What's Going on? An Overview of Adult Education Policies in Spain

Abstract

In this paper, I attempt to present the state of adult education in Spain. Adult education in Spain is not unlike that of other countries in Europe in that it focuses on the policies and practices of lifelong learning rather than on the perspectives of people and communities. However, Spain has two specific characteristics that are distinctive from other European countries: first, the foundation for its educational heritage comes from the dark times during the post-war Franco dictatorship – but not only from that. Second, while Spain is seen as a sovereign territorial unit, the country could be considered a fragmented group of different territories, each with claims of autonomy. Starting from these two distinctions, I will explore the consequences of an adult education model in Spain which is based on encouraging people to participate to become only workers rather than active citizens.