ABSTRACT
Education of adults in the United States is neither structurally nor programmatically monolithic. It is not limited to a single purpose activity such as literacy or national culture, provided by or even coordinated by, one agency. Education of adults in the United States is multi-purpose, provided by numerous agencies, based on several philosophies and is variously conceptualized. Unlike the 1920s when much of the literature on education of adults focused on social change (Kallen, 1962; Lindeman, 1961), the literature of the last past two decades has been characterized by varied justifications and philosophies (Kreitlow and Associates, 1981; Rauch, 1972).
