Educational variables and participation in adult education were examined in terms of the following hypotheses: (1) a higher level of achievement in the sequential-unit system will be associated with greater participation in the complementary-functional system; (2) a higher level of achievement within the family-educational system will be associated with greater participation in the complementary-functional system; (3) the influence of the sequential-unit and family-educational systems on participation in the complementary-functional system will be cumulative; and (4) achievement in the sequential-unit and family-educational systems will have differential influence on participation in different aspects of the complementary-functional system. Data were gathered through a socioeconomic survey of rural household heads on the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia in 1970. The years of school completed by the respondent which was a measure of achievement in the sequential-unit system, and the educational level of the wife which represented the quality of education available in the family-educational system, were the variables showing the strongest influence on participation. The education of the father, did not show such a strong influence on participation. (NL)