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Seminar.net - International journal of media, technology and lifelong learning
Vol. 5 – Issue 2 – 2009

ICT – an ally and an alien

The role of ICT in Swedish popular adult education
organisations

Gunilla Jedeskog

Associate Professor
Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning
Linköping University
Email: gunilla.jedeskog@liu.se

Inger Landström

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, PhD
Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning
Linköping University
Email: inger.landstrom@liu.se

Abstract

This article is focused on Swedish folk high schools and study associations as
organisational settings (and not explicitly at teaching efforts and educational
activities). It concerns results from a research project about introducing and
implementing information and communication technology (ICT) in these
value based organisations. Our research has mainly been conducted through
interviews with people engaged on different organisational levels. In this
article empirical results are analysed in relation to actor-network theory
(ANT). Human and non-human actors are linked together in a web of
relationships referred to as an actor-network. Interaction among actors,
contradictory roles of ICT and relations to essential values in these
organisations are discussed.

Keywords: Information communication technology; popular adult education
organizations

Introduction

The relationship between information and communication technology, ICT1,

and organisation has been paid attention to by researchers during the last
decades. In organisations, in general, ICT applications become more and more
complex but also more tightly integrated. ICT is a crucial, powerful factor as it
simultaneously is seen to have a transformative capacity that enables and
facilitates restructuring or changing of organisations and their members, in
particular related to organisational, economic and social consequences
(Bloomfield et al., 1997; Monteiro, 2000). Furthermore, it has become
increasingly apparent how new technologies play a key role in organisations
(Lanzara & Morner, 2003). There also exists a mutual dependency between

Seminar.net - International journal of media, technology and lifelong learning
Vol. 5 – Issue 2 – 2009

the use of technology and social context. If there is a need for information and
communication the technological push is matched by the demanding pull in
the organisation (Orlikowski & Robey, 1991; Bloomfield et al., 1997;). Thus the
relationship between ICT and organisation can be seen as aspects of social
structure that are mutually implicated. However, so far, there have only been
two studies, a survey carried out in 2003, focusing the use of ICT in Swedish
popular adult education organisations (Landström, 2004) and a follow-up
(Mellberg, 2007). These studies were aimed to get knowledge about the use of
ICT, organisational conditions and strategies, according to administration,
communication and pedagogical settings. Accordingly there is a demand for
research focusing the interaction between ICT and the organisational
dimension in these settings.

The aim of this article is to from an organisational point of view investigate
and describe what happens in popular adult education organisations, such as
folk high schools and study associations, when ICT is introduced. What is the
role of ICT? What does the interaction between ICT and different employees in
these organisations look like? The article concerns results from a research
project2 about introducing and implementing ICT in these value based
organisations.

Swedish popular adult education

In Sweden folk high schools and study associations constitute the ‘popular’, or
‘liberal’, non-formal and voluntary educational system for adults, but finan-
cially supported by the state. 3 ’Folkbildning’ refers in turn to study circles,
courses and cultural activities organised by these organisations. The term is
difficult to translate in a good way. In Swedish ’folk’ means ’people’ and ’bild-
ning’ means ’enlightenment’. The term ’folkbildare’ refers to teachers, study
circle leaders, administrators or project leaders who are working within folk
high schools and study organisations.

Swedish popular adult education has a long and strong tradition since the 19th
century. What is unique in this sphere of educational activities compared to
other educational institutions and working places, are the non-profit character
of work and the organisational independence towards educational regulations
for the public school system. Owners of folk high schools and study
associations are county councils, popular movements and civic organisations
with manifold interests. Often they declare particular values or political
ideologies. About a third of the folk high schools have county councils as
trustees connected to regional public sector organisations. All these
educational organisations are traditionally value based and in their sphere of
activities more or less oriented towards the civil society. Besides education
they arrange a broad range of cultural activities.

In practice the democratic intentions are manifested in the whole
organisation, not just in teaching and learning settings where all members,
working in groups and study-circles, are said to be equally taking part in the
dialogue. The face-to-face interaction is an essential platform as well as active
participation. The importance of dialogue is stressed in these contexts and as a
consequence an electronic network, Folkbildning.net, has been built up to
offer options to communicate virtually on net, meant as a complement to real
face-to-face interaction (FBR, 2005, 2008). In 1996 the popular adult
education was offered subsidies with the aim to develop and try out methods
for the pedagogical activities in distance education, using ICT (Andersson,
2002).

