ABSTRACT
The social context of the United States in the current decade is one where many changes are taking place at various levels among diverse segments of society. Three sources of energy are currently exerting pressure to give the alternate corporate system greater prominence, more power and a larger share of the education consumer system. The first of these sources of energy is the increasing focus on three activities: accountability, certification and measurement of competence in education of adults. The second energy source is the continuing loss of postsecondary education’s monopoly on the college degree. The increasing acceptance of the concept of lifelong learning by the education consumer system is the third energizing element stimulating both systems. The justification for education in the United States is a continuing process. The cult of efficiency is not a new or recent phenomenon in American education.
