Experiences of stigma among adult learners in second-chance education. A life-history approach

Raoufi-Kvist, Samuel Experiences of stigma among adult learners in second-chance education. A life-history approach European journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults 16 (2025) 3, S. 321-338 Quellenangabe/ Reference: Raoufi-Kvist, Samuel: Experiences of stigma among adult learners in second-chance education. A life-history approach - In: European journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults 16 (2025) 3, S. 321-338 - URN: urn:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-344435 - DOI: 10.25656/01:34443; 10.3384/rela.2000-7426.5973 https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-344435 https://doi.org/10.25656/01:34443 in Kooperation mit / in cooperation with: http://www.ep.liu.se Nutzungsbedingungen Terms of use Dieses Dokument steht unter folgender Creative Commons-Lizenz: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.de - Sie dürfen das Werk bzw. den Inhalt vervielfältigen, verbreiten und öffentlich zugänglich machen sowie Abwandlungen und Bearbeitungen des Werkes bzw. Inhaltes anfertigen, solange Sie den Namen des Autors/Rechteinhabers in der von ihm festgelegten Weise nennen. This document is published under following Creative Commons-License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en - You may copy, distribute and render this document accessible, make adaptations of this work or its contents accessible to the public as long as you attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor. Mit der Verwendung dieses Dokuments erkennen Sie die Nutzungsbedingungen an. By using this particular document, you accept the above-stated conditions of use. Kontakt / Contact: peDOCS DIPF | Leibniz-Institut für Bildungsforschung und Bildungsinformation Informationszentrum (IZ) Bildung E-Mail: [email protected] Internet: www.pedocs.de European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2025, pp. 321-338 ISSN 2000-7426 © 2025 The author https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.5973 www.rela.ep.liu.se Experiences of stigma among adult learners in second-chance education: A life-history approach Samuel Raoufi-Kvist Linköping University, Sweden ([email protected]) Abstract This article examines four life-histories from students who recently completed secondchance education at a Swedish folk high school, having previously left upper secondary school without full qualifications – an experience often associated with academic failure. Through their studies, they have now gained eligibility for further education. Their narratives – shaped by different explanations for their earlier difficulties – are analysed using Erving Goffman’s concept of stigma. The study highlights the varied ways individuals navigate school failure and departure from dominant educational norms. At the same time, their stories reflect pride in having forged alternative paths, particularly through labour market experiences. Using an educational life-history approach, the article explores how participants relate to their past school failure – retrospectively, in the present, and with regard to their futures. Particular attention is paid to how stigma tied to compulsory school failure influence their educational trajectories and how they position themselves as students. Keywords: adult education, academic failure, second-chance education, stigma, lifehistory Introduction Academic failure Academic failure can have significant consequences; education can open doors to career opportunities. Particularly higher education often provides individuals with the means to enjoy socioeconomic advantages in western capitalist societies (Oreopoulos & Salvanes, 2011). The social exclusion that can result from school failure may create lasting ripple [322] Raoufi-Kvist effects – a risk factor for social exclusion later in life is precisely having experienced social exclusion at a younger age (Nilsen et al., 2022). Similarly, a lack of educational attainment can create conditions for poverty, which in turn perpetuates the same conditions for subsequent generations, even in a welfare state where equalising measures have been implemented (Brea-Martinez et al., 2023). Overall, researchers have found that a low level of education can be linked to a wide range of outcomes, from an increased likelihood of dying in accidents such as falls in old age (Ahmad Kiadaliri et al., 2018) to a reluctance to participate in cancer screenings (Altová et al., 2024). Reasons for not completing high school can be ascribed to the individual, parents, schools, or educational policies (Gustafsson et al., 2016). It has been argued that contemporary western societies increasingly shift the responsibility for educational success onto individuals rather than institutions (Fejes & Dahlstedt, 2013). Within this view, failure is seen as a personal shortcoming rather than a structural issue. Individuals are held accountable for their performance, choices, and ability to navigate the system. Studies from Sweden – the context of this article – suggest that the burden on individuals to uphold high academic expectations and goals, as well as the pressure to make themselves successful, contribute to increased school stress (Högberg, 2024). Those who fail risk being perceived as careless, irresponsible, or incapable. Some students may, early on, discern that school may not offer genuine equal opportunities. In research some go as far as to claim that education has been transformed into a tool to instil acceptance of marginalisation (Sernhede, 2011). Pertinent to the question at hand might also be the so called ‘relevant