ABSTRACT

IN tracing the history and studying the present structure of adult education in this country, certain characteristics have become apparent. First it is evident that, throughout its history and equally today, this is an essentially voluntary movement. Students attend adult classes for the satisfaction which they obtain from their studies and because they believe that, in the pursuit of knowledge, they will increase their ability to live satisfying lives and to serve better the causes which they have at heart. They are subject to no external pressure to maintain their attendance and, in all but a negligible proportion of the courses provided by extra-mural departments and without exception in W.E.A. courses, no certificates or diplomas are awarded; further, their studies have no direct bearing on vocation and therefore on the prospect of promotion or material gain. And yet in no other branch of further education can there be found such great regularity or so high a degree of continuity in attendance.