The current demand to meet the learning needs of adults in education and industry is unprecedented. Yet because of the extreme diversity of settings and purposes - from learning English as a second language and on-the-job training to graduate coursework - the literature of the adult learning field is diffuse. Using the work of K. Patricia Cross, J. Roby Kidd, Malcolm Knowles, and others - as well as recent adult learning theories and research, Merriam and Caffarella provide a comprehensive overview of current knowledge about adult learning, including the context in which adult learning takes place, what the participants learn and why, the nature of the learning process itself, and the issues relevant to the practice of adult learning.