ABSTRACT
This chapter shows the contribution that community-based education can make to adults' learning using a number of examples from practice in order to explore if participating in lifelong learning can contribute to a more equal society. It examines the role that universities, in partnership with policymakers, practitioners and students, can play in promoting more democratic opportunities. The chapter explores the benefits and difficulties of collaboration in general and the contribution that partnerships between universities, practitioners and participants make in particular. It discusses the role of professional development in enhancing critical engagement. The chapter explores what the term 'community' means in order to explore how different conceptualisations impact on practice in community-based education. Universities have an important role to play both as providers of professional development for community educators and as participants in institutional and individual development.