There are no regulations from the state when it comes to course content or
teaching methods. The folk high schools are free to create courses according to
their particular interests and own profile. To attend a folk high school you

Seminar.net - International journal of media, technology and lifelong learning
Vol. 5 – Issue 2 – 2009

have to be at least 18 years old. Normally people with short earlier schooling
are preferred for admission. All schools have a general long-term course quali-
fying for studies at university, besides many long- and short-term specialised
courses in music, media, arts, handicraft, theatre and languages, some of them
vocational. Study associations organise mainly study circles, but also, for
example, public cultural events. Every study association has more or less its
own profile. The activities are very much the same as in the folk high schools,
however, running more infrequently, mostly a couple of hours once a week
(Laginder & Landström, 2005).

Theoretical framework

Focus is on the role of ICT as well as the interaction between ICT and
employees in folk high schools and study associations, organisations with a
traditionally strong anchorage in face-to-face interactions. Four different
settings were selected and visited in 2005–2006.

Concepts of the actor-network theory, ANT, are used as tools of analysis to
understand the role of ICT in these contexts. The theory describes how actors
mutually create and assign each other roles in constructing and working in
networks. The interaction among actors involved is stressed. Actor and
network constantly redefine each other; one is dependent on the other. The
actor-network theory claims that any actor, whether person, object or
organisation is equally important to a social network. Thus, human and non-
human actors are linked together in a web of relationships referred to as an
actor network (Latour, 1987). Developed as an analysis of scientific and
technological artefacts, ANT’s theoretical richness derives from its refusal to
reduce explanations to either natural, social or discursive categories while
recognizing the significance of each (Latour, 1993).

Interaction between people and technology is looked upon as a socio-
technological whole, in which the human and the non-human are assigned
equal value in terms of negotiations. An important component of the actor-
network theory among the actors is the negotiation of their roles with other
actors when achieving their own positions by participating in the network. The
whole process, e.g. the introduction of ICT, deals with processes of
negotiations that include strategies to mobilize allies, actors who represent the
initiators constituents properly, to get the innovation stabilized and
institutionalized. Thus, from an ANT perspective, everything in social life can
be seen as the result of successfully negotiated networks (Latour, 1987, 1998).
In this approach, the role of technology, such as of ICT, is treated in the same
way as that of the human actors, which means that even non-human actors can
be assigned power to affect the setting. When developing technologies,
interests of various actors will become embedded in the artefact, so-called
inscriptions. Because technologies are social artefacts their material form and
function will embody their sponsors’ and developers’ objectives, values,
interests and knowledge of that technology. Social meaning but also power can
be inscribed into any material or medium including formal texts and technical
objects. That means that components of organised human agency and
knowledge are inscribed into and delegated to technology. Non-human
artefacts can be used as delegates for particular human interests as well as
hide decision processes from view (Callon, 1991; Bloomfield et al., 1997;
Lanzara & Morner, 2003). The way that technologies are shaped by actors and
how in turn actors are shaped by technologies reflects the declaration of actor-
network theory that the world is full of hybrid entities containing both human
and non-human elements whose analytic separation is difficult (Latour, 1993).
In the networks that thereby emerge and in which both people and artefacts
are integral parts, everyone is viewed as an actor whose influence is decided by
the development process or the social context (Grint & Woolgar, 1997; Bigum,
1998). The heterogeneous nature of actor networks also makes up the context

Seminar.net - International journal of media, technology and lifelong learning
Vol. 5 – Issue 2 – 2009

under the influence of a wide range of surrounding factors (Akrich & Latour,
1992).

Interpretations of technology, the role of ICT and technological frames, are
central to understanding technological development, use and change in
organisations. Technological frames are cognitive structures or mental models
that are held by individuals or by groups of individuals. The concept
technological frame is used for examining the underlying assumptions,
expectations and knowledge that people use to understand technology, here in
organisations (Orlikowski & Gash, 1994).

There is no orthodoxy in ANT and different authors use the approach in
substantially different ways (Latour, 1987). Hence, the way the theoretical
frame, actor-network theory, is used in this article to some extent means a
limitation of the theory as the concept actor is the main point. The interaction
between the non-human actor, ICT, and human actors is the prominent figure.
The concept network, certainly a part of the interaction, mostly constitutes the
background, here actors at the organisational level in these popular adult
education organisations. When analysing what happens in these organisations
when ICT is introduced, interaction, negotiation, power, inscription and
technological frames are the main concepts dealt with.

