Richard Desjardins is Associate Professor of Political Economy of Education at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), USA. He previously worked at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Directorate for Education between 2010-2013 on the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) and the Skills Strategy, and was Associate Professor in Comparative Social Science at Aarhus University, Denmark. He is joint-editor of the European Journal of Education.

• AcknowledgementsList of FiguresList of TablesList of AbbreviationsIntroductionPart 1 The Political Economy of Adult Learning Systems1Adult Learning Systems in Context2The Embeddedness of Adult Learning Systems3Coordination problems in adult learning systemsPart 2 Case Studies of Adult Learning Systems4Denmark5Finland6Norway7The Netherlands8Germany9The United Kingdom10The United States11KoreaPart 3 Cross-National Patterns Associated with Adult Learning Systems12Patterns of participation13Patterns of outcomes14Patterns of coordinationConclusionReferencesEndnotes

Adult learning flourishes in all kinds of different contexts ... This is one reason why Richard Desjardins’ book is welcome, as he sets out to bring these different cultures into a common analytical framework. The contexts vary enormously: between different sectors, social groupings and, of course, countries and cultures.... The book is likely to become an important reference point, and Desjardins has done well to open up the field.