The third Jornadas de Educação e Formação para Adultos [Conference on Adult Education and Training] held at the University of Coimbra has reopened the debate on public policy for the sector. It confirmed the intensification of the long-standing tension between the requirements of ideological and methodological coherence and the practices in the field, marked by the imperatives of imposed targets and politically desirable results.

650 participants signed up to the third Jornadas de Educação e Formação para Adultos from the fields of policy, practice and research. The event was held in the auditorium of the central pedagogical unit at Coimbra University’s campus II and organised by the University’s Study Group for Education and Training and the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences.

This renowned faculty is an active participant in teaching and research in the field of adult education in Portugal, naturally assuming the responsibility for organising this Conference which is devoted to sharing knowledge and exchanging experiences. Its aim for the Conference is to make a significant contribution towards mobilising efforts and interests with a view to transforming the country’s landscape of adult education and training. The Conference was part of the official programme celebrating the 30^th anniversary of Coimbra University’s Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences.