ALTHOUGH LOCAL EDUCATION AUTHORITIES, THROUGH TECHNICAL COLLEGES AND EVENING INSTITUTES, ARE THE LARGEST PROVIDERS OF ADULT EDUCATION IN BRITAIN, LIBERAL STUDIES ARE DOMINATED BY THE UNIVERSITIES AND BY THE WORKERS' EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION (WEA). LOCAL EDUCATION AUTHORITIES HAVE TENDED TO FAVOR A NON-UNIVERSITY APPROACH BY PROVIDING CLASSES IN A BROAD RANGE OF LEISURE TIME INTERESTS FROM HOBBIES TO THE FINE ARTS. THE LIBERAL STUDIES TRADITION, BY CONTRAST, INCLUDES THE MECHANICS' INSTITUTES AND OTHER VOLUNTARY MOVEMENTS DESIGNED TO SERVE THE VICTORIAN WORKING CLASSES, THE FOUNDING (1903) OF THE WEA, AND THE HIGH STANDARD OF WORKERS' CLASSES ENVISAGED IN THE 1908 OXFORD REPORT. HOWEVER, THE WEA ITSELF HAS EXPERIENCED A GRADUAL SHIFT, IN CLIENTELE, FROM MANUAL WORKERS TO HOUSEWIVES AND WHITE-COLLAR GROUPS, AND IN COURSES, FROM SOCIAL SCIENCES AND PHILOSOPHY TO BROADER, LESS RIGOROUS PROGRAMS TO DEVELOP SOCIAL, CULTURAL, AND ECONOMIC AWARENESS. MOREOVER, TRENDS IN HIGHER EDUCATION ARE ERASING MANY DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN VOCATIONAL AND NONVOCATIONAL PROGRAMS. THIS DOCUMENT IS CHAPTER 7 IN "THE AIMS AND ORGANIZATION OF LIBERAL STUDIES," EDITED BY D.F. BRATCHELL AND MORRELL HEALD, AVAILABLE FROM PERGAMON PRESS, INC., 44-01 21ST ST., LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y. 11101. (LY)