Popular education by and for migrants. A study of preconditions for involvement of migrant study circle participants in the Swedish Workers’ Educational Association

ABSTRACT

This article explores the role of popular education for migrants in a social movement context. The aim of this study is to explore how migrants’ societal involvement is enabled and constrained by participation in study circles organised in a local branch of the Swedish Workers’ Educational Association (ABF). The study was designed and conducted in close cooperation with ABF. Drawing on the theory of practice architectures, the preconditions for involvement of migrant study circle participants in ABF are analysed using participant interview data. The analysis of cultural-discursive, material-economic, and social-political arrangements shows how the study circles are highly integrated into various ethnic associations, thus preconditioning societal involvement with upholding an ethno-cultural heritage. Societal involvement is enabled as the participants can share social resources, information, and knowledge for both navigating in and relating to the local community and society at large. Societal involvement is constrained by scarce resources and challenges related to maintaining and developing constructive relationships, both within the group and in relation to the surrounding society.

KEYWORDS:

• Popular education
• migrants
• study circles
• labour movement
• theory of practice architectures

Introduction

The focus of this article is to explore societal involvement of migrants taking part in study circles organised in cooperation The Swedish Workers’ Study Association (Arbetarnas bildningsförbund, abbreviated “ABF”). The article, hence, addresses two themes – migrants’ participation in popular education and popular education in relation to traditional social movements. Individually, these themes have attracted considerable attention within Nordic adult education research. However, popular education, migration and social movements have not sufficiently been considered in relation to each other.

For several decades, research on popular education has focused on the potential outcomes and implications of participation in study circles and at folk high school courses – both characteristic activities for the Nordic tradition of popular education – in relation to the inclusion and integration of migrants into Swedish society (Andersson, 1999; Eriksson, 2002; Osman 1999 & 2013). The significance of the Nordic popular education tradition, and its collective and participatory working methods, in relation to the reception and societal inclusion of refugees has also recently been a recurring theme in Nordic adult education research (Fejes, 2019; Fejes, Dahlstedt, Mešić, & Nyström, 2018; Wiktorin, 2017). This interest has predominantly been linked to the increasing number of asylum seekers in Europe, not least in Sweden, during 2014 and 2015, and the massive involvement of newly arrived migrants in study circles (Fejes et al., 2018).¹ This previous research recurrently deals with the significance of popular education for the inclusion of migrants in relation to society and democracy in general, which also corresponds with the discourse on inclusion of migrants among major Swedish popular education organisations (Osman, 2013).

In the Nordic countries, there are strong links between diverse political and religious movements and the tradition of popular education (Lövgren, 2015; Nordvall & Fridolfsson, 2019). Correspondingly, research concerned with the democratic and political role of popular education have shown an interest in the link between specific social movements and their use of popular education (Arvidson 1985; Gustavsson 1991; Nordvall & Pastuhov, 2020). Even though critics have argued that this link to social movements has become far weaker than what is often assumed in both political and academic discourse on Nordic popular education (Manninen, 2017; Sundgren, 1999), it is still a point of departure when the role of popular education is discussed. In the Swedish context, popular education receives state subsidies on the premises that it should reflect a multitude of ideological and religious profiles. Accordingly, Swedish study circles are organised within study associations characterised by different ideological orientations (Åberg, 2013).

While popular education, organised by for example study associations, in general is seen as something that should be defined and organised by the participants to promote their various interests, the purpose of popular education in relation to migrant groups is often described as a process of teaching migrants to understand “Swedish democracy” (see Osman, 2013). To some extent, we argue, the idea of migrants participating in popular education in order to be fostered into more general democratic participation and to be included in society in general, not in relation to the mobilisation of specific ideological movement, is also present in previous research. Hence, there is a gap, we argue, when it comes to studying how Nordic popular education for migrants is of importance not just in relation to inclusion in society in general, but in relation to specific social and political movements. For this reason, there is a particular interest to scrutinise inclusion in-and-through popular education as part of such movements, rather than in a broader societal context.

Consequently, the intention in this article is to contribute to understanding of the significance of participation in popular education for immigrated participants in a particular movement context: the labour movement. Specifically, the aim of this study is to explore how migrants’ societal involvement is enabled and constrained by participation in study circles organised in a local branch of the Swedish Workers’ Educational Association (ABF). The following research question guides the study: How is migrants’ societal involvement enabled and constrained by participation in study circles arranged in cooperation with ABF?

