exists in off-the-shelf educational
programs, such as literacy programs, literacy
programs, education and skills training or courses.
Therefore, andragogy and pendants are often used in
adult learning activities in out-of-school education
programs.
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