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Adult education at the BBC has a chequered history. During the 1920s and 1930s, the BBC invested heavily in adult education, but after a promising start the scheme failed. Further rises and falls followed. The development of The Open University (founded in 1969) was seen as a new venture for adult-educational broadcasting, but broadcasts formed only a small part of its teaching material. Two extremely successful BBC literacy ventures during the 1970s and 1980s, however, showed what adult educational broadcasting at its best was capable of. Despite its chequered history, educational broadcasting has been deeply pervaded by ethical values and adheres to the founding principles of public service broadcasting.