adults’ – the people who surround the young person both within and outside their family. For some graduating from high school may not appear to be a sufficiently attractive option to be worth the effort. This can occur if, in their environment, they observe adults who have pursued extensive education but are nonetheless unable to support themselves (Gustafsson et al., 2016). Examples include stories of non-traditional students who have achieved higher education yet continue to face challenges in becoming employable (Bron & Thunborg, 2020). Presumably, the opposite might also hold true – observing adults who are successful and self-supporting despite not having pursued long education could serve as evidence for the perceived unimportance of attaining higher education. It is possible that early school leaving itself may not be the sole cause of the well-documented greater risk of developing health, social, and financial problems. In a Scandinavian context, however, young people who remain unemployed or outside of education for two years face a significant risk of becoming permanently unemployed and marginalised (Cederberg & Hartsmar, 2013). Early school leaving, often explained through socio-economic factors (Newcomb et al., 2002) also involves emotional-relational dimensions. Authoritarian teaching and lack of conflict resolution may contribute to alienation and dropout, alongside mental health challenges (Downes, 2018). Peer victimisation is another risk factor linked to noncompletion of high school (Frick et al., 2024; Siebecke, 2024), whereas supportive teachers and learning environments have been shown to strengthen academic well-being (Siebecke, 2024). Educational aspirations – shaped by parents or the individual – are associated with achievement and access to future opportunities (Hammarström, 1996). Parental involvement also reduces the likelihood of dropout (Parr & Bonitz, 2015). In the context of adult education, where school leavers often return, inclusive social networks have proven important for persistence; their absence can significantly undermine engagement (Tacchi et al., 2023). In Sweden the correlation between academic failure and alcohol-related issues, mental health problems, as well as with suicidal tendencies, is becoming increasingly Experiences of stigma among adult learners in second-chance education [323] apparent (Högberg et al., 2024). As of 2023, approximately 20% of students in Swedish high school (upper secondary school) graduate without attaining a complete degree (Skolverket, 2023). This statistic underscores a significant challenge within the Swedish educational system, highlighting issues such as academic underachievement, disengagement, and disparities in educational outcomes. A school system that systematically fails a fifth of its students, risks perpetuating cycles of exclusion, limiting opportunities for social mobility, and diminishing the societal belief in education as a meaningful and attainable goal. In a society where lifelong learning is the norm, the ability to learn becomes a defining trait of the successful and sensible individual (Andersson & Bergstedt, 1996; World Economic Forum, 2018). Those who struggle in school, particularly those who fail to obtain a complete secondary education, may therefore be seen as deficient – deviating from the expected trajectory. And deviation, in turn, carries stigma (Goffman, 1963/1986). While the reasons for not completing upper secondary education vary, what unites those who leave without full qualifications is, in some sense, the experience of educational failure. However, their responses to this failure differ. Some disengage from formal education altogether, entering or making attempts to enter the labour market where learning takes place in other ways. Others, at some point, return to education through what is commonly referred to as ‘second-chance education’, which is the context of this study. The structure of such institutions varies across national contexts. In Sweden, two primary pathways for second-chance education stand out: a) municipal adult education (MAE) and b) folk high schools. This article focuses on young adults who return to education through folk high schools in pursuit of qualifications for higher education. Using an educational life-history approach it examines how they relate to their past educational failure and how they perceive themselves as students – retrospectively, in the present, and looking ahead. In particular, it explores the stigma they may experience as a result of having failed within the compulsory school system. The folk high school Across the Nordic countries, folk high schools provide voluntary, gradeand tuition-free education to any adult learner. In Sweden alone, there are more than 150 publicly funded folk high schools, which offer both ‘second-chance’ education, comparable to uppersecondary qualification, and specialised courses ranging from introductory levels to prestigious, advanced programmes (Hallqvist et al., 2020). In Sweden, folk high schools often serve as a second chance for those who have struggled with or rejected traditional education. Participants may include individuals who view education as enforcement rather than opportunity (Nylander et al., 2020). The folk high school is oftentimes described as an adaptable institution, in that it is and has been ready to cater to societal demands (Andersén, 2011). The folk high school has been described as the ‘super nanny’ of the Swedish educational system, in that it has a compensatory role (Nylander et al., 2020). Yet being rooted in Bildung-ideals it is not always evident that the folk high school should work solely as a