The introduction of the concept of quality to the adult education practice and consequently the introduction of accreditation and certification system is a necessity in European Union discourse. Despite this inevitability, there is a need for critical reflection on the concept of quality and procedures of its implementation. One of the important questions that need to be addressed is: What is ideology behind the concept of quality in adult education? Quality assurance is seen as a key to success of educational change, and that includes the introduction of standardization, assessment, and evaluation procedures. Policy makers and educational practitioners believe that quality is an essential issue and they deal with the question of how to achieve it. We believe that adult education theorists have to ask series of questions such as: Who claims that something is quality; which models of quality are preferred and who define them.

The definition of quality is often the result of compromise. The idea of neutrality in this area proved to be impossible one since the concept of quality relies on the values, concepts and paradigms - whether directly or indirectly formulated. Political actors offer interpretation of certain concepts that support and defend their view of reality (Bacchi, 2000). The essential question is - who decides what quality is and who defines quality criteria. Analysis of the international document shows, though not explicitly, the two pillars of the concept of quality.

The first is civil society, embodied in a number of European (for instance EAEA, EUCIS LLL), international (ICAE, regional associations of the less developed parts of the world) and national associations. The important role is played by UNESCO, which, although an intergovernmental organization, represents the interests of citizens and marginalized groups.

Another approach to the global politics of adult education, and therefore the concept of quality is represented through the voice of the World Bank and the OECD. It's a world of economy, major capital markets, whose influence on adult education increased significantly with the global crisis and the growing economic problems. This trend has also led to some changes in the UNESCO concept.

Quality as a concept was originally developed for the needs of industry and management, and the idea is transferred to the field of education (Mitrovic & Radulovic, 2011). Economic background of the current approach to quality education will be specifically addressed.

Drawing on Foucault's view of the relationship of power and knowledge and keeping in mind his view of power as omnipotent and omnipresent, we raise the question - who defines the concept of quality, from which position and what are the instruments of power?

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