OF MONTREAL

Public Relations and Information Office,

Room AD233, Administration Building, . is

7141 Sherbrooke Street West,

Montreal 262, Quebec,

Telephone 482-0320, Ext. 437-438. May 1974

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In today's society the flow of new knowledge and technoloay is
rendering prior learning increas inaly obsolete. Learning acquired

as children becomes less and less adequate in enabling adults to face
the practical realities of changes in technology. The necessity of
life-long learning has been recently documented by the UNESCO report
"Learning to be* and the Commission on Post-Secondary Education in
Ontario. In the Province of Quebec there are almost as many adults
participating in formal education on a part-time basis as there are
youths studying on a full-time basis. The need for well operated,
well staffed systems of continuing education is evident.

Teacher training has been traditionally directed towards the education
of youth. Yet the research evidence is clear that the nature and
capabilities of adult learners demand educational methodologies dif-
ferent from those in use with children. Teacher training based upon
the nature of the adult learner is required in order to develop
qualified adult educators. This is needed particularly for those
administrators and teachers in adult centers in Quebec, for they

have had no formal education in the teaching of adults and little
attention has been paid to this situation in the past.

The programme in Andragogy has been developed to assist those people
engaged in the continuing education of adults to acquire the
knowledge and competency to assist with the continuous education of
the adult learner. These people may be teachers, administrators,
training directors, in-service education supervisors, public health
nurses, librarians, or others whose function is to help adult
learners.