Britain Adult Education In World War Two

Britain is entitled"hometown of adult education". Britain's experiences, programs and measures in this field are of certain significance to the development of China's contemporary adult education, particularly its progresses during World War II. In WW II difficult environment, the adult education in Britain still obtained dramatic development unexpectedly, which played a significant role in the victory of WW II. However, every coin has two sides. It should be noted that there were also disadvantage in Britain's adult education during WW II. This period is considered to be a turning point in the history of Britain's adult education. Hereby, this thesis endeavors to make a detailed discussion and evaluation on the two sides of Britain's adult education during WW II.Based on the changes in the connotation of adult education, Chapter 1 briefly introduces the history of British adult education. The history is divided into four stages, that is,"from 1800s to 1900s","after'1919 Report'","during WW II", as well as"after WW II". In addition, the institutions which undertake the Britain's adult education are introduced and the specific meaning of"adult education"is identified in this part. The adult education in this thesis refers to all the teaching activities except for the continuous schooling that are provided for persons of 18 years age or above.Chapter 2 presents in detail the adult education programs for British civilians during WW II. This period can be divided into three parts. After the outbreak of WW II, the emergency mechanisms were established by the adult education institutions. During the war, libraries, exhibitions and music played a main part in the adult education. After the war, further discussion gave rise to new development of adult education. Throughout the whole period of WW II, adult education helped a lot in relieving people's worries, cultivating solidarity, as well as promoting democracy.Chapter 3 focuses on the adult education for soldiers during WW II, which is also composed of three distinct periods. During the first few years of WW II, there was a good beginning. In the middle period, there were various campaigns to eliminate illiteracy, as well as diversified activities organized by ABCA,ABCA—bile. At the last stage, the adult education in the army had made great efforts to do the preparations for soldiers'post-war life. The adult education for soldiers not only improved the overall quality of the army, maintained the high morale, uplifted patriotism, but also made great contributions in helping army men return to the civilian's life with high quality.Chapter 4 analyses the pros and cons of Britain's adult education during WW II, as well as its significance in the history of Britain adult education– the turning point with both successes and failures.In the end, the thesis makes a conclusion on the Britain adult education during WW II.