second-chance school or as a back-up plan for the people that struggle in ordinary school. It has been argued that tensions exist between viewing the folk high school as a stepping stone to further studies and as a place offering education for life in its own right (Berndtsson, 2000). The folk high school can also be seen in the light of lifelong learning in that it is not just aiming to correct or supplement degrees – it is also a springboard for further education and for attaining a sustainable relationship to education and learning. It can be said to [324] Raoufi-Kvist have motivational purposes, and it has been noted that there has been a shift from empowering objectives towards a focus on those not succeeding in comprehensive education (Bernhard & Andersson, 2017). In addition, the folk high school has increasingly been catering to people with disabilities in recent years, with around 30-35% of its second-chance program now consisting of individuals with disabilities (Nylander et al., 2020). Folk high schools have been shown to support participants with neuropsychiatric disabilities and mental health issues (Hugo et al., 2019; Hugo & Hedegaard, 2022). They may also function in an institutionalising way, offering an environment and accommodations that make it difficult for some students to transition elsewhere (Hugo et al., 2019), and have been portrayed as both adaptable and compensatory (Andersén, 2011). Consequently, the folk high school houses a multitude of mentalities towards learning, within their group of students, yet; the reasons for studying on the second chance program at a folk high school are primarily to get one’s qualifications in order. Conceptual framework: Goffman – stigma To understand how people carrying academic failures present themselves, this article draws on Goffman’s (1963/1986) concept of stigma – seen as a process where traits deemed undesirable, such as skin colour, impairments, or queer identities, lead to exclusion (Shulman, 2017; Dillon, 2020). The focus herein is on young adults who have completed second-chance education at a Swedish folk high school, and how they relate to learning, studenthood, and education. As noted by Field et al. (2012): [t]he experience of studenthood can pose basic questions of who a person is, who they have been, and who they wish to become. This in turn may provoke intense anxiety about one’s ability to cope with change, or about whether a person is good enough in the eyes of significant people, whether fellow students or lectures; or conversely, it may provoke excessive (and often ill-founded) confidence about these things. (Field et al., 2012, p. 82) In the case of students on the second-chance course of the folk high school many of them have struggled in compulsory school and high school. Their stories incorporate a fromthe-outside perspective, describing themselves as has having failed or being ‘fuckups’, harbouring ideas about what others as well as society think of them. Their stories reflect an awareness of how they are perceived by others. As Andersén (2011) points out, folk high school students may be viewed as ‘second-class students,’ marked by earlier failure. According to Goffman (1963/1986), biography takes shape in interaction with others. Our past actions influence what is expected of us, and the present is often filtered through the past – making certain labels hard to shake: [p]ersonal identity, then, has to do with the assumption that the individual can be differentiated from all others and that around this means of differentiation a single continuous record of social facts can be attached, entangled, like candy floss, becoming then the sticky substance to which still other biographical facts can be attached. (Goffman, 1963/1986, p. 57) The implications for someone having ‘failed in school’ may, in this explanatory model, be that stigma is attached to the person having failed school – an internalisation process may have them doubt their capabilities for studying. As Goffman (1963/1986) states: ‘biography attached to documented identity can place clear limitations on the way in which an individual can elect to present himself […]’ (p. 61). Experiences of stigma among adult learners in second-chance education [325] Goffman argues that biography is often thought of as coherent – that individuals carry with them one single biography (Goffman, 1963/1986). To reinvent oneself, to forge new paths, can therefore be seen as disruptive or even provocative acts. To come across as fragmented is seen as suspicious. Connected to this mode of being is a certain hesitation and doubt – in short, an ambivalent stance toward existence and the choices one must make within it. Zygmunt Bauman, in a discussion revolving around stigma, writes that ‘[a]t best, uncertainty is confusing and felt as discomforting. At worst, it carries a sense of danger’ (Bauman, 1991, p. 56). Ambivalence, then, can be understood as something that unsettles – in hesitation, there is a latent potential to deviate, to move outside expected frames of action. The one who hesitates may be perceived as unpredictable – someone who does not immediately conform to established rhythms and expectations. In an economic sense, hesitation entails a temporal disruption, as it introduces delays in decision-making and action, which, in systems structured around efficiency and productivity, may be perceived as costly. Ergo: the failed students’ stigma may spring from perceptions of being a societal burden – a cost. In the life stories presented here, stigma helps illuminate life choices. As Goffman describes, stigma can harm individuals, but it also functions as a social force that motivates action. It