Success Oriented Learning

 In the 1960's Houle wrote an article called The Inquiring Mind. In it he talked about why adults continued to learn. What leads adults to want to continue to learn? Who among us makes the best adult learners and why.

I enjoyed how Houle broke down adult learners into three groups, Goal Oriented, Activity Oriented or Learning Oriented, but I think he may have missed one in limiting himself to three. I believe there should be a “Success-Oriented” group, those learners who are learning journeys continue on because they strive to continue to be successful. Perhaps it is a substrata of goal-oriented. I know that hate in order to continue to lead my departments I must learn more about what they do .... how they do it .... and what makes a good work product and what doesn't. To help our clients I have to continually learn about their work,  . . . how they do it . . . and how best to train and teach their employees. 

To continually be successful for my organization I have to constantly learn. To continue to be a successful husband and father, I have to learn there too. I think the desire to be successful in different arenas can be just as powerful a driver for continuing adult education as any of the drivers Houle identifies. The more I consider it I think that success if a more primary driver for continuing education than activity or learning-oriented.  I think even when you discuss why and how you have meetings and brainstorming sessions with your colleagues and your personnel, it's a desire to be a success within your organization. 

In today's day and age where so much of our work lives make up a preponderance of our overall lives, success is something that is constantly striven for by the workforce. We identify who we are by our jobs and how far we have risen in our jobs. "What do you do?" is commonly the first thing asked after "what's your name" and sometimes it precedes finding out the name. I think success in the work place might be a new orientation for adult learning that Houle might want to consider if he was writing this in today's day and age rather than the 1950's and 60's.