The Constitution of Andragogy in the Czech Context

Abstract

The paper focuses on the evolution of attempts to integrate adult education in the Czech academia from approximately the mid-20th century onwards as well as on the various approaches to the concept of andragogy in that period. It applies the historic method mixed with elements of theoretical and comparative research. The paper starts by describing extended time periods in which the term andragogy was not yet in use. Then it sheds light on attempts to establish andragogy as an independent scientific discipline that seeks to cultivate adult individuals by means of (not exclusively) learning and education. The subsequent section pays attention to the recent period in which Czech andragogy lost some of its previous ambitions. Thus, the paper shows the main shifts in approaches to andragogy as well as the differences between the dominant approaches in the Czech and Western (European) contexts. A delayed mirroring of European trends is characteristic of the Czech development.