BETWEEN JANUARY 1962 AND JULY 1967, 164 INSTITUTIONS IN 44 STATES OFFERED, VIA MASS MEDIA, 1,244 CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSES TO 1,685,058 PERSONS. TELEVISION WAS THE MOST WIDELY USED MEDIUM, WITH MOST GENERAL SUBJECTS AIRED OVER COMMERCIAL STATIONS. WHEN DIALOGUE BETWEEN PARTICIPANT AND INSTRUCTOR WAS NEEDED, THE TWO-WAY RADIO CONFERENCE WAS USED. OF THE PRINTED MEDIA, MAGAZINES INVOLVED THE LARGEST GROUP OF PARTICIPANTS. TEACHING METHODS VARIED--INDIVIDUAL METHODS DOMINATED TELEVISION COURSES, MOST RADIO COURSES USED GROUP METHODS, AND NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES, AND DIRECT MAIL WERE USED IN SOME GROUP-STRUCTURED EFFORTS. GROUP INSTRUCTION WAS BEST ACCOMPLISHED WITHIN AN ESTABLISHED ORGANIZATION WHICH INCORPORATED THE COURSE INTO ITS PROGRAM. COMMUNITIES SUSTAINED ORGANIZED TELEVISION EDUCATION ONLY WHEN CONSISTENT AND EXTENSIVE RESOURCES WERE ALLOCATED, AS IN THE ST. LOUIS METROPLEX ASSEMBLY. THE DOMINANT PURPOSE FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION VIA MASS MEDIA WAS THE ACQUISITION OF INFORMATION, PARTICULARLY THROUGH GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES OFFERED BY UNIVERSITIES. PARTICIPANTS FAVORED PROFESSIONAL OR VOCATIONAL-CENTERED COURSES. PROFESSIONAL HEALTH SCIENCE WAS ENGROSSED IN SKILL-ORIENTED COURSES, WHILE VOLUNTEER GROUPS WERE INTERESTED IN THE APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE. (THIS PAPER, BASED ON THE AUTHOR'S UNPUBLISHED PH.D. THESIS (UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, 1968), WAS PRESENTED AT THE NATIONAL SEMINAR ON ADULT EDUCATION RESEARCH, CHICAGO, FEBRUARY 12, 1968) (AJ)