Maintaining that there is considerable confusion over the term "community education," this paper begins by offering a number of definitions. It then seeks to unravel some of the complexities of community education as it exists in the United Kingdom; to explain the growth of interest; to examine the underlying principles and different models and typologies in operation; to look at levels of management and decision-making in both comparative and contrasting case studies; and, finally, to comment on some of the problems, issues, and weaknesses that are highlighted as a result of the community education movement. The author concludes that many institutions in the United Kingdom that claim to be community schools or colleges fail to live up to expectations in some major respects. If there is to be greater community involvement, there needs to be a restructuring of management, community control over a percentage of funds, and a willingness on the part of teachers to renounce some of their professional monopoly. (Author/JM)