ABSTRACT
IT is not possible, as it is in Britain, to understand present-day institutions in Germany as the outcome of a continuous process of historical growth. In Britain during the nineteenth century social movements and social institutions evolved gradually in response to changing conditions. The revolt against injustices and prejudices that stood in the way of greater freedom took on the character of enlightened reform, because there was time to wear down the prejudices and to modify public opinion. And because time was on the side of those who sought to change the conditions, agitation could be accompanied by the desire for greater knowledge and better understanding. Out of this simultaneous striving towards reform and enlightenment, the English adult education movement was born.