This article is structured as follows. After this introduction we provide an overview of previous research on participation in study circles, paying particular attention to migrants’ participation. Thereafter we present the theoretical framework employed – the theory of practice architectures. Following this, the background and the design of the study are presented: introducing the cooperation with ABF, the municipality of Köping as well as the interview data. After this, the results of the study are presented. Lastly, the study’s results and knowledge contribution are discussed.

Study circles in relation to democracy and inclusion

Participation and the meaning individuals attribute to study circle participation and its connection to citizen engagement is a recurring theme in Nordic research on popular education. Andersson, Laginder, Larsson, and Sundgren (1996) show how participants ascribe a multitude of meanings to study circles. Overall, participants stress meanings related to social contacts, learning, and the possibility to deepen personal interests. To participate in a study circle is portrayed as a possible counterweight to the demands of everyday life or as a second chance at studies previously unattainable or unfulfilled (see also Pastuhov, 2018). The political significances ascribed historically to study circle participation, for example in the workers’ and temperance movements (Ambjörnsson, 1988; Arvidson, 1985), were not markedly apparent in the study of Andersson et al. (1996). Nonetheless, several aspects of democracy could be traced in the study circles, which at least ideally are characterised by horizontal relationships, deliberate conversations, and internal democracy (Larsson, 2001).

Several studies have highlighted how circles focusing on the participants’ personal leisure time interests can convey political and citizenship dimensions of democratic significance (for example Stenøien & Laginder, 2015; Sundgren, 1999). The possibilities of developing and deepening a profound interest can be understood as an expression of freedom, and thus, in one sense, the realisation of a democratic and equal society (Sundgren, 1999).

Regarding the relation between participation in popular education and other civic engagements, Svedberg and von Essen (2015) have in a survey study shown an interrelation between high levels of participation in popular education and high levels of engagement in other activities in civil society. From this study, however, it is not possible to draw conclusions about causes and effects. Notwithstanding, Svedberg and von Essen argue, it is reasonable to understand the activities of study associations as an infrastructure for civil society at large.

Arensmeier (2013) has studied the relation between study circle participation and social capital in a survey study of participants before and after attending a study circle. Social capital refers here to trust towards others and access to networks in associations, for example. Arensmeier’s study also shows an interrelation between study circle participation and a higher level of engagement in associations. The question of cause and effect is, however, once again hard to assess.

In other words, there is noteworthy previous research on the relation between study circle participation and its significance in a democratic perspective. The most compelling results of this research show how the motives for participation have, since the 1990s, been linked to personal spare-time interests and desires to gain knowledge through encounters with others. This does not exclude the prevalence of study circles with specific political orientation; for example, when political parties organise studies in cooperation with study associations (Nordvall & Pastuhov, 2020). However, this type of explicitly political popular education constitutes a limited part of the total number of study circles. The overall meanings of participation in study circles are characterised by a personal and an individual stance, rather than a political and collectivistic one. However, participation in study circles is connected to diverse meanings depending on the content of the circle as well as the respondent (Andersson et al., 1996).

The relation between popular education and integration or inclusion of migrants has been highlighted in different studies. Osman (2013) has studied the Swedish study associations’ different approaches towards arrangements for migrants. He shows how these approaches are informed by “a perception of difference” (Osman, 2013). According to Osman, this perception leads popular education organisations to interpret their role in integration as providing knowledge and skills for the migrants – “the Others” – to be able to engage in society. Osman shows how the study associations’ ways of describing their interventions for migrants draws on a deficit paradigm. This draws attention to lack of knowledge in this group and the need to remedy this – rather than putting the knowledge and interests of the group at the forefront, which is often depicted as an ideal of popular education. A difference is made between European and non-European migrants, where the non-Europeans are treated as a group with certain cultural deficits, a situation that is assumed to be solved through educational interventions. According to this study, the dialogue between ethnic associations and established popular education organisations is also characterised by a perception of the need to first teach the active members in the ethnic associations to embrace democratic values, before they can be included in, for example, decision-making in a popular education organisation.

The established Swedish study associations have a long-standing and comprehensive cooperation with ethnic organisations. In an evaluation, Nordzell, Håkansson, Kellokumpu, and Rydenstam (2017) show that a higher proportion of the migrant population participates in study circles compared to the total population. This pattern applies to both men and women aged 15–64. The evaluation is also based on interviews with persons with migrant background. In the interviews, the participants convey how they feel strengthened by their participation, which can be interpreted as facilitating orientation towards the surrounding society. In the study circles and associations, the participants share their experiences of encounters with Swedish society. The authors conclude that engagement in associations is meaningful and linked to study circle participation among the interviewees.

