A humanistic perspective on learning emphasizes personal growth and development rather than the more mechanistic change in behavior. The three major "foundational" theories of adult learning that emerged during this time – andragogy, self-directed learning, and transformative learning – are firmly lodged in humanistic learning theory. Each theory or framework is associated with an adult educator who wanted to define what is characteristic of the learning of adults versus that of children. Each theory has a robust research base and has, for the most part, withstood the test of time. This chapter discusses the shift to attending to the context of adult learning that took place in the later decades of the twentieth century and remains central to understanding adult learning today. It reviews the most recent work in theory building in adult learning – that of considering the important place of emotions, the body, and the spirit in learning.
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