ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author aims to formulate the principles which he thinks arise from Marxist theory. The author's first principle makes explicit in a general way the theoretical postulates which underlie a Marxist approach to adult learning. The second principle emphasises the adult's ability to learn. It encourages a highly positive approach by the adult educator towards the task of helping adults to learn. The third principle draws attention to the role of language in learning and to the particular significance of literacy as a mental tool. The next two principles can be considered together by focusing on their common denominator, which is that they give priority to the mode of production as the shaping context in which psychological processes take place. A Marxist approach to adult education advocates an 'explicit curriculum' which seeks to realise in adult education processes socialist values and beliefs and to establish new 'social relations of education' alongside a socialist content.
