The new challenge to adult and continuing education in Britain

This paper will analyze the new trend of British Adult and Continuing Education in the 1980's. British adult education which has long tradition of liberal adult education is at a turning point. LEA (Local Education Authority), WEA (Workers' Educational Association) and the University Adult Education have worked together to offer various adult educational programs and courses for the working classes. But such a tradition has quantitatively and qualitatively declined since the 1970's. The reformation of educational needs and the renovation of the educational system which resulted from social, economical and cultural changes caused this situation to exist. Consequently there is a dispute between those who support liberal adult education and those who support vocational and proffesional education. In this paper, we aim at making the structure of British adult education clear by analizing Pioneer Work which is one of the working class educational programs offered by the department of adult and continuing education of Leeds University