The usefulness of adult education: Lifelong learning in the European Union and the portuguese public policy

Abstract

The article first discusses the aims of lifelong learning proposed by the European Union and then analyses the reinterpretations present in the Portuguese policies of adult education in the last two decades. Finally, the influence of the European Union on policy discourses in Portugal is stressed, with increasing attention paid to the usefulness of adult education in relation to economic development and human resource management, while humanistic meanings and aims concerning critical education may be found to a lesser extent.