“An economic crisis, a need for new skills and the consequences of demographic changes, which Europe has to face, emphasize a key role of adult education in the strategies of constant education as an element of policies of competitiveness and employment, social inclusion and active citizenship.” This opinion of the Council of Europe has its grounds in the data collected by the 2013 Growth Survey, which confirms “the key role of education as a major factor of development and competitiveness.”

Adult education is a constantly expanding area of research, a developing theory with new fields of educational practices, and is one of the most dynamically developing disciplines in the area of educational sciences.

This book, which is the result of cooperation between the scientists of the University of Ljubljana and the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, presents selected examples of the current development of adult education as a scientific discipline. It encompasses not only significant issues from the standpoint of economy in the scope of key competences, but also concepts related to the social, cultural, scientific, artistic and common schooling, leading to more comprehensive personal development and raising the quality of life.

A presentation of texts by Slovenian and Polish authors was conducted on the three interrelated and complementing planes, which encompass new areas, institutional context and practices of lifelong learning.