The authors provide a variety of perspectives on the conceptualisation of adult learning, drawing on sociology, psychology, adult education and applied research into how adults experience learning. Bringing together a number of major contributions to current debates about what learning during adulthood is for, what motivates learning, and how best it might be developed, the authors address a range of significant issues: What's should be the context of learning programmed for adults, and who should decide? What are the implications in general and for women in particular of the current emphasis on learning for work, at work? How do adults learn and how is learning best facilitated? How might learning be used to empower individuals, communities and organisations?