regulates behaviour by making the stigmatised position uncomfortable, prompting attempts to escape it. Yet stigma also constrains action, especially among those lacking resources or recognition, and may instead lead to frustration, which can turn into violence – against society, oneself, or both (Sernhede, 2011). While internalising stereotypes can serve as a coping strategy, stigma may also become a source of pride, prompting individuals to reject negative treatment (Shulman, 2017). Stigmatisation serves as a mechanism of social control: it marginalises those who deviate from norms, while also offering conditional reintegration to those who conform. Both exclusion and the possibility of redemption work to reinforce dominant expectations (Shulman, 2017). Stigma has been used in academic contexts to illustrate the consequences for individuals positioned outside normative frameworks (Costa et al., 2020; McWilliams, 2017). It operates on both macro and micro levels – through institutional structures, societal discourses, peer pressure, parental expectations, and personal internalisation. The concept has been applied in studies on minority students navigating dominant educational norms (Turgut & Çelik, 2022), and on peer regulation in digital spaces (Vanherle et al., 2023). Related dynamics are also seen in research on students in state care, where internalised school failure contributes to feelings of educational unfitness (Hugo, 2013). Within folk high schools, stigma has been examined in relation to supportive pedagogical environments that may foster recovery and self-worth (Hedegaard & Hugo, 2022). Scholars have also argued for addressing stigma explicitly within educational pedagogy to confront discrimination (Sernhede, 2011) Furthermore, stigma can be tied to a prevailing paradigm centered on self-fulfillment – those who fail to realise their potential are pathologised. Within the discourse on the widespread mental health crisis among young people, scholars have linked this phenomenon to the shifting burden of responsibility from society to the individual (Fejes & Dahlstedt, 2013). In relation to this study, pathologisation can be seen as either a precursor to or closely intertwined with stigmatisation. In the past, when access to higher education was reserved for those deemed suitable, the responsibility largely rested with institutions that made these determinations. Under today’s neoliberal paradigm, however, the responsibility [326] Raoufi-Kvist increasingly falls on the individual. If failure occurs, it is framed as a result of personal missteps – wrong choices, poor conduct, or a failure to handle the responsibility that society has entrusted to them (Fejes & Dahlstedt, 2013; Han, 2017). Consequently: the individual must bear the consequences, regardless of whether their struggles could have been avoided or were shaped by factors such as reading and writing difficulties, dyslexia, attention disorders, socioeconomic hardships, or relational challenges, etc. Method This study employs a biographical approach drawing on research conducted within the field of education and in particular adult education. Biographical methods in educational research offer an approach to understanding individuals’ educational experiences within broader social contexts (Roberts, 2002; Bainbridge et al., 2021; Formenti & West, 2021). This tradition stresses the importance of capturing the complexities of individuals’ life trajectories, including their personal narratives, cultural backgrounds, and socioeconomic circumstances, to illuminate the complex nature of learning and development (Merrill & West, 2009). Life narratives are shaped by broader cultural and historical contexts, biographies reflect the values of the time in which they are told (Roberts, 2002; West et al., 2007). Educational engagement can be understood as a dialectical process shaped by the tension between conformity and deviation. Departing from normative paths may result in stigma (Goffman, 1963/1986). Although participants were asked to recount their educational journeys from preschool to adult education, they were free to move back and forth in memory and choose which parts to emphasise. It was stressed that their stories – however told – were valuable. As Atkinson (2007) puts it: The point of the life story interview is to give the person the opportunity to tell his or her story, the way he or she chooses to tell it, so we can learn from their voice, their words, and their subjective meaning of their experience of life. (Atkinson, 2007, p. 233) Since the interview prompts reflection, biographical narratives are often, as Evans (2013) notes, attempts at coherence and evolving accounts of motivation. It is important to be aware of the unusual situation a life history interview may pose and how interviewees might adjust their story to resonate with the interviewer (Riessman, 1993; Roberts, 2002). As the interviews were processed and written out by the researcher it is correspondingly important to assert that the assembling of a story is part of the story. In this study four educational life history interviews were performed with four former students at the folk high school of which all four had attained qualification to higher education through their studies at the folk high school. The interviews with additional follow-ups took place between autumn 2023 and spring 2024. The follow-up process involved participants meeting in person with me to review the drafts of their stories. During these sessions, they had the opportunity to make adjustments, remove misunderstood parts, add or correct details. Additionally, I contacted participants by phone or email if further