The purpose of this study is to describe empowerment processes and meaningful learning in social entrepreneurial work training at a non-governmental organization in Sweden from a participant perspective. The social entrepreneurship investigated in this study was constituted by work training that took place within the framework of a non-governmental organization in Sweden. The study is theoretically grounded in ethnographic methodology, where the researchers cohabited with the participants and conducted nineteen semi-structured life-world interviews with twenty-three participants. The interviews were subjected to a qualitative content analysis. The main findings are the participants? accounts of how they underwent positive transformation through various means. The positive transformation in the results section is discussed in terms of four main themes: (i) undergoing change together; (ii) undergoing change through helping others; (iii) changing one?s self-perception; (iv) changing hope for the future. The most important success factor for the empowerment and meaningful learning processes that the participants underwent was the simultaneous emphasis on both individual adaptation and flexibility as well as togetherness and solidarity.

The rock ‘n’ roll generation has retired, and this raises questions about whether their educational needs differ from the generations before them. This paper presents a study of a course called ‘Graffiti for Seniors.’ The course had nine participants, all women, which constituted two groups: (A) people who are artists or artisans and (B) people who are curious about graffiti as an expression and culture in general. The methods used was participant observation and interviews. When the data had been gathered, Howard McClusky’s theory of educational needs guided the analysis, as this theory offers a diversity of alternative needs compared to later theories. The material was reviewed to find expressions related to the theory’s five dimensions. We conclude that the most prominent needs are coping needs and expressive needs. Coping needs address dealing with society’s ideas about aging, but also about gender, and challenging these norms. Expressive needs demonstrate the importance of engaging in activities that are performed for their own sake and allowing individuals to express themselves. A limitation of this study is that it is performed in a single context, and therefore, future studies in other contexts using the same theory for analysis would contribute to a fuller understanding of how different courses meet various educational needs among older adult learners. A practical implication of the study is the insight that older adults can benefit from educational arenas where they enjoy the freedom of expression and where they can challenge and explore norms connected to gender and age.

This paper presents a scoping review of relevant literature to characterise research on education in prisons. After reviewing 353 peer-reviewed articles spanning 10 years of research, we conclude that research on education in prisons in global research databases (i) is dominated by qualitative studies, (ii) is primarily focused on the English-speaking world, and (iii) shows a relatively strong representation of women. Eight research themes are presented in this paper, where we discuss what characterises research on education in prisons. Two main characteristics emerge: education in prisons as a phenomenon that needs to be justified, and education in prisons as a phenomenon that contributes to the imprisoned individual’s restoration. Finally, we offer suggestions for future research within this field.

Participation is an important factor for preschool quality and with participation comes both possibilities and challenges. The aim is to explore guardians’ perceptions of participation in Swedish preschool using Buber’s understanding of dialogue in interpersonal meetings. The research questions are: How do guardians describe participation in preschool? How do guardians perceive their participation in preschool teaching? Conducting interviews with 20 guardians resulted in the emergence of four themes. The results show that guardians have different perceptions about what participation implies. They describe that they want to be participating but settle with being informed. Guardians find it optional to participate in the decision-making concerning teaching. A conclusion is that preschool teachers need to be in dialogue with guardians about how participation can be understood in their specific context. Another conclusion is that competence regarding the importance of continuous dialogues needs to be addressed towards preschool teachers to promote guardians’ participation in teaching.

Från inledningen: Kapitlet som följer syftar till att beskriva och problematisera ett regeringsuppdrag som har pågått 2016–2020. Uppdraget har inneburit att vara nätverksledare för kommunala samordnare för nyanländas lärande i Jönköpings län. Uppdraget som nätverksledare syftar till att stötta samordnarnas arbete med det systematiska kvalitetsarbetet (SKA-arbetet) riktat mot nyanländas lärande. I uppdraget ingår också att nätverksledarna ska vara en länk mellan Skolverket och huvudmännen i regionens kommuner och att sammanställa samordnarnas dokumentation som görs i form av nulägesbeskrivningar, nulägesanalyser, utvecklingsplaner och påbörjade och slutförda insatser.

The purpose of this article is to describe how education can serve as a changing and liberating process for adults with long-term mental illness. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 participants in Life-knowledge and Creative courses at a Swedish Folk High School. Five themes emerged in the interviews: (i) A meaningful social context – to undergo change with others; (ii) Self-awareness via non-violent communication – to change one’s self-image; (iii) Creating as rehabilitation – change through aesthetic learning processes; (iv) To function better in everyday life – to receive confirmation of change; (v) Opportunity horizons – to change hope for the future. The conclusion is that the Folk High School environment and the educational courses can contribute to an increased sense of well-being in the present. The liberating process primarily impacts the participants’ self-stigma positively as long as this takes place in environments where the participants have experience of not being exposed to social stigma, either at home or at the Folk High School. The participants do not entertain future life plans that extend beyond the context of Folk High School, but when examined in the light of their situation before they enrolled at Folk High School, the liberating process is still noticeable.

Syftet med den här forskningsrapporten är att beskriva hur folkhögskolans livskunskapskurser kan hjälpa deltagare med långvarig psykisk ohälsa till återhämtning, rehabilitering och habilitering. Studiens datainsamling omfattar nio dagars deltagande observation i kurserna på folkhögskolan kombinerat med tolv semistrukturerade livsvärldsintervjuer och fyra fokusgruppsamtal. Totalt ingår 22 deltagare, sex lärare och rektor på folkhögskolan. I resultatet beskrivs nio teman: (i) Varför är jag här?; (ii) Ett meningsfullt socialt sammanhang; (iii) Rutiner och struktur i tillvaron; (iv) Att fungera bättre i vardagen; (v) Självmedvetenhet genom kommunikationsmodeller; (vi) Skapande som rehabilitering; (vii) Vidgade möjlighetshorisonter; (viii) Saker som kan förbättras i utbildningarna enligt deltagarna; (ix) Lärarnas och rektors pedagogiska utgångspunkter.

Slutsatsen är att folkhögskolan bidrar till ett begripligt, hanterbart och meningsfullt socialt sammanhang och att livskunskapskurserna hjälper deltagarna att fungera bättre i vardagen och tillsammans med andra. Genom kursinslag, som tillexempel att lära sig själv medkänsla och Nonviolent communication – en kommunikationsmodell, beskriver deltagarna att de blir mer medvetna om sig själva och sin omgivning. Kursdeltagarna berättar att livskunskapskurserna har ökat deras välbefinnande i nuet och att de har fått ett framtidshopp. Vi kan se att deltagarnas negativa uppfattningar om sig själva minskar i folkhögskolans trygga miljö och i hemmet. Vad gäller att fungera i andra miljöer utanför folkhögskolan så beskriver deltagarna en avsaknad av möjligheter. Det finns en önskan hos deltagare att få möjlighet att till exempel arbetsträna eller arbeta med något projekt utanför folkhögskolan. Lärarna beskriver att det viktigaste i kurserna är att utgå ifrån deltagarnas individuella behov. Detta beskrivs vara ganska svårt eftersom det idag är betydligt vanligare att deltagare har flera olika svårigheter att hantera. Exempel på detta är att en stor andel av deltagarna har neuropsykiatriska diagnoser, social fobi, utmattningssyndrom och depressioner. Det viktigaste enligt lärarna initialt är att lyckas forma deltagargrupper där alla accepterar varandra och upplever sig trygga.