A Critical Theory of Adult and Community Education

Critical theory is one of the most influential theoretical frameworks influencing scholarship within the field of adult and community education. This chapter outlines what constitute the chief elements of critical theory using Horkheimer’s (1937/1995) classic essay as a touchstone for this analysis. It argues for a set of adult learning tasks that are embedded in this analysis and that apply both to formal adult education settings and informal learning projects carried out in communities. Future likely trends are the extension of critical theory’s unit of analysis to include race, class, gender, disability, and sexual identity, and critical analysis of digital technologies. DOI: 10.4018/javet.2012070101 2 International Journal of Adult Vocational Education and Technology, 3(3), 1-15, July-September 2012 Copyright © 2012, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. tasks that practitioners could support that are embedded in the theory.