In conclusion, there are difficulties in elucidating the relation between study circle participation and the development of different kinds of involvement. Nevertheless, a significant amount of popular education in Sweden is organised as part of social movements and in close cooperation with associations. Still, we argue, this connection has not received sufficient attention within previous research, especially considering migrants’ perspectives on their engagement. To shed light on the relation between migrants’ study circle participation and societal involvement, we propose a theoretical perspective paying attention to social practices. The theory of practice architectures contributes one such perspective.

Theory of practice architectures for studying societal involvement

The theory of practice architectures provides an ontological and analytical framework for this article to study involvement in a social movement context, here especially focusing on study circle participation. The theory of practice architectures allows an exploration of the arrangements making up the preconditions for different practices, and thus provides a lens for understanding the multifaceted and intricate flow of happenings and relations that are formed and take place in educational practices (cf. Kemmis, 2019). In other words, this lens provides a possibility for “thinking about the world in motion” (Kemmis, 2019, p. 3), framed, but not determined, by different and distinctive preconditions.

Through the lens of practice architectures, the aim of education is to initiate participants into practices to support moral judgment and a good life (Heikkinen et al., 2018; Kemmis, 2019; Kemmis et al., 2014). Initiating participants into knowledge is thus an important step towards this goal, but not the main aim of education. This draws attention to the aspects of participants as being and becoming – the aspect of “knowing” rather than “knowledge” – which calls for directing research interests towards the societal dimensions of education and knowing (Heikkinen et al., 2018; Kemmis, 2019).

Practices are in this article understood to be the building blocks for understanding social reality. A practice is in this sense defined as “a socially established cooperative human activity involving utterances and forms of understanding (sayings), modes of action (doings), and ways in which people relate to one another and the world (relatings) that ‘hang together’ in characteristic ways in a distinctive ‘project’”. (Mahon, Kemmis, Francisco, & Lloyd, 2017, p. 8) Practices are thus historically embedded and enacted in different ways in response to changing circumstances.

Practices are here understood to be prefigured by different preconditions, or architectures, that enable and constrain different practices. Practice architectures make up the structures for practices to unfold. Practice architectures consist of three types of conditions or arrangements that enable and constrain different practices. “Sayings” unfold in cultural-discursive arrangements, in semantic space, through the medium of language (or discourses), in encounters between interlocutors. “Doings” unfold in material-economic arrangements, in physical space-time, through the medium of work or other activity, in encounters between embodied beings. “Relatings” unfold in social-political arrangements, in social space, through the medium of power and/or solidarity, in encounters between social beings. (Kemmis, 2019, p. 13–14; Kemmis et al., 2014)

In the analytical work of this article, attention was drawn to migrants’ societal involvement in a labour movement context, and specifically as part of a local branch of ABF. In a first step, the analytical work focused on teasing out the sayings, doings, and relatings uttered by the interviewees about their study circle participation relating to societal involvement. The actual analytical focus was thereafter directed towards distinguishing what kinds of material-economic, cultural-discursive, and social-political arrangements precondition migrants’ societal involvement, evolving through participation in study circles (understood as practices), enacted in associations cooperating with ABF in a local community. In this way, the analysis first sheds light on how the associations’ activities unfold in a material and economic (and historical) perspective. Attention is thereafter drawn to the cultural and discursive aspects of the study circle practices. Lastly, the analysis highlights questions of solidarity and power in this particular social movement context.

Through this theoretical perspective, we aim at not taking the stance of perceiving “migrant participants” as a distinct, homogenous group, that needs distinct forms of “inclusion”. Rather, migrant participants are here considered as a heterogenous group of participants, who are initiated to become included and established participants in-and-through their participation in distinct practices, in this case in study circles taking place in cooperation with ABF and different associations.

Design of the study

In the following section, the background and the design of the study are presented: introducing the municipality of Köping, the design of the study in cooperation with ABF as well as the interview data.