information was needed after the in-person meetings. The data was provided by two men and two women between the ages of 20 and 25, interviews spanning 56-138 minutes. Although the initial interviews were conducted in an open-ended manner, there was also an effort to establish a narrative structure – a sequence of events that could serve as a foundation for the follow-up dialogue. As the process unfolded, it became evident that some participants spoke freely and expansively, while others expressed themselves more succinctly. Experiences of stigma among adult learners in second-chance education [327] This raised a methodological question: are only highly talkative individuals suitable for biographical research? I decided against such an exclusion criterion, as it risks rendering stories invisible. Moreover, it could exclude those who may not feel entitled to speak – a group that, theoretically, might include individuals who are more cautious in their wording, face certain language challenges, or simply lack the inclination to elaborate on certain aspects of their lives. Accordingly, each interviewee had to be met on their own terms, and each interview thus generated different types of follow-up work. The interviews were designed to explore participants’ educational journeys, examining their motivations and challenges. Interpretation of collected data Given that four life stories were to be analysed within the scope of an article, it became logical to take a cross-sectional approach, focusing on what the participants chose to highlight – where they placed emphasis and which parts of their lives they deemed important to narrate and explain. This consideration guided the process of identifying the categories used to structure and analyse their stories. Thematic analysis was used to examine the life history interviews, focusing on participants’ experiences at the folk high school as well as their broader educational trajectories. The process involved immersion in the biographical material – relistening, rereading, and involving other researchers – to identify central ideas (Merrill & West, 2009). This approach ‘involves a rigorous attention to generate patterns’ (Roberts, 2002), and decisions about what to include were guided by the research aims (Merrill & West, 2009). Recurring themes and significant moments were identified across participants’ narratives, spanning their earlier schooling and later engagement in second-chance education. In analysing the material, it became clear that participants’ stories often carried elements of defence – efforts to explain or justify their perceived deviation from a conventional path. Much of their narration aimed to make sense of experiences otherwise seen as failure or misconduct. This pattern pointed to the role of stigma, which became the guiding lens for analysis, focusing on continuity and discontinuity in their educational trajectories and how past experiences shaped perceptions, motivations, and challenges. The narratives were often front-loaded, with more detailed accounts of recent events. While early and middle school experiences were less elaborated, they remained present as a latent backdrop. Although not directly asked why they had not completed high school, all participants addressed this, often explaining how their school years had gone astray. Alongside justification, their stories expressed pride – often tied to work gained by stepping away from school. The folk high school emerged as a space for renegotiation, where fixed identities could be reconsidered and futures reflected upon. In the light of the aforementioned, I developed three themes from the collected interviews: i) Stigmatisation from having failed school, ii) Work experience as a time for gaining perspective, and iii) The folk high school – an environment for revaluing. The analysis does not aim to claim authority over participants’ narratives but offers possible interpretations. By exploring patterns and connections, it seeks to suggest insights that align with, rather than override, the meanings expressed by the participants. Outtakes from the life stories serve as representative examples. Although told partly nonchronologically, excerpts are presented in chronological order with the above-mentioned overarching categories as anchor points, for clarity. [328] Raoufi-Kvist Results Stigmatisation from having failed school To have failed in completing high school was for the respondents a cause for selfreproach. Although all of them had their own unique story and explanation for what prevented them from completing high school they had all to various degrees internalised a sense of downfall. Thomas (all names are pseudonyms) expressed having felt abnormal from an early age: ‘I’ve felt all my life that there’s something wrong with me. I can’t do it. I can't handle this. Sitting still for as long as everyone else, how the hell can you do that? It’s unbelievably dull.’ Thomas’ frustration echoes findings that suggest disengagement is not merely about individual shortcomings but also about the rigid structures of schooling that fail to accommodate diverse needs and ways of learning. Thomas said that he felt ‘like something crooked in something straight’ and although he suspected that he was ‘wrong’ he has come to understand his attempts to adjust as futile, even expressing regret over having tried to fit in: So I don't understand why I cared about it so damn much, really. There’s no point in struggling at that age, struggle when you become an adult instead. This is just crap, it should be fun here, that's what I’d say. And that's what I’ll teach my children, I mean it’s better if you have fun in high school because that’s when you can have fun, because it sure as hell won’t be fun later. There is a duality in Thomas’s story – on one hand, he initially made efforts to fit in and conform to expectations, but upon realising the personal stakes, he began to scrutinise the game instead of the player. Positioning himself as someone who struggled and failed he addresses not the failure but the struggle, turning the experience on its head. Using Goffman (1963/1986), it can be interpreted as a form of stigma-management. Goffman exemplifies with a girl with only one leg who, when confronted with sympathetic comments about having lost her leg, uses similar inverting techniques as she responds with irony: ’How careless of me!’ (Goffman, 1963/1986, p. 136). Consequently, Thomas’ account can be read as a variation on Aesop’s ‘The Fox and the Grapes’ – dismissing what he cannot reach – yet unlike the fable’s fox, Thomas offers a sharp critique of what he opted out of: A 100 years ago, people sat at school desks and listened to lectures. Back then, they rode horse-drawn carriages to school; now, you can practically take a helicopter to school if you have enough money, but you’re still sitting at the same school desk with the same educational materials, you know? Although he acknowledged that he did not fit the mould of traditional educational settings, calling himself a ‘fuck-up’, he has shifted his criticism from himself to school. Another respondent employed similar modes of handling himself. Emil was from an early age not particularly interested in acquiring high grades. When choosing high school, he found it difficult: ‘Should a fifteen-year-old boy, who has no idea who he is, be expected to decide who he wants to be the next day?’ Emil continues his story, acting out the emotional turmoil he felt back then: Experiences of stigma among adult learners in second-chance education [335] Work experience, a significant component in the participants’ stories, acted as both an enabler and a limitation. Participants described feeling empowered by earning their own income and gaining independence, yet their narratives also highlighted the limitations of low-skilled jobs, which often led to a renewed desire for further education. This duality aligns with research suggesting that perceptions of labour market outcomes can both motivate and constrain educational decision-making (Gustafsson et al., 2016). These perceptions influence how individuals weigh the value of further education against immediate opportunities in the labour market. One way to interpret participants’ narratives is as discourses of agency. Their stories suggest an implicit expectation that individuals bear personal responsibility for their failures, potentially reframing academic failure as intentional – something done ‘knowingly’. Even resistance or deliberate rejection can be forms of agency, and given the cultural value placed on not being passive or victimised (Fejes & Dahlstedt, 2013), agency might partially redeem failure. You have failed, yes, but at least you have agency. Conversely, the truly stigmatised position emerges from passivity – being ‘a seed in the wind’, lacking choice or decisiveness. Susanna’s narrative exemplifies this clearly, as her greatest distress stems not from dropping out itself but from the subsequent passive phase of inactivity. Yet agency can also appear as intentional divergence from normative expectations. Second-chance education is typically understood as a pathway to higher education. Particularly Emil’s case complicates this view: he earns qualifications only to return deliberately to his previous type of work, ‘wasting’ education as a conscious and unrepentant choice rather than through passivity. This kind of agency positions students as empowered, able to act against institutional expectations. While Emil’s stance might not be widely shared, it highlights how educational systems, framed as marketplaces offering commodities (Page, 1998; Brancaleone & O’Brien, 2011), inherently allow individuals the freedom to refuse or repurpose their ‘purchases.’ In addition, keeping people – particularly those at risk of long-term unemployment due to past academic struggles – in school longer is helped by stigmatising academic failure. Education in this train of thought helps managing unemployment. Students are taught to stay busy, to stay active in so as idleness does not become a learnt way of living. This may funnel individuals toward more schooling when they might prefer to try to find a job (Andersson & Bergstedt, 1996). Society pushes ideals of self-fulfilment and independence but paradoxically stigmatises people, like Emil, who truly pursue such ideals. Declaration of conflicting interests The author declares no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship or publication of this article. Acknowledgement I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Cecilia Bjursell and Robert Aman for their guidance in my writing. I am also grateful to Baharan Raoufi-Kvist and Martin Hugo for reading numerous drafts, and to Marianne Kvist for her support with linguistic considerations. [336] Raoufi-Kvist References Ahmad Kiadaliri, A., Turkiewicz, A., & Englund, M. (2018). Educational inequalities in falls mortality among older adults: Population-based multiple cause of death data from Sweden. