The aim of the present study was to contribute knowledge about how adult L2 learners perceived their possibilities to use and develop the target language (Swedish) when formal language teaching was combined with placements. Situated in the context of Swedish for Immigrants (SFI), the study drew inspiration from action research and ethnographic…

The aim of this study is to examine what it means to be a student in a vocational education and training programme in the municipal adult education system in Sweden and how the interplay between school and working life affects students' identity formation. To achieve this, 12 students from two different programmes have been interviewed at the end…

Older adults continue learning for intrinsic and extrinsic reasons. Literature has often portrayed the reasons for learning in older age as either intentional or as predetermined by socialisation. This emphasis on either agency or social structures is found, not least, in the humanist and critical principles of older adult education. This article…

In this article, focus is on students' oral production in two classrooms in Swedish for immigrants (SFI). The study focuses on practices with interaction patterns where students are involved in negotiation of meaning. Theoretical basis is the importance of interpersonal interaction for language development, with a focus on students' use of varied…

The study aimed at exploring reading acquisition in Arabic from the perspective of a newly-literate adult native speaker, seeking to improve her reading ability and recite the Quran. Drawing mainly on a participatory cognitive schematic-interactive approach, and accounting for a literacy social view, the study's construct allowed the investigation…

This paper explores the challenges and successes of engaging female survivors of childhood sexual abuse and sexual violence in community-based, arts-informed adult learning. The study presents the complex physical, psychological and emotional barriers to participation that were encountered during the fieldwork period. The rationale for using an…

The objective of this paper, which makes use of the concepts of power and discipline from Michel Foucault's theoretical framework, is the investigation of the impact that the manner of operation of a Second Chance School (SCS) has on the disciplinary work of a prison in Greece. The research was carried out using semi-structured interviews with the…

This paper discusses how mature Access to Higher Education (AHE) students worked hard to gain access to Higher Education (HE) because they wished to pursue careers that required this level of education. They wanted to transform themselves as learners to achieve their aspirations despite the hurdles that many faced, such as maintaining families,…

This article discusses the teachers' role in self-directed learning (SDL) -- a central concept in adult education. We explore the use of Socratic questioning to develop critical thinking, which is the outcome of SDL in problem-based learning (PBL). In particular, we analyse 11 adult learners' reflective journals in relation to a Socratic seminar.…