The local community of Köping

The municipality of Köping is a community on the western shore of lake Mälaren, with 25,950 inhabitants (in 2016). The population has increased by 1,300 or so inhabitants during the period 2006–2016. The percentage of inhabitants born abroad was 20% in 2016, which is slightly higher compared to the average in Sweden (18% in 2016) (Statistics Sweden, 2017). Manufacturing constitutes an important part of employment opportunities in Köping with 31% of the day population employed in manufacturing and production (compare to 12% in Sweden on average). For a long time, the Social Democratic Party has held the majority of seats in the municipal council. From 1934 to 1991, the Social Democrats ruled with an absolute majority. Since 1991, the Social Democrats have ruled the municipality in cooperation with the socialist Left Party (Statistics Sweden, 2017).

Since the 1990s, the local branch of ABF in Köping has cooperated with local ethnic minorities to promote integration through popular education. This has been perceived as a strategically important part of the branch activities. The integration activities are run mainly in cooperation with the ethnic member organisations in the regional district (ABF Västra Västmanland) (ABF, 2014a).

Designing the study in cooperation with ABF

To gain knowledge on how societal involvement can evolve as part of participation in study circles in a social movement context, we designed a study in close cooperation with The Swedish Workers’ Educational Association (ABF). This is an approach linked to a Nordic tradition of action research (compare e.g. Salo & Rönnerman, 2014).

ABF is the largest study association in Sweden and has close ties to the Social Democratic Party and the labour movement. Among ABFs 54 member organisations, the Social Democratic Party, the Left Party, two labour unions, and several migrant associations are found. The research questions guiding this study are also of great concern for ABF, and ABF has supported this study financially. Staff from ABF has continually been consulted during the research process and their input, especially regarding the selection of setting for the study, has been essential. However, although the research has been conducted both with economic and intellectual support from ABF, we as researchers have been offered freedom to design the study and work independently, and the results only reflect the analyses of the authors of this article. The study presented here draws on an empirical study on the study circle activities of ABF in Köping (Nordvall, Pastuhov, & Osman, 2018). The case was selected based on ABFs impression that this municipality was successful in two respects. Firstly, a comprehensive part of the activities involved migrants, usually arranged in cooperation with what internally was called ethnic associations. Secondly, these activities were regarded by ABF as especially successful, as participants have become involved in labour movement organisations to a noteworthy extent. This had provoked questions within ABF: Is our view of Köping as particularly successful regarding activities for migrants accurate? How can we understand what is taking place in Köping and what can we learn from this?

Mapping out the contexts in Köping where activities targeted at migrants are arranged, we could see that many of the study circles and other forms of popular education were arranged in cooperation with ethnic associations, rather than being solely arranged by ABF. Most of the activities were organised by organisations with names such as the Assyrian Association, the Midnimo Somali Development Association, the Somali Youth Football Association, the Arab Culture Association, and the Finnish branch of the National Pensioners’ Organization in Köping. The emerging picture – confirmed in the interviews – conveyed that these were activities organised by and for people with similar experiences of migration to Sweden. Most of the cooperation partners were associations with links to migrants from countries and regions typically marked by asylum migration (Somalia, the Middle East). In addition, there were also several associations with connections to Finland, which has historically been the origin of large numbers of labour migrants, and to former Yugoslavia, which has been the origin of both labour and asylum migrants during different periods. From this overarching mapping of the activities involving migrants, we went on to design the interview study.

Even though this is a local case study, we anticipate that the results of the studied activities in Köping can be transferred to contexts in other parts of Sweden, and elsewhere as well. Even though Köping might have unique traits, it would be unreasonable to assume that what has taken place in Köping is unique in the context of Swedish popular education. Accordingly, the results can be considered generalisable in the sense that our results can potentially be usable for other researchers and practitioners in their interpretations of cases with similarities regarding context or patterns found in our study (Larsson, 2009).

Interviews in native languages

Drawing on our overview of study circle activities targeted at migrants in Köping, we conducted interviews with participants in such study circles in 2016 and 2017. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 participants who had attended study circles targeted at migrants in Köping. We chose both female and male participants who had participated in these circles since at least 2010. The selection of interviewees was informed by an assumption about the prevalence of different participation trajectories within the identified 360 participants (Nordvall et al., 2018). We presented these criteria to ABF, whose personnel chose and contacted informants.

We assumed that many of the participants would find it less challenging to talk about their experiences in their native language. The research team had good knowledge of Finnish (spoken fluently by Pastuhov) and Somali (spoken fluently by Osman) – two of the languages spoken by several participants in the activities aimed at migrants in Köping. Finnish and Somali participants are thus overrepresented in our interviews. Notwithstanding, we have been able to acquire some distribution among the interviewees relating to countries of origin and migration backgrounds. In addition to persons from Somalia and Finland, we also have interviewees with a background from the former Yugoslavia and the Middle East.

