The educational system, i.e., participation in elementary, secondary, and higher education, is referred to as the Core. As the nation has developed economically and socially, the system has continually expanded, and the focus of educational planning has been that education is a necessity and the more one has of it the better. The Learning Force refers to all those participating in educational activity - in the Periphery as well as the Core. The Bureau of the Census conducted a study of participation in adult education, which concluded that "in October, 1957, 8.3 million, or 7.8%, of the adults in the United States were estimated to have participated in adult education classes at some time during the preceding year." A new conceptual framework for the formulation of educational policy must include not only those programs in the Core, but also the variety of alternatives presented in programs in the Periphery and in other more informal types of learning activities. (CK)