This lecture explains the history, purpose, and future of the Danish folk high school, considered a small but vital part of that country's adult education system. As an introduction, the term, folk high school, is defined to mean a school for young adults, usually nineteen or twenty years old, which deals with the individual's role in life and society. In examining the historical background of these schools from the Napoleonic wars to the present, emphasis is placed on two influential personalities who emerged in the 1800's. Following a brief biography of Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig, the founder of the folkelighed, or folk high school, is a synopsis of his educational philosophy and that of his disciple, Christen Kold. Three purposes are identified for the schools: (1) to make students love and understand their national history, culture, and art; (2) to awaken them to the wealth of spiritual life; and (3) to help educate them to assume civic and democratic responsibility. The current status of the schools and their future value are both considered as well as the sponsors and public support for the whole area of adult education. Also included is a short commentary on the folk high school in Sweden and Norway. (ELG)