Our primary objective in this paper is revisit a debate that was articulated 25 years ago in this journal in which it was argued that the idea of meeting needs in adult and continuing education is a myth. We extend the original analysis of need and apply it to the case of educational research. We look at the policy context, which has, in the…

This article is concerned with issues surrounding research into correctional education. It raises questions regarding the methodologies and ideologies involved in researching correctional education, and examines them against the backdrop of the relationship between the researcher and the researched. Some of the key questions raised are: why…