THE USEFULNESS OF THE SITUATED LEARNING THEORY IN ANALYZING EDUCATIONAL BIOGRAPHY OF AN ADULT

The article discusses the usefulness of the theory of situated learning in biographical research. The authoress presents the theory of situated learning as a key to analyze the educational biographies of adults. The aim of the paper is to explain the terms - critical event and educational biography; to present the theory of situated learning and its usefulness in analyzing critical events and running the biographical research. The authoress analyses the terminology definitions of critical events.She gives examples of events which seem to be important in an adult's life and generate the developmental change. Next, she describes the educational biography. The educational biography helps the adults to recognize how their previous experience and knowledge have influenced their new learning. It allows them to discover social and interpersonal impacts on their life and their educational activity. The third part of the article is devoted to the theory of situated learning and its usefulness in biographical research. The theory of situated learning can be useful in developing the ability to learn, understand and describe the position of learning in one's biography. The analysis of educational biographies of adults reveals that in fact people learn from life, everyday contacts with others and daily routines.