Formal adult education definitely exists as a phenomenon, yet few researchers have tried to explain it. Contrary to non-formal educational courses, the 'social charter' of formal adult education allows an adult learner to become eligible for taking steps upwards on educational and career ladders. Anchored in organizational institutionalism and based on empirical studies in 12 European countries conducted within a large-scale research project within the Sixth EU Framework Program (LLL2010), this book explores the link between individual participation, educational provision, and employers' responses to provide the institutional basis for fulfilling one central promise of lifelong learning: support for social mobility. However, societies differ widely in how they institutionalize formal adult education. Taking Steps clarifies the concept's origin. The book develops a theory on and a typology of formal adult education, discusses individual participation patterns, and considers formal adult education's role within companies' training cultures. Finally, it explores opportunity structures for formal adult education in the US, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, France, and Japan. (Series: Studies in Lifelong Learning - Vol. 5)