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Fredrik Sandberg

Associate Professor | Senior Lecturer

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Recognition and adult education : an incongruent opportunity

Author

  • Fredrik Sandberg

Summary, in English

Building on narratives of students in adult education in Sweden, where the majority of the students are young adults, this paper argues that adult education has both negative and positive aspects in helping individuals to be recognised as valuable. Students, often part of the precariat class, have not always been able to survive in the job market and have a history of failing in upper secondary school. By drawing on the recognition theory of Axel Honneth, the results show that municipal adult education has the potential to be a transitory learning platform in which the individual can regain esteem that has been lost due to unemployment, precarious employment and failure in upper secondary school. It provides temporary stability. Yet, most students are in a sense forced to study and it is not patent that adult education can help them in their struggle for self-actualisation.

Department/s

  • Education

Publishing year

2016-09

Language

English

Pages

265-280

Publication/Series

Studies in Continuing Education

Volume

38

Issue

3

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Routledge

Topic

  • Educational Sciences

Keywords

  • Adult education
  • Axel Honneth
  • critical social theory
  • recognition theory
  • the precariat class
  • young adults

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0158-037X