The paper reports the development of adult education in Spain from its early stages in the 19thcentury to present days. Emphasis is given to innovations introduced in the 80's by the teaching reform, wich was consolidated in 1990 by the General Organization Law of the Teaching System. Influences on this process from the pedagogical renovation movements as well as from international and multilateral european organizations are analyzed. Among the innovations analyzed, the following are highlighted: adult education conceived as a paradigm of continuous education rather than the compensatory trait that historically had guided it; decentralization of education favoring Autonomous Communities; integration as a preeminent political and pedagogical principle; territory adopted as a planning unit for educational availability.
