Matthias Finger is a member of the Commision on Environmental Strategy and Planning of the IUCN (the World Conservation Union). He has published widely in English, French and German on social issues including ecology, development, management, adult education and the peace movement. His books include (with Pratap Chatterjee), The Earth Brokers: Power, Politics and Development (1994) and (with Thomas Princen), Environmental NGOs in World Politics: Linking the Global and the Local (1994). He is currently professor of management of public enterprises at the Graduate Institute of Public Administration (IDHEAP) in Lausanne.Jose Manuel Asun is a Spanish adult educator who for many years (1984-92) was director of the Ministry of Education's Adult Education Territorial Centre in Zaragoza. When writing this book, he was a research fellow at the University of Barcelona's Centre for Research on the Education of Adults. His professional experience has included a spell as a resident specialist at the UNESCO Institute of Education (Hamburg, Germany). He has also served as the Spanish Government's representative on the IFOMA Programme of UNESCO's regional bureau in Dakar, Senegal. He currently works for the Regional Ministry of Education of Aragon.

• Introduction1. Ivan Illich - Learning Webs, Not One-Way Roads.Part I: The Main Historical Traditions in Adult Education2. UNESCO: Humanizing Development through Permanent Education.3. Pragmatism: A Genuine American Highway.4. Humanism: The Lonely Traveller on the Road to Heaven.5. Marxist Adult Education: Democratic Centralism or Multiple Ways to the Right Solution?6. Conclusion: Adult Education and DevelopmentPart II: Crossroads and Dead Ends7. Roads Diverging.8. The Transformation of Adult Education: Where Adult Education is Going - or Being Driven Towards.Part III: Possible Ways Out9. The Theory of Learning Our Way Out.10. Ways out - The Practice.11. Conclusion: Synthesis and Analysis12. Adult Education, De-Institutionalisation, and the Theory of Learning Our Way Out

'Education for adulthood finally comes of age at the hands of Finger and Asun. A brilliantly incisive critique of adult education's fall from grace and an inspiring practical plan for its re-enchantment. They return adult educators to their original moral taks and agenda of democratic political action, collective creativity and critical social change. These are uncompromising scholars who refuse to let adult education compromise itself.'John Broughton, Columbia University'In Learning Our Way Out, Finger and Asun cogently analyze the important role that adult education has to play in building a sustainable human community, which is increasingly threatened by turbocapitalism, the decay of politics, postmodernism, and the ecological crisis. Their call to link learning with issues of power and organization needs to be on the agenda of all adult educators.'Ron Cervero, University of Georgia'Finger and Asun bring a critical and multi-disciplinary eye to thechallenge of deepening our theory at a time of globalization.'Budd L. Hall, Vice-President of the International Council for Adult Education'This book captured my interest, not because I agree entirely with Finger and Asun's analysis, but because I appreciate the breadth and direction of their writing. They propose a social learning and structural change theory that challenges the hegemony of psychological explanations while navigating between rationality and postmodern standpoints.It is more than a text; it is a must read for any serious adult educator.'Phyllis Cunningham, Northern Illinois University

Matthias Finger is a member of the Commision on Environmental Strategy and Planning of the IUCN (the World Conservation Union). He has published widely in English, French and German on social issues including ecology, development, management, adult education and the peace movement. His books include (with Pratap Chatterjee), The Earth Brokers: Power, Politics and Development (1994) and (with Thomas Princen), Environmental NGOs in World Politics: Linking the Global and the Local (1994). He is currently professor of management of public enterprises at the Graduate Institute of Public Administration (IDHEAP) in Lausanne.Jose Manuel Asun is a Spanish adult educator who for many years (1984-92) was director of the Ministry of Education's Adult Education Territorial Centre in Zaragoza. When writing this book, he was a research fellow at the University of Barcelona's Centre for Research on the Education of Adults. His professional experience has included a spell as a resident specialist at the UNESCO Institute of Education (Hamburg, Germany). He has also served as the Spanish Government's representative on the IFOMA Programme of UNESCO's regional bureau in Dakar, Senegal. He currently works for the Regional Ministry of Education of Aragon.

