The Idea of Lifelong Learning in the Chautauqua Movement

Abstract

The Chautauqua Assembly was distinguished not only for its contribution to adult education programs but also for its contribution to educational thought: learning should be lifelong. The Chautauqua founders regarded education for adults as both a right and duty. This belief derived from three sources: (1) a religious basis, (2) a theory of self-culture, and (3) the right of each per son to have access to knowledge. To this ideological bases was coupled a theory of adult educa tion, namely, adulthood is a unique time for learning. Among the elements of this theory of adult education were these: (1) adults can learn, (2) education should be extended beyond formal school years, (3) life is a school, (4) agencies should cooperate in promoting adult learning, and (5) education should bring adults into contact with current thought on scientific and social issues. This article concludes that Chautauqua, more than many of the other popular education move ments for adults between 1865 and 1914, addressed concerns that have proved relevant to the adult education movement for nearly an entire century.

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