ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we introduce the context of the study reported on in this book. Firstly, we provide a brief overview of the Swedish welfare and educational policy developments during the mid-20th century and onwards to our present time. Secondly, we introduce the two specific adult educational institutional contexts elaborated on in the book: MAE and FHS. We provide some historical notes on the development of these institutions as well as how they are organised today. In the third part of the chapter, we introduce the specific empirical contexts in which the study was carried out, as well as the empirical material. We finish with some notes on methodology.
