Reflecting the major trends in research over the last two years, the current yearbook Social Change and Adult Education Research - Adult Education Research in Nordic Countries 1996 discusses in its 13 papers four broad subject areas. The contributions do not necessarily give a full picture of the research carried out in Nordic countries, but hopefully the four sections on 1.Questions of Competence 2.Evaluating Quality 3.Professional Cultures and 4.Learning and Trends in Adult Education will provide the reader with a general idea both of the points and issues that today interest Nordic researchers and of how they approach these problems.