Forms of state-provided education increasingly are questioned. Concerns are not confined to need for adaptation to changing economic and demographic circumstances; change proposals to address alleged inadequacies of education systems also attract criticism. Education is possibly the most salient current political issue in Europe (Tuckett, 1996), as it is elsewhere, for example in South Africa. This paper cites some of the factors combining to place pressure on both Adult Education (A.E.) and Higher Education (H.E.) in U.K. before sampling pessimistic and optimistic views of their consequences, particularly for knowledge acquisition and concept attainment. Whilst this paper is based on U.K. experiences, it is hoped that colleagues in other countries will take up some of the issues raised in a debate on what can be retained, what needs to be changed and what invented. It is hoped that some old ideas will be "de-railed" sufficiently to allow thought to proceed on new tracks — or off the tracks.