Should Adult Education Foster Emancipatory Learning?
Although emancipatory learning is commonly associated with adulthood, not all adult education fosters it. Individuals who practice adult education hold a number of varying philosophical beliefs about the goals and purposes of education, and not all adult educators align themselves with perspectives that lead to emancipatory learning. An often debated question among those in the field is, “What is an appropriate role for adult education?” Should adult educators work in socially responsible and relevant ways to actively promote continuous societal change by promoting the ideals of participatory democracy defined as full citizen participation, freedom, equality and social justice (Cunningham 1996, p. 1) or should they support existing social, economic, and political systems (Baptiste 1998; Barr 1999; Foley 1998). Some (e.g., Barr 1999; Foley 1998) suggest that adult education has increasingly become instrumentalist in nature, designed to serve the profit system (Foley 1998, p. 139). Barr
