How teachers navigate the challenges of inclusive adult education
The case of local Swedish adult education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.6009Keywords:
teachers, inclusive education, adult education, municipal adult education, theory of practice architectureAbstract
There is growing research interest in how adult education can better respond to an increasingly diverse student population as part of realising inclusive education. However, less attention has been given to practice oriented perspectives that examine how inclusion is enacted as a dynamic, situated process in everyday teaching. This study examines how teachers navigate the challenges involved in shaping inclusive adult education in Swedish municipal adult education (SMAE), drawing on the theory of practice architectures. Qualitative survey data were collected from teachers in eight SMAE institutions. The findings show that teachers encounter challenges embedded in cultural-discursive, material-economic, and social-political arrangements within a marketised system. These arrangements both enable and constrain their efforts to realise inclusive education. Teachers respond by adopting different strategies, ranging from disengagement and workaround solutions to market responsive and professionally accountable approaches, illustrating the uneven conditions shaping inclusive practice.
References
Ainscow, M. (2020). Promoting inclusion and equity in education: Lessons from international experiences. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, 6(1), 7-16.
Ainscow, M., Booth, T., & Dyson, A. (2006). Improving Schools, Developing Inclusion. Routledge.
Bernhard, M., & Van Daele, C. (2023). Practice Architecture in Community Development: Mapping Traditions in Learning and Action. The Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education / La revue canadienne pour l’étude de l’éducation des adultes, 35(2), 75-91.
Bishnoi, S., & Godara, V. (2024). Adult Learners and Inclusive Education. International Journal for Research Trends in Social Science & Humanities, 2(6), 808-811. https://ijrtssh.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/ijrtsshvol_2issue6_151.pdf
Boeren, E. (2017). Researching Lifelong Learning Participation through an Interdisciplinary Lens. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 40(3), 299-310.
Booth, T., & Ainscow, M. (2011). Index for inclusion: Developing learning and participation in schools (3rd ed.). Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education. https://prsinstitute.org/downloads/related/education/IndexforInclusion.pdf
Eriksson, D. V. (2024). Discourse(s) of inclusion in adult education curricula – the case of Sweden. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 44(2), 153-167.
Fejes, A., & Henning Loeb, I. (2021). Om Komvux och skolutveckling [About municipal adult education and school improvement]. In Å. Hirsch & A. Olin (Eds.), Skolutveckling i teori och praktik (pp. 221-234). Gleerups.
Fejes, A., Runesdotter, C., & Wärvik, G.-B. (2016). Marketisation of adult education: Principals as business leaders, standardised teachers and responsibilised students. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 35(6), 664-681.
Fenwick, T., & Tennant, M. (2020). Understanding Adult Learners. In G. Foley (Ed.), Dimensions of Adult Learning (pp. 55-73). Routledge.
Florian, L., & Black-Hawkins, K. (2011). Exploring inclusive pedagogy. British Educational Research Journal, 37(5), 813-828.
Graham, L. (Ed.). (2020). Inclusive education for the 21st Century: Theory, policy and practice. Routledge.
Green, A., Brennan Kemmis, R., Choy, S., & Henning Loeb, I. (2017). Using the Theory of Practice Architectures to Explore VET in Schools Teachers’ Pedagogy. In K. Mahon, S. Francisco, & S. Kemmis (Eds.), Exploring Education and Professional Practice (pp. 121-138). Springer.
Grootenboer, P., & Edwards-Groves, C. (2023). The Theory of Practice Architectures; Researching Practices. Springer.
Gümüş, S., Arar, K., & Oplatka, I. (2021). Review of International Research on School Leadership for Social Justice, Equity and Diversity. Journal of Educational Administration and History, 53(1), 81-99.
Heimo, S., Pastuhov, A., & Salo, P. (2025). Projectification—an elephant in the rooms of popular education? An action research study of an adult educators’ developmental practices. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 44(6), 631-646.
