ABSTRACT
State and society are sometimes treated as synonymous concepts in analyses of adult education, although they are conceptually different as the argument in the previous chapter shows. Sociology of adult education has concentrated on the social element, as befits sociological analysis and has, where appropriate, introduced the concept of social power. This approach has been more prevalent amongst those adopting a more radical approach. With few exceptions, however, the state has not been the focus of attention, even when the study has been about the politics of adult education. (See, for instance, Freire, 1985; Evans, 1987; Griffin, 1987; Pöggeler, 1990.) Indeed, much of Freire’s analysis is notable by the absence of the state as a variable throughout his work, despite its revolutionary perspective. Griffin’s analysis of social policy and adult education comes closer to the approach adopted here, although the starting point for this analysis is with some of the theoretical concerns of political science rather than welfare policy. The first part of this chapter seeks to demonstrate why theorists have argued the state is a necessary phenomenon in modern society and then it examines the concept itself. Thereafter the analysis examines a number of the major theoretical and ideological perspectives about the state and begins to suggest ways in which they may be related to the education of adults.
