ABSTRACT
The words ‘access’ and ‘equity’ convey a very strong social justice message that taps adult education’s deep, democratic impulse, re-affirmed in the 1970s when UNESCO championed its emancipatory vision of lifelong learning (Faure et al., 1972). At the heart of that vision was a determination, through education, to transform cultural, economic, political and social inequality. In practice, of course, government policies concerning adult education are shaped and moulded not just by visions but by the prevailing ideology of the times (Law, 2005). Thus the emergence of neo-liberalism as the dominant ideology of the late twentieth century (King, 1987) inevitably challenged the emancipatory essence of the UNESCO vision. But, it can be argued, not entirely. For although the last quarter-century has seen the notion of ‘lifelong learning’ substantially refocused towards labour market priorities, other forces in society continue to press for a more democratic educational agenda.
