We provide a historical (genealogical) study of the changes in discourses on adult education since the famous UNESCO conference in Montreal, to present day texts of the European Union on lifelong learning. We also analyse how these changing global discourses on lifelong learning have travelled--through the hegemony of English language--to local situations, such as in Flanders. In the case of Flanders, they have paradoxically contributed to a significant counter-professionalisation of the early years workforce. This genealogical case study also shows how research, policy and practice are closely intertwined in their contribution to this paradox. The study shows that genealogical approaches are useful to show both how international influences need to be considered in a globalised world, but also how specific local "hybridisations" of these discourses are constructed. (Contains 1 figure.)