Four case studies

The empirical base is case studies involving two folk high schools with dis-
similar ownership, and two local study association settings, also grounded and
run by various popular (or social) movements. It means that two folk high
school settings and two study associations have been involved and similarly
examined, in total four units. They are located in different parts of Sweden, to
get geographical diffusion. These four are examples of organisations that
constitute the popular non-formal and voluntary educational system for adults
in Sweden.

The research has mainly been conducted through interviews. In all 33
interviews took place, each of them for the duration of 1–2 hours. Employees
and decision makers engaged at different organisational levels, mainly local
and regional, and with varying focus due to their differing tasks were
interviewed. Typical assignments for employees within the organisations,
beside educational activities, are supervising, course administration and
market-oriented activities. The empirical data was accomplished by qualitative
analysis (Starrin & Svensson, 1994) related to the actor network theory
(Latour, 1987, 1993).

The four visited settings will be presented below.

Character of the folk high schools and the study
associations

The first folk high school visited belongs to the trade union and is located in
the countryside near a big city. It was started in the middle of the 20th century
by the labour movement to recruit participants from the whole country to
short-term trade union and political courses. In 2005, when visiting the
school, a distance course concerning trade union and political issues was
offered. In this context ICT appears as a natural tool at an organisational level
but also in courses aiming at information and communication activities. The
second folk high school, run by a county council, is still a typical boarding
school with an aesthetic profile. This school was established at the end of the
19th century to fulfil regional needs of education for the youth in a rural area.
The school culture rests on a Grundtvigian and humanistic tradition. ICT is

Seminar.net - International journal of media, technology and lifelong learning
Vol. 5 – Issue 2 – 2009

important, besides being an administrative tool, mainly for conducting a
‘Writers (authors) course’ at distance. Both folk high schools also had one
branch school each where most students were immigrants participating in
general long-term courses.

The two study associations are rooted in different popular movements.
Traditional interests of the first one, a local setting of the Adult Education
Association, are about rural areas and regional development. Target groups
are immigrants, senior citizens and disabled youth. A lot of study circle
activities concern aesthetic subjects and handicraft, but also relevant
ICT/computer courses. The second local setting consists of two earlier study
associations that some years ago joined together in the Census Study
Association. With the fusion two different cultures were combined, a religious
and social organisation and an organisation representing salaried employees.
The offering of courses is fairly wide, sometimes with ICT support. There are
courses concerning existential issues, language and music, as well as courses
aimed at vocational certificates in ‘economic’ subjects. Target groups are
mainly immigrants, senior citizens and employees needing further training
due to their professions.

Henceforth the four cases are generally not separated but looked upon as one
institutional context of popular adult education.

ICT – an actor of change

A general conclusion drawn from our empirical data is that in the early 21st
century computerising of the administration in these popular adult education
organisations has turned out to be more and more common, as in other kinds
of organisations (cf: Bloomfield et al., 1997; Monteiro, 2000). The greatest
importance of ICT is connected to the central administrative system, dealing
with economic matters. However, the role of ICT is not equally strong in all of
the four organisations. The trade union school seems to be the most frequent
ICT-user, probably because of its close relationship to the network of trade
union organisations outside the folk high school. In trade union settings ICT
was strategically introduced already in the 90s as an administrative tool.
Furthermore, in this folk high school the use of ICT was early on regarded as a
guarantee for “the quality of popular adult education”, with dialogue as a key
word. One of the informants states that:

Everyone was given the possibility to communicate with everyone else on
the net.

Any actor is looked upon as equally important to the network within the
organisation.

The popular adult education settings are not isolated but have to be regarded
as a part of society, not only influenced by the implementation of ICT.
Competition with other agents and economic realities are other tangible
conditions. The increasing amount of distance courses (cf: Byström et al.,
2004) is one example of how to claim the existence of this kind of
organisations. The role of ICT might strengthen these organisations as
regarding this non- human actor as a facilitator of communication,
contributing to promote ‘the democratic development in society’, for example
by inviting everyone to take part in their courses without geographical
limitations. According to the ideological platform of the popular organisations,
for example due to the importance of face-to-face interactions and discussions,
virtual meetings imply a change. Participating in virtual distance courses
means activities independent of time and distance on one hand, but on the

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Vol. 5 – Issue 2 – 2009

other there will be a loss of the close individual face-to-face dimensions. One
of the informants states:

The perspective of the specific popular adult education is lost” and the
folk high school is compared to a correspondence school.

