CONCEPTUAL IDEAS AND ORIENTATORS OF THE NOTHERN AMERICAN MODEL OF ADULT EDUCATION

Abstract

The article deals with conceptual ideas and orientators of Northern American model of adult education. It is substantiated, that Nothern American model of adult education is based on the following philosophical directions: liberalism, progressivism, behaviorism, humanism, radicalism, constructivism. Liberalism has ancient roots and comes from the fact that since man is the real source of progress in society, it is necessary to ensure his rights and freedoms, providing equal access to education regardless of social status and well-being. The basic principle of liberal education is singled out, in particular, to develop a personality that is consonant with the purpose of a liberal education in ancient times - the education of citizens who can become active participants in a democratic society. It is proved that non-formal adult education should be continuous, focus on the development of intellectual abilities, be accessible to all sections of the population, and its content must meet their needs. It was found out that the historical roots of the philosophy of progressivism associated with progressive political movement in society and education. Its basis is the concept of interaction between education and society, empirical theory of education democratization of education. It was found out that behavioral direction, whose founder was John Watson, appeared in the USA in the early XX century. Based on the theory of Pavlov's conditioned reflexes, his supporters (J. Watson, B. Sninner E. Thorndike) examined personality as a set of behavioral responses to stimuli of the environment. It is identified that the purpose of adult education - behavior modification adult-oriented changes in humans. It was proved, that unlike behaviorists, representatives of humanistic direction (J. Brown, Johnson, Maslow, M. Knowles, K. Rogers, etc.) considered man independent, active, open to change and self-actualization person. It was stressed, that the founders of the radical trend, based on theories of anarchism, marxism, socialism, considering education in general and adult education, in particular, as an important mechanism to achieve radical changes in society. It updates the social role of non-formal adult education, because it requires critical thinking and personal participation in these changes. It was found out, that according to philosophy of constructivism person is unique in his/her vision of the world, beliefs, outlook because he/she is able to construct his/her personal understanding of reality. A teacher is not just a transmitter of knowledge,he/she serves as the consultant, moderator, facilitator. The analysis of scientific literature showed that adult education in the USA has evolved with the development of society, and has a long history and some traditions, mainly seen as informal adult education, aimed at self-improvement of adult to meet his/her educational needs; mechanism of civil society formation.