From Prescription to Exploration
One of the participants in a focus group session we had recently with a Kampala based US owned Telecommunications Tower Company, said at the end of the session that ‘most of the answers came from us’, almost to his surprise. And another asked, ‘do you have anything to add or were we just spot on?’. As I reflected on the comment and the question, it reminded me of one of the mindsets of adult learning, that is adults are inherently resourceful with a wide reservoir of experiences which people bring to attend to any problem or opportunity at hand. And to quote Malcolm Shepherd Knowles, the American educator well known for the art and science of adult learning, because adults see themselves as independent and self-directing, there develops a ‘’deep psychological need to be perceived by others, and treated by others as capable of taking responsibility for ourselves’’ and if ‘’others are imposing their wills on us without our participating in making decisions affecting us, we e...