ABSTRACT
Elias and Merriam's review of the philosophical literature in the field of adult education enabled them to delineate six categories of theoretical principles that govern the practice of adult education. Adult educators, using their schema, are able to compare and contrast philosophical principles in a systematic manner, and are also able to determine more clearly the relationship between these principles and the practice of adult education. The Elias-Merriam schema, however, remains a helpful device for organising philosophical thinking about adult education. A valuable tool for measuring the extent to which a person values philosophies of adult education is the Philosophy of Adult Education Inventory developed by Zinn. Given the differences among the three groups of adult educators representing specific contexts it is suggested that the philosophical orientations of the adult educators in the study are rooted in professional practice and derive more from concrete experiences in organisational settings than from logical analysis or the evaluation of abstract philosophical arguments.