Moreover distance courses and the use of ICT may constitute a threat to the
existence of folk high schools in their traditional form as a boarding school,
because of financial reasons. Especially in some target groups’ perspectives it
is cheaper to take part in a course online than attend a course physically.

Not just the way of distributing courses but also the content of affording
courses, distance courses included, means a change. There seems to be an
increasing amount of courses with quite a new content in these traditional
popular settings, like keep-fit measures, licence to drive a horse transport,
sacred dancing etc., sometimes with ICT support. This change is to be
understood in relation to current trends but also as a strategy of survival for
these organisations, threatened for example by the widespread access to ICT,
Internet, in Sweden. In 2007 more than 80 percent had access to Internet at
home (SCB, 2007). A lot of people, who earlier visited popular adult education
organisations may nowadays pursue interesting activities on their own without
organisational involvement. Technological affordances also offer possibilities
to take part in e-learning settings and courses all over the world. The role of
ICT in that context is not just that of a competitor to popular adult education
actors but simultaneously a challenger and an actor of change regarding
structure as well as content of the organisations.

Based on our empirical data the social context of those four value based
settings seems to be influenced not just by changes and opinions in the
surrounding society but also by the affordances by the non-human actor ICT
(Akrich & Latour 1992; Grint & Wolgar, 1997). In the following we will go on to
examine the interaction among human and non-human actors in these social
contexts.

Contradictory roles of ICT

People interact differently with the non-human actor, ICT, due to their
individual technological frames such as needs, earlier experiences, interest in
technology etc. The extent and use of applications differs in the organisations
among the employees. Some of them have as a matter of course integrated ICT
as a collaborator, a kind of equivalent actor, in their daily life both inside,
among the staff, and outside the organisation. Others consciously strive, and
manage, to reduce their interaction with ICT radically. Working all day at a
computer in the office means lack of interest for using ICT outside work. An
administrator comments:

I have not got any computer at home and I do not want any either.

ICT has got the role of a ‘nobody’ in her private life. The interaction between
the actors is reduced and ICT has got the role of an alien.

The individual interaction with ICT is also influenced by the length of the
period as an employee in the organisation. There is a difference in human
relationship to ICT according to “who was inviting to the meeting”. With more
than ten years in the organisation, you probably were there before the non-
human actor ICT appeared, and may experience a pressure, f.ex. from the
management, to accept the influence of a new powerful actor. When asked
about the introduction of ICT in the organisation some years ago there were
comments like: “One day ICT just occurred” without asking for it, nor realising
its roles. In cases like this the role of ICT may be that of an alien introduced

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without any negotiations (Grint & Woolgar, 1998). On the other hand there are
employees, newcomers, mainly young males, who as economists have an
intense interaction with ICT. According to their ICT competences they are not
just responsible for ICT in the organisations but are also regarded as ‘an
expert’ involved in projects at national levels aimed to implement ICT for
administrative purposes. ICT is by them seen as an ally, a kind of gatekeeper
and assisting authority, inviting them into the decision making level of the
organisation. The non-human actor is even strengthening other actors’ power
in the organisation.

ICT is often looked upon as a natural tool, a facilitator, making work easier
and quicker, also as a rapid distributor of information. From a hierarchical
top-down perspective ICT can be seen as a powerful promoter, but also as a
distance maker, when distributing messages from the national to the local
level, from management to practice. In that sense ICT implicitly is able to
include inscriptions, ideas and demands, hidden in the non-human actor. The
non-human actor again demonstrates its, to some extent, embedded power.
Employees claim that opportunities for dialogues and negotiations between
levels have been changed, mostly limited. When ICT has got the role of a
distributor of information from a ‘bottom-up’ perspective it usually deals with
reporting local activities and economy, asked for by the management. More
seldom there is a spontaneous communication between the different levels in
these organisations, ICT serving as a ‘democratic tool’ in the opposite
direction, a way for the management to get informed by the local employees.
Findings like this may be applied to any other organisation (cf: Lanzara &
Morner, 2003) but have to be given particular attention in those kind of value
based organisations dealt with in the article where democracy and
participation are guiding stars.

