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Current research on participation is critiqued in terms of problems in exact measurement, superimposed definitions, and the use of value-laden constructs. Building upon the thesis that the qualitative and quantitative approaches to research represent different perspectives, they are compared in terms of purpose, their interpretations, premises, focus, method, and research criteria, including reliability and validity. The qualitative perspective, particularly as influenced by hermeneutics and social phenomenology, is developed further and implications for the study of participation are considered. Emphasis is placed upon the importance of understanding the meaning of participation in the life-world of the individual. Educational participation is considered within the broader context of learning, and learning is viewed as embedded in the life-world.

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Voluntarism, historically a fundamental principle and characteristic of adult education, is at risk with the development of mandated continuing professional education. Education is mandated by (1) direct regulation in state licensure laws; (2) indirect regulation through professional membership, employment requirements, and specialized certificates; and (3) informal social sanctions. While there are some signs of a halt in direct regulation, indirect and informal controls are on the upsurge, typically in order to avert threatened external regulation. Central is the concern for competence, which reflects broader social concerns with accountability, as well as a new moralism with respect to adult education participation. Economic incentives for continuing education providers are also an important factor. One outcome is the formalization of control as manifest in efforts to measure learning outcomes and the development of accreditation standards. More professionals are challenging the quality of mandated offerings and their potential in meeting accountability concerns.

WHY A BICENTENNIAL ISSUE?The present is but a moment in history; the future is a continuation of the past. Just as karma influences an individual's way of responding in the present, so too the current situation of any institution is structured by its past. The paths of individuals and institutions can change in direction, but enduring change requires an integration of one's past. Carl Jung uses the image of the shadow-those aspects of the self that one avoids-and points to the need for acceptance of the unacceptable before growth can occur. Perhaps the same analogy can be used in history: we rarely look at our past and when we do it is usually to extol our great feats; seldom do we critically study and learn from our failures.We value change and seek to lead our institutions in directions which would promote greater individual choice; but as we lay our plans we try to project into the future without rigorous study of the past. Our future orientation is manifest in the many policy planning seminars that have depended upon future casting techniques at the local, state, and national levels, including two of our major 309(b) projects.' None has focused on our history. One wonders whether the energy in those seminars might not have been better spent critically examining the present politics and past history of the institutions represented in order to determine what the barriers have been to change, whether they continue, and how they might be overcome. We pride ourselves on being at the cutting edge of change, but do not act on Veblin's (10:191) simple though profound insight that &dquo;Institutions are products of the past process, are adapted to past circumstances, and are therefore never in full accord with the requirements of the present.&dquo; We assume too, that change in itself is desirable, as though there were a uniformity of agreement about the direction it should take, when in fact different conceptions of what constitutes individual well-being and the ways of promoting it have resulted in considerable internal KATHLEEN ROCKHILL (formerly Penfield) is Assistant Professor of Adult Education. Universitv of California, Los Angeles. , j , -The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Sol Cohen, Associate Professor of the History of Education at UCLA, whose help in reviewing contributions for this special issue was invaluable.