Our primary objective in this paper is revisit a debate that was articulated 25 years ago in this journal in which it was argued that the idea of meeting needs in adult and continuing education is a myth. We extend the original analysis of need and apply it to the case of educational research. We look at the policy context, which has, in the…

Understanding the influences upon curriculum formation is an ongoing challenge for adult educators. This discussion describes one approach to curriculum analysis--the aspirational myth--based on the notion that instructors and learners co-construct an idealized identity representing the end point of learning. The aspirational myth is described…