The tasks and situation of rural adult education

If the challenges of rural development are to be accepted, then adult education ist indispensable. The Landfrauenverband Wurttemberg Baden e.V. (Country Women's Association), founded in 1947, has bound itself in its statutes to organise the further education of all women living in rural areas. The aim of the adult education pursued by the Country Women's Association Is to help women learn more about themselves, other people and their place in society, and to act accordingly. Working from the basic fields of society: farming, the environment, educational science, questions of interpersonal co-operation, culture and health, the author presents certain selected topics for seminars. As adult education in rural areas demands considerably more resources than other forms, it must not be hamstrung by additional government handicaps. Adult education in rural communities can only preserve or improve its freedom of action and the level of the education it can offer if it is pursued within a stable legal framework. In addition to this it requires voluntary staff, increased orientation towards the needs of students, a link between further education on the one hand, and the creation of new aquaintances and recreational enjoyment on the other, together with instructors who not only possess teaching competence, bur who are also able to motivate their students, show empathy, and be both warm-hearted and tactful.