ABSTRACT
A d u l t educator s ar e increasingl y recogniz ing the importanc e o f Habermas '
ideas fo r thei r theor y an d practice . H o w e v e r , they d o no t explai n these suffi -
ciently i n Habermasia n theoretica l terms , no r recogniz e thei r fu l l s ignif i -
cance fo r educatio n an d society . I n particular , thes e interpretation s d o no t
sufficiently recogniz e Habermas ' developmenta l accoun t o f rationality no r
his discussio n o f the relationshi p o f the stat e an d th e publ i c sphere . Thes e
Habermasian theme s demonstrate that adult educatio n ha s a l i fe long, educa -
tional an d poli t ica l role , w h i ch i s importan t t o th e advancemen t o f a mor e
democratic an d ope n society .
