This textbook for practitioners and students of adult education is a full-length examination of the nature and scope of adult education as it has evolved in Canada over the past 150 years, with particular emphasis on recent experience. The book is organized in 10 chapters. The first chapter deals with definitions. Chapter 2 presents a discussion of the functions that adult learning performs for individuals and society and describes some philosophical perspectives concerning the nature of adult education. In chapter 3 the discussion turns to the relationship between Canada's experience as a nation and the nature of the adult education programs and services that have developed. The fourth and fifth chapters examine adult education in operation--who participates and who does not, as well as the nature and variety of the providers and the programs. Chapters 6-7 look at public policy and adult education, with emphasis on the three levels of government (local, provincial, and federal) and the roles they have played in the field. Chapter 8 examines the discipline and the staffing of adult education, stressing the increasing professionalization of the field. The ninth chapter takes a closer look at adult education since 1970, identifying some of the trends and prominent features of the current scene and using these insights as a basis for speculation about the future. In chapter 10, the nature of the literature (mostly Canadian) relevant to the main subject areas dealt with in the book is examined. (KC)