Holmqvist, D., Andersson, P., & Muhrman, K. (2024). Fast Delivery, on Demand: How Flexibility and Individualization Policy Are Enacted in Swedish Municipal Adult Education. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, 10(1), 60-72.
Kemmis, S., Edwards-Groves, C., Wilkinson, J., & Hardy, I. (2012). Ecologies of practices. In P. Hager, A. Lee, & A. Reich (Eds.), Practice, learning and change: Practice-theory perspectives on professional learning (Vol. 8, pp. 33-49). Springer.
Kemmis, S., & Grootenboer, P. (2008). Situating praxis in practice: Practice architectures and the cultural, social and material conditions for practice. In P. Salo & S. Kemmis (Eds.), Enabling Praxis (pp. 37-62). Brill.
Kemmis, S., Wilkinson, J., Edwards-Groves, C., Hardy, I., Grootenboer, P., & Bristol, L. (2014). Praxis, practice and practice architectures. In S. Kemmis, J. Wilkinson, C. Edward-Groves, I. Hardy, P. Grootenboer & L. Bristol (Eds.), Changing Practices, Changing Education (pp. 25-41). Springer.
Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F. III, Robinson, P. A., & Swanson, R. A. (2020). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (9th ed.). Routledge.
Mahon, K., Francisco, S., & Kemmis, S. (Eds.). (2017). Exploring education and professional practice: Through the lens of practice architectures. Springer.
Mann, S., & Whitworth, J. (2017). Responsibilities and Training of Paraprofessionals in Alternative Schools: Implications for Practice. The Journal of At-Risk Issues, 20(2), 25-34. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1175699
Martin, T., & Alborz, A. (2014). Supporting the Education of Pupils with Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities: The Views of Teaching Assistants Regarding Their Own Learning and Development Needs. British Journal of Special Education, 41(3), 309-327.
Merriam, S. B., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2020). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Mitchell, D. (2018). The Ecology of Inclusive Education: Strategies to Tackle the Crisis in Educating Diverse Learners. Routledge.
Ngwenya, N., & Makoelle, T. M. (2023). Inclusion in Teaching and Learning: An Adult Education Perspective. In D. Hlalele & T. M. Makoelle (Eds.), Inclusion in Southern African Education (pp. 41-56). Springer.
Olney, T., & Wood, C. (2023). Using the Theory of Practice Architectures to establish what it means to “do” learning design, and the arrangements that enable and constrain practice. Frontiers in Education, 8, 1291032.
Oviedo, A., & Roitman, K. (2023). Adult education and belonging: A view from Ecuador. European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults, 14(3), 427-442.
Papadopoulos, D., Lumsden Wass, K., & Wärvik, G.-B. (2023). Individualising Processes in the Making: Policy Complexities and Tensions of Municipal Adult Education in Swedish for Immigrants. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 69(1), 194-207.
Portfelt, I. (2023). Principals’ influences on teaching and assessment in special education. Educational Research, 65(4), 428-443.
Portfelt, I., & Mufic, J. (2026). Principals’ Strategies to Shape Inclusive Education in Local Adult Education Institutions. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 1-18.
Raffo, C. (2011). A Long Walk to School – Global Perspectives on Inclusive Education. Journal of Educational Administration and History, 43(3), 279-281.
Rubenson, K. (2018). Conceptualizing Participation in Adult Learning and Education: Equity Issues. In M. Milana, S. Webb, J. Holford, R. Waller, & P. Jarvis (Eds.), The Palgrave International Handbook on Adult and Lifelong Education and Learning (pp. 337-357). Palgrave Macmillan.
Savvopoulos, D., Saiti, A., & Arar, K. (2022). The Role of the School Head in Inclusion and Culturally Responsive Leadership. Journal of Educational Administration and History, 56(2), 107-131.
