The main procedure applied in this article is a survey of representative studies dealing with unequal participation of adults in education, especially in view of its social conditionality and impacts. Further the text focuses on political, cultural and psychological contexts of reasons for adults' (non-)particiaption in education.
The text presents a brief outline of what should be considered by public policies aimed at increasing the participation of adults in education. Some general remarks about the importance of research in the social sciences are taken into concideration.