The article explores how education promotes social change. Using the philosophical foundations of adult education outlined by Elias and Merriam (2001, "Philosophical foundations of adult education" (3rd ed.), Krieger) as an analytical framework, the article compares the similarities and differences between popular education forms in two…

The authors tested a self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) process model of subjective wellbeing among students at Norwegian Folk High Schools. In this model the authors hypothesized that students' intrinsic goal progress expectancy in the chosen study activity and perceived autonomy support from teachers would be positively…

Travelling between various Scandinavian adult educational institutions in 1978, the author, John Collins, picked up a couple of hitchhikers--Danish students returning to their school after a short vacation period. As they neared the Funen Island harbour village, which was their destination, the students invited Collins to visit their school. What…

This paper reports the results of an interview study of 18 current and former pupils in the Danish "Folkeskole" (primary and secondary public school) from 1930 up to the present. The aim of the study is to provide a forum for usually unheard voices on the subject of everyday life in school. The study pays special attention to relational…

The purpose of this article is to analyse three case study examples of musical "folkbildning" in Sweden. The first case study is from the establishment of the state-funded Framnas Folk High Music School in the middle of the last century. The second case study, Hagstrom's music education, is from the same time but describes a music school run by a…

The folk high school (FHS) is a Nordic contribution to global education and is a unique approach to non-university adult education. Because expanded tuition is the true nature of Norwegian FHS, it is important for FHS that its teachers perform discretionary individual extra-role behaviour advantageous to the school organization, a phenomenon…

This article focuses on the comparison of organizational antecedents of teachers' fostering of students' effort in two quite different accountability regimes: one management regime with an external-accountability system and one with no external accountability devices. The methodology involves cross-sectional surveys from two different management…

On the basis of a three-year study of the role of popular education in local development processes in Sweden (2006-2008), this paper sets out to outline the role of popular education as a development actor in rural and urban contexts. Two different scenarios and approaches are discussed. One is the role of popular education in rural areas, which…

In Norway "Pedagogikk" was institutionalised as an academic field of knowledge in the first part of the twentieth century. As a professional field of knowledge, however, pedagogy developed gradually from the 1840s, mainly through rurally based teacher seminars. In this article, relations between the progressive movement and the…

During the summer of 1964, Mississippi communities and activists established forty-one "Freedom Schools" that served over two thousand students. The Mississippi Freedom Schools embodied a critical philosophy of education. Despite its grassroots orientation, the educational ideas espoused in the Freedom Schools did not necessarily originate in…

Influenced by Myles Horton's vision and leadership, the Highlander Folk School became an adult education program centered on social change via the labor and civil rights movements. In this article, I examine the pedagogy and practice of Myles Horton and the Highlander Folk School and identify the key themes that guided their educational approach…

This paper considers how community literacy programs factor into broader economies of literacy development. The author analyzes two Appalachian community literacy projects, Shirley Brice Heath's ethnographic project in the Carolina Piedmont and Highlander Research and Education Center's organizing efforts with the Appalachian People's Movement, to…

Sweden's 136 folk high schools are open to anyone over 18 years of age. Established in Denmark in 1844, folk high schools were introduced to Sweden in 1968. Folk high schools can be attributed to the educational ideas of Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig (1783-1872), who wanted to see education where people learned from their experiences as well…

This essay begins by considering museum studies in relationship to curriculum studies and new museology. The author notes that traditional museum and school learning modes have focused more on measurement than meaning, while curriculum studies and new museology urge a broader exploration of the social purposes of education. Drawing on the work of…

This study unearths and examines rich models of learning in which multiple institutions collaboratively play a role in promoting civic education. Using historical and ethnographic case study analysis, this paper addresses the research question: What is the role of community in civic education? Specifically, the author examines Hull House and the…