The interview questions have been further developed from the interview guide used in the study by Andersson et al. (1996), in which the meanings of study circles for individuals and local communities were the focus. The interviews were audio recorded. The interviewing researchers compiled summaries in Swedish or English, and these summaries formed the basis for collective interpretations. Guiding questions for the interviews were: How do the participants view their study circle participation? How can study circle trajectories be related to wider biographical developments?

Ethical considerations

All interviewed participants were informed of the aim of the study and gave their written consent to participation in the study. Neither names nor gender will be revealed in the text and the depiction is anonymised. Even though ABF’s personnel have continuously been in dialogue with us, none of the interview material has been shared with them or anyone else outside the research group. Individual data on study circle participation have only been shared with the researchers as anonymised printouts, deposited in ABF’s facilities. Thus, the researchers have not established a separate register. The study has undergone ethical vetting by the Regional Ethical Review Board in Linköping and has been approved (number 2017/280–31).

Results

In the following, the results of the analysis are presented through the lens of practice architectures. The results firstly highlight the material-economic arrangements enabling and constraining migrants’ societal involvement, providing an overview and insights into the associations’ activities unfolding in physical-space time. Secondly, the cultural-discursive arrangements for involvement are scrutinised, drawing more in-depth attention to the cultural and discursive aspects of the study circle practices, as these are told and thought about by the interviewees. Thirdly, the results highlight the social-political arrangements regarding questions of solidarity and power forged in-and-through involvement in this particular social movement context.

Material-economic arrangements

The interviewees collectively provide a picture of versatile study circles and other activities they are engaged in through their respective associations. There are activities for children, youth, and adults. Some activities are aimed at all members of the association, some even to a broader audience; the main target group being the own members, however. The types of activities range from sports to culture and societal issues. There are football trainings and various cultural activities, such as dancing, handicrafts and cooking as well as some organised trips to the surrounding areas. Some of the associations organise study circles for mother tongue teaching for youngsters and provide help with homework for both youth and adults attending formal education. There are several study circles on societal, citizenship and integration issues, including computer literacy and learning Swedish language. Some of the activities are concerned with preventing the youth of falling into “bad habits”. There are, for example, study circles on drug misuse and its consequences for parents and youth. Several of the associations also help asylum seekers as well as elders to fill in different forms that are essential for communicating with different officials and government agencies.

From the interviewees’ perspective, participation in study circles is a way to concretely navigate and create a life in Sweden. One of the informants is politically active and engaged in both study circle activities and asylum issues at the time of the interview. This interviewee coordinates study circles for introducing the Swedish language and everyday knowledge about habits in Sweden, for example “how to behave in the housing cooperative’s laundry room” or “how to greet in the street”. Another interviewee correspondingly points out how participation in study circles and engaging in an association also means learning a lot about Swedish society, “to function in the Swedish society”.

The retired interviewees perceive study circles as a way to uphold a structure in day-to-day life, rather than establishing new structures. The activities of the retired interviewees consist of cooking food together, doing handicrafts and discussing day-to-day life and old memories. In the pensioners’ answers, the current activities are often contrasted to how things were previously in different Finnish associations. The past activities appear to have been more versatile than the activities now. For example, the interviewees talk about dancing and community trips, which represent a past, livelier époque. Nowadays, the pensioneers’ activities rather provide a routine in everyday life, that is depicted to be otherwise quite uneventful.

One of the major challenges facing the migrant associations, especially pointed out by some of the Somali interviewees, is the scarce resources, especially economic but also human. The community consists of low-income earners, and one interviewee talks about how the association is expected “to do more and more, particularly in relation the young men and women of the community”. Another interviewee describes that their association often does a lot in an ad hoc manner, with very limited resources. One interviewee believes that “there is a need to build capacity of the study circle leaders” for them to really be able to lead circles. This interviewee believes ABF needs to work with the association in this regard. Even though the range and variety of the associations’ activities seem to be extensive, the above-mentioned utterances highlight how the activities arranged by the associations also can be seen as insubstantial.

To summarise, the material-economic arrangements enabling migrants’ societal involvement in-and-through their study circle participation consist of support to the own community through activities providing social resources as well as information and knowledge for both navigating in and relating to the local community and society at large. Involvement is most notably constrained in a material-economic sense by the scarcity of economic and human resources possessed by the associations.