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 72, 68-70. DOI: 10.1136/jech-2017-209616 Altová, A., Kulhánová, I., Reisser, K, Netrdová, P., Brož, J., Eikemo, T. A., Balaj, M., & Lustigová, M. (2024). Educational inequalities in cervical cancer screening participation in 24 European countries. Public Health, 233, 1-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2024.04.036 Andersén, A. (2011). Ett särskilt perspektiv på högre studier?: Folkhögskoledeltagares sociala representationer om högskola och universitet [A particular perspective on higher education?: Folk high school participants’ social representations of university] [Doctoral dissertation, Jönköping University, School of Education and Communication]. Digital Scientific Archive. https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-15067 Andersson, P., & Bergstedt, B. (1996). Kunskapens makt: Om Foucault, förnuftskritik och självomsorg [The power of knowledge: On Foucault, criticism of reason, and self-care]. In P.-E. Ellström, B. Gustavsson, & S. Larsson (Eds.), Livslångt lärande (pp. 98-120). Studentlitteratur. Atkinson, R. (2007). The life story interview as a bridge in narrative inquiry. In D. Jean Clandinin (Ed.), Handbook of narrative inquiry: Mapping a methodology (pp. 224-245). Sage Publications. Bainbridge, A., Formenti, L., & West, L. (2021). Introduction Towards an Ecological Perspective on Learning and the Stories People Tell. In A. Bainbridge, L. Formenti, & L. West (Eds.), Discourses, Dialogue and Diversity in Biographical Research: An Ecology of Life and Learning (pp. 1-19). Brill. Bauman, Z. (1991). Modernity and ambivalence. Polity press. Berndtsson, R. (2000). Om folkhögskolans dynamik: Möten mellan olika bildningsprojekt [About the dynamics in the folk high school: The meeting between different projects of bildung in the folk high school] [Doctoral dissertation, Linköping University]. Digital Scientific Archive. https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-143161 Bernhard, D., & Andersson, P. (2017). Swedish Folk High Schools and Inclusive Education. Nordic Studies in Education, 37(2), 87-101. DOI: 10.18261/issn.1891-5949-2017-02-03 Brancaleone, D., & O’Brien, S. (2011). Educational commodification and the (economic) sign value of learning outcomes. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 32(4), 501-519. DOI: 10.1080/01425692.2011.578435 Brea-Martinez, G., Dribe, M., & Stanfors, M (2023). The price of poverty: The association between childhood poverty and adult income and education in Sweden, 1947-2015. Economic History Review, 76(4), 1281-1304. DOI: 10.1111/ehr.13244 Bron, A., & Thunborg, C. (2020). Struggles in Becoming Employable: Non-Traditional Student Narratives of the Transition from Higher Education to Working Life in Sweden. Studia Paedagogica, 25(4), 161-182. DOI: 10.5817/SP2020-4-8 Cederberg, M., & Hartsmar, N. (2013). Some Aspects of Early School Leaving in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. European Journal of Education, 48(3), 378-389. DOI: 10.1111/ejed.12036 Costa, C., Taylor, Y., Goodfellow, C., & Ecochard, S. (2020). Student estrangement in higher education: identity formation and the struggle against stigma. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 41(5), 685-700. DOI: 10.1080/01425692.2020.1770575 Dillon, M. (2020). Introduction to Sociological Theory: Theorists, concepts, and their applicability to the twenty-first century (3rded.). Wiley-Blackwell. Downes, P. (2018). The Neglected Shadow: European perspectives on emotional supports for early school leaving prevention. International Journal of Emotional Education, Special Issue: 10th Anniversary Edition of the International Journal of Emotional Education, 10(2), 122-130. http://files.eric.ed.gov.e.bibl.liu.se/fulltext/EJ1198066.pdf Evans, R. (2013). Emotions close up – the interview, learning biographies and the language of emotion. Plumilla Educativa, 11(1), 11-26. https://doi.org/10.30554/plumillaedu.11.370.2013 Fejes, A., & Dahlstedt, M. (2013). The Confessing Society: Foucault, Confession and Practices of Lifelong Learning. Routledge. Field, J., Merrill, B., & West, L. (2012). Life history approaches to access and retention of nontraditional students in higher education. European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults, 3(1), 77-89. DOI: 10.3384/rela.2000-7426.rela0062 Formenti, L., & West, L. (2021). When Lake Erie Is Polluted, We Are Too. In A. Bainbridge, L. Formenti, & L. West (Eds.), Discourses, Dialogue and Diversity in Biographical Research: An Ecology of Life and Learning (pp. 23-38). Brill. Experiences of stigma among adult learners in second-chance education [337] Frick, M. A., Isaksson, J., Vadlin, S., & Olofsdotter, S. (2024). Direct and Indirect Effects of Adolescent Peer Victimization and Mental Health on Academic Achievement in Early Adulthood: A 6-Year Longitudinal Cohort Study. Youth & Society, 56(3), 579-596. DOI: 10.1177/0044118X231185364 Goffman, E. (1963/1986). Stigma: notes on the management of spoiled identity. Simon & Schuster. Gustafsson, B., Katz, K., & Österberg, T. (2016). Why Do Some Young Adults not Graduate From Upper-Secondary School? On the Importance of Signals of Labour Market Failure. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 61(6), 701-720. DOI: 10.1080/00313831.2016.1188145 Hallqvist, A., Malmström, L., & Millenberg, F. (2020). Vad är en folkhögskola? [What is a folk high school?]. In P. Andersson, H. Colliander, & E-H. Harlin (Eds.), Om folkhögskolan: en särskild utbildningsform för vuxna (pp. 47-66). Studentlitteratur. Hammarström, M. (1996). Varför inte högskola?: En longitudinell studie av olika faktorers betydelse för studiebegåvade ungdomars utbildningskarriär [Why not higher education?: A longitudinal study of the significance of different factors for the educational career of young adults with good study aptitudes] (Publication no. 107) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Gothenburg]. Gothenburg University library. http://hdl.handle.net/2077/11423 Han, B. (2017). Psychopolitics: neoliberalism and new technologies of power. Verso Books. Hedegaard, J., & Hugo, M. (2022). Education as Change: Liberation from Mental Illness and Self-Stigma in Favour of Empowerment. