The Profession and Practice of Adult Education: An Introduction

The Profession and Practice of Adult Education is a timely book and an excellent introduction to the field. Drawing from an extensive volume of literature, it provides comprehensive coverage and a clear guide. Graduate students will benefit from it and practitioners will be kept abreast of changes that are occurring.
―Peter Jarvis, professor of continuing education and senior research professor, University of Surrey, United Kingdom

This book provides a comprehensive, authoritative introduction to the field of adult and continuing education. Two of the most respected authors in the field, Sharan B. Merriam and Ralph G. Brockett, provide an insightful analysis of this rapidly developing field and a thorough grounding in its guiding concepts, purposes, and practices of programs. This new paperback edition contains a new Preface and Epilogue which consider developments in five areas―globalization, interface between human resource development and adult education, holistic conceptions of adult learning, critical adult education and diversity, and the current state of the profession―which have influenced adult education in the past decade.

"A comprehensive and readable overview of the field of adult education that will be useful to neophyte and seasoned adult educators, scholars, and reflective practitioners."
―Dr. Jovita M. Ross-Gordon, professor and program director, Adult, Professional and Community Education, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas

"Drs. Merriam and Brockett combine their wealth of knowledge and experience in the field to deliver this clever, accurate, highly readable, and practical text."
―Dr. Lorraine A. Cavaliere, dean of education and associate professor, Gwynedd-Mercy College, Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania

"For those wanting to see where adult education has been, where it has gotten to, and where it might be going, Merriam and Brockett's survey offers a great place to begin a critical reading of a complex field of theory and practice."
―Arthur L. Wilson, professor of adult education in the Department of Education, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

Sharan B. Merriam is professor of adult education at the University of Georgia.

Ralph G. Brockett is professor of adult education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.