Cultural-discursive arrangements

Participation in study circles, and engaging in associations in general, is thought to be closely linked to being part of Swedish society. For newly arrived participants, this includes learning Swedish, learning about the society, or getting support for completing an education. The engagement and learning about society are understood to be about helping the participants “fulfil their dreams”, by being “part of the local community”. For the retired participants, participation in study circles is a silver lining in life and an alternative to sitting alone at home. According to one interviewee, “these Tuesdays and Thursdays [when the study circles gather] is what one’s got”. In this way, the retired interviewees can continue being part of a social community by participating in study circles.

In several of the interviewees’ accounts, participation in the associations is thought of in terms of “gaining knowledge and essential information about being an active citizen […] what are my rights and duties in Sweden”. However, participation in study circles is not only about exchange of information but also of experiences. For example, one of the Somali interviewees describes how the study circles function as a platform to navigate and relate to different official systems. This exchange of information complements the so-called “official information”. The official information illuminates for example how to enrol in a study circle or get in contact with a government agency, but it does not convey knowledge or experiences possessed by a person who has used the system. Through the exchange of experiences within one’s own group, it is possible to gain other perspectives and hear about alternative routes for achieving different goals.

In the interviewees’ accounts, societal involvement is interconnected with tackling issues related to language, both communicating in Swedish as well as upholding the groups’ native language. The official information discussed above, is generally written in Swedish – for most participants an only partially familiar language. One of the informants says: “There are many older people who can barely read and are having difficulties with the Swedish language”. It is thus considered to be important to receive information together with interpretations and complementing comments in a familiar language. Help with homework is, for similar reasons, also described as “a very critical service to the community”. In general, learning Swedish is of vital importance for several of the interviewees. The ones who talk explicitly about learning Swedish link this learning to feelings of fear or shame. One interviewee says that migrants who know some Swedish are often afraid of talking, which is why this person initiated a language café, to “get them started, make them talk„. Another interviewee points out, how the participants of aSwedish language study circle initially “were ashamed, did not dare so much”, a situation that was overcome through their participation in the study circle. However, participation in the study circles mostly happens in the groups’ native language. Especially for the retired interviewees, participation in their study circles even contributes, at least indirectly, to forgetting the Swedish language. Two interviewees talk about how some knowledge of Swedish was necessary to function at work, but now this knowledge is beginning to become forgotten.

To summarise, the cultural-discursive arrangements of study circle participation enabling societal involvement include versatile exchange of information, knowledge, and skills to navigate and relate to the surrounding society in a “safe” environment consisting of peers. Furthermore, through the study circle activities, some possible constraints to involvement are counteracted. Most notably these include insufficient proficiency in Swedish and the “shame” of not being able to speak Swedish fluently. Cultural-discursive arrangements potentially constraining involvement consist of lack of communication in Swedish, especially for the pensioneers, who might thus become less able to relate to the surrounding society.

Social-political arrangements

The associations’ activities are tightly intertwined with ambitions of being “active citizens” by providing structures in daily life. One interviewee encapsulates this: “My motive for learning [in study circles] is to be a part of the local community”. This person stresses the overall engagement in the association by arguing for the importance of being part of one’s own local community. According to another interviewee, being an active citizen means to become a productive citizen – to contribute to working life – but also to see the good sides of Swedish culture. Regarding activities aimed at the youth, there is an aspect of preventing unwanted socialisation through structure. One interviewee argues: “If we did not have these associations most of our youth would hang around the town centre or the neighbourhood, and risk internalising anti-social behaviour”. The interviewees engaging in youth activities agree that their main goal is to provide structure for the youngsters. As mentioned earlier, there are also aspects of striving to support involvement by upholding certain weekly routines in the retired participants’ activities in the Finnish associations.

The associations’ activities and the study circles are closely interconnected with societal questions of ethnicity and culture. “It is for the Finnish that I have been fighting”, one interviewee states – especially concerning the cultural and linguistic rights of the Finnish population in Sweden. Another interviewee considers active citizenship to be about passing on the Somali culture and language to the next generation. In other words, the activities aim at supporting the participants to navigate different life situations in accordance with the group’s heritage and values. Some interviewees also draw attention to the struggles of becoming a good, active citizen because of their background. One interviewee points out how difficult it is not to make mistakes in a new society, which makes it important for the surrounding society not to judge persons with migration background after a first mistake. Another interviewee points out how their association cooperates and partners closely with ABF, but no one from their ethnic group is employed by ABF at district level. Even though the overall picture the interviewees provide shows a positive relationship to the surrounding society, these reflections convey that there are also some contestations.