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 62(1), 98-123. http://files.eric.ed.gov.e.bibl.liu.se/fulltext/EJ1346003.pdf Hugo, M. (2013). Meningsfullt lärande i skolverksamheten på särskilda ungdomshem [Institutional care in focus]. Statens institutionsstyrelse. https://www.statinst.se/contentassets/0f1a5a4dda7844a39fd11370791ba350/1-2013-meningsfullt-larande-iskolverksamheten-pa-sarskilda-ungdomshem.pdf Hugo, M., & Hedegaard, J. (2022). Folkhögskolans stödjande roll vid psykisk ohälsa: ett deltagarperspektiv [The folk high school’s supportive role in mental health]. Encell, Nationellt kompetenscentrum för livslångt lärande. Hugo, M., Hedegaard, J., & Bjursell, C. (2019). Folkhögskolan som inkluderande miljö för deltagare med neuropsykiatriska funktionsnedsättningar [The folk high school as an inclusive environment for participants with neuropsychiatric disabilities]. Encell, Nationellt kompetenscentrum för livslångt lärande. Högberg, B. (2024). Explaining temporal trends in school‐related stress: a decomposition analysis of repeated Swedish survey data. European Journal of Education, 59(4), 1-10. DOI: 10.1111/ejed.12779 Högberg, B., Strandh, M., Petersen, S., & Nilsson, K. (2024). Associations between academic achievement and internalizing disorders in Swedish students aged 16 years between 1990 and 2018. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 1661-1671. DOI: 10.1007/s00787-02402597-2 McWilliams, J. A. (2017). The neighborhood school stigma: School choice, stratification, and shame. Policy Futures in Education, 15(2), 221-238. DOI: 10.1177/1478210317705740 Merrill, B., & West, L. (2009). Using biographical methods in social research. Sage. Newcomb, M. D., Abbott, R. D., Catalano, R. F., Hawkins, J. D., Battin-Pearson, S., & Hill, K. (2002). Mediational and deviance theories of late high school failure: Process Roles of Structural Strains, Academic Competence, and General versus Specific Problem Behavior. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 49(2), 172-186. DOI: 10.1037/0022-0167.49.2.172 Nilsen, C., Celeste, R. K., Lennartsson, C., McKee, K. J., & Dahlberg, L. (2022). Long-term risk factors for old-age social exclusion in Sweden: A 30-year longitudinal study. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 103, 104760. DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2022.104760 Nylander, E., Rahm, L., & Fejes, A. (2020). Vem studerar på folkhögskola och varför? [Who studies at a folk high school and why?]. In P. Andersson, H. Colliander, & E-M. Harlin (Eds.), Om folkhögskolan: en särskild utbildningsform för vuxna (pp. 87-111). Studentlitteratur. Oreopoulos, P., & Salvanes, K. G. (2011). Priceless: The Nonpecuniary Benefits of Schooling. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 25(1), 159-84. DOI: 10.1257/jep.25.1.159 Page. M., (1998). Collecting Slices of College Dropouts’ Lives. In M. Erben (Ed.), Biography and Education: A Reader (pp. 104-118). Routledge. Parr, A. K., & Bonitz, V. S. (2015). Role of Family Background, Student Behaviors, and School-Related Beliefs in Predicting High School Dropout. The Journal of Educational Research, 108(6), 504514. DOI: 10.1080/00220671.2014.917256 Riessman, C. K. (1993). Narrative analysis. Sage. Roberts, B. (2002). Biographical research. Open University Press. [338] Raoufi-Kvist Sernhede, O. (2011). Från fostran till lönearbete till anpassning för ett liv i marginalitet [From upbringing to wage labor to adaptation for a life in marginality]. In O. Sernhede (Ed.), Förorten, skolan och ungdomskulturen: Reproduktionen av marginalitet och ungas informella lärande (pp. 197-213). Daidalos. Shulman, D. (2017). The presentation of self in contemporary social life. Sage. Siebecke, D. E. (2024). Does social well-being predict academic resilience and achievement? Analysis of Swedish PISA 2018 data. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 39(3), 2105-2128. DOI: 10.1007/s10212-023-00762-w Skolverket. (2023). Betyg och studieresultat i gymnasieskolan år 2023 [Grades and results in upper secondary school in Sweden, 2023]. https://www.skolverket.se/download/18.24463e0518bfea357e144/1700836581311/pdf12198.pdf Tacchi, J., Toiviainen, H., Kersh, N. (2023). The Role That Adult Education Can Play in Supporting Young Adults with Vulnerabilities. In K. Evans, W. O. Lee, J. Markowitsch, & M. Zukas (Eds.), Third International Handbook of Lifelong Learning. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-67930-9_33-1 Turgut, S., & Çelik, Ç. (2022). Kurdish students’ perceptions of stigma and their destigmatization strategies in urban contexts in Turkey. Race Ethnicity and Education, 27(7), 1125-1140. DOI: 10.1080/13613324.2022.2069735 Vanherle, R., Trekels, J., Hermans, S., Vranken, P., & Beullens, K. (2023). How it feels to be ‘left on read’: Social surveillance on Snapchat and young individuals’ mental health. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 17(5). Article 3. DOI: 10.5817/CP2023-5-3 West, L., Alheit, P., Anderson, A. S., & Merrill, B. (2007). Introduction: Why this Book, and Why Now? In L. West, P. Alheit, A. S. Anderson, & B. Merrill (Eds.) (2007), Using biographical and life history approaches in the study of adult and lifelong learning: European perspectives (pp. 11-25). Peter Lang. DOI: 10.3726/978-3-653-03237-6 World Economic Forum. (2018). Toward a reskilling revolution: A future of jobs for all. https://www.skillsforemployment.org/sites/default/files/2024-04/edmsp1_208010.pdf