Adult education is often defined to emphasise cultural and societal development. This paper proposes that the concept should be more inclusive and that vocational education and training for adults has played a bigger role than is usually recognised. This has not been subject to much research and basic facts are often virtually unknown. In this…

The final documents adopted at CONFINTEA V in 1997 set out a variety of issues and challenges for the future development of adult education worldwide. The forthcoming CONFINTEA VI conference, due in 2009, will mark another milestone and provide an opportunity for the stocktaking of success stories and unresolved challenges, and for the development…

This report, based on a 6-month field study, discusses developments now under way in West Germany's Adult Education Centers. The article employs a comparative approach that takes account of trends in Europe and North America, putting these developments into a philosophical framework. (Editor/WL)

This historical and contemporary review of adult educational development in Romania focuses on legislation, government role, the adult education system, formal adult education, and vocational adult education. (WL)

Each year, a million new illiterates are being added to the pool of 50 million illiterates in Pakistan. An adult and continuing education program is reviewed. Objectives and needs, program implementation, curriculum requirements, and the role of international cooperation are topics considered. (MW)

The article discusses trends developing in Canada's university continuing education programs for social services and reviews current literature and studies related to the field. Available from: Extension Division, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon S7N OWO. (MW)

Understanding the origins of poor literacy and numeracy skills in adulthood and how to improve them is of major importance when society places a high premium on proficiency in these basic skills. This edited collection brings together the results of recent longitudinal studies that greatly extend our knowledge of what works in raising skill…

The exploratory research raises questions regarding the learning environment of rural adults in Ghana and Sri Lanka and challenges assumptions regarding adult learners in developing countries. Utilizing an inductive approach, the study hopes to identify the overall principles of rural life-long learning. (MW)

The article describes stages in the development of the municipally owned "workers' institutes" to provide education for adults in Finland and the now more common "civic institutes" with public or private sponsorship. Included are administrative structure, financing, staff, students, facilities, teaching arrangements, subjects…

A summary of the State Committee report on Finnish adult education outlines principles and guidelines on which planning for program development should be based. Nine topics include: objectives, concepts, policy aims, functional background, system evaluation, organizational development, pedagogic development, financial and social support, and…

To develop background for examining the past, present, and future of adult education in Thailand, the author initially sketches an economic and geographic profile of the country. In the second of five sections, Thailand's adult education movement is traced by examining the influences of kings, the Buddhist religion, various governments, and the…

Based on a 65-day educational program in India designed to provide an Indian international perspective for 22 adult educators in the New England region and the addition of this dimension to their Adult Education programs at home, these papers written by the participants indicate their reactions to their Indian experience. They are intended for…

Liberal adult education in Victoria, Australia, takes its ideals, if not its form, from the pre-war university and Workers Education Association (WEA) partnerships: the university providing tutors and content, the WEA providing contact with unions and workers. Unique to Victoria is the level to which community-based adult education has been…

Focusing on adult education in Yugoslavia, this book is part of the series on adult education in Europe. The first of eight sections, traces historical development of adult education in Yugoslavia beginning with the second half of the nineteenth century and focusing on promotion of political awareness and socio-political education of the working…

Using certain criteria, 4 out of 35 voluntary and nongovernmental organizations in Bangladesh, which were engaged in nonformal education among economically disadvantaged women, were selected and surveyed to identify and document their nonformal activities. Data were generated through field visits, personal interviews, observations, and examination…