As an employee you are expected to take part in discussions and decision
making, a democratic policy emphasized by these organisations. In addition,
there is an amount of written information circulating inside and outside the
organisation, not always relevant for everyone. This amount of information
may cause organisations suffering from stress to attribute ICT the role of a
stress factor, expressed by an administrator.

Everything nowadays tends to go faster, we are demanding rapid answers
from each other, that is why we are sending e-mails all the time also
inside our organisation. That also means if you do not answer your e-
mails you are supposed to accept the content, even if you have not got
time to read it.

The comment also demonstrates a kind of democratic dilemma. You get an
opportunity to be an involved and well-informed employee sometimes
overwhelmed by reading messages or to be a perhaps non-informed employee
selecting your messages. Some employees are even asking for support by
selecting information before distribution.

From a hierarchical perspective the individual interaction with ICT might to
some extent depend on the individual position in the organisation. At the
management level, for example, there is mostly an active and intense
interaction with ICT and the attitude to ICT is rather inviting too. ICT is again
an ally. However, the role of ICT does not differ just according to technological
frames but also to the social context and individual missions in the
organisation (cf: Walsham & Sahay, 1999; Orlikowski & Robey, 1991). ICT
seems to contribute to strengthen already powerful actors’ positions within
these organisations.

In our empirical data there is one group of actors whose interaction with ICT
obviously differs from the others, the study circle leaders. They are working
part-time only a few hours a week and do not have an office or computer at

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Vol. 5 – Issue 2 – 2009

work. Often their courses are located somewhere else, at a school or a hospital
for instance. This means that they seldom get involved in small talk and
spontaneous information. They are, compared to all other groups in these
organisations, less equipped and therefore forced to use their private
computers, if any. Although study circle leaders are an important group
managing the main activities in their organisations they are mostly excluded
from information and communication on the intranet. Reasons pointed out
are financial restrictions, part-time employment and a supposed engagement
in a competing study association. Hence, there again might be a connection
between a powerful position in these organisations and an active interaction
with ICT?

Furthermore, the role of ICT as a controller is a question of power and
possibility for actors to participate in the organisational life. Red flags and
messages as – ‘sender has requested notification that you have seen this’ –
may serve as a controlling indicator, again an inscription embedded in
technology. To quote an executive at the local office:

We have got an account applied for everyone using the net. That means
that we know exactly who is online, every moment. And we also know, if
we need to, because of security reasons, where they are surfing. So we are
able to control everything.

ICT, when allied with authorities, is assisting not just when controlling
employees’ fulfilment of duties but also their individual interaction with ICT.
The non-human actor then becomes part of the power concentration,
sometimes in an invisible manner like a ‘controlling eye’, but is also serving as
a means demonstrating employees’ abilities and capacities to handle amounts
of information up towards the management level of the organisation.

Even when technology is frequently used, and its possibilities in respect to
communication are accepted, employees regardless of hierarchical position
recommend the physical meetings face-to-face. This is a traditional expression
according to the Swedish popular adult education settings. Technology is not
always viewed as the best way to convey a message due to the weight of the
body language hardly possible to mediate electronically. The empirical data
also demonstrates how a more technological approach to communication, and
the role of ICT, might cause more distance between human actors. To avoid
the role of ICT as a distance maker some employees meet regularly every day
face-to-face or use the phone when communicating. ICT, in terms of the
computer, is by them consciously excluded and again reduced to the role of a
‘nobody’.

Thus human actors have at least a twofold relationship to ICT. For example, on
one hand ICT is made an actor, included and active in the interaction and used
to assist in everyday work, an ally. In this role ICT can be understood as an
independent actor. But on the other hand ICT can be a ‘nobody’, consciously
excluded by human actors, for example when employees refuse to open e-
mails or open them just to get rid of annoying ‘red flags’ (unopened messages),
as a strategy to survive a stressful situation. In negotiations the non-human
actor then fails to be equal to the human actors, an alien. That means a
conscious human decision, to reduce the role of ICT.

To sum up, findings from our empirical data demonstrate that the non-human
actor, ICT, is mainly to be regarded as a powerful actor in these organisations,
an ally, just occasionally by some employees treated as a ‘nobody’, an alien.

