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Abstract
The process of re‐employing the unemployed is still not well described, and understanding of the function of adult education in the life of the participants is still undeveloped. This article describes the psychological changes during participation in adult education in order to understand the psychological factors, which may explain the re‐employment effect. A longitudinal study among participants in adult basic education with an exam in Denmark reveals that unemployed are very goal‐directed and become more so during the course, and that participants’ high social support is diminished significantly during the course. The results also show that neither self‐esteem nor instrumentalism increased during the course. When unemployed meet some demands, i.e. re‐employment, and experience a decrease in social support, the commitment in terms of goal‐directedness increases. The general conclusion is that the function of adult education seems to be the commitment of disengaged adults to societal demands.