Research project sets out to map the characteristics of local study associations and study circles in the Nordic countries

In a research project funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers, researchers from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland will map the characteristics of local study associations and study circles in the Nordic countries. One of the objectives is to strengthen the common knowledge base for the political debate about non-formal education with Nordic perspectives.

All Nordic countries have a strong tradition of adults meeting to gain new knowledge and skills in local study associations or study circles. But despite widely shared values between the countries, the systems for non-formal learning for adults have developed very differently in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, and there have been few attempts to build and share knowledge about the systems between the countries.

This situation is about to change. The Nordic Council of Ministers has funded a grant for a project that will map differences and similarities in how local study associations and study circles are organised and funded in the four Nordic countries. 

"With this project, we hope to build a basis of shared knowledge that can be used in future discussions of legal, financial and other regulations of this area," says senior analyst Malene Thøgersen from the Danish Institute for Non-Formal Education, who will be coordinating the project.

She points out that this type of knowledge can be useful in future discussions on subsidy systems in the field. Another area where a Nordic perspective can be interesting is in Denmark where practitioners and politicians continue to discuss whether it is necessary to revise the country's act on non-formal education and democratic voluntary activity.

The project will be carried out by researchers from six partner institutions in the four countries: The Danish Institute for Non-Formal Education, the Norwegian Research Centre (NORCE), Linköping University and University of Gothenburg from Sweden, and Åbo Akademi University and the Finnish Study Centres from Finland.

The project will conclude with a conference

The project will map different characteristics of local study associations and study circles in the respective countries including how they are financed and organised, the legal framework for them, and the types and number of activities they carry out. 

Researchers will use existing documents, statistics, and desk research to create an overview that will be disseminated in a report and through a conference in late 2024 for practitioners, public authorities, politicians, and academic researchers working in the field of non-formal education for adults in the Nordic countries.

"At that time, we hope to be able to show whether the differences that exist between the countries in terms of economic support for the sector are mirrored in the number of activities of local study associations and study circles. Similarly, we are interested to see if there are any lessons to be learned from studying the very different ways that local and national levels of non-formal education interact in the Nordic countries," says Malene Thøgersen.

In addition to building knowledge about local study associations and study circles, the project will also be the first step in forming a Nordic network between researchers and organisations working in the field of non-formal education.

"We do not have such a network at the moment, but we hope that we can build a structure for cooperation that will allow us to undertake bigger research projects in this area in the future," says Malene Thøgersen.