Community Adult Education: A Conceptual Analysis

This paper attempts to clarify what is at present semantic chaos. The author discusses the concepts of community most appropriate to adult education and integrates theoretical perspectives drawn from the literature of community adult education in the United States, Canada, and Britain. A conceptual typology is presented in which three dimensions of the community practice of adult education are identified: adult education for the community, adult education in the community, and adult education of the community. The paper concludes with a discussion of the covert value judgments and hidden assumptions implicit in definitions of community adult education.