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Conclusions

Our empirical findings expose contradictory roles of ICT in the popular adult
education organisations such as: Facilitator, Assistant, Promoter, Distributor,
Stress factor, Controller, Distance maker, Gatekeeper, Authority, and ‘A
nobody’. Some of the roles are contributing to an intense interaction and
negotiations with human actors, an alliance. ICT is made an ally in all
categories of human actors to the extent it is found appropriate for them to
use. Concerning the relation between hierarchical levels in the organisations
ICT has become an ally mostly for administration and management, but also
for those human actors who get access to networks within the organisation.
The individual position in the organisation influences the interaction with ICT.
If you are looked upon as a more or less powerful actor in the organisation,
you probably more actively take part in the interaction. Technological frames
may also contribute to a more accepting attitude to the role of ICT, a
relationship that can be characterized as an alliance involving actors assigned
equal conditions dependant on each other (Latour, 1987, 1998).
Simultaneously there are to some extent human actors in these organisations
demonstrating non- acceptance related to their technological frames, then
treating ICT as a ‘nobody’ (Bigum, 1998). On the other hand ICT demonstrates
power and authority contributing to other actors’ exclusion from the network.
When ICT is not offered as a tool it becomes an alien in the work for those
excluded, e.g. study circle leaders. But it also might be possible to conclude
that ICT in turn is excluded as a conscious decision, at least by some of them.
However, it has to be taken into consideration that traditionally study circle
leaders are autonomous and not involved in the daily organisational life in the
study associations (Grint & Wolgar, 1997).

ICT appears to be an actor of influence in interactions and negotiations with
human actors at the organisational level in the four visited settings. From an
actor-network perspective, related to these value based organisations, the non-
human actor, ICT, can be regarded as one actor among others, but mostly a
rather powerful one with embedded inscriptions representing interests and
values (Callon, 1991) not necessarily in agreement with those of the popular
adult education settings. That also means that prominent democratic values in
these organisations, like participation, dialogue and democracy, in some
contexts tend to be less focused than before. However, the increasing number
of employees, newcomers without explicit traditional popular educational
experiences and ideological views, may also contribute to this trend. The ideas
of the popular adult education settings are not as evident and stressed as
before for all employees. Besides changes in society, related to societal and
economical conditions, requirements and demands from new target groups,
e.g. immigrants and unemployed as well as new expectations from youth of
today also mean changes inside the organisations. The competition among
educational organisations, with or without ICT profiles, is another important
factor influencing changes, stressed by the employees in public adult education
settings.

Many actors of today are aware of the built-in possibilities in information and
communication technology and do not want to turn back. In introducing and
implementing ICT however, there have often been real enthusiasts, early
adopters and innovators, taking it in use at the same time as those who adopt a
wait-and-see policy tried to keep it back (Jedeskog, 1996). Furthermore, ICT
demands specific competences that force employees to lifelong learning in a
different way than before, as new technological innovations appear all the
time. A varying attitude between forerunners and stragglers, between
gatekeepers and the driving forces implementing ICT, is still there but the gap
has narrowed (cf: Landström, 2004).

To sum up, the non-human actor operates in a context influenced by a lot of
surrounding factors. However, the study has pointed out ICT as a rather

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Vol. 5 – Issue 2 – 2009

powerful actor also in popular adult education organisations, allied
particularly to other powerful actors. A next step in using this power of ICT
would be to employ it as a facilitator aimed to more explicitly strengthen the
democratic values of these organisations. The power of ICT in these contexts
may require other actors in the network to become actors contributing to
improve ‘the democratic development in society’ and ‘the public discussion’
inside and outside these organisations.

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1 ICT – Information and Communication Technology, to underline the important
communication function added to the computer. The kind of technology focused in our
project is mainly work place computers (they could either be stationary or laptops). The
applications are the Internet, e-mail and administration and office-applications.

2 “ICT-strategies, the identity of folk enlightenment and networks in popular adult
education organisations”, running 2005–2007. The aim of the research project has
been to create new knowledge about what happens when the new technology for
information and communication meets the particular ideological views and frameworks
in organisations of popular education [folkbildning] (Landström, Jedeskog &
Andersson, 2007).

3 In 2006 there were 148 folk high schools and 9 study associations divided into 428
local settings. (FBR 2006).