Individualising processes in adult education : The case of Swedish for immigrants (SFI)

Adapting education to individual students is a prominent demand in the context of Swedish for immigrants (SFI). Teachers, schools, and municipal authorities are expected to establish educational frameworks corresponding to the needs of rather diverse student groups. However, such initiatives – defined here as individualising processes – are difficult to implement due to the active engagement in SFI of other societal actors related to labour market and integration policy. Establishing common grounds to address individual students’ needs is a challenge for all involved actors, because of their often conflicting agendas. Nevertheless, previous research in the area remains limited and focuses mostly on interactions between teachers and students, without problematising other actors’ active involvement. The present thesis examines how individualising processes emerge and unfold in policy and practice of SFI. Cultural-historical activity theory is employed to trace individualising processes