Theories and Theoretical Concepts in Adult Education Policy Research

Abstract

Even though research on adult education policies has become a dynamic and muchnoticed research field in the last decades, there is no explicit theory of educational policy analysis. Instead, theoretical approaches from reference disciplines such as sociology, philosophy, economics or law are commonly adapted and applied in research on education policies. This article identifies institutionalist approaches, multi-level theoretical approaches and the governmentality concept as three key components of theory in adult education policy research. The aim is to outline basic assumptions of each of the three theoretical approaches and analyze their usage in adult education policy research. In an exemplary manner, it is explored which insights these theoretical approaches produce for the scientific community and which perspectives for further research are opened up.