Regarding the relationships forming in the associations, and especially in the study circles, several of the interviewees stress equality as a guiding principle. The interviewees convey a picture of study circle participation as a safe place for learning. As one interviewee puts it: “To learn Swedish in a study circle provides a secure setting for making mistakes and not being ashamed since all are in the same situation and you learn at your own pace”. There is also an aspect of care and solidarity, highlighted by one retired interviewee: “The older we get, the more we care about each other”. However, some retired interviewees also express a certain dissatisfaction with the order of things in the study circle activities. “It was more pleasant before, when there was more activity”. Another retired interviewee has tried to change the order of things by suggesting new activities to deepen mutual exchange of the study circle, but “it is hard to get people to begin with something”. In other words, some of the retired interviewees perceive the activities as characterised by a kind of passive equality, even stagnation.

All the interviewees, except one, are talking from a leader position, seeing value in being able to function as a role model. One of the informants concludes by stating: “I’m social, I want to share my knowledge, and I want to remove people from their loneliness”. One religiously engaged interviewee describes the role as a leader for compatriots in the encounter with Swedish society: “I am often asked for advice in different questions concerning life in Sweden. These questions and the dialogue we have is about what the teachings of Islam say about a certain Swedish phenomenon”. Questions of leadership are seldom free of disagreements, and some interviewees also suggest that questions concerning leadership can lead to conflict, for example as views of the “direction of the association” differ or in another case where “several were willing to be leaders”. However, in general, the interviewees seem to be respected for their work for the community. In the descriptions of the involvement in the associations, a picture also emerges of building relations with the surrounding society through the roles of leadership. The relation to ABF, consisting among other things of recurring contacts with the personnel of the study association, is an example of this. The interviewees’ leadership roles provide possibilities to forge further involvement beyond their association, both for themselves as well as the group they are representing. Overall, the roles of leadership are closely interconnected with representing the own group, maintaining cultural customs, as well as upholding religious norms in a secular society.

In sum, the social-political arrangements of study circle participation preconditioning societal involvement concern balancing functioning in the official “Swedish” society and upholding an ethno-cultural heritage. Finding fruitful positions in this balance is enabled by providing social structures for daily life, by equal relationships in the study circles, and by the possibility to take on roles of leadership. Arrangements constraining involvement include complex and wicked struggles that might be hard to tackle in the associations; combatting passive stances towards developing activities, confronting prejudice in the surrounding society, and resolving conflicts of leadership within the group.

Concluding discussion

The aim of this study was to explore how migrants’ societal involvement is enabled and constrained by participation in study circles organised in a local branch of ABF. The results show how these study circles are strongly integrated in various ethnic associations where participants get involved in their local communities. We can also conclude that the initial impression of ABF informing this study – that the participants in activities targeted at migrants in Köping also find ways to engage in the surrounding society – seems to be accurate to some extent.

The arrangements enabling migrants’ societal involvement help distribute social resources, information, and knowledge for both navigating in and relating to the local community and society at large. The study circles provide a “safe” peer group for learning and taking on leader roles. The interviewees seem to be strengthened by their participation (compare Nordzell et al., 2017) as they can overcome for example language issues or find ways to uphold desirable structures in daily life and thus be part of the surrounding society. Arrangements constraining involvement include scarce resources and challenges for maintaining and developing constructive relationships, both within the group and in relation to the surrounding society. These are complex problems that the interviewees understandably did not address extensively in the interviews. To tease out such intricate challenges, more in-depth studies would be required.

The preconditions enabling and constraining migrants’ societal involvement found in this study highlight the picture that the study circles are highly self-organised by the ethnic associations. The activities do not appear to be controlled by ABF, but rather strongly integrated into the associations. We discern an opposite tendency to that found by Osman (2013) which highlighted the integration work of study associations. The activities described by the informants seem to be formed according to their own needs and interests, rather than to a paradigm of knowledge deficit. Further, it appears that the interviewees, regarding themselves as leader figures, develop networks with the surrounding society, trying to extend the networks to the rest of their group.