SFS 2010:800. Skollag [Education Act]. Ministry of Education and Research. https://rkrattsbaser.gov.se/sfst?bet=2010:800
SFS 2011:1108. Förordning om vuxenutbildning [Ordinance on adult education]. Ministry of Education and Research. https://rkrattsbaser.gov.se/sfst?bet=2011:1108
SKOLFS 2012:101. Förordning om läroplan för vuxenutbildningen [Ordinance on the curriculum for adult education]. Ministry of Education and Research. https://skolfs.skolverket.se/api/document/SENASTE_LYDELSE/2012:101/pdf
Swedish National Agency for Education. (2024). Extra anpassningar, särskilt stöd och åtgärdsprogram [Regulations and accountability in issues regarding extra adjustments, special support and action program]. https://www.skolverket.se/regler-och-ansvar/ansvar-i-skolfragor/extra-anpassningar-sarskilt-stod-och-atgardsprogram
Swedish National Agency for Education. (2025). Elever och studieresultat i kommunal vuxenutbildning 2024 [Students and study achievements in municipal adult education 2024]. https://siris.skolverket.se/siris/sitevision_doc.getFile?p_id=553894
Swedish National Agency for Education. (2026a). Individuell studieplan inom kommunal vuxenutbildning [Individual study plans in municipal adult education]. https://www.skolverket.se/styrning-och-ansvar/anordna-utbildning/anordna-utbildning-inom-komvux/individuell-studieplan-inom-kommunal-vuxenutbildning
Swedish National Agency for Education. (2026b). Anordna orienteringskurser inom kommunal vuxenutbildning [Organising orientation courses in municipal adult education]. https://www.skolverket.se/styrning-och-ansvar/anordna-utbildning/anordna-utbildning-inom-komvux/anordna-orienteringskurser-inom-komvux#h-sv-default-anchor-0
Swedish Research Council. (2024). Good research practice 2024. https://www.vr.se/english/analysis/reports/our-reports/2025-07-03-good-research-practice-2024.html
UNESCO. (2009). Belém framework for action: Harnessing the power and potential of adult learning and education for a viable future. Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI), Belém do Pará, Brazil. https://uil.unesco.org/fileadmin/keydocuments/AdultEducation/en/Belém%20Framework%20for%20Action.pdf
UNESCO. (2020). Global education monitoring report: Inclusion and education – all means all (3rd ed.).
UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. (2015). Recommendation on adult learning and education. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000245179.locale=en
UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. (2022). 5th global report on adult learning and education: Citizenship education: Empowering adults for change.
United Nations. (2006). Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-persons-disabilities
United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development (A/RES/70/1). https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3923923?ln=en&v=pdf#files
Variyan, G., & Edwards-Groves, C. (2025). The theory of practice architectures and its discontents: Disturbing received wisdom to make it dangerous again. Critical Studies in Education, 66(1), 20-37.
Wildemeersch, D., & Koulaouzides, G. (2023). The paradox of exclusion through inclusion: Interpreting inclusion from a critical pedagogical perspective. European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults, 14(3), 307-323.
Åkerfeldt, A., Paul, E., & Hrastinski, S. (2025). Vuxenutbildningens distansundervisning: En villkorad flexibilitet [Distance Education in Adult Education: A Conditional Flexibility]. Educare, (4), 283-311.
Östlund, D., Barow, T., Dahlberg, K., & Johansson, A. (2021). In Between Special Needs Teachers and Students: Paraprofessionals Work in Self-Contained Classrooms for Students with Intellectual Disabilities in Sweden. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 36(2), 168-182.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ingela Portfelt
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
As RELA is an open access journal, this means that anyone who can access the Internet can freely download and read the journal. There are no commercial interests for Linköping University Electronic Press or the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults (ESREA) in publishing the journal. There are no charges for publishing authors.
The core idea of open access is that copyright remains with the author(s). However, we publish with the agreement of the author that if she or he decides later to publish the article elsewhere, that the publisher will be notified, prior to any acceptance, that the article has already been published by RELA.
When publishing with RELA, it is with the agreement of the author that if they make their article available elsewhere on the internet (for example, on their own website or an institutional website), that they will do so by making a link to the article as published in RELA using the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number of the article and acknowledge in the text of the site that the article has been previously published in RELA.
