Adult and Continuing Education Policy in the USA

Self-portrayed as ‘the largest and most technologically powerful economy…with a per capita GDP of $49,800’ (CIA, 2014), the USA, with a population of over 300 million, is the third most populous country ]in the world. A founding member of the UN and the OECD, and one of the world’s major economies, it exerts political influence well beyond its territory. Backed by often being the highest dues-paying member of these organizations, this influence depends to a great extent on national politics and priorities, and it spans direct military control to the more subtle direction of the educational development of children, youth and adults. Although no official national definition exists, adult and continuing education comprises adult literacy and education up to secondary-school levels, adult vocational training, and non-credit post-secondary schemes supported by federal programmes (ED and DOS, 2008).