For the four Finnish informants, study circle participation does not appear to be a direct way into Swedish society, nor a way to establish a relation to it, whether it be in present or past time. Instead, the focus of the informants’ accounts is on the ethno-cultural functions of the associations, mainly as an opportunity to socialise in Finnish. The study circle participation appears thus to be a continuation of an established way of safeguarding the characteristics of the group.

The focus on preservation of Finnish customs could be seen as a sign that this group perceives themselves as a minority rather than a migrant group. A minority is a part of the established population, having a certain, stable position, and not needing “integration” or “inclusion” in the same way as more newly arrived migrants, who might be compelled to negotiate questions about identity and position. As a minority with a somewhat established societal position, it is possible to relate to the majority and other societal groups assuming the others are familiar with their own group’s position.

Even though the value of supporting their own group and its ethno-cultural identity is emphasised by other interviewees as well, it is evident how this is put in relation to the Swedish majority. The other interviewees are younger (middle-aged or younger) than the Finnish interviewees, and their backgrounds are from Somalia, the former Yugoslavia, and the Middle East. Both these aspects are likely to affect which meanings are ascribed to the study circles. These informants are of working age and aspire to a place in working life and/or have children they are responsible for. Most of them have migrated relatively recently and represent groups without the same historical roots and status as the Finnish group.

Social cohesion and the possibility to deepen an interest has been pinpointed by previous research as the most prominent meanings of study circle participation. There appears to be a trend of individualisation of study circle participation in recent years, which is often contrasted to a presumed collective approach to participation in the popular education of the popular movements of the early 20^th century (Andersson et al., 1996; Stenøien & Laginder, 2015; Sundgren, 1999). There are traits in our study both confirming and refuting this picture. According to our interviewees, the circles can provide a possibility to deepen knowledge of personal interest (for example concerning the Swedish language and society, childrearing, and religion). Simultaneously, the significance of serving their own group is prevalent in the interviewees’ answers. The considerable collective role ascribed to study circle participation differ from previous studies on contemporary study circle participation. Several of our interviewees put great value on acting as representatives for their group.

Historically, the primary target group of ABF has been the working class. The collectives emerging from our interview material are based on ethno-cultural and religious grounds. This does not exclude the possibility that social and political dimensions form these collectives. The Finnish migrants are not solely connected by their language and country of origin. Most of them have also been employed in industry and are of working-class background. The members of the Somali group do not only share the experience of leaving the same country and some common cultural frames of reference, but they also share similar social experiences gained in Sweden; many live in the same or similar neighbourhoods and have experienced difficulties in entering the labour market. A central goal for the activities most of our interviewees describe appears to be to strive to improve the social and economic position of their own group. Even though this is something we did not have the opportunity to explore in more detail in this study, it is an indication that there is not necessarily a considerable difference from other collectively oriented forms of popular education.

The blurry line between popular movements and popular education makes it hard to discern the specific role of study circle participation for involvement. It would be rather peculiar, however, if this was found to be a problem in labour movement education, considering the traditions of popular education. According to Arvidson (2004, p. 27) the idea that popular education and popular movements are intertwined has been pivotal ever since the establishment of study associations and study circles. The activities we have studied, which are mainly self-organised by and for its participant groups and interwoven with a type of popular movement, appear in that respect to be nothing new within ABF – rather to the contrary.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Arbetarnas Bildningsförbund (ABF).

Notes on contributors

Annika Pastuhov

Annika Pastuhov is a postdoctoral researcher affiliated with Mimer - Swedish network for research on popular education at Linköping University. Currently, her research is focused on popular education in party-political contexts.

Henrik Nordvall

Henrik Nordvall is a professor of adult education research and the director of Mimer - Swedish network for research on popular education at Linköping University. Currently, his research is focused on popular education in party-political contexts and the spread of Scandinavian popular education ideas in Eastern Africa.

Ali Osman

Ali Osman, PhD, is associate Professor in education at Stockholm University. He has published extensively on subjects as education in relation to migration and integration, focusing on the transition of immigrants from education to work from different perspectives, and the role of popular education in the integration of immigrants in Sweden.  He is currently working on a research project that is examining the impact of place on the educational and life work career of young in adults in a rural and urban centre.

Notes

1. For example, between 2015 and 2017 more the 120,000 newly arrived migrants took part in a special study circle programme, called “Swedish from Day One”, organised by civil society-based study associations, with support from the Swedish government (Regeringskansliet, 2017).