Malcolm Knowles¾referred to as the Father of Adult Education¾ was a widely known and influential professor of adult education who was responsible for coining the term "anadragogy."  Knowles' goal was to advance the cause of the individual and of American democracy in the university and in adult education, in business and industry, and in the United States society.  In 1934, Knowles received his bachelor's degree from Harvard.  After graduation, Knowles accepted an offer to become the director of related training for the Massachusetts National Youth Administration. 

In 1940, he agreed to become the director of adult education for the YMCA of Boston.  Knowles wrote an article, "The Day I Changed from Teacher to Facilitator of Learning," in which he attributed much of his educational thinking to formal experiences he had during his tenure with the YMCA.  The capstone of his YMCA career was a book that shared his experience, Informal Adult Education.  This "how-to" book on adult education presented a compilation of thirteen principles his experience had taught him about methods, programs, and administration of adult education.  Knowles left the YMCA in 1951 to become executive director of the national Adult Education Association based in Chicago. 

In 1960, Knowles received his doctorate in adult education from the University of Chicago.  He moved back to Boston to establish a new graduate program in the field.  In a revised book entitled, The Modern Practice of Adult Education: Andragogy Versus Pedagogy (1970), Knowles case aside the humanistic European definition of andragogy and redefined andragogy as "an emerging technology for adult learning."  More than a "how-to" book, Knowles saw Modern Practice as dedicated to exploring "a comprehensive theory that will give coherence, consistency, and technological direction to adult education practice. Knowles described the technology of andragogy as a seven-step process.  He called for adult educator to:

q       Set a cooperative learning climate

q       Create mechanisms for mutual planning

q       Arrange for a diagnosis of learner needs and interests

q       Enable the formulation of learning objectives based on the diagnosed needs and interests

q       Design sequential activities for achieving the objectives

q       Execute the design by selecting methods, materials, and resources

q       Evaluate the quality of the learning experience while rediagnosing needs for further learning.

 Although academia dispensed with Knowles through mandatory retirement in 1979, he continued to work in the field until his death in 1998.