Regional development, inequality and adult education:Adult education policy and sustainability in a Danish region

Adult education policy exists at many levels – internationally, nationally and locally. In this paper, we look at the challenges, structures and practices of adult education policy at the local level, more specifically in Northern Denmark, one of the five regions of the Danish nation-state. We see the growing social and educational divide between the peripheral areas in the region and the largest city center as a major challenge for the society as a whole and for adult education in particular. In this perspective, we describe the present structures of adult education in the region and the strategies employed by the local authorities and the educational institutions, and we evaluate both structures and efforts according to their ability to cope with the challenges