• Introduction1. Ivan Illich - Learning Webs, Not One-Way Roads.Part I: The Main Historical Traditions in Adult Education2. UNESCO: Humanizing Development through Permanent Education.3. Pragmatism: A Genuine American Highway.4. Humanism: The Lonely Traveller on the Road to Heaven.5. Marxist Adult Education: Democratic Centralism or Multiple Ways to the Right Solution?6. Conclusion: Adult Education and DevelopmentPart II: Crossroads and Dead Ends7. Roads Diverging.8. The Transformation of Adult Education: Where Adult Education is Going - or Being Driven Towards.Part III: Possible Ways Out9. The Theory of Learning Our Way Out.10. Ways out - The Practice.11. Conclusion: Synthesis and Analysis12. Adult Education, De-Institutionalisation, and the Theory of Learning Our Way Out

'Education for adulthood finally comes of age at the hands of Finger and Asun. A brilliantly incisive critique of adult education's fall from grace and an inspiring practical plan for its re-enchantment. They return adult educators to their original moral taks and agenda of democratic political action, collective creativity and critical social change. These are uncompromising scholars who refuse to let adult education compromise itself.'John Broughton, Columbia University'In Learning Our Way Out, Finger and Asun cogently analyze the important role that adult education has to play in building a sustainable human community, which is increasingly threatened by turbocapitalism, the decay of politics, postmodernism, and the ecological crisis. Their call to link learning with issues of power and organization needs to be on the agenda of all adult educators.'Ron Cervero, University of Georgia'Finger and Asun bring a critical and multi-disciplinary eye to thechallenge of deepening our theory at a time of globalization.'Budd L. Hall, Vice-President of the International Council for Adult Education'This book captured my interest, not because I agree entirely with Finger and Asun's analysis, but because I appreciate the breadth and direction of their writing. They propose a social learning and structural change theory that challenges the hegemony of psychological explanations while navigating between rationality and postmodern standpoints.It is more than a text; it is a must read for any serious adult educator.'Phyllis Cunningham, Northern Illinois University

Matthias Finger is a member of the Commision on Environmental Strategy and Planning of the IUCN (the World Conservation Union). He has published widely in English, French and German on social issues including ecology, development, management, adult education and the peace movement. His books include (with Pratap Chatterjee), The Earth Brokers: Power, Politics and Development (1994) and (with Thomas Princen), Environmental NGOs in World Politics: Linking the Global and the Local (1994). He is currently professor of management of public enterprises at the Graduate Institute of Public Administration (IDHEAP) in Lausanne.Jose Manuel Asun is a Spanish adult educator who for many years (1984-92) was director of the Ministry of Education's Adult Education Territorial Centre in Zaragoza. When writing this book, he was a research fellow at the University of Barcelona's Centre for Research on the Education of Adults. His professional experience has included a spell as a resident specialist at the UNESCO Institute of Education (Hamburg, Germany). He has also served as the Spanish Government's representative on the IFOMA Programme of UNESCO's regional bureau in Dakar, Senegal. He currently works for the Regional Ministry of Education of Aragon.

• Introduction1. Ivan Illich - Learning Webs, Not One-Way Roads.Part I: The Main Historical Traditions in Adult Education2. UNESCO: Humanizing Development through Permanent Education.3. Pragmatism: A Genuine American Highway.4. Humanism: The Lonely Traveller on the Road to Heaven.5. Marxist Adult Education: Democratic Centralism or Multiple Ways to the Right Solution?6. Conclusion: Adult Education and DevelopmentPart II: Crossroads and Dead Ends7. Roads Diverging.8. The Transformation of Adult Education: Where Adult Education is Going - or Being Driven Towards.Part III: Possible Ways Out9. The Theory of Learning Our Way Out.10. Ways out - The Practice.11. Conclusion: Synthesis and Analysis12. Adult Education, De-Institutionalisation, and the Theory of Learning Our Way Out

'Education for adulthood finally comes of age at the hands of Finger and Asun. A brilliantly incisive critique of adult education's fall from grace and an inspiring practical plan for its re-enchantment. They return adult educators to their original moral taks and agenda of democratic political action, collective creativity and critical social change. These are uncompromising scholars who refuse to let adult education compromise itself.'John Broughton, Columbia University'In Learning Our Way Out, Finger and Asun cogently analyze the important role that adult education has to play in building a sustainable human community, which is increasingly threatened by turbocapitalism, the decay of politics, postmodernism, and the ecological crisis. Their call to link learning with issues of power and organization needs to be on the agenda of all adult educators.'Ron Cervero, University of Georgia'Finger and Asun bring a critical and multi-disciplinary eye to thechallenge of deepening our theory at a time of globalization.'Budd L. Hall, Vice-President of the International Council for Adult Education'This book captured my interest, not because I agree entirely with Finger and Asun's analysis, but because I appreciate the breadth and direction of their writing. They propose a social learning and structural change theory that challenges the hegemony of psychological explanations while navigating between rationality and postmodern standpoints.It is more than a text; it is a must read for any serious adult educator.'Phyllis Cunningham, Northern Illinois University